Moon Spell (The Tale of Lunamorte Book 1) by Samantha Young
Rating: 3.5/5 Reading level: 18+ (for sexual scenes and strong language)
Synopsis: “Enter a world of fierce wolves, stunning magic and romance. It’s bad enough feeling different among the human crowd, but feeling different among wolves? No one said returning to her pack would be easy, especially after ten years without them, but seventeen year old Caia Ribeiro is unprepared for the realities of the transition. Raised in a world where kids aren’t scared by bedtime tales of the bogeyman but by the real life threat of enemy supernaturals who might come creeping into their community to kill them in their sleep, Caia is used to the darkness; she’s used to the mystery and the intrigue of the ancient underworld war she’s bound to by chance of birth. What she’s having trouble with are pack members treating her with wary suspicion, the Elders tucking secrets behind their backs, and her young Alpha, Lucien, distracting her with a dangerous attraction from her decision to uncover the truth. But as the saying goes ‘the truth will out’ and when it does, Caia will only have so long to prepare herself before the war comes pounding on their door threatening to destroy the safe, secret lives of the wolves… and the girl they protect.” —Amazon synopsis
Personal review: First and foremost — hello! I’m sorry I know it’s been an embarrassingly long time since my last review. School and work have been crazy busy but my semester wrapped up and I really want to read a lot this break. With that being said, this is the first book I read for the break. I picked up Moon Spell after rereading Slumber, which is also by Samantha Young. While Slumber is a high fantasy novel, Moon Spell takes place in modern society with paranormal twists. It’s your typical YA novel, with aspects of things you’d find in a Stephenie Meyer novel. Overall nothing to write home about, but it had its good aspects. What Samantha Young does well is write a realistic female lead. Caia has been sheltered from the truth of her upbringing and so when she finds out the truth, she behaves the way you actually want a character in their position to behave. She’s upset about it, she doesn’t forgive just because the main love interest is attractive or demands it from her. She grows from a shy push over into an independent character who stands up for what she believes in — consequences be damned. Young also does a good job with writing romance scenes that make your stomach fill up with butterflies. She does that so so well in Slumber and while it’s not quite at that level, it is still pretty good. I would recommend this book to readers who liked Patricia Brigg’s Mercy Thompson series (an all time favorite paranormal romance series that really sets the bar for all others in my opinion).
Recommended?: Sure!