canadianbookaddict's review against another edition
4.0
I very much enjoyed this book. I read it all yesterday because I just couldn't put it down.
This is the first book I have read by this author but I know this book will not be my last.
This is the first book I have read by this author but I know this book will not be my last.
chelseavbc's review against another edition
4.0
This review was originally posted at Vampire Book Club.
I’m an unabashed Lauren Dane fan and have been auto-buying her contemporary romances for a long time, but I always love it most when she visits the paranormal side. (I absolutely adore her Bound by Magick series, and suggest you pick up Heart of Darkness ASAP for a whole lot of “mine” goodness.)
So, yes, I totally jumped on Moonstruck. Werewolves plus magic plus Lauren Dane? SOLD. And I’m happy to report it lives up to the expectations. One of the things that is often standout in her work is the large family/friend dynamic. In this element Moonstruck is no exception.
Katie Faith moves back to Diablo Lake after her father has a stint in the hospital, which is rough for her because she fled following a pretty embarrassing left-at-the-altar moment. She wanted to pretend she doesn’t belong in her small hometown of shifters and witches, but she really does. Her magic is thriving, and that makes the two shifter packs (one with her ex and one with the super sexy next-door neighbor) want to argue over who she belongs to. Katie Faith belongs to herself, damn it, and hero Jace knows it. He won’t fall into the traps of others or the old “traditions” of his father.
Moonstruck is straight-up trope-y goodness with paranormal spice. You have lovers who are fated for one another—expect some quick desire to claim, but a whole lot of family obstacles making for delicious delays—class warfare, second-chance romance, and the perfect small-town setting. The secondary characters are fully developed, which makes me excited to see how the others’ stories will come together in later books.
It’s a light paranormal romance that offers some good laugh-out-loud moments and a comfortable feel for anyone who enjoys small-town romances of any persuasion. It’s a good start to a new series, and I’m excited to read more adventures in Diablo Lake.
I’m an unabashed Lauren Dane fan and have been auto-buying her contemporary romances for a long time, but I always love it most when she visits the paranormal side. (I absolutely adore her Bound by Magick series, and suggest you pick up Heart of Darkness ASAP for a whole lot of “mine” goodness.)
So, yes, I totally jumped on Moonstruck. Werewolves plus magic plus Lauren Dane? SOLD. And I’m happy to report it lives up to the expectations. One of the things that is often standout in her work is the large family/friend dynamic. In this element Moonstruck is no exception.
Katie Faith moves back to Diablo Lake after her father has a stint in the hospital, which is rough for her because she fled following a pretty embarrassing left-at-the-altar moment. She wanted to pretend she doesn’t belong in her small hometown of shifters and witches, but she really does. Her magic is thriving, and that makes the two shifter packs (one with her ex and one with the super sexy next-door neighbor) want to argue over who she belongs to. Katie Faith belongs to herself, damn it, and hero Jace knows it. He won’t fall into the traps of others or the old “traditions” of his father.
Moonstruck is straight-up trope-y goodness with paranormal spice. You have lovers who are fated for one another—expect some quick desire to claim, but a whole lot of family obstacles making for delicious delays—class warfare, second-chance romance, and the perfect small-town setting. The secondary characters are fully developed, which makes me excited to see how the others’ stories will come together in later books.
It’s a light paranormal romance that offers some good laugh-out-loud moments and a comfortable feel for anyone who enjoys small-town romances of any persuasion. It’s a good start to a new series, and I’m excited to read more adventures in Diablo Lake.
kblincoln's review against another edition
3.0
I came to this book through a romance review website (SBTB) I one hundred percent trust, so I was a bit surprised by the troubles I had with this book. I also seem to remember reading Lauren Dane stuff before that felt more polished.
It started in the first paragraph: “Or the hotel near the hospital, several hour’s drive away, where her father was recovering from a stroke several hour’s drive away from Diablo Lake.”
I reread that sentence twice in disbelief at the clumsiness of it, so easily corrected by an editor. Unfortunately, clumsiness at this level popped up every couple pages or so and messed with my reading experience (this is a personal taste thing. It might not bother a different reader)
And that’s a shame. Because Diablo Lake is home to a cozy, fun, community of feisty witches, stupid young werewolf males, and a small town life centered around the mercantile, a soda counter, and restaurant.
Katie Faith is called home by her father having a heart attack and she has to take over the soda counter, as well as face the werewolf who left her at the altar years ago. Luckily. Jace Dooley, a rival werewolf, offers her an apartment close to his pretty quickly and steamy fireworks ensue.
This is one of those paranormal romances where the couple gets together quickly and most of the tension is provided by stupid pack rival people getting up in Katie Faith’s face. There’s quite a lot of Katie Faith and her witch friend Aimee talking smack, caring for each other, stopping by the parents’ house to check in about events and bring groceries, and some snarky comments about wolves who leave the door open when they go to the bathroom.
So it was fun. Not thriller, dangerous fun, but cozy fun. Even some of the events that Katie Faith labels “upsetting” and “out of control” consisted mostly of a rival werewolf coming in and calling her a skank (no jumping her in a dark alley, no property destruction, no blood drawn, quite…tame actually). There’s also very little of our hero Jace Dooley in wolf form. (or anyone in wolf form for that matter. And there’s also some talk about shifter cats but they don’t play any role that I can see in this book other than just window dressing).
But I wanted more. I wanted an edge of danger, more integration of the actual werewolf into the story, more emotional tension between Jace/Katie Faith where they seem to be instantly okay with each other’s personalities and constantly being attracted to each other no matter what the other person is doing, and more editing on clunky sentences.
On the basis of SBTB’s recommendation I went ahead and bought the second book in the series because it was on sale. I’m hoping the second book ends up being a bit more polished than this first one, because it definitely put me off at a sentence level.
It started in the first paragraph: “Or the hotel near the hospital, several hour’s drive away, where her father was recovering from a stroke several hour’s drive away from Diablo Lake.”
I reread that sentence twice in disbelief at the clumsiness of it, so easily corrected by an editor. Unfortunately, clumsiness at this level popped up every couple pages or so and messed with my reading experience (this is a personal taste thing. It might not bother a different reader)
And that’s a shame. Because Diablo Lake is home to a cozy, fun, community of feisty witches, stupid young werewolf males, and a small town life centered around the mercantile, a soda counter, and restaurant.
Katie Faith is called home by her father having a heart attack and she has to take over the soda counter, as well as face the werewolf who left her at the altar years ago. Luckily. Jace Dooley, a rival werewolf, offers her an apartment close to his pretty quickly and steamy fireworks ensue.
This is one of those paranormal romances where the couple gets together quickly and most of the tension is provided by stupid pack rival people getting up in Katie Faith’s face. There’s quite a lot of Katie Faith and her witch friend Aimee talking smack, caring for each other, stopping by the parents’ house to check in about events and bring groceries, and some snarky comments about wolves who leave the door open when they go to the bathroom.
So it was fun. Not thriller, dangerous fun, but cozy fun. Even some of the events that Katie Faith labels “upsetting” and “out of control” consisted mostly of a rival werewolf coming in and calling her a skank (no jumping her in a dark alley, no property destruction, no blood drawn, quite…tame actually). There’s also very little of our hero Jace Dooley in wolf form. (or anyone in wolf form for that matter. And there’s also some talk about shifter cats but they don’t play any role that I can see in this book other than just window dressing).
But I wanted more. I wanted an edge of danger, more integration of the actual werewolf into the story, more emotional tension between Jace/Katie Faith where they seem to be instantly okay with each other’s personalities and constantly being attracted to each other no matter what the other person is doing, and more editing on clunky sentences.
On the basis of SBTB’s recommendation I went ahead and bought the second book in the series because it was on sale. I’m hoping the second book ends up being a bit more polished than this first one, because it definitely put me off at a sentence level.
kbookout2010's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
rdorka's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
agkrob's review against another edition
3.0
This was a lot better than I expected, and I really appreciated how much the main characters liked each other. There was so much mutual attraction and respect right off the bat. Non of that 'sexual-tension-via-anger-and-gaslighting' bs that most of these do. They both knew what they wanted and went for it. The only real complaint I have is that it felt like they were building to a conflict that never happened. There were lots of little moments, but there was no major climax to the story.
kb33's review against another edition
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
I was excited when the main characters got together pretty early on in the book, and I was expecting some happy, fluffy, relationship moments, but we only get a few and they get ruined. The author tried to create a lot of drama and angst around pack arguments, but it really just came across as juvenile, and it made the book drone on repetitively.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Death of parent and Infidelity
whatcha_listening_to's review against another edition
4.0
4 Moonstruck Stars
What a great start to a new series. I have to say I wasn’t sure how it would work because well I have never read a paranormal book by Lauren Dane. But for me she knocked it out of the park.
I love the balance between wolves and witches. I also loooovvvvveeed that they were not the ones at odds but it was pack again pack kind of can’t really give to too much away there.
So we have Katie Grady coming back to Diablo Lake because her dad became ill and her family needed her. She left because of a pretty bad break up and she needed some time to heal and find her place in the world.
Coming back wasn’t easy but Jace makes it worth it. Jace has always had a soft spot for Katie; it just took Katie a little longer to see it. And there romance is one for the story books.
All I can say is this world really comes to life with this narrator. I want more and can’t wait for the next book to be released in audio I will be one of the girls to buy it that’s for dang sure.
*All my Reviews are 100% honest and my own.*
What a great start to a new series. I have to say I wasn’t sure how it would work because well I have never read a paranormal book by Lauren Dane. But for me she knocked it out of the park.
I love the balance between wolves and witches. I also loooovvvvveeed that they were not the ones at odds but it was pack again pack kind of can’t really give to too much away there.
So we have Katie Grady coming back to Diablo Lake because her dad became ill and her family needed her. She left because of a pretty bad break up and she needed some time to heal and find her place in the world.
Coming back wasn’t easy but Jace makes it worth it. Jace has always had a soft spot for Katie; it just took Katie a little longer to see it. And there romance is one for the story books.
All I can say is this world really comes to life with this narrator. I want more and can’t wait for the next book to be released in audio I will be one of the girls to buy it that’s for dang sure.
*All my Reviews are 100% honest and my own.*