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A review by margaretadelle
Tainted Moonlight by Erin Kelly
5.0
When the author offered me an audio book of this story for review, I was a bit hesitant, as I'd never reviewed an audio book before. But the story intrigued me enough that I gave it a go.
Right out of the gate, this story has my all time favorite trope: found family. The brotherly love between Korban and his friends (and the very non-brotherly love his friends have for each other, LOVE an mlm relationship) shines off the page. The trio are incredibly likeable and I started rooting for them almost instantly. Korban may come across as a fairly typical white-bread puppy-love protagonist, but he has a noble and decisive side that keep him from being boring.
Admittedly, the first third took a moment to pick up. It seemed a large portion of the story was more about Korban's crush on Sophie than anything involving werewolves or the laws that bound them. I was afraid at some moments that it would turn into more soap opera with werewolves added on. But when things picked up, they REALLY picked up. There are several gigantic and adrenaline-filled scenes that make for tense reading (or, in my case, listening.) In some cases I kept listening long after I had stopped washing dishes or working on something else, because I couldn't bear to pause until I'd figured out what happened.
The audio book narrator, Torian Brackett, does a fantastic job with the main trio's voices. I knew what character was talking even before the narration told me, they were so identifiable. Even when I was reading the physical copy, his version of Korban's voice stuck in my head. Admittedly, his female voices were a bit harder to swallow. His voice for Nikki made me laugh more than once. Sophie's voice, on the other hand, did grow on me over time.
The only real struggle I had is less with the story in itself and more with the marketing in general. The book marketing in some places hinted at a much more society and oppression focused plot. While that wouldn't be a bad theme, that's not what the book is. It's much more focused on the lives of Korban, his friends, and the police force as they investigate one particular wolf attack. The laws and regulations werewolves face are notable in the plot, but they're much more side themes than major ones.
The big reveal of the story is who was behind the wolf attack. And I did figure it out before the end, but that's not to the book's detriment. A good mystery should leave enough clues for the reader to put the pieces together themselves. Although it did leave me mentally screaming YOU IDIOT WHAT ARE YOU DOING at one character in particular. Still, the very end was properly dramatic and ambiguous. I'd love to read the sequel.
TL;DR it's a highly dramatic and action-packed New Adult urban fantasy with a found family. Aka, a very good time.
Right out of the gate, this story has my all time favorite trope: found family. The brotherly love between Korban and his friends (and the very non-brotherly love his friends have for each other, LOVE an mlm relationship) shines off the page. The trio are incredibly likeable and I started rooting for them almost instantly. Korban may come across as a fairly typical white-bread puppy-love protagonist, but he has a noble and decisive side that keep him from being boring.
Admittedly, the first third took a moment to pick up. It seemed a large portion of the story was more about Korban's crush on Sophie than anything involving werewolves or the laws that bound them. I was afraid at some moments that it would turn into more soap opera with werewolves added on. But when things picked up, they REALLY picked up. There are several gigantic and adrenaline-filled scenes that make for tense reading (or, in my case, listening.) In some cases I kept listening long after I had stopped washing dishes or working on something else, because I couldn't bear to pause until I'd figured out what happened.
The audio book narrator, Torian Brackett, does a fantastic job with the main trio's voices. I knew what character was talking even before the narration told me, they were so identifiable. Even when I was reading the physical copy, his version of Korban's voice stuck in my head. Admittedly, his female voices were a bit harder to swallow. His voice for Nikki made me laugh more than once. Sophie's voice, on the other hand, did grow on me over time.
The only real struggle I had is less with the story in itself and more with the marketing in general. The book marketing in some places hinted at a much more society and oppression focused plot. While that wouldn't be a bad theme, that's not what the book is. It's much more focused on the lives of Korban, his friends, and the police force as they investigate one particular wolf attack. The laws and regulations werewolves face are notable in the plot, but they're much more side themes than major ones.
The big reveal of the story is who was behind the wolf attack. And I did figure it out before the end, but that's not to the book's detriment. A good mystery should leave enough clues for the reader to put the pieces together themselves. Although it did leave me mentally screaming YOU IDIOT WHAT ARE YOU DOING at one character in particular. Still, the very end was properly dramatic and ambiguous. I'd love to read the sequel.
TL;DR it's a highly dramatic and action-packed New Adult urban fantasy with a found family. Aka, a very good time.