Book Review: Shadow of the Moon

Shadow of the Moon

Dark-Hunter 16.5

Book 1 in Dead after Dark Anthology

By: Sherrilyn Kenyon

Publication: 2008

Source: eBook purchased by reviewer

Buy it on Amazon or Indie Bound

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Audience: Adult

My Thoughts:
Let me start off by saying that I am a huge Sherrilyn Kenyon fan, and I love the Dark-Hunter series. I have read all but the most recent book, and I realized that I had missed Fury. I love the Kattalakis pack, and it was driving me crazy that I had somehow skipped over Fury. I searched like crazy to find Fury's book. Low and behold, Fury doesn't have his own book. Shadow of the Moon is actually a very short novella in an anthology. It tells the story of Fury and Angelia, two wolves who were raised together but driven apart through a devastating act of betrayal. While there were aspects of the story that I loved, I was very disappointed in much of it.



What I loved:
I loved the beginning. The interaction with Dev at Sanctuary was great. I loved watching Bride and Vane, one of my favorite couples of the series. It was really fun to watch them and how they have evolved since the end of Night Play, Vane's book. I absolutely adored the interaction between the wolves. Not only the Kattalakis brothers, but also the other wolves in the pack. These wolves are not at all what one expects from werewolves. They are witty and bold, surly and moody, sarcastic and frank...and they worship the women in their lives. It's always fun to watch the wolves go from interaction with each other to the change in dynamics with the presence of a female. Fury did not disappoint me in his role as a Kattalakis male.


What disappointed me:
The length. Basically, size DOES matter! Fury and Lia deserved so much more than what they got in this short story. The saving grace for Fury was that we met him in Night Play and his character was already mostly developed before Shadow of the Moon. Poor Lia, I don't even know what to say about her. I think I would have really liked her if this had been a full novel. However, her personality and character were not developed well enough to do her justice. Her saving grace is that we get to know her a little better in Bad Moon Rising, Fang (the third Kattalakis brother)'s book. Another downfall to a novella for two main characters is that the plot was sorely underdeveloped. Fury and Lia went from "I hate you and want to kill you!" to "I love you and accept you as my mate." in a matter of pages. The whole story just felt so rushed.


Final Verdict:
Shadow of the Moon is a must read for any Dark-Hunter fan. Will you be missing anything if you don't read it? Unfortunately, not really. But, will you understand Fury and Lia a little better for reading? Definitely. Is it worth the read? Absolutely! I couldn't put it down. My husband was very glad that it was a short book because once I started reading it, I refuse to get out of bed until I was finished. All of the things that disappointed me had nothing to do with my enjoyment of the story. I loved the story. The problem was that I wanted more!

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Angelia has fought her entire life to make herself strong. Now, with her patria under fire, she has to protect her people from Fury and his werewolf clan. Vowing to bring him to justice, Angelia sets out alone… until the hunter becomes the hunted, and the only way for her to survive is to trust the very wolf she's sworn to kill.