Bad Moon, by Shyla Colt - Book Review

Warning!

Here’s a funny story! I got this book through NetGalley as an ARC a couple of days before launch day. As soon as I started reading, I felt something wasn’t right. At first, I thought it wasn’t proofread or edited well enough, but soon I noticed other discrepancies and I realized that what I got was a partial first draft of the book (it stopped abruptly at the beginning of chapter 10). Realizing that the publisher must have uploaded the wrong file, I contacted the author. Unfortunately, I did that several days after the launch, so there might be several bad copies released into the wild. I noticed a couple of bad reviews on Goodreads stating complaining about bad grammar, misspelled words, and inconsistencies. Yes, first drafts are full of all that and more. If you’re the proud owner of such a copy, please don’t misjudge the author. It was an accident! If you reach out to the author, I’m sure she’ll offer you the final version of the book.

Bad Moon stands out from similar books in its genre (urban fantasy) by incorporating some elements from high fantasy. The number of characters seems ever-growing and sometimes it’s hard to keep track of who’s who. The plot starts interesting enough, and I was intrigued to find out more. But the more I advanced into the story, the more convoluted it got. Also, the author has a flair for the dramatic and loves to play with ornate and flowery words which makes it feel like purple prose. I have nothing against it; it’s just not my cup of tea, and I feel it distracts the reader.

Below are a couple of excerpts from the book.

The main character, Joss (a werewolf)  is wounded and her mate Kazimir (a vampire) feeds her his blood.

“The minute his life-giving elixir hit her system, the wounds began to repair themselves from within. His caramel-like taste coated her tongue and throat, and she knew peace amidst the storm.[…] She continued to drink, basking in his endless well of love and comfort.”

After they exchange blood to mate:

“Closing her eyes, she slipped away from the present and into him. The door between their minds was thrown open, and she knew all that he was. In the blink of an eye, she traversed his life, seeing things from his perspective, gaining his knowledge and knowing the full extent of his love. For him, she was color and light. He lived to see to her well-being and happiness. It was overwhelming and completely endearing.”

That being said, Bad Moon was definitely not my favorite book, but this doesn’t necessarily mean it was a bad story. Just because I didn’t like it doesn’t mean other people wouldn’t enjoy it. If you want complicated plots and ornate prose, this book might be for you, so give it a try!