Title: Full Moon Rising
Author: Keri Arthur
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release Date: 12/26/06
Summary:
A rare hybrid of vampire and werewolf, Riley Jenson and her twin brother, Rhoan, work for Melbourne’s Directorate of Other Races, an organization 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... Easier said than done as the city pulses with frenzied desire, and Riley is confronted with a very powerful -- and delectably naked -- vamp who raises her temperature like never before.
In matters carnal, Riley has met her match. But in matters criminal, she must follow her instincts not only to find her brother but to stop an unholy harvest. For someone is doing some shifty cloning in an attempt to produce the ultimate warrior -- by tapping into the genome of nonhumans like Rhoan. Now Riley knows just how dangerous the world is for her kind -- and just how much it needs her.
Plot: 3.5 Stars
After learning about the moon heat in which werewolves have to have a lot of sex in the week leading up to the full moon, I was afraid this was going to be like Anita Blake and the ardeur. But as I got into the novel, I found that the copious amounts of sex actually had a point to the novel. There were a number of sex scenes that were vital to the plot and would have been impossible not to include. I also enjoyed the idea of the moon heat, because I love interesting and unique twists on these paranormal legends. This novel also had tons of twists and turns, leaving both Riley and myself blindsided over and over.
Pace: 3.5 Stars
This novel had a pretty good pace. The beginning was a tad slow, especially when being introduced to the world and all of its characters. But it picked up pretty quickly. I breezed through the second half of this novel in about a day (which is fast for me lately). And it didn't feel nearly as long as its 416 pages. The only downside was that the chapters were very long. There were only thirteen! It's a personal preference, but I really like shorter chapters. Especially when I'm at work and only get to read for about fifteen minutes at a time. It's not always a big deal, but sometimes really long chapters can make a novel read a bit slower.
Characters: 4 Stars
Riley was a very well-developed character, and I'm glad I named my cat after her. (Yes, I went through my bookcases to pick a name for my cat...) She stuck to her guns and was determined to find her brother, even though she knew she wasn't the strongest werewolf. Riley felt real because she didn't always kick everyone's ass without getting a scratch; in fact, she got pretty beat up over the course of the novel. Her twin brother, Rhoan, seemed interesting and I hope to see more of him in future books. Quinn was also a great characters. He helped Riley in her quest, in more ways than one, and had a bit of humor too.
Cover: 3 Stars
This cover comes up a bit short for me. Although I do have to take into account that this novel is almost four years old, and Urban Fantasy covers were nowhere near what they are today. This cover was a bit plain and didn't tell much about the story. I did enjoy the candle flame and the way it made the silouette stand out, it didn't really tell me anything about the story or the characters. The silouette could have been anyone, although I assume it's Riley. The color choices, red and black, are probably my favorite part. Red was a great choice considering to covery the mood of the novel, both the more violent bloody side and the more sensual side.
Overall: 3.5 Stars
Disclosure: I bought this book for my own enjoyment.
This is one of my favorite series. I've read all of them and Riley is a great character. I've read reviews where people panned it because of the sex in the first book, but as you pointed out, it does have a purpose, and after, she's not human, she's a werewolf, so why should she act human? Anyway, there's a lot less sex in later books. If you liked the first one, you'll definitely like the others.
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