So, here’s the deal: Moonshine has finally started to pick up.
Of course I didn’t get my wish of never seeing the word Auphe (or allusions to the battle that never was) again. But, I’ve learned to skim over it; they’re now fewer and further between.
Something else I learned is that you can safely skip over the first six chapters of the book without any damage to the story whatsoever.
Worried you’ll miss something important in those first six chapters? OK then, here, let me get you all caught up:
- It’s a year later.
- Cal recaps his half-human half-monster heritage. (Insert eye roll.)
- Cal is still traumatized from the whole Darkling possession thing and can no longer stand mirrors. They own no mirrors. (Insert another eye roll.)
- Cal and Niko have gone into business with Promise. Now they’re the equivalent of supernatural cleaners (in the mob sense of the word) and wannabe detectives. (OK, we’re making some progress.)
- Cal begrudgingly admits he’s got a thing for Georgina. Georgina and Cal share some awkward exchanges. (That whole introduction of George in the beginning seems incredibly forced and unnatural. I wouldn’t wish the agony of reading that on anyone. Skip it and don’t soil their potentially wonderful blossoming love.)
- They take an assignment to go undercover and gather some information about a werewolf named Boaz. The werewolf they’re gathering the info for is named Cerberus (if that doesn’t give anything away). Promise and Cal get to the poker game where they’d be meeting Boaz, getting him drunk and getting him to talk, but they’re ambushed and Cal nearly loses an arm. (Yippee, the story’s starting to look up.)
There you are. No fuss, no muss. You may begin reading at Chapter 7 and can avoid all the unnecessary trauma to your psyche.
I’m about halfway through and now that I no longer need dry martinis to suffer this book, it should be smooth sailing to the end. Here’s hoping the climax isn’t another letdown.
# Brie wrote on October 8, 2008 at 1:00 am:
I’m glad it is getting better for you.
# Ann-Kat wrote on October 8, 2008 at 3:38 pm:
Thank you, Brie. I dare even say I’m rather enjoying it now. It’s really picked quite a bit. Hope to have it finished by week’s end so I can go back to blog hopping for a bit.
# Minor Downtime (HostGator Upgrade Goes Awry) - Today, I Read… wrote on October 18, 2008 at 5:16 pm:
[...] back up and running, I’ve finished reading another book I plan to put up for review (no, not Moonshine, and I’ll explain why in another book notes post; it’s called Wake by Lisa McMann), and [...]
# Matt wrote on July 12, 2009 at 4:52 pm:
I think this is the first review i’ve found to give me reason to sit through “Nightlife”. Thanks.
I loved the premise, and after finishing Jim Butcher’s “Turn Coat” was looking for an alternative series, hopefully books 3 and 4 will get better.
# Ann-Kat wrote on July 17, 2009 at 3:43 pm:
Matt, you may not want to, sorry to say…
I read Nightlife and reviewed it a while ago. The first three quarters were pretty good, but the end was a disappointment.
As for Moonshine, I finally put it down and never picked it back up again somewhere around chapter 10…so, at the moment, it’s a DNF title. Maybe when I have the strength, I’ll pick it up again and finish it.
In the meantime, I’m keeping my eyes open for any other urban fantasies that are fast-paced and well written.
# Ann-Kat wrote on July 17, 2009 at 3:45 pm:
*Should probably mention, the whole Auphe thing came back in a big way which is why I finally rolled my eyes and put the book back down in the first place. I just wasn’t ready to deal with it yet.
# Matt wrote on July 18, 2009 at 1:36 am:
Oh well…I was hoping there’d be another male protagonist preternatural series similar to the Dresden files, but i’m outta luck. Thanks for the heads up Ann-Kat, it’d be time not so well spent reading…