Books This Week - Cold Moon

Title: Moon #3 - Cold Moon

Author: M.J. O'Shea

Publisher: M.J. O'Shea

Length: 58,000 words

Rating: 4.5 Quills

Tags: paranormal, shifter, vampire, series, adventure, over time

Blurb

Charlie Fitzgerald is sick of being the kid who nobody takes seriously. His older brother Colin is off in New York City fighting bad vampires and other trouble causers and Charlie wants in on the action. He thinks it's impossible until he overhears something that seems like the perfect opportunity. The Lycan council is looking for a human emissary - someone to take a message of peace to a volatile werewolf who lives in the dark forests of Romania. Charlie decides that emissary will be him.

Xan, or X'andrien as he's know to his people, is furious. His best friend, who also happens to be one of the Fitzgeralds his family has vowed to protect, has gone missing. When they find out where Charlie has gone, Xan has to chase him all the way to Europe and eventually save his stubborn butt in the middle of the night the freezing cold Romanian forest. He never realized how much his best friend and charge meant to him until he was nearly killed.

Together, they end up stuck in the middle of a political mess that includes the lycans, the werewolves, and some very nosy vampires. If the two of them manage to make it out alive, they may realize that stuck together or not, years of friendship for one stubborn hunter and an equally bullheaded dryad protector can turn into a love neither of them is willing to live without.

Review

First off, I must note that this is the THIRD book in M.J. O'Shea's Moon series. Book 1 is Blood Moon and Book 2 is Hunter's Moon. Both are well worth the read and this is a series where you MUST read books 1 and 2 before you read book 3. =)

This book runs parallel to Hunter's Moon at the beginning which was interesting because it let us see what was happening outside PC and Miles' POV from book 2. Charlie is bored of high school and can't wait to start his training as a hunter. Whereas most hunters don't get clued into the paranormal until their 18th birthdays, he has known for years due to his well developed eavesdropping skills. What he doesn't know is that he fits the bill to fulfill a dryad prophecy. Unbeknownst to him, his best friend is really a dryad protector meant to keep him out of harm's way until he exacts the justice the prophecy promises or the next third son is born into his family. This gets him into all sorts of trouble when he traipses off in a fit of teen angst to prove to himself, his family and his best friend that he does have what it takes to be a hunter.

Xan and Charlie trek across Europe and back to NYC embroiling themselves paranormal politics, trying to stay out of trouble and dreading what their Moms will have to say when they get home. Somehow, through it all, they begin to realize that they are more than just best friends. They realize that they are in love with each other. This was a great book in that the plot and the romance were woven seamlessly together. M.J. continued to capture the wonderful intricacies of the paranormal world she has created for this series while not falling prey to the temptation to over complicate her world building. She also balanced Charlie and Xan's relationship plot with equal parts internal and external conflict. During the first part of the book, they are at odds with each other because neither feels they can tell the other the full truth. Eventually, all lies are revealed and their feelings come out. Then, the situation conspires to keep our two lovebirds apart. None of the conflicts felt overdone or tedious but rather seemed a natural progression. I felt particularly sympathetic to them when they were having live a part for so much of the time as I am living in a long distance relationship with my boyfriend. :/ 

Overall, this was a great continuation of what has come to be one of my favorite series. I think PC and Miles from Book 2 will always be my favorite but I had a seriously good time getting to know Charlie and Xan. 4.5 stars...We shall see if it gets upped to 5 next time I read it. =)

You can find Cold Moon here at All Romance eBooks for $0.99.

***
New Books read this week:
St. Nacho's 4 - Book of Daniel by Z.A. Maxfield- 3.5 stars
Ex-Equals by L.A. Witt - 3.5 stars
Love Means...Family by Andrew Grey - 3.5 stars
Bellskis 2 - Miracle of the Bellskis by Astrid Amara- 4 stars
Chase in Shadow by Amy Lane - 4 stars
Stroke! by M.J. O'Shea - 4.5 stars

Re-reads for this week:
Don't Look Back by Josh Lanyon - 5 stars
Rhapsody for Piano and Ghost by Z.A. Maxfield - 3.5 stars
Between Sinners and Saints by Marie Sexton - 5 stars
St. Nacho's 1 - St. Nacho's by Z.A. Maxfield - 4 stars
St. Nacho's 2 - Physical Therapy by Z.A. Maxfield - 4 stars
St. Nacho's 3 - Jacob's Ladder by Z.A. Maxfield - 3.5 stars
The Dragon Tamer by Megan Derr - 5 stars
The Bastard Prince by Megan Derr - 5 stars
Wes and Toren by J.M. Colail - 5 stars
Bellskis 1 - Carol of the Bellskis by Astrid Amara - 4 stars

So, that concludes Books This Week. Hope you enjoyed it! =)