When the Moon Shines is kind of confusing it’s has a western shifter vibe and yet despite multiple possibilities nothing seems to happens. I assume this is a prequel but it falls a bit short on plot and story-arc so I’m a bit ambivalent about it. I want to like it and it has like able characters. However, it failed to fully invest me because I didn’t have a Rey sense of what it’s supposed to be about. It was like it was set up to begin the story and that’s exactly where it ends.

I’m going to assume it gets fleshed out in future books so I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt and say it has the potential to get better.

Quirky, unique, funny, silly, this book has a bit of everything. Loretta is sheriff of a town, Traitor's Den, where due to a spell nobody can leave. They can't swear either and must speak and dress like they're in the old west. If you can immerse yourself in Traitor's Den you'll enjoy this first book in the series.

Wanna read an amusing book where nothing happens? Well here it is!

I'm conflicted about this one, because I liked it, but there was literally no real point to it other than to introduce the characters and the issue driving them to action. It was like the first episode to a tv show.

Loretta Maybelle is the sheriff of Traitor's Den, which is a pocket plane created by her uncle. He liked to toss in people for various offenses. As far as the occupants can tell, once you are in, you can never get out. Now people seem to occasionally, accidentally fall in. Such is the case with the two men who come through the portal brawling. Turns out they're brothers.

Loretta has to educate them on where they are and what the rules and expectations are in Traitor's Den. Each person is given a lodging to live in, a gun, a horse and a cowboy hat. They are expected to contribute to the overall welfare of the community in exchange. There is no real swearing in Traitor's Den. Part of the curse of the pocket plane. No f-bombs for anyone. Instead people are forced to take a more cowboy sounding names, cliché cowboy grammar and cussing repertoire. Words like fanny are in style in Traitor's Den. Safe to say it doesn't go great with the newcomers and Rhett finds himself in one of Loretta's jail cells to cool his jets...and keep to population of Traitor's Den from beating him up repeatedly.

What gets me is this man is such an arrogant, nerve-grating, piece of work but while Loretta is thinking of all of this she also just can't 'help' fawning over how hot he is. Ugh. I also but don't appreciate how often we have to be reminded how curvy and hot Loretta is as well. We are told this repeatedly. And how hot Rhett and sometimes Zeke is as well. WE GET IT! Move on.

We also meet Cole. Loretta's handsome, well mannered, loving boyfriend who she isn't really in love with but continues to leave on her hook. The whole story between them is...Ugh.

Then there is Tiger, a shapeshifter trapped in Tiger form. And Kiki, the magic koala that everyone wants to cuddle...And her parents and a handful of other magical Traitor's Den folk. The bar owner. The metalsmith. The mayor's wife. The horses with high intelligence and their own personalities. Etc.

The actual plot doesn't show up until midway through the book and even then after it happens, nothing but Loretta wallowing around happens. The climax of the book doesn't actually happen this book. There's a cliffhanger ending just as we get there to encourage you to pick up the next book/episode. Just like a tv show and some mangas.

I know I am making it sound bad. Not it's not bad, for what it is. It's not a traditional book format going on here. Nothing is resolved in this first book. It's just a series of problems stacking one on top of the other....well okay. The Cole problem is solved I guess.

Anyhow. It took awhile for me to get into it, but about 20% of the way through the book I found my groove and finished it in 2 days. Just don't go into it thinking it'll read like a traditional book. View it in more of a 'reading a tv episode' type book.

Conclusion

All in all it was amusing. This series is going to turn into one of those series you have to read every book in order to figure out what the solution was to all the problems presented to you in the first book, because you aren't getting any in the first book.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was fun but a bit confusing at first; the plot and action started right away, and then slowly built in background information and furthered the plot, but started a little further in than I would have preferred. The major information didn’t come until about 40% or so through, and the story ended on a major cliffhanger.

When the Moon Shines was a fun Fantasy/Western read. We follow sheriff Loretta Maybelle as she tries to control the residents of the Traitors Den; a pocket realm of sorts created by her uncle to punish her father for reasons I cannot disclose (spoilers).

Every so often the portal will re-open, spitting out new people to fill the town, each person is granted their own horse and of course a cowboy hat. When two very good looking lads make it through fighting over a sacred object, the town is turned on its head. Rhett and Zeke bring with them, arrogance, mystery and did I mention they are hot?

Loretta already has a lot on her plate when the portal opens for a second time that day. Unfortunately, she falls victim to a poisoning, and it is suddenly a race against time to save her life. Will the new boys in town have enough magic to save the girl?

What I liked about this story is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously, the western tropes are there to be played with and boy, oh boy, does the author do a good job of it. Each person comes with a new honky tonk name, the inability to use the F bomb and a taste for moonshine. We also get some interesting animal companions, from the shifter stuck in a Tigers body to Kiki the magical koala who gives legendary cuddles. The magic system is loose, allowing the author to have a great time with what each person brings to the table, we have a bear shifter addicted to honey, a barkeep who uses her magic to make extraordinary cocktails and a fairy who won’t quit.

A couple of things I didn’t gel with were the repetitive nature of the prose, a major plot point which is only introduced about 40% of the way through, a bit of tell not show and how quickly relationships seem to move after we have been told they have been established for decades.

Overall this was a fun time and the final chapter, although it was over too soon, has me ready to pick up the second book.

I found this book goofy and painful to read. Forced western colloquialisms, trapped in a western town through which you stumble into a portal to get there. No real reason why most of the book why the Uncle would do this, why the portal won't let you leave. Too convoluted and disoriented of a story for me.. Lackluster characters didn't help either. Obviously not my cup of tea. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book for Netgalley.

A great paranormal book with great world building funny dialoge and unique characters. I can't wait for the next book in the series.