Customer Reviews

Daring The Moon

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Lovely Taite's being stalked by a werewolf and best bud Declan decides they need the help of Declan's old school chum Ryder, a sexy reclusive Brit author, to find out how to fend off the fiend. Of course Ryder's knowlege is a bit more first hand than he's ready to let on. When they invade his home Ryder should really should send them on their way, because Ryder can't afford to let their research reveal his own secrets - but Taite's scent brings him to his knees and he can't help but say 'mine'.

I am a shifter freak so I wasn't bothered by the fact that the premise of Daring the Moon wasn't overly original, I am very character oriented (especially hero-centric) and I liked Ryder and his equally luscious friend Declan and Declan's lovely Irish brogue. Taite's a pretty good heroine, who understandably is scared and weepy at times but she does manage to regain some of her supposed strength by the end of the tale.

Parts which worked less well for me? This is on the more explicit side of Brava, I tend to read steamy and while this wasn't overwhelming erotic, there were more descriptions of body fluids than I care for and Quinn's sensual vocabulary triggered a few of my language issues, this won't be a problem for erotic PNR lovers but it just pulled me out of 'the moment' at times. My final nit was that the villain is way over the top evil - Taite ends up in peril and the villain promises rape and torture (not fulfilled fortunately).

So while Quinn's Daring the Moon wasn't entirely a good fit for me, I did like quite a bit of it, and I liked supporting cast member Declan so much that I will still be tempted to read his book when it makes to paperback.

Full of intrigue, suspense, and romance, Daring the Moon is sure to be a bookshelf keeper! While the identity of the werewolf was easy to discern from the very first chapter, the storyline was well written and kept me interested. I fell in love with the characters and would love to see a spin-off involving Declan, and hopefully giving us a glimpse into the future of Ryder and Taite. The dialogue was easy to follow and flowed well. Before I knew it, I had read the whole book, flying through one chapter after another.

Daring the Moon allows you to slip into another world, losing yourself in a place where werewolves are not only possible, but are easy to love.

Jessica S.
We Write Romance
[...]

Taite is being stalked and has what appears to be a werewolf after her. Her friend Declan suggests they go to his friend, Ryder, a reclusive horror writer and expert on these things. Ryder Merrick has his own island in the Isles of Scillys off the coast of Cornwall. Declan doesn't realize Ryder's a recluse for a reason and their trouble has followed them. Declan, caught in the middle, is a loyal friend to both but willing to intrude on and anger Ryder to protect Taite.
DARING THE MOON is a fun read. Taite is a spunky heroine and Ryder, the dark brooding hero. There's just enough suspense and sexual tension to keeps things interesting. The pace is quick and I like the way Taite struggles with revelations and emotions versus accepting it all without much thought or consideration. She's a woman who doesn't wait on the guy to come riding to her rescue, she gives it her best shot. I like that in a heroine. Ryder is a bit retro in that he chooses isolation instead of believing in himself. That made for a nice change of pace. Their scenes together are amusing and hot. The isolated location was ideal and made the suspense stronger. I'm sure we'll be hearing from Declan in the future. I look forward to hearing how he rights a wrong & deals with the cards he's been dealt.

Ivy

When Taite Gibson realises that not only is she being stalked by a mysterious person but that a werewolf is also trying to attack her, she realises she's in deep trouble. Her friend Declan O'Connell thinks he can at least help with the werewolf side of the problem - his old friend Ryder Merrick, a reclusive British horror writer, is reputed to know all about them. Taite and Declan decide to go and visit Ryder on his small island, part of the Scilly Isles off the coast of Cornwall in England.

But Taite and Declan don't know that Ryder is himself a werewolf and guards his privacy on purpose - to protect people from his wolf form. When the werewolf that is chasing Taite arrives on the island, it seems impossible that Ryder can keep his secret. Not only that, he finds it impossible to keep his hands off Taite, all the while knowing that when she finds out he's a werewolf she is sure to reject him. What future is there for them?

This book was a pleasant enough read, if fairly light on plot. The fight scenes between the werewolves were over fairly quickly, most of the focus of the narrative was on the relationship between Ryder and Taite. Accuracy suffered occasionally in terms of the English setting; at one point someone jokes that the Scilly Isles must be 'somewhere silly', "deliberately mispronouncing the name", except that 'Scilly' IS pronounced 'silly' normally. It was also a bit odd that Ryder informed Taite that the British use kilometres as measurement (we don't, we still use miles) and referred to the cost of something in dollars, rather than pounds or possibly euros. There were occasional lapses of dialogue, too, where the British Ryder spoke with an American voice. Most unlikely of all was that Ryder apparently had some handguns at his home; handguns have been illegal in the UK for years and it's highly unlikely a writer living on an isolated island would have been able to get hold of one; it just didn't ring true.

I also felt that characterisation was fairly thin in this book; although we followed events from Taite's point of view a lot of the time, I didn't really feel I got to know her. We had more insights into Ryder's nature but I wasn't entirely convinced. Declan seemed rather a spare part in the story and I imagine he will be the focus of another book by this author.

In short, this is run-of-the-mill fare in a werewolf story. The central premise, that Taite and Declan would travel all the way to England to talk to Ryder rather than phone him up felt rather unlikely, but if one suspended reality then reading this passed the time well enough.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2009

In Tucson, Pima County Attorney's Office investigator Taite Gibson enjoys her job. However, recently she has become concerned with doing field work as a growling werewolf shadows her. Besides having problems accepting there is such a paranormal species, Taite wonders why the creature seems to be stalking her.

When the threat turns physical into dangerous assaults, Taite knows she needs professional help. The only person she can think of is British expatriate horror writer Ryder Merrick, who has the reputation of knowing everything you need to know about werewolves but were afraid to ask. She travels to Ryder's isolated private island to consult with him. However, Ryder's werewolf expertise and his life as a hermit are intertwined because he hides from society to contain the beast that he cannot control especially when the moon is full and a beautiful woman is near. His greatest test begins as the moon will soon be full and lovely Taite has arrived, a woman he is attracted to as man and beast. Neither is aware she has been followed.

Taite as a woman in peril from a supernatural beast makes DARING THE MOON a fun paranormal romantic suspense. She carries the load holding the fast-paced story line together while two males "want" her. Ryder is somewhat a throwback lycan with his brooding and moans about trying not to harm others, but now faces the ultimate test of his will. Sub-genre readers will enjoy Sherrill Quinn's fun werewolf romantic suspense.

Harriet Klausner

I read Daring the Moon because I wanted to read a shifter romance. In its bare elements the book met those qualifications. Woman is in danger, she seeks the help of sexy mystery man - who happens to be a werewolf. The story was engaging, but it felt like the characters actions were led in the direction the plot needed to go - they didn't seem organic to the characters themselves. I think I read the book for the best friend more than I did the main romance. I didn't really like the graphic nature of the kidnapping scene. Yes, it made for a very high tension moment, but that's not something I like to read. It was a fun day read, and if you like shifter romances, you'll find Daring the Moon fits that bill.

Overall I enjoyed this book. This is my first from Sherrill Quinn and I found I rather liked her writing style.


Nitpicks --Possible Spoilers--

I liked Ryder as the hero. Tall, dark, broody and sexy -- what's not to like? However, I felt like I never really learned much about him other than he doesn't like being a werewolf and he's afraid of small spaces.

The same can almost be said for the heroine, Taite. I felt like I didn't know that much about her. At the beginning of the book it's shown that she's an investigator but from that point on it's not really mentioned and I saw no hint of that side of her.

The relationship of those two play out like many other stories I've read -- no real conversations or getting to know one another, just mainly a "unexplainable sexual connection/draw", some bouts of good sex and then suddenly they're in love.

The plot was okay. I admit I don't read these books for some mind-blowing plot. lol So, it doesn't bother me that it wasn't the most original plot idea -- some obsessed guy (in this case werewolf) is stalking the heroine with terrible things in mind and they have to stop him. Granted there are some other elements to the plot but that's basically what it boils down to.

As mentioned by another reviewer, I also found it a bit odd that they had to fly to another country just to ask Ryder what he knew about werewolves. He obviously had a phone if Declan spoke to Ryder before they arrived. I know there had to be some excuse to get Taite and Declan to Ryder's home (the setting for 99% of the story) but I thought that the author should have given more reasoning behind that.

Also, regarding the "admirer" (i.e. Taite's stalker) I don't know if the author was genuinely trying to keep his identity a secret or if it was meant to be so blatantly obvious. I hope it's the latter because it's all but given away on literally the first few pages of this book and when it's finally revealed it's a big, fat "well, duh" moment.


With all that being said, I still liked this story (I have an affinity for werewolf/shifter stories). Not my favorite but a good story overall in my opinion. I would purchase the book again if given the choice and I will be checking out Declan's story in the next book as well.

Sherrill Quinn has a solid ebook backlist and I think any fan of those works will love Daring the Moon, not to mention fans of the werewolf genre and of hot romances in general.

I recognized the author's trademark humor and of course there's plenty of sensuality and sex. The reclusive Ryder with his furry secret is a to-die-for hunk of a hero, and he meets his match in the fiery independent heroine. The story mostly takes place at Ryder's isolated mansion on an island off Cornwall, England, an atmospheric backdrop to the darker aspects of the plot.

A secondary character Declan gets his own story in a sequel - I'll be looking out for that one.

Wow!!! Taite has no problem convincing the man with the gun in her face that it's best to put the gun down and help with her case and she's quite known for her ferocity in the law office, but coming face to face with a wolf outside, shakes her to the core! It doesn't help that she has a stalker already, and now a wolf - that she soon finds is more than that!!! When her brotherly friend, Declan, also witness the werewolf after her, he offers to take her to a remote island where another good friend lives that is an "expert on werewolves". It doesn't take much convincing for Taite to go with him, but when she gets there and meets his friend, Ryder, she finds she is up for more than even she can handle.
Ryder, with secrets of his own, is torn between helping the beautiful Taite and making his best friend take her back home. The instant attraction, which he first sums up to being a recluse for so long, over powers his need to send them away for their own protection. Until he realizes that they were followed to the island, he still tries to convince himself that they must leave the next day. Now, he must fight with his desire for her, as he tries to decide how to save them from the werewolf and himself.
He is losing the battle of desire and so is she. Neither have the power or will to fight what is going on between them, but will it destroy them?
I couldn't put the book down and I don't think anyone else will that loves werewolves as well as hot, sensual stories.