Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

17280573

Eighteen-year-old Tanzy Hightower knows horses, has grown up with them on Wildwood Farm. She also knows not to venture beyond the trees that line the pasture. Things happen out there that cannot be explained. Or undone. Worse, no one but she and the horses can see what lurks in the shadows of the woods.

When a moonlit ride turns into a terrifying chase, Tanzy is left to question everything, from the freak accident that killed her father to the very blood in her veins. Broken and confused, she turns to Lucas, a scarred, beautiful stranger, and to Vanessa, a charming new friend who has everything Tanzy doesn’t.

But why do they seem to know more about her than she knows herself?

Blurb and cover from Goodreads

5 out of 5 stars

I have another addition for my Shelf of Awesome! I downloaded this awhile ago, but like so many other Kindle books, it was allowed to sit neglected and ignored, gathering digital dust on my electronic shelves. Then I finally opened it when I was on the train and bored out of my mind, thinking I would “just start it,” but forty minutes later, I was nearly 20% in and had to pry myself from the screen. I had high hopes when I started for magic, mystery, a teen heroine, hints of romance, and best of all—horses! Ms. Jones delivered all of that mixed into a plot with twists, turns, and a villain who deserves to be in the Dark Lord Hall of Fame alongside Voldemort, Sauron, and Mordred.

The plot:

When I began Moonlit, I had no clue it was a reincarnation story. I admit my experience with reincarnation plots is limited, but I very much liked the way this one was handled. There were parts that I wanted to be condensed or shortened, but, I’ll be truthful, those were either because my phobia of hospitals was rearing its head or I wanted to see more of Lucas (I’ll explain who he is in a minute). Overall, the plot flows smoothly quickly, and has one or two good hairpin turns at the end. There was one part in particular that I thought should have been expanded and elaborated more, but the lack of detail turned out to be a part of the storyline. The author did an excellent job of subtly hinting at the final twist so that it didn’t feel contrived and ends with a cliffhanger that is driving me insane.

The characters:

I really liked the MC, Tanzy Hightower. I sympathized with the problems she was going through even before all the supernatural elements popped up in her life. She came across as a little lost, but stronger than she gave herself credit for and good at the core. There is this one part (I won’t tell you where it is for fear of spoilers) where I wanted to slap Tanzy and shake her and scream “YOU BLOODY MORON!!!” but I still became quite fond of her.

Now let me tell you about Lucas. Lucas is an immortal who has been around since the dawn of time, is an ex-villain, and has been in love with Tanzy for over a thousand years. We know that Lucas has a dark side and is capable of true evil, but when he was around Tanzy or Spera (Tanzy’s past incarnation), I wanted to say “aww” and sigh with girlish fancy. The words “so sweet” come to mind and it seems I have a fetish for overtly protective romantic interests with unpleasant pasts who are centuries (in this case millennia) old. There was one point when I feared that we would be faced with a love triangle, but my worries were unfounded and everything came together.

Our primary villain is Asher, also an immortal like Lucas. I seem to be coming across a lot of antiheroes with “A” names—Atticus, Agamemnon, Arobynn—anyway, Asher is a sick, twisted piece of work and I would not be overly opposed to jubilatory dancing atop his grave should he snuff it. He is devious and cunning, though at one point I did wonder why he would go through the trouble of doing legwork himself when he has legions of minions at his beck and call. I confess I have my fingers crossed that he will meet his end soon.

That review ended up being a lot longer than I intended, but I am entitled to occasional fangirling. I am anxiously anticipating the release of the next installment and after reading the author’s updates on her progress with the sequel, I’m both panicked and elated. I shall live in torturous agony awaiting the next book, but in the interim, I advise everyone who likes action, magic, romance, and horses to pick this up!

Add Moonlit on Goodreads

Find Moonlit on Amazon

Find Moonlit on BN.com