ARC Review: Moonglow by Kristen Callihan

Once the seeds of desire are sown . . .

Finally free of her suffocating marriage, widow Daisy Ellis Craigmore is ready to embrace the pleasures of life that have long been denied her. Yet her new-found freedom is short lived. A string of unexplained murders has brought danger to Daisy's door, forcing her to turn to the most unlikely of saviors . . .

Their growing passion knows no bounds . . .

Ian Ranulf, the Marquis of Northrup, has spent lifetimes hiding his primal nature from London society. But now a vicious killer threatens to expose his secrets. Ian must step out of the shadows and protect the beautiful, fearless Daisy, who awakens in him desires he thought long dead. As their quest to unmask the villain draws them closer together, Daisy has no choice but to reveal her own startling secret, and Ian must face the undeniable truth: Losing his heart to Daisy may be the only way to save his soul.

Review:

Moonglow is the second book in Kristen Callihan’s Darkest London series and I liked this story even more then the first.

Daisy Ellis Craigmore is sister to Miranda Archer (heroine in Firelight, bk 1). She is newly widowed and could not be more trilled to go out and take advantage of this new freedom from and old, abusive husband. When at a party she finds herself attacked, but thankfully survives, by a werewolf, she is rescued by Ian Ranualf. Daisy tries to put on a good front, but she struggles with insecurities that she tries to hide with crudeness and humor.

Ian Ranulf is a lycan, who has voluntarily exiled himself from his clan instead of becoming their leader after his father, which his younger brother decided to take in Ian’s place. We learn throughout the book the events that led up to this decision, but overall he just wants a normal life. Ian’s life has been very lonely and he’s getting to the point where he is running out of ways to distract himself from this. When he comes across Daisy’s attack, he is drawn to her and takes her to his home to care for her. Things are complicated for Ian and Daisy from the beginning as they figure out the tie they have to each other, namely Ian trying to get between Miranda and her now husband Archer (whom Ian used to be best friends with back in the day).

Many times throughout the book I couldn’t help but compare my feelings to Firelight since I read it right before Moonglow. Some of the things that really stuck out to me that led me to enjoy Moonglow more is the way that Ian and Daisy’s relationship developed. I liked the speed of it, the context of what they had to go through that brought them together, and how they work together as partners to figure out the mystery of the werewolf. I absolutely loved Ian, his teasing, his protectiveness, and the way that he loves whole-heartedly. I loved Daisy because she is strong, independent, and passionate about something when she gets her mind set on it. My heart broke for these two characters each time something was revealed about their pasts and I loved the way that they didn’t run from the other’s past but that it helps bring them closer together.

I enjoyed getting to see more of the paranormal side to this world and get introduced to new entities. Moonglow included a great side story to Weston and Poppy (Daisy and Miranda’s eldest sister) and introducing what we have to look forward to unraveling in their story, Winterblaze, I can’t wait!