Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur
Jun. 15th, 2011 12:02 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
A rare hybrid of vampire and werewolf, Riley Jenson and her twin brother, Rhoan, work for Melbourne’s Directorate of Other Races, an organisation created to police the supernatural races – and protect humans from their depredations. While Rhoan is an exalted guardian, a.k.a. assassin, Riley is merely an office worker – until her brother goes missing on one of his missions. The timing couldn’t be worse. More werewolf than vampire, Riley is vulnerable to the moon heat, the weeklong period before the full moon, when her need to mate becomes all-consuming …
Luckily Riley has two willing partners to satisfy her every need. But she will have to control her urges if she’s going to find her brother …
Riley Jenson and her twin brother Rhoan are half vampire/half werewolf - a rare mix that led to their being rejected by their pack. They work for the Directorate of Other Races in Melbourne, an organisation that polices the supernatural creatures. Rhoan’s a Guardian – an assassin who kills creatures that threaten humans, while Riley is a back-office worker who refuses to become a Guardian (despite pressure from her boss, Jack).
When Rhoan goes missing during a mission, Riley’s determined to find him, and help comes in the shape of sexy vampire, Quinn, who arrives on her doorstep naked and with amnesia. But it’s one week until the full moon, when werewolves are driven by an all-consuming need to have sex and while Riley’s regular partners, Talon and Misha, keep her satisfied, she’s increasingly drawn to Quinn. As their investigation turns up a sinister conspiracy that threatens the Directorate, Riley’s moon lust makes her vulnerable to a threat that’s closer to home and goes to the heart of who and what she is …
Keri Arthur’s novel, the first in a paranormal romance series, is based around a strong, independent and sexually assured woman who’s kicks ass. Unfortunately, I found her to be the opposite. Specifically, Riley’s controlled by her sexual urges, which makes her blind to events happening to her (I particularly found her refusal to accept that she may have been repeatedly date-raped difficult to believe). Her vulnerability to moon lust heightens her need for sexual contact, when all that matters is penetration and her partner’s take their pleasure of her. The drip-feed of her special vampire/werewolf powers brings her too close to Mary-Sue territory for my taste and her supposed friendship with a vampire Guardian called Kelly gets forgotten for most of the book.
The plot’s contrived as Riley and Quinn stumble from clue to clue and the levered in sex-scenes work only to slow the plot. Arthur seems to be developing a series romance between Riley and Quinn but he’s a predictable and stereotypical dark, mysterious vampire with an angsty past and whose treatment of a former girlfriend (no matter how understandable the provocation) is unpleasant.
I did like the world-building, notably the idea of a future where there are space ports and laser guns, but this doesn’t really get developed. As such, this book wasn’t really my thing and I won’t be reading on.
The Verdict:
Although this is supposed to be a paranormal romance about a strong, sexy, ass-kicking heroine, I found the main character to be too dominated by her sexual impulses and her vulnerability and at times, wilful blindness to that fact a little irritating. The plot itself is contrived and hung together by pounding sex scenes that did little for me. All in all, this wasn’t my thing and I won’t be reading on.
Thanks to Piatkus for the free copy of this book.
A rare hybrid of vampire and werewolf, Riley Jenson and her twin brother, Rhoan, work for Melbourne’s Directorate of Other Races, an organisation created to police the supernatural races – and protect humans from their depredations. While Rhoan is an exalted guardian, a.k.a. assassin, Riley is merely an office worker – until her brother goes missing on one of his missions. The timing couldn’t be worse. More werewolf than vampire, Riley is vulnerable to the moon heat, the weeklong period before the full moon, when her need to mate becomes all-consuming …
Luckily Riley has two willing partners to satisfy her every need. But she will have to control her urges if she’s going to find her brother …
Riley Jenson and her twin brother Rhoan are half vampire/half werewolf - a rare mix that led to their being rejected by their pack. They work for the Directorate of Other Races in Melbourne, an organisation that polices the supernatural creatures. Rhoan’s a Guardian – an assassin who kills creatures that threaten humans, while Riley is a back-office worker who refuses to become a Guardian (despite pressure from her boss, Jack).
When Rhoan goes missing during a mission, Riley’s determined to find him, and help comes in the shape of sexy vampire, Quinn, who arrives on her doorstep naked and with amnesia. But it’s one week until the full moon, when werewolves are driven by an all-consuming need to have sex and while Riley’s regular partners, Talon and Misha, keep her satisfied, she’s increasingly drawn to Quinn. As their investigation turns up a sinister conspiracy that threatens the Directorate, Riley’s moon lust makes her vulnerable to a threat that’s closer to home and goes to the heart of who and what she is …
Keri Arthur’s novel, the first in a paranormal romance series, is based around a strong, independent and sexually assured woman who’s kicks ass. Unfortunately, I found her to be the opposite. Specifically, Riley’s controlled by her sexual urges, which makes her blind to events happening to her (I particularly found her refusal to accept that she may have been repeatedly date-raped difficult to believe). Her vulnerability to moon lust heightens her need for sexual contact, when all that matters is penetration and her partner’s take their pleasure of her. The drip-feed of her special vampire/werewolf powers brings her too close to Mary-Sue territory for my taste and her supposed friendship with a vampire Guardian called Kelly gets forgotten for most of the book.
The plot’s contrived as Riley and Quinn stumble from clue to clue and the levered in sex-scenes work only to slow the plot. Arthur seems to be developing a series romance between Riley and Quinn but he’s a predictable and stereotypical dark, mysterious vampire with an angsty past and whose treatment of a former girlfriend (no matter how understandable the provocation) is unpleasant.
I did like the world-building, notably the idea of a future where there are space ports and laser guns, but this doesn’t really get developed. As such, this book wasn’t really my thing and I won’t be reading on.
The Verdict:
Although this is supposed to be a paranormal romance about a strong, sexy, ass-kicking heroine, I found the main character to be too dominated by her sexual impulses and her vulnerability and at times, wilful blindness to that fact a little irritating. The plot itself is contrived and hung together by pounding sex scenes that did little for me. All in all, this wasn’t my thing and I won’t be reading on.
Thanks to Piatkus for the free copy of this book.
