Moon Spell by Samantha Young

Moon Spell by Samantha Young


Published 2010, read on my Kindle.

Yeah, another book I finished in one sitting! I don't normally read Paranormal Romance, but I really liked Smokeless Fire (which, tbh, I don't consider PNR) so I picked this one up for another dollar!

Caia left the pack ten years ago after her parents were killed, and she's lived in isolation with no one but Irini. When it's time to return, she finds out the pack is keeping a lot of secrets from her. Though it feels like the first time she's ever belonged, there are also things that are wrong. People seem to blame her for the murders that took place when she was young. She makes enemies with another girl her age named Alexa. When her emotions get the best of her, scary things happen. She also feels an instant connection to the Pack Leader, Lucien. What is the pack hiding from her, though?

To be honest, the beginning of this book was a bit rough. The author throws you right in without any introductions or description. We're just dropped into this conversation. I was confused at first, but I trudged through. Caia arrives in her new home with the pack and slowly starts to adjust to her new life. School, the pack dynamics, living with the Pack Leader and his family, new friends, new enemies.

The characters were pretty interesting and unique. There were a lot of them, and some of the minor ones went straight over my head, but the author did a pretty good job of keeping them separate and distinct. Caia was cool, I liked her. She was calm and collected, but she still had a fierceness to her. The story had a nice pace to it, too. I never thought, 'ugh, let's move on!' I DID want to know what was going on, but that was more the urgency of, 'Wow, I can't read fast enough!'

The romance was nice. Of course I wanted them to jump right into each other's arms, but it was more realistic that things took longer. Towards the end, I feel like they were on a bit of a roller coaster, hating each other, then loving each other, then having screaming matches. But it's understandable with their personalities. I really want to pick up the next one to see what's in their future. At times, the whole "possessive male" annoyed me, but it's realistic, too, considering they are part wolf. I think she did a good job of balancing it, though. Yes, they're protective and slightly chauvinistic, but the women were also strong characters and the men were never dishonorable or anything. Well, I suppose you could argue Lucien was in a few of his lies. . .

I liked the worldbuilding and magic system. Some of it is familiar, of course, but I liked how she mixed Greek myths with the paranormal races of witches, werewolves, vampyres, etc. I'm not 100% clear on the origins of the war, but I think I got it. I'd probably have to read it again, but I don't really have plans of doing that. I'll be reading the next one! XD

Mechanics could use some work, but the storytelling was great and they only distracted me for a moment (or not at all!) before I kept reading. Looking forward to picking up the sequel! I know I'll have to wait until I have some free time because I probably won't be able to put it down. ;)