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Book Review: Harvest Moon (The Chosen of Bella Luna, #1) by Lyra Zonder

Harvest Moon (The Chosen of Bella Luna, #1), by Lyra Zonder

Newman Springs Publishing, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-64096-784-7

Availability: paperback, Kindle

 

If you like exciting stories, this isn’t for you.

If you like werewolf stories, this isn’t for you either.

If you like horror stories, this REALLY isn’t for you.

BUT…if you loved the Twilight series and can handle pages of graphic sex, this is right up your alley.

Harvest Moon tells the predictable story of Bella and Edward (sorry, Abigail and Killian) with Abby being a half-breed werewolf and Killian being a full-blooded one.  Abby is married to an abusive human husband in Seattle, and Killian is the alpha male of a pack of werewolves in Idaho.  Killian’s sister receives a vision that Abby is meant to be Killian’s lifelong “mate,”so he races off to Seattle to find her, then brings her home. From there, it goes like this, and it’s a minor spoiler: Kidnapping.  Car chase.  Brief fight.  Sex.  Celebration.  A few family revelations.  The End.  That sums up almost 400 pages.

Problems abound in this one.  The main one is that the characters, with one notable exception, are flatter than a flower in a hydraulic press.  Killian is the predictable Adonis, a muscle-bound, wolfosterone-loaded hothead. He’s willing to die, or kill, anyone who interferes with his “soulmate”; while Abby is a timid wallflower.  As expected, they rub off on each other: Abby develops a bit of backbone, and Killian learns to occasionally use more than two brain cells to reason out a situation.  The rest of the characters simply aren’t interesting, with the exception of Nicky ‘The Mouth.” He’s the one character loaded with personality who is actually entertaining. The rest are easily forgettable.  It’s a shame the other characters weren’t developed as well as him: it might have saved the story.

Other problems include the focus of the story and the lack of “wolf time”.  Half the book was just Killian and Abby, professing their love and constantly talking about how they can’t live without each other, they were meant for each other, they would die for each other, etc.  The point was made quickly enough; the author didn’t need to take up the majority of the book with it.  Also, if it’s a story about werewolves, shouldn’t it have, um…WEREWOLVES?  The characters were only in wolf form for about five pages of the entire book– not a recipe for a compelling story.  In addition, parts of the book strain credibility.  For example, the characters are able to disable the security camera system on a hospital, which would typically have its master panel inside, from the OUTSIDE!  Fiction doesn’t have to be perfect, but it helps to have at least a little bit of realism.  Did I mention that these wolves can run over 80MPH?  Wolves aren’t sprinters: were these wolves cross-bred with cheetahs?

In short, this is an imitation of Twilight with enough titillating sex to satisfy readers who like that sort of thing.  Anyone else would do well to avoid this one.

 

Recommended: for readers of paranormal romance.

Not recommended: everyone else.

 

Contains: mild violence, mild profanity, graphic sex.

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

Posted on August 22, 2019 by , Reply

Book Review: The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey– Two Reviews!

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, 2009

ISBN: 9781416987987

Available: Hardcover, paperback, mass market paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook

In The Monstrumologist, twelve year old Will Henry is thrust into danger when a grave robber brings a horrifying creature to his mentor, Dr. Warthrop, in the middle of the night. Dr. Warthrop is a monstrumologist, a monster-hunting doctor, and now Will and his mentor are in a race to find and stop these creatures before there is more bloodshed.

The Monstrumologist is an incredibly well written book that contains elements of mystery, horror, and adventure. Yancey fills this book with both atmosphere and gore. Written in a gothic style, there is no romance here, only a world of darkness and dread. The relationships of the characters, especially between Will Henry and Dr. Warthrop are complex and develop throughout the story. The difficult language will be a barrier for reluctant readers, though- this is a book for advanced readers and not for the faint of heart. In short, The Monstrumologist is a wonderful, old-fashioned horror tale, and since it is the first in a series, readers can expect to see more from Yancey soon. Readers advisory note: The Monstrumologist would make a good stretch title for those who are attracted by action and darker themes and are looking to read something more complicated and nuanced in the writing style. Highly recommended for middle and high school libraries and public library YA collections.

Contains: Gore and violence

Reviewed by Dylan Kowalewski

 

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A second look at The Monstrumologist:

The Monstrumologist is the first book in a continuing series. Rick Yancey explores the life and times of Dr. Pellinore Warthrop through the eyes of his young assistant/foster child Will Henry. Dr. Warthrop is a monstrumologist, devoted to studying the physiology and physiognomy of monsters. Through Will’s authoritative journals, we discover that they were quite prevalent in his childhood.

In this initial volume of the series, Dr. Warthrop and Will must do battle with the Anthropophagi– a headless primate version of a shark. A nest has developed in their New England town’s cemetery, and Dr. Winthrop must enlist the help of hunters, such as the cold-blooded Jack Kearns, to assist in the eradication of the monsters. The Monstrumologist is a fun, absorbing look into the dark recesses of the human mind. Recommended for advanced young adult readers, and older.

Contains: Violence and gore, cannibalism, medical dissection.

Reviewed by Ben Franz

Posted on August 5, 2019 by , Reply

Book Review: Whispers in the Dark by Laurel Hightower

Whispers in the Dark by Laurel Hightower

Journalstone/Trepidatio Publishing, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-947654-61-7

Available: paperback, Kindle edition

 

Rose McFarland has had a convoluted life.   Growing up, she was often tormented by the Whispers, voices that only she could hear, and sometimes see.   Her parents felt she was a child of the Devil, and made her childhood a living hell, often locking her in the basement for days at a time.  When their house burns down, with only Rose and her mother surviving, her mother dumps her in a psychiatric hospital and forgets about her.  The Whispers eventually stop, and Rose is released, determined to avoid her mother forever, and make her own way in the world.

Fast forward roughly 15 years: Rose is a sniper for a S.W.A.T. team, and divorced with two kids, although she maintains an excellent relationship with her ex-husband for the sake of the kids.   Suddenly, she’s confronted with two problems: the Whispers return, this time to torment her 4 year old son Tommy; and her latest sniper victim turns out to be a half-brother she never knew about, who also doesn’t want to stay dead.  The two unrelated problems later tie into a larger plot concerning the fate of humanity, and whether Rose and the few people she trusts can help her son and save humankind.  Giving away any more of the plot would spoil the book: this is one where you don’t want to know about it until you read it.

Whispers in the Dark is a classic mystery/thriller, where every element of the plot and character development is done to just the right level.  The plot itself is done perfectly: it’s a relatively complex set of ideas, but the author never gives away more than is needed, giving you just enough hints and clues to keep you reading into the next chapter…and the next…and the next… until you find yourself at the end, asking where those 300 pages went.  It’s a testament to Hightower’s skill that the plot doesn’t scream at you to keep going, it…whispers, pulling you gradually from chapter to chapter to find out what’s going to happen.  The mystery isn’t an easy one to figure out, either: most readers will probably not guess the totality of the plot until the end.  Thankfully, Hightower avoids the cliché of throwing in a cliffhanger at the end of every chapter, and then switching character perspectives, as some authors are prone to do.   There are some good chills in the book also: all the parts involving people going into basements are genuinely eerie.  It’s enough to make going to bed at night with the lights off just a little bit more difficult.

The strength of the characters is worth noting also.  None of them are one-dimensional: they are all cut from shades of gray and seem completely realistic.  Rose herself is a great example. She shoots people for a living, swigs beer with the guys, indulges in occasional flings, and has a foul mouth.  But she also sings her kids to sleep, and loves to cook breakfast for them whenever she can.  The secondary characters (especially her ex, Sam) are done just as well: they all seem like actual people, not caricatures.  You’ll find yourself caring for all the protagonists in the book and rooting for them.

Overall, Whispers in the Dark is a perfectly done mystery/ghost story, and one you won’t want to miss.  Keep an eye on this author; she’s one to watch in the future. Highly recommended.

Contains: violence, profanity.

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

Posted on July 13, 2019 by , Reply
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