ARC Review: Kristen Callihan – Moonglow

Darkest London Series:
Book 2:
 
Moonglow: Ian Ranulf, the Marquis of Northrup and Daisy Ellis Craigmore
 

 
Summary:
From Goodreads.com
Once the seeds of desire are sown . . .
 
Finally free of her suffocating marriage, widow Daisy Ellis Craigmore is ready to embrace the pleasures of life that have long been denied her. Yet her new-found freedom is short lived. A string of unexplained murders has brought danger to Daisy's door, forcing her to turn to the most unlikely of saviors . . .
 
Their growing passion knows no bounds . . .
 
Ian Ranulf, the Marquis of Northrup, has spent lifetimes hiding his primal nature from London society. But now a vicious killer threatens to expose his secrets. Ian must step out of the shadows and protect the beautiful, fearless Daisy, who awakens in him desires he thought long dead. As their quest to unmask the villain draws them closer together, Daisy has no choice but to reveal her own startling secret and Ian must face the undeniable truth: Losing his heart to Daisy may be the only way to save his soul.
 
Review:
***Spoiler Free***
When I first saw Firelight on NetGalley, I loved the cover (side note, how beautiful are the covers for Firelight and Moonglow, some of my favorites!) so much I had to see what that book was all about. I read the blurb and was curious enough to give it a whirl. When I had finished Firelight, I knew that here was something special. A new talent was emerging that could weave a delicious story that was rich in detail, intriguing, fresh in its uniqueness and characters that you could truly care about. Firelight became one of my instant favorites of this year so far. I was really hoping that with the sequel Moonglow we would get the same quality that we got from Firelight and I was NOT disappointed. Kristen Callihan delivers another smashing success.
 
So at first it was a bit slow reading, but that was more my fault then the writing; I’d pick the book late at night knowing I needed to go to sleep so I couldn’t truly immerse myself in the story. I am not one of those people who can read for an hour go to sleep, pick the book up a day or more later, read for another hour then stop again only to rise and repeat. I didn’t give the beginning of the book its due, but I was so eager to start it! But once I finally found a large chunk of time, I could not put the book down! I was sucked in and could not let go until I finished the book. Callihan just has this way of writing that is so rich in detail and emotion that you can’t help but to let go and feel and enjoy. The story is interesting, funny, action packed and entertaining. You come to know the characters so well that when they are hurting, you can’t help but feel along with them. Callihan is a master of divvying up details a little at a time, just enough to keep you from getting frustrated or irritated. Yet at the same time few and far enough between that she keeps you guessing, she takes you on a rollercoaster of twists and turns. The twists and turn are not just from plot reveals but it’s also an emotional rollercoaster. Damn it I cried! Twice! It’s damn hard to make me cry once, let alone twice!
 
Daisy I came to adore, here is a woman after my own heart. I adored that she had a backup plan! I’m a big believer of the backup plan. She knew her husband was a bastard and would leave her with nothing, so she planned for her own future. She went behind his back and used her very impractical talent of nosing to make herself a fortune. I can get down with that. Regrettably, it’s that talent that brings upon her current troubles. Murders start happening, and the link seems to be Daisy, and now she is being stalked by a very dangerous beast. Ian, can keep Daisy safer than just about anyone else, but in the beginning she wanted nothing to do with him; even though he brings out her lust, he once pursued her sister. I like that Daisy had pride, she refused to be second best, and she refused to stand in the shadow of any woman and told Ian so. She didn’t hold back from him, she told him straight up. I also liked that she was lusty and admitted it, even just to herself. This no demure, shy female, she has a sex drive and knows it. What about broke my heart is her attitude about it though; she had to endure years of abuse from her late husband that made her feel ashamed. I think even modern woman can even still relate this this, even though sex is so much more accepted now, there are still those that would make a female feel ashamed for being sexual. Daisy even musters to herself, that a man would be revered for his sexual prowess a woman is considered a harlot or whore for hers and that is hypocritical. What modern woman hasn’t ever had that same thought once or twice in their life? There is this one part where Ian and Daisy are together and something happens between them that had me crying for what Daisy had to endure and crying for Ian’s reaction to it.
 
Ian, I seriously didn’t know if I was going to like him, he was such a douche in the first book. He purposely tried to break up Archer and Miranda and that wasn’t so cool. However, Ian is so much more than his douche behaviors in the first book. Again, here is Callihan divvying up those details, but we find out so much about Ian and his past. His pain and loss is significant and has ruled who he has been for the last 70+ years. But, in Daisy he finds that it isn’t enough anymore. His living a half-life isn’t what he wants anymore; it isn’t who he is anymore. I think it’s Ian who does the most growing over the course of this book. I loved how open he had become with Daisy, how he could and would share his feeling with her. He let her see him. There was just something so sexy about it.
 
I have to say, I don’t think there was anything I didn’t like about this book. This book opens up this series for so many possibilities and I am very excited to see where Kristen Callihan takes us. So many new creatures and characters come out of the woodwork with this novel due to Ian’s involvement in the supernatural world. He is more entrenched in the world then Archer was. I cannot leave this review without at least mentioning Callihan’s seamlessly weaving the genres of Historical and Paranormal romance. I don’t think it would be unfair to say that this new talent may end up ruling this niche genre. Whether you are a paranormal lover or a historical romance lover, there is something here for you! Ms. Callihan has earned a place on my auto-buy list.
 
Review copy provided through NetGalley for an honest review, no other compensation was provided.
 
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