Really nice book. Not the best I’ve ever read but he knew how to capture me, especially in certain scenes, kept me glued to the pages.
It is a paranormal urban fantasy with suspense scenes and an intriguing mystery related to a serial killer. The narrative is fluid, with a fast pace that makes the book perfect for quick reading and without too many prosaic descriptions that could weigh down the story.
The worldbuilding is well-designed and described: each place is told with enough detail to be able to imagine it clearly, without being too elaborate.
I liked the protagonist, Briar, very much: she is strong and brave but with her weaknesses. The relationship she has with the various characters, even with those secondary, is described in a deep and engaging way. I also appreciated that at times there were comic scenes that gave a touch of lightness to the narrative.
It was also intriguing the serial killer element that made me really question who he was. And until the end of the book I thought it was another character!
Overall, it is a well-written book, light and fast to read, but capable of giving intense and deep moments. I would recommend it to those who are looking for a smooth but compelling reading, especially for lovers of the paranormal with a touch of mystery.
Thank you @netgalley and @hodder&stoughton for the ARC copy.

There were things about this I adored: the premise, the witches/werewolves premise, the mystery, etc. However, I didn't love the main female character which kind of tainted my enjoyment of the book. She just didn't feel very likeable. The romantic aspects were well written and I enjoyed those parts of the book.

Thank you to Netgalley, Hodder & Stoughton, and K.C. Harper for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars, rounded down, because it doesn't match the quality of other books I've rated 4 stars.

The year is 2004 and urban fantasy is in its heyday. Many books are published lording a badass female main character with spunk, magic, and some kind of attitude problem. These books slap, because at this stage in the publishing game, very few of these books exist, and it's refreshing to read about a powerful woman, rather than a demure one. Buffy-esque and trope-filled, they quickly become the perfect serials, most boasting at least a five book roster before fading into obscurity when the dystopian leads take over at the turn of a new decade.

I mention this, because Shadowed Moonlight is reminiscent of this bygone era. When reading this book, I felt as if I held a novel I'd pulled out of a time capsule that I'd buried in my backyard as a tweenager. I felt transported back into a time when Charmed dominated the ratings, and everyone owned a copy of Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. For better or for worse, this book will take you back to this era. I truly have no other way to describe it.

Unfortunately, this also means that Shadowed Moonlight was published more than a decade too late. I truly believe this would have been a hit with readers back in the day, but now? Now, because the marketplace is oversaturated with options, it is with great regret that I share the belief that this book is simply not exciting enough for readers like me. There's nothing wrong with it. In fact, it's a solid book with a solid plot. It's just that it is only a solid book with a solid plot. There is nothing new here.

That being said, K.C. Harper is incredibly gifted at writing smut — and coming from someone like me, who is usually repulsed by unrealistic comparisons or absurdly short refractory periods, that's saying something. Honestly, she could make $$$ if she ventured into the erotica market, be it with a pen name or her own.

Overall, I enjoyed Shadowed Moonlight, but it didn't wow me like its competitors. And it's such a tough world out there right now, so I have so much respect to authors who are consistently writing solid books with solid plots. I hope she continues to publish more content, as I suspect, much like the esteemed Charlaine Harris and her Sookie Stackhouse novels, K. C. Harper's work will only continue to improve as her narratives are developed over time.

This really just wasn't for me. I thought the premise was really interesting, but the writing of it all felt sort of chaotic. For me, it felt like jumping into the middle of a story (which we sort of are) and then sprinting to try to keep up. Some people are going to love this style of writing; it just wasn't really my thing.

**Note: This book is the first in a trilogy and the second one has not been announced **

I was a little nervous about this one - wasn't sure how I would like it. A lot of the new paranormal romances have been falling flat for me, but I found I really enjoyed this one.

The fast pace of the story kept from wanting to put the book down (that hasn't happened for me in awhile). And the characters and their stories were interesting. Sometimes the world building felt lacking and the murder storyline felt pushed to the side, but I think now that the characters history and time apart has been clarified, I think we'll see more of the focus on the murder part.

I enjoyed this book and I hope the next one comes out soon!

Not a bad beginning of a series. The pacing was good, not too slow but not too quick. The ending was...confusing? I was expecting more of a cliffhanger and I guess it was but others might think "okay, it's done."
The characters were okay. I think more could've been done with new descriptions rather than repeating the same thing about Kane's eyes.
The plot surprised me actually. I liked the 2nd chance aspect with werewolves and witches in an urban setting that was easy to understand. Briar's voice felt immature and repetitive. Not sure what humans have to do with anything...but this is supposed to be a trilogy?
Overall, I'd rate it about 3.5 stars and I might recommend it to others but it might need to be cleaned up a little first.

Shadowed Moonlight follows Briar, who is forced into a fake relationship with her ex-lover Kane, who’s now an Alpha, to solve a string of supernatural murders and save her brother. Old feelings start to resurface, and now they must navigate a dangerous political landscape with a killer lurking in the shadows.

As someone who reads a lot of fantasy, I found this one enjoyable enough but not without its flaws. The mix of second-chance romance and supernatural politics kept me intrigued, and I really liked Briar’s unique “Aura Magi” abilities, which allowed her to access past memories. That was definitely a cool twist. The chemistry between Briar and Kane also had its moments, especially if you're into some intense romance with unresolved tension.

That being said, the pacing felt rushed. The whole fake-dating angle and their past relationship had so much potential, but it was hard to buy into the sudden forgiveness between them. I would have loved to see more character development, especially with Kane. His Alpha status had a lot of promise, but I felt like there wasn’t enough backstory to really flesh him out, and their history together deserved more depth.

If you’re a fan of fast-paced urban fantasy with steamy paranormal romance, you’ll probably enjoy Shadowed Moonlight. However, if you’re like me and you prefer deeper character arcs and a bit more complexity in relationships, it might fall short in that department.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton, and K.C. Harper for the privilege of reading an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

K.C. Harper presents an intriguing premise in "Shadowed Moonlight" that is filled with witches, vampires, and werewolves, all wrapped up in a mystery involving a killer leaving a trail of dead bodies. As my first read by this author, I found the blend of supernatural elements compelling and ripe for exploration.

The story has a lot of potential, and the world-building is engaging, pulling you into a realm where dark magic and ancient rivalries coexist. However, I felt that some aspects of the plot could have been developed further; at times, the pacing felt uneven, leaving certain characters and their motivations underexplored.

Despite these drawbacks, Harper’s writing has a certain flair that kept me interested, and I appreciated the unique take on familiar tropes. While "Shadowed Moonlight" didn’t fully meet my expectations, it certainly piqued my curiosity enough to consider reading more from this author in the future. If you’re a fan of urban fantasy with a mix of suspense, this book might be worth checking out!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this opportunity.

No. This is a were romance. I didn’t enjoy it. I was bored throughout. It felt formulaic. Like I have read the story before. It brought nothing new to the genre.

This is a fast paced urban fantasy book that is infused with mystery. I liked the world building , found family trope, and the spice. I struggled with the FMC. She seemed very immature, Overall, I thought this book was an enjoyable read.

[ARC provided by NetGalley and Hodderscape. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review Shadowed Moonlight.]

Rating: 2/5

I’ll start by saying this simply wasn’t the book for me, and because of that I won’t go into too much detail in this review. The plot was intriguing, but the pacing felt off from the first page. And although I appreciated that the story sinks you right into the action, without a good chance to get through the exposition, developments felt a little rushed in that introductory stage of the story. That paired with a cast of characters that I didn’t particularly like made this a read I couldn’t fully get into.

Shadowed Moonlight is an urban fantasy / second chance romance with a side of murder mystery, and it’s the first in a trilogy that is written in first person. There are witches, vampires, werewolves, and a killer leaving a trail of dead bodies in his wake. Our FMC with her particular skillset is able to assist with solving this mystery, but to do so she must fake being the mate of the man who abandoned her four years ago.

I will say that I found myself enjoying this story more at around the 60-70% mark, so if you’re struggling at the start then just stick in there because there are some fun plot developments down the line. I also think that if you prefer your fantasy reads to lean into the romance side of things more, with a significant amount of spicy scenes, then you’ll probably have a great time.

Alas, this wasn’t my kind of read. I’d still recommend it to others as I believe this was a ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ kind of situations. I’ve no doubt that this will find a great home with its target audience but in this case, that audience wasn’t me.

Shadowed Moonlight is the first book in a new fantasy trilogy. The main characters are witches and werewolves and what an amazing combination that creates. I wanted a bit more world-building as to how this world works with all the different types of beings. Overall the plot is good, it’s fast paced, there’s a murder mystery, substance misuse and second chance romance. The spice is spicy and fun to read but slightly questionable in terms of why they are having sex in the first place and the dubious consent this created. But there are some twists - slightly predictable but enjoyable to read. As with any werewolf romance there is plenty of possessiveness and posturing. The murder mystery really fell into the background. This is mainly a second chance romance with fantasy characters, so if you want a fun read with this focus I would recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

Yeah, not the book for me, in many ways.

The biggest problem is the general dubious consent for about 50% of the book, it just gave me so much ick I wanted to stop reading. I understand the general reasoning for it, but I think it could have been handled so much better. On top of that there is the **SPOILER** reason the MMC leaves is because he was essentially forcibly raped which that is not really fully explained (was it once or for years? WHY?) or in any way processed other than as the reason they broke up originally.

Then there is barely a HEA/resolution in regards to the mystery element. It left a bad taste in my mouth and I felt disappointed that it wasn't all pulled together like mystery books generally promise. Also, we barely get a good justification for why the FMC is the one who is investigating and other than moving the plot forward I strongly doubt she would have been able to move leeway with just her abilities.

The leaders, and generally all of the characters barely act like adults, let alone as beings who may be immortal. It also bothered me that many times large grievances were just immediately forgiven, but then later the FMC is completely not over them. I am all for complexity, but going from one to the other for no discernable reason is just bad writing and frustrating. The world building was also lacking - I barely understand the different types of supernaturals and almost nothing about the cultures of each. The random dropping in of flashbacks any time we needed backstory was also in my opinion less than ideal and a fairly underwhelming way to accomplish fleshing out the characters.

For being from a Big Five publisher, I am disappointed that this book didn't get more editing that it very much needed. It's a generally good idea, but at every point I was disappointed by the execution.

I really really wanted to enjoy this. And I suppose I did, but in a I want to know what happens way. You know like those ads you get sucked into reading on social media? It felt like that.

The story was compelling enough, a little all over the place and a little chaotic. It was enough that I read it in one sitting and had to know what was happening, so for that it was compelling. The fmc was whiney and very back and forth - her mood switches in a heartbeat. The main mmc, was meant to be an alpha however to me he seemed like a wet blanket. The story itself with the description is that they had a relationship 4 years ago, and I don’t feel like there was enough of that. Maybe a prologue would have sufficed instead of the random flashbacks - even though majority of it was predictable.

But as far as everything else, I’m 50/50 as to whether I would read another in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved this book, however would have loved more world building to help me picture it better and more information about the magic side of things as I found this really interesting but it lacked details in place.

I've had this book on my NetGalley Shelf for a while and why the hell haven't I started it sooner? I mean, the story extremely captivating, I wasn't hooked up straight away because I needed to understand the magic world, but it didn't take long though.

Briar is the FMC whose heart was shattered when her ware boyfriend left town without telling her four years prior. Now, Briar finds herslef helping the Conclave of her town, trying to save her brother from being connected to a murder. when Kane, her ex, returns unexpectedly. And they are now working together to find the killer.

The twists of this book were incredible. I gasped while reading most pages of the last 30% of the book. I got some of the twists but most of them were so unexpected and well thought out that made it a glorious book to read.

Even though it's the first book of a series it doesn't end in a cliffhanger, which I was grateful for, but I can't wait to put my hands on book 2.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.
4 stars book from me. Loved the plot and the storytelling in Shadowed Moonlight and relatable, likable characters,. Loved every single second reading it.

Although I have been reading a lot of novels featuring weres, it seems that my love for such stories are immeasurable because when I read the synopsis of Shadowed Moonlight, I knew that I had to request it. Luckily, I got approved and here I am, writing this review. Shadowed Moonlight has its ups and downs, thus, the 3.5 star rating. I enjoyed some parts of it and some had me frowning. The book is only around 261 pages and there are a lot of things to cover given the themes explored in the story. It’s too fast paced for my liking.

Anyhow, let’s backtrack to what Shadowed Moonlight is all about. The novel follows the story of Briar, an Aura Magi, who can look into your past memories and remember things for you. Her ex-boyfriend, Kane Slade, is a werewolf who abandoned her four years ago, literally destroying her life. As part of her moving on strategy, Briar had made sure to never cross paths with Kane again. Unfortunately, a series of gruesome murders had been suddenly happening in the City where she lives in and ultimately, led her not only to meet but work with Kane. While it’s your typical lovers to enemies to lovers story, I find that I still enjoy them and Shadowed Moonlight is no different. It has the perfect formula of a tragic love story between a couple who’s absolutely head over heels in love with each other but due to uncontrollable circumstances, they got torn apart. The romantic conflict in the story was interesting and it’s something that I can understand why things happened.

What did not sit right with me, however, was that everything just happened so fast that I was not able to fully invest myself with the other aspects of the story including the characters. Every heavy conflict was resolved in a rush manner and I had a hard time reconciling why forgiveness came so easy. There was no period of processing the feelings and everything. The characters were also underdeveloped that it took some effort for me to at least relate to them at some point. I did like the mystery aspect of the novel though because it was scary and understandably so. The author did it right for I was really taken aback when the mystery killer was finally revealed. It never crossed my mind that such character would have the audacity to be the killer. Imagine the hairs on my back standing after Briar uncovered the identity of the person plaguing Cambria City with horrific murdered bodies of the supernatural.

All in all, Shadowed Moonlight has its pros and cons. I was just glad that reading it was not wasted at all because it gave me enjoyment albeit the issues that I have mentioned above. Of course, there was really a lot of smut so if you like these things in your paranormal stories, you better try this one. Plus points that this book is a standalone so no more pining for the 2nd installment to be published.

I do enjoy all things werewolf, vampire and murder and this was a solid read! I enjoyed the fake mates trope quite a bit. It left a little to be desired with the world building and with such an interesting magic system I would’ve loved more of that! Intrigued to see where the second book takes us!

This first book ist fast paced, thrilling, sarcastic and spicy - what more needs there to be?! I love the trope of fake dating, also second chances, however I'm no fan of addictions...