Moon Kissed [Mass Market Paperback]

I read "After the Kiss" first, by mistake and it lured me into reading this one, because it was kind of interesting. It was a wonderful up until the point Bella was bitten by the vampire. At that point, the love story died. The author spun her wheels trying to get me to believe Severo still loved and could love Bella despite his rather serious issues with vampires because they tortured his family to death. Given enough time, I think, it might have worked for the couple, but the whole thing left me disturbed and feeling like Severo stayed in the relationship just so that he wouldn't hurt Bella's feelings. I wanted to feel the die-hard love that could overcome the species difference between them, but, it just never happened. I left the entire story feeling like Hauf short changed both of her characters. What should have been a dynamic twist fell flat on its face.

First, I have to say that I think that Hauf is a very talented writer - I've read several of her books, and have enjoyed them all. For the most part, that holds true for this particular book. There was a lot of suspense, and given the description on the book's back cover, the reader goes into the story knowing that Bella will be attacked, and when that actually happens, the reader feels the horror, confusion, anger and pain felt by both Severo and Bella. Those feelings seem so genuine and organic because we are treated to seeing how the relationship between the two develops from something that starts during a moment of danger and terror, evolves into slow acceptance and trust, and eventually builds into love. Considering the relatively low number of pages in books like this, that was an admirable accomplishment, and a testament to Hauf's writing skills.

That said, I had two very big problems with this book, and spoilers are necessary in order for me to delve into them, so, anyone wanting to avoid spoilers should probably stop reading right about now. . .





First, I feel as though Bella accepted becoming a vampire a bit too quickly and easily. Yes, she struggled with it a bit, and there was a relatively lengthy section devoted to her learning how to feed, but all in all, while I can't say that it doesn't seem to phase her, it just seems like she accepts the huge, dramatic change a bit too quickly, especially given how much the man/werewolf she loves loathes vamps with every fiber of his being. The argument could be made that devoting pages to Bella fighting the change or bemoaning it would have been counterproductive and obviously wouldn't have changed anything. However, it still felt like Bella's acceptance of becoming a vampire came a little too easily.


By far my biggest issue with this book, however, is that while the reader believes that Bella loves Severo, and that he, in turn, loves her, by the end of the book, I still felt as though he loved someone else a bit more. A lot of time is devoted to Severo's backstory with Abby - a cat shifter/his familiar who befriended Severo's werewolf, and was a very important person in Severo's life. The reader is told many times that he truly loved (and still loves) Abby with all of his heart, and there are even multiple framed pictures of her throughout his house (one is even hidden behind a toaster in his kitchen). Beyond that, it is even mentioned that Severo was in love with Abby and wanted to have a sexual relationship with her, but she did not reciprocate those feelings. Though he says that he accepts that she's in love with another man, and he even respects that other man, it's still quite clear that he hasn't moved on, or moved past his feelings for her.

Severo tells most of this to Bella (after she finds the aforementioned picture behind the toaster), and she's mostly okay with it, going so far as to think about how she's not jealous when, at the end of the book, she and Severo (holding hands, I believe) meet up with Abby and her man, and Severo drops Bella's hand so that he can literally run up to Abby and give her a big hug. Subsequently, Abby and Bella do a bit of girl-bonding, and Bella seems to be perfectly okay with everything. All of that really bothered me, though. At one point, Bella even recognizes that the bond between Severo and Abby is deeper than the one she (Bella) shares with him, and basically asks him if he thinks that their connection will ever be as deep as the one he has with Abby, to which he replies that he "hopes so." Moreover, while Severo seems to reluctantly accept that Bella has become a vampire (going so far as to become a bit aroused when he witnesses her feeding off of another man), he still won't allow her to bite him. Evidently, that particular matter is explored in a subsequent e-book on Harlequin's website, but that lack of total trust and acceptance, even in the epilogue of the book, was a problem for me. Given that and the Abby issue, it almost seemed as though, while Severo and Bella love one another, it's a love that seems to be. . . missing something, for lack of a better way to put it - it wasn't as deep and true a love as I expected that it would be. I feel as though they were on their way to that point, but after Bella was changed, I think their love stopped evolving and deepening, due to Severo's vamp-related issues and Abby.

So, that was disappointing to me; I would've liked to have seen Severo truly, fully accept who/what Bella becomes by accepting her bite (again, in this *book,* not in a follow-up, online/ebook story), and by making some sort of mention that, while Abby would always be important to him, what he had with Bella was somehow more than that, or deeper, or better or *something* along those lines. I don't know if that makes any sense, but to suffice it to say, the love story started out great, but turned out to be problematic and a little bit lacking. I suppose it's entirely possible that all of those issues are addressed and resolved in the follow-up, but I think that going into this book thinking that it's Severo and Bella's complete story will leave one feeling as though the romance leaves something to be desired (and, in all honesty, I almost feel a little bit cheated that the love story was basically still a work-in-progress at the book's conclusion). Perhaps going into it thinking of it as being part 1 of a 2-part story would affect the way in which one views things, and ameliorate any or all of the issues that I had with the book.

So, overall, the book is pretty good, and anyone who is a fan of Hauf's will likely enjoy it. For me, there were some pretty significant issues that kept me from enjoying it as much I had expected and hoped that I would. Still, Hauf is a good writer, and anyone who is interested in suspenseful, emotional love stories featuring shifters and/or vamps would probably find this to be a good read.

In the Twin Cities, after having a few cosmopolitans, Belladonna Reynolds starts to jog home when three dudes chase her. As she increases her speed into a panic sprint, she runs into a mass of muscles. Severo the werewolf calms her down and takes her to a safe spot until the blood suckers leave. He saves her from gang rape and dining on her blood.

He wonders if he met his life mate as he is attracted to Bella from the first introduction. However, her best friend Seth informs her vamps and weres live as he dates one. Severo thinks Seth is seeing Evie whom he calls Elvira. That means Bella needs to write his eulogy soon and if the crazed Elvira thinks Bella is Seth's lover, she is in trouble too. When the vamps remain fixated on their search for her, he escorts her home and moves in with her to keep his mate safe. As they fall in love, she remains under siege and the beastly werewolf side of Severo has to accept or kill his lifemate who has become his beloved enemy.

MOON KISSED starts off as Beauty and the Beast with an initial werewolf twist, but takes another ironic spin. The lead couple is a super pairing as both are courageous and caring; while the setting of the Twin Cities seems perfect for the supernaturals. Fans of urban romantic fantasy with a bite will appreciate Michele Hauf's engaging paranormal.

Harriet Klausner

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