Moonlight by Lisa Kessler – a Dual Review

Links to order Moonlight: Amazon / Barnes & Noble /  Kobo

Both Julie B. and Erin read this book, and they both enjoyed it. So we decided to give you a treat with a dual review.  It’s fun to see how each person views the book.  Enjoy!

Review by Erin:
Moonlight is the first book in The Moon Series by Lisa Kessler.  

Lana Turpin grew up as a foster child, now hunted, alone and on the run.  People, she is unsure who they are, are after her.  But for what – she has no idea.  Believing that she has a sleepwalking disorder that strangely only occurs during the new moon she knows that she must find someplace to hide at least until the new moon passes. 

Adam Sloan is the son of the Pack leader and the next in line to ascend to Alpha. He is a rugged, hard working sexy werewolf horse trainer who is content with the way his life is at the present moment.  That is until, Lana happens to cross into his territory.  Set with the intent on killing the new stranger in town, Adam is completely caught off guard when he happens upon his enemy – or is it his mate? Will Adam be able to fight his inner wolf that screams out for the one female he can’t have?

I loved the character development right from the first few pages.  The main character of Lana was intriguing, street tough and real.  I felt emotionally attached and protective of her very quickly. Adam is a handsome, emotional, delicious, rugged, cowboy type! (I kept picturing him working the ranch in jeans, a cowboy hat and no shirt – did I mention he was delicious?). Lana is on the run from men that are after her.  She believes they are after her to return her to the mental hospital she escaped from but that proves not to be the case.

Having a meal in a diner before the next new moon Lana is confronted by a handsome yet angry looking man who takes a seat at her table. The moment Adam touches her – he realizes that he can’t kill this girl he has been sent to take out! He must protect her at all costs.  I loved the immediate connection and the fact that it was an unknown and forbidden to their kind.  Adam’s warm and kindness in showing Lana who and what she truly was cinched it for me!  And from that moment on I did not want to put the book down.  The secondary characters were mysterious and intriguing as well – the author leaving you with just the right amount mystery to make you crave more! Adam’s twin Aren is the right mixture of arrogant hotness that makes you swoon to hate and want to get to know more of! And my hope is that the next book in the series will be his – because he definitely deserves the spotlight!

The story is fast paced and emotional. The epic battle left me with tears and tissues. I love when you feel the emotions so deeply that there is no holding back no matter how hard you try. This book did not disappoint! Patiently – yet not so – waiting for book two! 

Review by Julie B.
WOW !!!!!!! My favourite Genre 🙂  Great Start to a series. (well i’m hoping its a series …. hint ) lol

Adam is an alpha in waiting, his dad is the alpha at the moment, and Adam loves to play the field. He avoids commitment and loves the ladies, he has no intention of settling down and producing the next alpha. Well not yet anyway.  He is the older brother in a set of twins. In fact ALL the wolves in this story are born male, and in sets of twins. Females are usually bitten and converted. An offspring can only be made that way, so no unplanned pregnancies.

Lana doesn’t have a past, but she knows someone is following her, and wants her back. She has spent a lot of time running and hiding from someone. We will find out more along the way, but she does wonder if she is going crazy.

When Adam firsts meets Lana he is there to kill her !! He is a wolf, and she is a jaguar. The two groups hate each other with a fierce passion, with orders to kill each other on sight. But when Adam goes to grab Lana out of her chair, he is stunned by the electric shock that pulses through his body. NO WAY HIS MATE !!! They don’t mix, so how the heck can they be mates ?  But Wolves mate for life, Jag’s don’t, so Lana doesn’t feel the intense pull between them, but she does feel something for the good looking, if not arrogant stranger. And what is more ….. Lana has NO idea she can transform with the changing of the moon’s cycle. She just remembers waking up in strange places, usually naked, and remembering strange dreams.

So within hours Adam is fighting his intense desires to marry and mate this female, along with head shouting out for caution, this could be a trick from the jag’s, he needs to keep his distance, but that is easier said than done. Lana feels the need to be with Adam, but she knows someone is after her, so it would be wiser to leave this little town, and get back on the road, but her body is refusing to move.

Adam stuns Lana with the news that she can shift into another being when the moon’s cycle changes, at first Lana thinks he is crazy, but with a few choice sentences, and actions (like scaling a rather large rock formation), Lana begins to believe him, in fact this is where they share their first kiss.  But someone is watching, Adam can sense it, then smells the scent of a male jaguar. He goes into Hunter mode. But what he finds, upsets him greatly.

And Lana …. well, she is really special. And she has a lot of different people chasing her. She assumes she was abandoned, but after a lot of digging through her past, she finds out, that maybe her parents did love her, and that they might not have willingly given her up.  Oh and Adam has a love rival, and boy does Adam have issues with the Jag in question.                                                                          

The story is a fast paced action story, with lots of characters, and an incredible amount of plot.  Adam has to fight his feelings for his mate, and hide her from is friends and family. He knows they would kill her on sight.  I love the differences that this author has brought to this story. It tells of an almost insurmountable number of reason why they shouldn’t be together, but through all the obstacles, they are destined to be together. I also liked how it set up the next book (hooray, it will become a series).  We meet a varied cast in this book, and I am hoping all of his pack get a story. We deal with death, we deal with the facts that love didn’t nearly conquer all, but we also find out that families are a really big deal in the shifter world.

But as I read through the book, lines became blurry, friends had issues with each other, there was mistrust, and enemies started to help you. It kept me on my toes, I wondered who I trust in that situation.

Copy provided by Publisher