129 of 152 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Meh. Disappointing., May 9, 2006
As an avid Kim Harrison fan, I read this book when she recommended it on her website. Her other recommendation, Moon Called by Patricia Briggs, was an excellent read, so I dug into Full Moon Rising with high hopes, but was disappointed.
Unlike other reviewers, Riley's promiscuity didn't bother me (although the idea that werewolves lose an entire week each month because they are driven to do nothing but have constant sex makes me wonder how they stayed employed, and also seemed like a contrived plot device). What bothered me were predictable, one-dimensional characters (when the secondary characters like Rhoan's boyfriend become more sympathetic than the main ones, there is a problem), a plot that lacks cohesion and focus, and silly twists that make you roll your eyes at both the story line and the character's actions. The premise was interesting, and this could have been a much better book than it is. Instead it's yet another mediocre offering in a genre that's becoming flooded with poor quality works. There are much better books out there to spend your money on. Check out Kelley Armstrong, Robin McKinley (Sunshine), and Kim Harrison, to name a few.
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38 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
She's making a series out of this?, January 29, 2007
While this proved to be a quick read, I really felt that I shouldn't have been able to skim chapters at a time and still understand what was going on. That's a tell-tale sign that there's very little plot and character development. The fact that Arthur ends her book with a semi-cliffhanger was yet another disappointment. I would much rather have had a more sensical plot in one book, than a contrive one over multiple books.
Her main character Riley is unrelatable. There's no nuiance to her. She's yet another hardboiled female character to join the ranks of the over-exposed and increasing derived Anita Blake character.
Even though this was placed in the genre of "paranormal romance," I found very little in the story to identify it as a romance. Sex does not a romance make. The promiscuity of the werewolves make them very ineffective characters.
Also, the concept of a lab for testing creatures of the underworld is such an unoriginal concept. It's been around since Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and has been revived in sometimes intelligent ways (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Kelley Armstrong's "Stolen"), but this rehash came across as staid.
Many authors have caught the wave of paranormal fiction, and those who have done is successfully have taken the time to bring a sense of originality and intelligence to their characters and stories. Ms. Arthur's novel falls way short of such aspirations.
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25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Give A Dog A Bone, March 16, 2007
Keri Arthur is Australian author whose work I've been a fan of for some years. Unfortunately, she's had to publish under ImaJin Books, an indy publisher whose books are rather difficult to find and really expensive. I loved Dancing with the Devil and Circle of Fire, so it was with great joy that I ordered her mass market debut Full Moon Rising. I'm not sure I would have passed on it if I'd known even the slightest thing about the premise before hand, but it would have dampened my enthusiasm. I honestly love the urban fantasy genre, but when I read book blurbs like "...a sassy, sexy werewolf whose just gone into heat..." I know I'm heading for mediocrity-ville.
Full Moon Rising takes place in a future version of Australia (something I didn't figure out until the halfway point). Supernaturals of all kinds blend in with human society. Directorate acts as the police force for this community of Others. Riley Jenson is vampire/werewolf hybrid. Being more wolf than vamp, she is overcome for a week every month with Moon Fever, which makes her constantly amorous in the time period around the full moon. She is secretary for the Directorate, but her boss wants her become a Guardian, the muscle of the organization. Her twin brother Rhoan goes missing and she must find him. His disappearance is connected to something even more sinister, and Riley and Quinn, a vampire who is also seeking a missing friend, have to solve the mystery.
I really appreciate that Arthur tried to involve an engaging plot in what is essentially another book in that noxious publishing trend that has taken over the genre: Tough Girl shags anything and everything for Great Justice! The problem is the plot contrivance used to get Riley into hormonal overdrive is not compatible with sleuthing. The Moon Fever causes Riley to constantly need sex, often at the most inappropriate times and it makes her come off as a complete bonehead. It's a shame, because I suspect she would be a pleasant main character if she weren't forced into lust-fueled idiocy by the plot. So desperate for sex she is that she is completely blind-sided by two skeevy evil boyfriends and engages in a rather emotionally charged affair with another guy whom constantly calls her a ho even as indulged himself in her ho-charms. And not in the "Come give Big Daddy a kiss" way, but rather the "Here's fifty buck on the dresser" way. Why her boss wants her in a more important position in the Directorate when she acts like a complete dunce for 25% of the year is beyond me.
Unfortunately, the slightly interesting mystery disengages itself from the novel almost entirely at the midway point. This novel is written in first person, so anything Riley doesn't take part in, the reader only hears about in passing. Increasingly other people do all the investigating work while Riley goes skanking it up all around Melbourne. For example, her brother goes to break into a suspect's office to find out who is behind a nefarious cloning scheme. Riley on the other hand goes to a werewolf sex club to pump one of her evil, skeevy boyfriends for information (and other things) with great gusto even though she already knows he is evil, skeevy, and wants to do bad things to her.
The final confrontation with the story's villain is so utterly ridiculous, it almost makes the non-climax of recent Laurell K Hamilton books look good in comparison. Riley, after being kidnapped by the bad guy, must fight her way out of his high security laboratory. A duel in werewolf form between the two seems eminent. There is a brief scuffle and then Riley settles things by playing with the bad guy's wing-dang-doodle. My jaw hit the floor, and I had to reread that section three times to believe what I had just read.
To top it all off, to get the complete story behind the mystery, there are three more books to buy. Will I read them? I don't know. I know Keri Arthur is capable of much better, and maybe she can reach that point if the next couple books feature a Riley unencumbered by the Moon Fever.
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