Moonglow (Darkest London #2)

Kristen Callihan

Publisher: Forever
Publication Date: July 31, 2012
Genre: Paranormal Regency Romance
Source: Netgalley

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.

Goodreads Summary

I admire an author that can take an old genre and give it a new spin. Historical romances have been around for a looong time, and sometimes if you’ve read one, you’ve read them all. I love this new series by Kristen Callihan, where she’s taken Victorian England and given it a darker, grittier feel, then added in little hints of magic and wonderfully fleshed out characters that you can’t help but love. In a genre full of dukes and wallflowers, this author has managed to make her books stand out from the crowd.

In the first book of the series, Firelight, the story focuses on Miranda Ellis and Lord Benjamin Archer. Miranda is the youngest of three sisters, and from a young age has struggled with wielding a mysterious elemental power, fire. Moonglow is the story of the second sister, Daisy. Daisy is recently widowed, and determined to enjoy her life now that she’s escaped an oppressive marriage. While attending a friend’s party, Daisy and a potential lover take a stroll in the garden only to stumble across her friend’s mauled and lifeless body. Before Daisy can scream for help, the ravenous animal that killed her friend returns and attacks Daisy as well.

Ian Ranulf has battled with his wolfie tendencies for many years. He is on his way home from running off the full moon agitation, when he catches the scent of an unknown werewolf in his territory. As he follows the scent to investigate, he arrives at the scene of the attack where Daisy is the only survivor. Afraid of what she’s seen, Ian whisks her away to his home where he can question her in private. Daisy is horrified by the attack and the death of her friend, but she tells Ian the truth of what she saw despite knowing he’d most likely have her committed.

Knowing this magical world must stay hidden from the human authorities, Ian and Daisy race to find the mad werewolf before he finds them. It seems that Daisy is his ultimate target, and Ian is determined to protect her despite her objections. In their hunt for the mysterious werewolf, the pair also manages to embroil themselves in local werewolf politics, adding the pack to the list of enemies out to get Ian and Daisy. Daisy didn’t come away from the original attack unscathed, and even if they manage to overcome the obstacles in their way, it may not matter in the end. For Daisy, it’s truly become a race against time and Ian faces a loss he may not recover from.

If it’s possible, I think that Moonglow was better than Firelight, and I really enjoyed Firelight. Moonglow had a darker tone overall, and Ian was the epitome of a tortured hero. Ian has had some hard knocks in life, and he has lived a very lonely existence in order to avoid feeling that kind of emotional pain again. Then Daisy comes crashing into his life and disrupts everything, and Ian was so cranky about it. He was all growly and grumpy and I loved it. I loved Daisy. She was strong and vibrant, and despite her awful marriage she made something of herself and wasn’t afraid to love. Daisy thought so poorly of Ian at first (he did, after all, fancy himself in love with Miranda and tried to persuade her away from Archer), but once she got past the act that Ian puts on, she discovered the great man that Ian really is.

Moonglow is full of twists and turns. When I thought I had a handle on what was going on, Callihan would throw something new in and ruin all my speculations. I finally stopped trying to figure it all out, and just sat back and enjoyed the ride. We learn a little bit more about Miranda’s fire magic, and discover that Daisy has some unique magic of her own. It seems that Poppy, the oldest sister, has been hiding a few things from her two sisters. One of the biggest battles that Ian and Daisy had to face was the question of her humanity vs. his immortality. I thought Callihan did a great job of tying up that conflict, and I look forward to hearing about how it all works out for Daisy and Ian in future books.

My Summary: Moonglow was an excellent read. Intriguing, mysterious, full of suspense, passion and romance… it was everything I look for in a book. I loved Daisy and Ian’s love story, especially because it seemed like they were never going to be able to be together. They had so many strikes against them, and I was overjoyed when they finally achieved their happily ever after. This book took me away from my life for a few hours, and I’ve decided that I will happily escape into the world of Darkest London anytime!

My Rating: A