“Moon Flower” by Heather Ewen-Foster takes readers into the shadowed streets of Whitley Heights, Hollywood, through the eyes of Sonia, a 250-year-old vampire. The book starts off with a vibe that might strike some as a bit cheesy, but as the pages turn, the world of LA vampires unveils itself in a more compelling light.

Sonia, as the protagonist, stands out with a well-crafted balance of strength and vulnerability, making her journey through the treacherous vampire politics and her personal relationships equally gripping. Her dynamic with Sunny, the Alpha Vampire, adds layers of intrigue and emotional depth to the story, leaving readers curious about the future of their bond.

The narrative doesn’t shy away from the complexities of relationships, especially highlighted in the imperfect and rather unclean conclusion with Alex, the human journalist. This choice adds a refreshing dose of realism to the otherwise fantastical setting.

While “Moon Flower” might not revolutionize the genre, it’s a solid pick for those looking to lose themselves in the nocturnal world of urban fantasy, complete with all the danger, romance, and mythical creatures one would expect. A 3 out of 5 stars for an enjoyable, if not earth-shattering, addition to the paranormal library.

I love that vampires are back!! This book gave me everything I ever wanted in a vampire book, and everyone should check it out 👀

The cover is very pretty. It does not give a sense, however, of this being an urban vampire story or that it is set between Australia and Los Angeles.

I will start by saying most stories about vampire are stolen. They are actual events or histories that humans feel entitled to write about. Humans are not entitled to those stories or to make money off of those stories.

This particular story is extremely heavy in dialogue. There is not enough world building, descriptions, or character development. So it feels like one of those stories of a real vampire event or history that the author heard about or was typing a conversational recording verbatim. There isn’t the sense that the author can “see” this story or is actually creating the world in their mind. It feels like a transcript without context or history and that makes it difficult to track the characters, let alone understand their conflict or care about them.

I will say that I knew right away that we were talking about a hybrid vampire so that was good. However, the description of the turn was too brief and very surface in detail. Everything was written through human perspective, emotions, etc. Your character, Sonia, is no longer human. What changed? How is her world different? Most hybrids forget their “first life” (my term from my writing so please don’t use it.)

Why are L.A. vampire still using old world terms and why would they be Greek? Why did the Latin professor helping you create Greek terms for your book? If Bianca is a Medici, why isn’t there a tie to Italy and Italian? What does being a Medici mean in their world? Why doesn’t Neichia just take Bianca out? Why would the vampire pick somewhere small like Pacific Palisades for a house when they can hide away in the more luxurious Santa Barbara and hob knob with the rich and royal?

I appreciated that the chapters were extremely short. However, I would have liked to see more creative writing here and definitely word building. I had no context for what was at “stake.” Was this just a “day in the life of a vampire” story?

There is a vampyre in L.A. (W.) who grows moonflowers in his backyard. It would be interesting to know why they are important to the author or this story.

Terror. Pain. Then darkness. This is how it starts.

This, my dear readers, is what we call The Birth.

My name is Sonia. I am vampire.

There are some vampires who have not adapted as the years go by. You know, keep up with fashion, technology, politics…Sonia is not one of them. Even though she intermingles with humans, she does not date them. She knows about death and loss.

Some in government, the FBI and the CIA know about them. Humans pose a danger to vampires, so it is best to be low key. But…someone is out there slaughtering young vampires.

Sonia meets a human, Alex. She doesn’t know why, but she ends up spending time with him. She has a roommate, Sunny, who is a hunkalicious vampire with a wonderful sense of humor. I quickly grew to love him. He donates half his money to charity and snuggles babies in the NICU. I’ve never heard of a vampire, let alone a male vampire, doing such a thing.

I am loving the story, but at times, the author buried me with too many details. But, I did like when Sonia was talking about having interests in mines in Australia. I have watched TV shows about mining for opals in Cooby Pedy. It’s fun when I am familiar with a location.

I was about 40% into the story before it really got going for me. Have you ever heard of a zombie vampire? Well, we have one here. I smell more than the dead. I smell a rat. Sonia will get to the bottom of it or die, again, trying. But, what about Alex?

The details interrupted the pace at times, but sticking with the story paid off with some fabulous battles. A little vampire, human, vampire triangle was intriguing. I am sure Sunny would have loved to part of a menage a trois with Sonia and Alex. LOL

I believe Moon Flower: Vampires Of Los Angeles by is Heather Ewen Foster’s debut novel. Well done. I look forward to reading more of your work and I have my eye on you now.

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This one I thought was going to be right up my ally. But sadly it was not. It was actually to fast paced and failed to really give the reader the full picture of the world and characters. I wish I could have enjoyed this one but it was just not for me.

DNF at 15%.

This starts off quickly and presents a look at modern life for a vampire. Conveniently easy to hide in humanity and yet consciously inconspicuous if you know what to look for. Nothing like having a flamboyant vampire roommate who’s so young their human parents are still alive while the main character suffers from long term withdrawal from their former life with a human.

The eARC I read had some electronic translation issues making it almost impossible to read. Even in the gamely program it had formatting issues and text display errors. If the story had been better, I’d have overcome the technical difficulties, but it’s not.

From, what I read, I’d say this is for the cozy vampire life read… it opens with interesting action, slows way down, picks up again, stumbles to a near halt, has some, flashbacks, and then begins the cycle again.

Until Next Time,
MC

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I really was intrigued by its description, but I felt that the book was either moving too slow or too fast, the characters were average and left me wanting more.

I didn’t like the formatting as the chapters all blended in together.

This novel had me completely engrossed from start to finish. Sonia, the main character, captivated me, and I appreciated the strong emphasis on the plot throughout the story. The complexities of the various storylines were skillfully navigated, and while they found resolution by the end, it's clear that there's a rich world beneath the surface waiting to be explored further. Unlike my usual aversion to unresolved conflicts solely for the sake of sequels, I found the resolution in this book satisfying. It addressed the immediate issues while cleverly hinting at potential complications down the line. Surprisingly, the relationships in the novel, including a typically disliked love triangle, were handled with finesse, adding an unexpected layer of enjoyment.
If you're intrigued by the concept of modern-day vampires, I highly recommend giving this book a read. It manages to balance a compelling plot, well-developed characters, and a touch of romantic complexity, making it a worthwhile choice for those interested in the genre.

This book Is a little slow at the beginning, but once you get past that, it's got an interesting plot, and a different twist to the vampire lore than usual. This book is definitely working on building the world, and is nice in that it doesn't have a main character who's destined to save the world due to some magical power that outpaces every other possible character (at least not yet). There's more to her than meets the eye, clearly, and the author hints at things that will clearly come out in future installments in the series. All in all, interesting thus far, and I'm curious to see where the story will go.

I really struggled to read this book because of the formatting issues. The chapter placing was all over the place when I was trying to read on kindle. I did not finish this book.

Sonia, a 250-year-old Australian vampire, thought she had found peace in the quiet neighborhood of Whitley Heights, Hollywood.

I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this one, but I ended up liking it quite a bit. Sonia is an interesting protagonist that I enjoyed following.

I absolutely adore the cover of this book. It is visually stunning and immediately drew me in. The design perfectly captures the essence of the story and creates a sense of intrigue.

As for the story itself, I found it to be okay. While it had its moments, I must admit that I am not the biggest fan of the vampire theme in this particular book. However, I understand that personal preferences vary, and there are many readers who enjoy vampire-related plots like that.

What stood out to me about this book is its strong focus on the plot. The story is intricately woven, with twists and turns that kept me engaged and eager to uncover what would happen next. It is evident that a lot of thought went into crafting a compelling narrative.

Overall, while the vampire aspect may not have been my cup of tea, I appreciate the effort put into creating a well-developed plot. The cover alone makes it worth picking up, and for those who enjoy vampire-themed stories, this book will likely be a great fit.

I did not think this book lived up to 'leaving you breathless'. I lost interest really quick and found out it was not my style with the lack luster characters and storyline.

DNF at 20%

There’s a whole lot of information thrown at you and I quickly lost interest. Not only learning about vampires and the hierarchy, but background info on Sonia, Sunny, the other vampires, world history. Just way too much going on.

Not my style. I just couldn't get into the world, the MC, or the romance between the characters. The writing style was also just not for me and so given those factors it was a DNF for me at about 25%. Lovely premise and I had high expenctations for it but just not my cup of tea althought I would be open to reading something else by this author in the future.

A huge thank you to the author and Netgalley for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book drew me in from the concept - vampires operating in Los Angeles? Color me intrigued. And to be honest, I was hooked the entire novel. I really enjoyed our main character Sonia, and I appreciated how this was definitely more of a plot-related story than simply a “sexy vampire” story. (Not that there’s anything wrong with those! They just tend to not be my cup of tea.)

I’m unsure how to describe this book, but honestly reading this felt like I was almost playing Vampire: The Masquerade - and I mean that in a complimentary way. I really liked how as we (as Sonia) were investigating the disappearances of other vampires, we traveled around to learn more about the world of the vampires living in Los Angeles, as well as the rest of the world. I also liked how as she was investigating, she kept running into more and more issues - as well as danger - trying to force her away from the answers she’s finding.

The storylines in this novel were complex, and while they were “solved” by the end, you can tell there is a lot going on beneath the surface of this world to be explored further. I personally hate when books don’t solve the problem they have just to force sequels, but I really like it when the problem is “solved” but you can tell it will cause more issues down the line.

I was also surprised how much I enjoyed the relationships in this novel. Generally, I’m not the biggest fan of any kind of love triangles, but I believe this book does the one it has well. (To the point it’s not even a love triangle, but each character has a different relationship dynamic with each other.) I will admit to not being that interested or liking Sunny that much at the beginning of this novel, and was almost dreading him becoming more of a player character - but he surprised me, and he wound up being one of my favorites.

Overall, I would really recommend this book if the idea of modern-day vampires interests you, but you wanted them to focus on living their lives, as well as fighting with the main establishment that they operate under. If you prefer your vampire stories focused more on the political aspect, with some romance and relationships thrown in, then this would be a good book to grab.

Loved reading the exciting and engaging paranormal story. When Sonia's friend, Sunny, is attacked by a monster, she rushes to save Sunny's life, didn't think anything could do this much damage to a vampire, and wants her human friend, Alex, to be safe. Read the highly recommended, wonderfully written, and riveting story full of mystery and intrigue. Can't wait to read the next story in the series!

Congrats on this debut novel! Overall, I enjoyed this book! I really appreciated the glossary type pages at the beginning, it was a great reference for specifics throughout the novel. I did notice on page 27 there was an instance of “Sonny” written where everywhere else it was “Sunny”. This was on the Ebook on NetGalley. There were a lot of characters that I wish I could have known more about. I struggled to connect with Sonia a little bit, but I enjoyed her character! A solid first book and I would definitely read the second one! I think it started out a little slow but ended up being pretty captivating as the plot progressed! Thank you for the opportunity to read this!

This was just an ok read for me. What drew me in was the cover and topic. This book had very good potential, but jut fell a little flat for me. A bit of an overload of information at the beginning which lost my attention.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for the chace to read this e-arc in return for my honest review. 3 star

I thought this sounded really interesting, so I requested it. I must admit that the first few chapters weren’t exceptionally riveting, but I stuck with it because first books in a series can be more difficult to set up. I’m glad I did. Once everyone was on the page, and we learn more about the world, the plot got more interesting and engaging. The writing was excellent, but there was maybe a little too much description…more of a preference than a problem. I was invested enough that it kept me reading until the end. 3 ½ starts rounded up to 4. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.