In all honesty, I'd rate this book just a shade above crap, that is if you're considering it within the realm of a published novel with even a hint of literary merit. If, by chance, you're interested in sub-par porn with an needlessly and poorly executed elaborate plot, then this is the book for you!

Seriously, I'm disappointed. The first book wasn't exactly a mind-blowing pieces of literature either, Alexander is certainly not a Dickens, but it was fun and entertaining. The main character was a strong woman, mildly promiscuous, but not slutty, and then Moonshifted happened.

The interesting werewolf/vampire dynamic, though elaborated upon in the next book, did not draw me further into the book's universe. I had wrongfully predicted after reading the first book, that I would be interested in the following two, but as it turns out, I no longer have plans to read the third installment. The main character was a total slut in this story, and practically owned up to it. I can assure you, I am no prude, but books like this, where the protagonist seems to have an implicit goal to have kinky sex with a member of every present species in the series before it ends, is part of the reason that the Urban Fantasy genre gets a bad rap. It is becoming a stereotype that I abhor.

Also, if an author is going to obviously add a character into the story in order for them to conveniently save the main character, it needs to be done tactfully. It must also not be overused. This is the second time that Alexander has done this. The first instance was Asher, who then played a similar role in the second book as the first, and then the second example was the bear-shapeshifting boyfriend, who had only a tentative attachment to the main character. No doubt Alexander employed this method so that the reader "wouldn't see it coming".

My intelligence has been insulted.

This kind of writing is painfully formulaic and reminiscent of -shudder- Stephanie Meyer. And yet even Meyer employed strategic symbolism. Moonshifted reeks of amateur mimicry, to the point that I've read fanfiction more original than this.

My advice, don't read this book, and if you don't believe me, that's fine, go read it and then afterwards regret having wasted precious moments of your life.

Overall Rating: Passable with a vague hint of interesting

Characterization Rating: Protagonistic-did you forget there were other characters?

The Recommended Caffeinated Beverage for accompaniment: I wouldn’t waste a good cuppa on this.

Though this book certainly has its moments, the literary merit is negative. I can smell my brain rotting as I turn the pages, and yet, I keep turning pages. Huh. Alexander is not what I would call a genius or a wordsmith, however she is a decent storyteller. Her plot seems at times to be a little far-fetched, and certain characters (*cough* Asher *cough*) seem to be obviously written in with a single, predictable purpose in mind. This gives her writing something of a formulaic quality which is only counterbalanced by a certain amount of barely contained chaos. There comes a point in the plot where, though interesting, I felt as if plot twists were just thrown in there last minute. So yes, parts of the story are unpredictable, but not through sheer cleverness of the author, but seemingly through complete randomness. I sometimes wonder if Alexander was wracking her brain for what could possibly happen next in the story while jittery from too much coffee and slaphappy. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy the story, and I will be reading the next book, but as far as writing quality, the book is sub-par.

Then there’s characterization. Edie, the protagonist, is herself a strong independent woman (like so many of the heroines in the Urban Fantasy genre), however, the way she is portrayed is devoid of the stereotypical ways authors create “strong independent women”. I found this refreshing, and greatly enjoyed it. I love that the romantic interest for the story is not some swoon worthy gary-stu model of perfection, however I wish some of the other characters were given a greater range of characterization. This is where problems with the plot and characterization intersect. If some characters were just given enough time to develop more, I feel that Alexander would be able to do a somewhat impressive job with it, but because she didn’t some things just don’t add up. At all. Like she took 2+2 and made that equal 27. Of a sudden we were totes chill with Sike, and of a sudden Anna became super attached to Edie (which sort of makes sense…if you squint and tilt your head).

So…it was entertaining…for the most part.

I don’t have a favorite part/passage.