Customer Reviews

Bad Moon Rising

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(29)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(24)

 

 

I usually put my reviews on the UK Amazon site. However, after reading the US Amazon reviews of 'Bad Moon Rising' I thought I'd copy my review here.

My favourites in the Dark Hunter series are the Wren and Vane stories, so I've been waiting with enthusiasm for Fang's story (he and Aimee are the inter-species Romeo and Juliet of the Dark Hunter world!). The day before 'Bad Moon Rising' arrived, I reread Fury's short story to bring me up to date with the wolves. Ho hum, there wasn't much point. I'll explain...

I can understand that we need to see Fang and Aimee's side of previous stories. However, as the book progressed I began to read faster and faster. When was I going to get to something new? In retrospect I should have read slower (so that's my warning to you!) because we only read about the 'present day' (in terms of the Dark Hunter storyline) in the very last section of the book. Everything else is just a rehash apart from one interesting section. It's not giving anything away to say that this section concerns another realm (don't worry, it's far more interesting than more Greek god stuff!)and we're introduced to an intriguing new character: Thorn (an Archeron replacement in terms of interest?). I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of Thorn (hope so).

After finishing the book I'm left with the feeling, 'so what'? If you're a Dark Hunter fan then of course you have to read this book and it's perfectly readable (apart from the rushed writing which gives the characters things like an 'evil smile', followed on the next page by an 'evil laugh' - I'm getting used to this in Kenyon's later books and it's one reason I've stopped automatically buying all her books). However, the book could have been so much better. This is the first time we've had a bear as a main character, but to be honest you wouldn't know it apart from a liking for honey and the way the cubs's room is decorated (plus a little bear left on Aimee's pillow - cute). I don't even know what Aimee looks like as a bear (OK, she's foremost a human, but the bear must still be part of her character). And that's what is wrong for me with this story - it lacks depth. So much more could have been made of the struggle in their relationship and discovering the differences between the species (in Kelly Armstrong's books her wolves are truly wolves).

Perhaps 70% of the book is a rehash of past (and better) stories and the characterisation is a bit muddled (I think there are far too many 'clever' remarks and ALL the characters make them, not just the characters where it's part of their characterisation, so what is meant to be clever or funny just falls flat and distracts).

Therefore I suggest reading and enjoying, but don't expect too much so you're not disappointed. Plus don't rush the reading to get to something 'new' - there's not much of that so just enjoy what's there (I rushed too much and I'm therefore confused by Varyk and puzzled and irritated with Maman Bear's character - I should reread but I'm not convinced I can be bothered, which is very unlike me). By the way, before you give me a 'not helpful' for not raving about Sherrilyn Kenyon's book, please note I'm a fan, albeit a disappointed fan who lately has become more disappointed with the publication of each new book, but I haven't given up.

I am (was) a avid SK fan. I was ready to wait at walmart at 12am to get Acheron. This book was really not what I expected. I am very tired of the buildup of a huge great book and then going into the bookstore to see it is almost a novella. More than half of the book was rehashing the past in a different viewpoint. One chapter was a chapter from Wren's book...probably just copied and pasted that. There is just SOOO much missing, so much character exploration that could have been brought in. All the regular dark-hunters were missing except for Valerius in the past. The new books seem less vivid to me. A really good author can let you picture the books environment in your imagination. I just got one big blur from this book. Even in the new part of the book it is almost impossible to tell where on the timeline it is taking place. This is just my opinion that it almost seems like Acheron like lost his powers at the end of the book (he didn't but it seems like he has been brought down on the character totem pole). I think she really needs to take more time with these books. I don't care about the manga or the marketing of the new website. I want a decent storyline and it seems like that is going by the wayside. I think I will switch my fan adoration to Christine Feehan...even after umpteen books they still have good character interaction and are more than 300 pages.

I have read everyone of the Dark Hunter stories. I have to say besides Ash, Fang and Aimee's story was the one that I was looking forward to the most. That being said it was a little bit of a disappointment. Not to say that I didn't love it, but I started out thinking ok, she's telling us how they met and then it was when he was hurt, what really happened during that time. But as the book went on I was reading parts of books that I've already read. The last part of the book was the best because it was current. In "Upon a Midnight Clear" there is a scene where Fang, Fury, Vane and Bride are all at their house and one of them looks at Fang and says "You smell like Bear" According to this book, he never lived with them until after everyone knew about him and Aimee...
Overall, if you're looking for a great re-read of all the other books into one, this is the book for you. While I still loved it because it's Fang and Aimee's story, it did fall short for me.

At risk of getting verbally mauled by other die-hard Kenyon fans...I liked Bad Moon Rising. Granted it wasn't her best work but it wasn't bad. The plot didn't have as much bite or depth as previous DH novels and presented an unexpectedly softer character but it was still well written and an enjoyable escape at the end of the day.

Bad Moon Rising tells Fang's story. His character, who is a wolf of impressive lineage, waffles back and forth between bitterness and loyalty towards those around him including his other species love interest (a bear named Aimee). Aimee was well written as the life mate for Fang. He needed a strong female opposite and Kenyon gave him one. The drama of the potentially tragic mixing of species was a good plot detail. Also, the intensity of the deaths of bonded mates was really brought out in this story to good effect.

Even though the edginess and brutality of the individual personalities we've come to know was blunted in this particular story it doesn't mean Kenyon can't or won't ramp it up for future character stories. Considering the average response to how she handled Fang's story, I would recommend she give her next character's story...hopefully Savitar...more teeth.

One gripe I had was a couple of editorial gaffs that weren't caught. "Fang" was mistakenly called "Fury" at one point and an expression that should have been along the lines of "stomach in her throat" was phrased something like "stomach falling to her stomach". I was also disappointed that she released this novel in hardback considering the economic times. I seriously considered not buying it because of its price. (Amazon.com did give me a nice pre-purchase price reduction, though.) Kenyon will be making a mistake if she chooses to do the same with her next novel even with her more forgiving and loyal fans like myself. I can let a weaker plot slip by but don't charge me more for it when I don't necessarily have it to give.

I love this series. I've been reading them for years. When I found out Fang and Aimee's book was out I freaked and bought it immediately. And I was highly disappointed.

I don't know if my standards have risen over time but each Kenyon book I read becomes more and more juvenile and poorly written. The conversations are unnatural and make me roll my eyes. The descriptions are repetitive. The characters are growing less and less rounded and lovable.

Her other books have pretty much a copy-paste plot. Boy meets girl, boy&girl have lust for each other, boy&girl fall for each other, boy tries to protect girl from his violent and awful existence, girl proves boy wrong by generally being awesome. I was pleased Bad Moon Rising had a different set up, slightly, but the book overall was badly written.

I found myself scanning each page just so I would know what happened instead of actually reading each line.

This is a good book to check out at a library if you want to fill in the blanks on Fang and Aimee or to buy if you want the full collection but I wouldn't waste money like I did.

I have never done a review before but after reading all of these reviews I just had to comment. First I agree with most of the people here that say that most of the book is a repeat of other books just seen through Fang and Amee's point of view. I also agree that you have to get half way through the book before you see anything different. But this is what gets me about a lot of the negative reviews the ones where the people didn't even read the whole book. My belief is if you don't read the book don't comment. I agree that if I did like you and just read a couple of chapters I wouldn't have liked it either. You had to read the whole book to get the effect. That being said, maybe there was to much hype about the book, maybe she just has to many irons in the fire what with all of new series that are coming out. I don't know what the problem is but this book just wasn't up to HER standards. And when I say her standards I mean that if I had never read any of her other books then I would have thought that the book was fine, a good read, but I am use to much better from her and that is the problem. If your a big fan of the series then what these reviews say doesn't matter because you like me are going to buy it any way. For the rest of you I'd just wait for the paperback version you wont feel as cheated.

I had really looked forward to getting to know Fang's character better but that isn't really what happened. So much of the book was a repeat of previous books with very little new added to Fang and Aimee's story. But the worst crime was that so much of the book was just...boring. I can forgive much from a well-loved author but not boredom. I found myself skimming chapters until something wouldn't make sense and then having to go back to read more closely and then it still didn't make sense. The timeline was off in so many places that after a while I just gave up expecting it to make sense and trudged on without enjoying the story at all.

On the plus side I did enjoy meeting Thorn. He was about the most interesting part of the whole book. Of course Simi is always good for comic relief and seeing her was pure pleasure. The rest? Not so much. Where we were really cheated was in Fang and Aimee's romance. We didn't see them fall in love, we were just told they loved each other more than life itself. I hate being told instead of shown. Isn't that the most basic rule of story-telling? An author this prolific shouldn't be abusing such an important tenet of good writing. I don't know if she is just getting lazy or if she is so caught up in all her conflicting worlds and rules that she thinks we won't notice. It's clear from so many negative reviews that we are definitely noticing. While there are many disappointments in this book I don't want to dismiss it as entirely not worth reading.

The last few chapters of the book reminded me of the old Kenyon. Once again she had me on the edge of my seat and not skipping a word or a comma. Unfortunately that wasn't enough to make me add the book to my permanent library. From now on I will be checking her books from the library before purchase. She has always been on my Buy-on-Sight list but sadly that has now been revoked. While I still recommend her fans read this book I can no longer whole heartedly recommend they buy it. It makes me sad to give that kind of limited approval to such a well loved author but in this economy we all need to get our money's worth from every dollar. I'm afraid this latest SK just doesn't measure up in that regard.

As I read, I kept thinking "I know this scene", "Wait a minute, I've read this before," and "Wasn't Vane banned from Sanctuary???" I then realized it's a new perspective of past events (duh!). My only problem with that aspect of the novel was the underlying assumption that we would remember the earlier event(s) in vivid detail, and I'm just not that devoted of a DH fan.

Once again, there was too little character development, and although I felt their lust, I didn't feel Aimee and Fang's love for each other. We're told that either one would die for the other, but they're really resigned to never being together and the fates are nasty and it just won't work and blah, blah, blah.

I agree with the reviewer who commented that we still don't really know the bears. We found out more about the panthers in Dante's all-too-short story than we do about the bears in a full-length novel featuring them. It was too jumbled, there are too many layers, and evidently they all needed to be protected from Mama Bear, who would kill the cubs she would kill to protect if she ever found out the awful truth of who/what they really were.

Really? I'm sorry Sherrilyn, but you can do better than this.

On the plus side, there was an interesting twist to another level of hell, if you will, and a very intriguing character was introduced. Unfortunately, a rather involved story was given a relatively short novel and current events weren't really developed, resulting in the present-day story being much too rushed.

At the end of the day, it was an easily read but just as easily forgotten story. Such a shame, but I am no longer shocked and appalled by this. I have seen it happen with other authors who start out with phenomenal stories which generate an emotionally charged fanbase. Suddenly fan-related events, websites, and forums seem to be more important than crafting a well-told story.

Borrow this one from your library.

I have read all of the books and in fact, am re-reading earlier books (Julian, Kyrian, Zarek's) because I love them so much. It seems to have been quite a while since SK has really fully developed stories and characters as in her earlier Dark-Hunter books. I've been disappointed in the last 3-4 books. In Bad Moon Rising she took one whole chapter that was used in Vane's story and dropped it into this book. I felt jipped.

I too adored the Wren and Vane books, actually Vane might have been one of my favorites. I was greatly anticipating Fang's book, Fury's short story at least had a plot, but wasn't great.

The book was terrible. No plot, basically a rehashing of what she wrote previously. The lack of depth of the characters was sad. It was depressing and there wasn't a moment where you wanted to cheer for either main character.

It just didn't flow at all. I didn't think Dream Warrior was that great, but it now looks outstanding compared to this book!