This was such a charming book, on the lighter side than what we usually get from Josh Lanyon. Cosmo found himself a suspect in a murder a couple days before he’s marrying the newest police commissioner, John. John is a very straight laced, serious guy who didn’t seem to like Cosmo at all when they first met. Cosmo isn’t sure if John is marrying him because he loves him or because of a lovespell. John has no idea that Cosmo comes from a magical family of witches and Cosmo just seems to get more caught up in the murder investigation.

I have not warmed up to John much yet but in true Lanyon fashion this has happened to me quite a few times. This book set up the beginning of a new series that promises to be exciting and fun!

A new series from one of my long time favorite authors. Of course I’m on board for the ride. Yet I found this start to “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” not too appealing a read as I expected it to be. Not to be nitpicky but Cosmo who’s supposedly a witch with quite a power - two years somewhat abstaining notwithstanding - was such scatterbrained doormat to the love interest. I guess it’s a personal preference, but Cosmo and John’s relationship struck me as imbalance and that didn’t endear either characters to me at all. Even for paranormal romance, Cosmo and John’s whirlwind romance was whoaa so fast; especially given the profession John had.. suspicious much? (And referred back to Cosmo’s supposedly witchy senses - a major fail at that!)

I wouldn’t say I’d give up on this series altogether, I’m still keen to find out how Cosmo and John’s love going to be! But frankly I thought MAINLY BY MOONLIGHT is not the strongest start of Lanyon’s series I’ve read so far. The flow was a tad disjointed, a few issues left unresolved - not exactly a cliffhanging ending but leaving crumbs to pick up on the next installment, perhaps? - and rather bland affair between the lovers ever. That said, the upside of all my dissatisfaction could mean a lot of room for development for the sequels, a few loose ends to tie up. Fingers-crossed my wish would be fulfilled. And soon. 😊

Copy of this book is kindly given by the author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When Practical Magic met Bewitched

Mainly by Moonlight is a mixed bag of magic, a witch , a whodunit murder mystery , a wedding , love potions , all wrap around the romance between Cosmo and John.

Yep, lot of things going on simultaneously on the first book of what I expect will be a series.

Sort of liked it but didn't love it.

I just reviewed Mainly by Moonlight by Josh Lanyon. #MainlyByMoonlight #NetGalley

The worldbuilding was very interesting. Como's romance was difficult for me to understand at times due to the short amount of time he was with his fiance. Although I know his fiance was under a spell initially. This was a very good start to the series.

5* Witty, classy, sexy and funny and with some great lines, and proving you don't need sex to sell a...

... great book. The first in a trilogy that I won't be missing.

This is the lighter side of Josh Lanyon, lighter even than The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks and The Ghost Had An Early Checkout. Literally, think a not-entirely-Disney Bedknobs and Broomsticks plus Bewitched (the 70s serial, not the 90s Irish pop girl group) and light police procedurals, then add Cosmo, a witch who wants to live as more human than, well, witch, and add in a career-driven police commissioner, John Galbraith, who's as serious as his name sounds, mix with some excellent red herrings and spells, allow to percolate and explode = one of *the* best books I've read this year.

It's clever, and sexy by how clever it is. It's not a tale bogged down in sex, rather, the tale is about a lightning-quick wedding (the leads have known each other about a month, and I seriously didn't think the many things that moved fast in this tale - I'm not just talking about love and romance - could move this fast. But, when you have spells and witchcraft on your side, maybe...) and the build-up, and machinations that might just well throw preparations off track, and two leads who don't actually really know each other properly yet. It sounds a little old-fashioned, and in one part (I can't go into detail or it'd Spoiler the scene) it is beautifully, romantically so. Everything combined, seriously, makes for a quality tale.

I loved Cosmo, but John took some time to grow on me - I think I only really liked him the night before the wedding when he came on an errand and ended up being so romantic, and when he softened towards Pyewhacket, despite not liking cats. Good old sulky, snarky Pyewhacket, a witch's familiar masquerading as a Russian blue with attitude and sass (well, purrs of displeasure - Cosmo happens to talk cat), who has a thing for booze and smoking, apparently. And perhaps some magick of his own that might be revealed in a later book, maybe? (there's something that I first thought was a continuity error, but I'm not so sure about after reading this, given Pyewhacket was miraculously there when Cosmo needed comfort and reassurance, despite being left home alone, so, hmmm...). Some of the best things in this book are Cosmo's time and relationship with his cat. And, I have to quote the following line, which gives you some idea of the quality of the writing - it's about two mamas not so pleased that their (to them, mismatched) sons are getting married:

<<Neither Nola nor my mother were crying for joy. In fairness, Maman was not actually crying: it was more of a light mist with a slight chance of thundershowers. Nola was experiencing climate change: a severe downpour with a high probability of freezing temperatures>>

This is quality writing, a quality tale, a tale with the right number of red herrings to have me suspecting at least 4 characters, some excellent obfuscation, followed by reveals that both had me thinking everything was neatly tied up with a bow, but then more came out of the woodwork, and as the tale ends, it's clear that things are only just beginning. Are Cosmo's friends really his friends? What of Rex? What happens to Ciara, and I'm not just talking about her at the wedding. What about the black Merc? And, what's with John being able to resist...? Yep, I have to leave out that word or I'd Spoiler this tale.

Book 2 isn't going to be all sweetness and light, at least from the synopsis included at the end of this book. Is it going to be a case of 'marry in haste, repent in leisure'? or will love and magic save the day? I'm not sure that we'll get an answer, as this is a trilogy, but the writing, the premise and the whole cast of characters has me invested in reading more. Oh, and the French in this is excellent and well researched; it's a bugbear of mine when non-English appears in a tale and isn't done properly. Here, the French was classy, disdainfully and snootily spoken as only the French can, and cleverly tied into magick and witchcraft, and, bonus, entirely right. This is a 5* Keeper of a tale.

ARC courtesy of the author-publisher and NetGalley, for my reading pleasure.

This was an enjoyable M/M supernatural romance with a murder mystery woven in. Things are going swimmingly for Cosmo at the beginning of this first book in a trilogy. He’s met the love of his life, he’s engaged to be married in three short weeks and a colleague has contacted him to potentially sell a magical grimoire he’s been searching for.

Of course, that’s not how things continue! When Cosmo arrives at the antique shop… he finds a dead body. Before he even has time to recover from his shock, the police are there. Now, things get complicated because Cosmo is engaged to … Police Commissioner John Joseph Galbraith. I’m sure you can see how this going from a whirlwind love story to something much more complicated.

There’s something else going on too! One of Cosmo’s well-meaning friends cast a love spell oh John… and now he doesn’t know what’s going to happen. If someone has been spelled to fall in love with you, it’s no longer so easy to accept it and move forward.

I loved the characterizations of Cosmo and John. The two men are quite different from one another and Lanyon does a fantastic job of creating two separate voices. The push and pull of their relationship is tangible. It’s clear that there is more going on in their lives than they are revealing to one another. I feel certain that some more secrets will be revealed as the story continues!

My only complaint is that the end of this book sneaked up on me! I wasn’t ready for it to be finished but I’m certainly glad there are another two parts to come! Sign me up!

**I received an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**

Josh Lanyon brings forth a murder mystery fantasy LGBTQ whirlwind romance. Cosmo is a witch who is all set to marry the love of his life, the new police commissioner, John. But when Cosmo is found at the scene of a homicide, that just might put a strain on the relationship.

If all of that sounds like there's a lot going on, it's because there absolutely is a lot going on. Too much to keep reigned in and properly developed, I'd say. There's the murder mystery where Cosmo is a suspect. There's the brand new romance resulting in a new house and wedding plans between Cosmo and John who, by the way, met two weeks ago. There's the possibility of cold feet before said wedding, because being a murder suspect and maybe finding out the two week old romance isn't quite as everlasting as the characters may have thought. There's royal bloodlines and heritage rules. John's little sister might be getting in with the wrong people, and now people are trying to kill Cosmo too? Oh, and there's the little fact that Cosmo never told John he's a witch.

All the pieces are there for something great. But those pieces were competing with so many other little inklings of potential greatness that nothing truly got to shine. Lanyon clearly has the capacity to write a story well, but perhaps should narrow focus to increase the impact of the story being told.

I understand that there's a sequel in the works, but the novel ended in a very odd spot. No real resolution to a lot of the problems. No real communication between Cosmo and John or recovering from mistrust or distrust between them. It was actively confusing as to why the story was ended where it was versus rounding out even one of the many plot issues that had been started.

As such, I'm left a bit "meh", but feel like I wouldn't mind reading more in the series when it comes out.