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Book Review: Luna Rising, by Sara Snow

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I borrowed a copy of Sara Snow‘s Luna Rising through Amazon’s Prime Reading. I’ve been avoiding new adult and young adult books lately. So, I’m not entirely sure why I borrowed this. But I assume I had a reason at the time. *shrug*

Luna Rising Sara Snow

Xavier Blackwood is the man every girl at my college dreams about at night, myself included, but I’d never let anyone know that.

Standing at 6’8 with steel grey eyes, he’s a walking dream, but he’s also a world-renowned jerk.

Who would have thought that one night, after dragging myself home after doing double shifts at the diner, I’d be jumped by three men…only to have Xavier come to my rescue.

Oh yes, Xavier bloody Blackwood saved my life…but the thing I saw, the CREATURE that ripped those men to shreds wasn’t the Xavier everyone knows.

He wasn’t human…

He was a wolf, a demon, a creature from myths, and it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen until he attacked me too and knocked me out.

Humans that learn about the existence of werewolves have to die.

…There are NO exceptions.

The Werewolf Xavier saved me, but now I am condemned to death

To make things worse, both Xavier and Axel claim I am their mate

…this can’t be good.

my review

You know, when it comes to Fated Mates shifter books we’ve read it all before. There is nothing new under the sun. But seeing the combination of circumstances (even familiar ones) the author puts the mates in and getting to know them is what makes the trope fun to read. And this is where Snow fails with Luna Rising. We don’t get any of that. There is almost no world-building. We’re given very little meat plot-wise. We only get to know Ruby a little bit (and only because so much of the book is her navel gazing…or waking up, she sleeps A LOT), Xavier almost none, and Axel absolutely none at all. And then the book ends before anything really begins. This almost feels more like and extended outline than an actual fleshed out book. There isn’t even enough her to feel connected to anything or anyone. The writing is pedestrian but fine. I don’t think I’ll bother with the rest of the series though. But if anyone wants a taste of the series, there is apparently a prequel available here.

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Other Reviews:

Luna Rising by Sara Snow – A Book Review

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Book Review: Bishop’s Crossing, by Don Mewha

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I received a copy of Don Mewha‘s Bishop’s Crossing through Netgalley. bishop's crossing

The dark streets of New Orleans come to life in this riveting Urban Fantasy! Fans of Jim Butcher, Constantine, and Tales from the Nightside will adore Bishop’s Crossing!

A failed priest gets pulled back into the occult world that he left behind when his daughter shows signs of mystical ability. He reconnects with his former team to track down the missing daughter of the Voodoo King of New Orleans while he’s hunted by a fanatical member of the Church.

my review

I’m almost 100% sure that this is a first book in a series. In fact, I’m almost 100% sure it’s Mewha’s debut book. I say almost because it feels SO much like it isn’t. I cannot tell you how many times I returned to Goodreads checking and re-checking there isn’t a previous book. A large part of the plot is basically getting the gang back together. And it felt SO much like I should know the gang that I was completely thrown off and out of the story.

Outside of feeling like not a first book, I generally enjoyed this. I liked Bishop and his merry band of misfits. I liked the mystery and the world Mewha created. I did think things felt a little sketched out, with lots of running here and doing this or that, but not a lot of getting to really know characters or settling into a complex plot. Threats seemed to pop up and disappear, only to be replaced by another feeling equally as random.

I read an ARC, so I can’t speak to editing. But the writing is quite readable. This might not top a favorites list, but I’d be happy to read another in the series.

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Book Review: The Sandman, by Neil Gaiman

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I picked up a freebie copy of the Audible dramatization of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman.

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When The Sandman, also known as Lord Morpheus—the immortal king of dreams, stories and the imagination—is pulled from his realm and imprisoned on Earth by a nefarious cult, he languishes for decades before finally escaping. Once free, he must retrieve the three “tools” that will restore his power and help him to rebuild his dominion, which has deteriorated in his absence. As the multi-threaded story unspools, The Sandman descends into Hell to confront Lucifer, chases rogue nightmares who have escaped his realm, and crosses paths with an array of characters from DC comic books, ancient myths, and real-world history, including: Inmates of Gotham City’s Arkham Asylum, Doctor Destiny, the muse Calliope, the three Fates, William Shakespeare, and many more.

my review

I have a kind of middle of the road feeling about this. I fully admit I’m not a big reader of graphic novels (or surely I’d have read this before now). This means I didn’t have any preexisting connection to any of the DC characters that popped up or underlying love of the Gotham world. And, in listening to it, I found I much prefer a regular old audiobook to a dramatization. (Obviously this is what it is because there’s no novel to narrate and it’s very well done.) My point is that, unlike a lot of readers, I didn’t come to this predisposed to love it. I liked the idea of Morpheus a lot and I’ve read several Gaiman books I enjoyed (though not all of them), but I was a fairly blank slate.

When the story settled into a single narrative arc for a while I enjoyed it quite a lot. I like Morpheus and his crew. I chuckled frequently, even amongst the grimness. But most of the individual, single episodes bored me. And there were more rapes and women being menaced in alleys (and such) than I felt necessary. Though I acknowledge that this was first published in or about 1998, and that seems to have just been the norm of the time. (Still is, honestly, though I think we’re at least becoming more aware of it as problematic.)

All in all, I’d probably listen to volume II if I could get it from the library. But I don’t think I’d buy it. I do plan to watch the Netflix show though, and that’s why I listened to this in the first place.

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Other Reviews:

REVIEW: Audible’s “The Sandman”

http://brockstargaming.com/neil-gaimans-sandman-audible-review-simply-brilliant/

https://theaudiobookblog.com/2020/07/16/review-the-sandman/