Shannon C.’s review of Moonshine (Cal Leandros, Book 2) by Rob Thurman
Urban fantasy published 06 Mar 2007 by Roc

I feel a little strange writing this, but after two books in this series that I have read so far, I am definitely a Cal Leandros fangirl. I would gladly have both him and Niko on my desert island o’ book hero goodness. I am such a Cal Leandros fangirl that I even put up with things that normally cause me to go into fits of rabid anger, like the fact that there’s not a whole lot of depth to Cal’s romantic interest, and that sometimes a few of the characters skirt the line of Mary Sue-dom. I love these books to pieces, and am definitely going to be reading the latest quite soon.

The premise is this. Cal, the narrator, is half-human, half-Auphe. The Auphe were once the most bad-ass of the evil supernatural creatures, and definitely not the sort of people you want reproducing. In the first book, Cal had a bit of an identity crisis, trying to figure out whether he was more monster than human. In this book, he explores that connection more deeplyand comes to grips with the fact that he needs to rely on other people besides his brother Niko. In the meantime, Cal works for a supernatural security consulting group, and he and Niko, as well as Niko’s vampire girlfriend, Promise and their mutual friend Robin Goodfellow (yes, *that* Robin Goodfellow), must seek out a crown that could confer great power upon those who wear it. If they don’t find the crown, then something Cal holds dear will be lost.

I’m really not so much of a fan of the idea of most modern urban fantasy. But this series works well for me. For one thing, the humor is exactly my type–it’s snarky and dry. This book had lots of moments where I literally laughed out loud, something that almost never happens.

But where Thurman excels is in drawing these characters and their complex relationships, all without leaving Cal’s head and making him too perceptive. Cal, of course, is a great character with plenty of other issues to resolve. But the rest of the cast is equally well-drawn, from the quiet but deadly Niko, to the mysterious Promise, to the gregarious Robin Goodfellow. We also get introduced to other characters, like a werewolf named Flay, that I hope will continue to play parts in the series.

The other thing that works well here is the plot. Thurman doesn’t pull any punches. The supernatural nasties really are nasty, and our heroes definitely suffer consequences because of their actions. This makes for extremely compelling writing, and I was only sad that I couldn’t just devour this book in one fell swoop.

The only real problem I had was with the romance between Cal and a young psychic named Georgina. I just didn’t really understand what he saw in George. She also seems to need a fair bit of rescuing, which is definitely something that irks me.

Aside from that, I’m definitely still in for the next bit of the series. I think this book might stand alone well enough, though I would strongly recommend starting off with the first book in the series, Nightlife and reading from there.
Grade: B+

Summary:
After saving the world from his fiendish father’s side of the family, Cal Leandros and his stalwart half-brother Niko have settled down with a new apartment
and a new gig-bodyguard and detective work. And in New York City, where preternatural beings stalk the streets just like normal folk, business is good.

Their latest case has them going undercover for the Kin-the werewolf Mafia. A low-level Kin boss thinks a rival is setting him up for a fall, and wants
proof. The place to start is the back room of Moonshine-a gambling club for non-humans. Cal thinks it’s a simple in-and-out job. But Cal is very, very
wrong.

Cal and Niko are being set up themselves-and the people behind it have a bite much worse than their bark…
No excerpt available.
Read my review of Nightlife here