Customer Reviews

Midnight Moon (Nightcreature, Book 5)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Cassandra has a new life now. And she is assighed to find the ways to raise zombie's. It will be the only way to break to curse set on her best friends husband and his son. And the only way will be to raise the voodo goddess that first put this curse on the husbands father. But she has "other" reasons to want to find out how to gain this talent. She wants to bring back her dead daughter. But in her travels she is beginning to understand that even if she can do this will her daughter really be that little girl again,and is she sure that this is something that she should be doing. To confuse her more she meets the man who is going to take her to find the sorrcoress that has this ablity. He is not your usual guy. long sun bleach hear with fleathers and beans mixed in and a body that is so unlike anything she is use to. and she's also beginning to get 'those'feeling back. Feeling she thought she would never have again. So they go off to find her answers and get back to brake the curse and then she can go back to Calilforia to bring back her daughter. Now she just has to find this place and not get killed or lost or possibly even trapped there forever. Did I mention that cassandra is also a voodoo prestiess. With some pretty interesting powers herself. Its a roller coaster ride of emotions and pain. No one said life was easy.
you get so involved with the characters that at times you do feel the pain of lossing a child and also how hard it is to not feel that if has been a better mother she could and should have been able to prevent the loss of her little girl

Cassandra's life was destroyed in more ways than one when her daughter was murdered. Now, with her true identity lost in the witness protection program, she searches for a way to bring her child back to life and find meaning in her own again. Her search has lead her to learn voodoo, and that gift has made her a part of the Juger Sachers, an elite force that fights monsters. To set one of their own free, the Juger Sachers need Cassandra to raise the dead so that the remants of a long dead priestess can remove a curse. This knowledge would also allow Cassandra to achieve her goal, she therefore goes to Haiti. Once there, she is guided by Devon Murphy, an engimatic man who does not believe in magic, into the jungle to learn from an evil sorceror. Little does she know the price that knowledge will exact, or how true the statement that there are no accidents is.

***** As this series continues to unfold, each segment grows more fascinating. Cassandra's story is one you want to hurry to finish, but to savor as well. Moreover, the Juger Sachers are endlessly intriguing, especially their boss, Edward. Though if he were a truly living person he might shoot me for saying this, Edward is a character who is very easy to love, bringing a dry wit to the story that will charm you. *****

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore for Huntress Reviews.

I made the mistake of starting this when I was obligated to complete some other things. It was do something responsible and then rush back to the book all day. I took it everywhere with me and read as much as possible while waiting for the dry cleaning, the phone to be answered, friends to meet me at the restaurant etc.

Cassandra was so desperate to get her dead daughter back that she would (and did) do anything. Devon had lived such a hard life and still had a deep core of goodness. These characters were well developed and very likable. Cassandra's love of a snake was a lot hard for me to understand but.... different strokes.

This was a great adventure, love story and giggle out loud to boot! Can't wait for the next story from her.

I'd read Handeland's other Moon books and enjoyed them, but I was let down with 'Midnight Moon.' I really liked Cassandra in the previous novel, 'Crescent Moon,' but Ms. Handeland made Cassandra into a thing where, if you toss a bit of sex her way, she forgets all else.

That's all there really is to her story: she meets 'mysterious bad boy thief' Devon Murphy in Haiti while looking for a way to raise her daughter from the dead, they talk, get shot at, meet a voodoo master, have sex, learn new things about shapeshifters, have sex, more sex, and Cassandra has to go back home to New Orleans but he meets up with her there for some more sex. That's it. The only saving grace in the story is the rich details of Haiti and voodoo, but it comes in small pinches. I'm all for sex but it could have been so much more magical if 'sex' didn't equal 'love' in this book.

Priestess Cassandra is still haunted by the death of her young daughter in her life prior to the Witness Protection Program. Now as a voodoo priestess, her sole goal in life is to learn to raise her daughter from the dead. She is also a member of the Jager-Suchers and helps hunt for monsters, such as werewolves. Her work as a Jager-Sucher coincides with her personal goal when she is sent to Haiti to discover how to raise a zombie.

Cassandra's Haitian journey takes her far into areas of voodoo she had never planned to explore. With her guide, Devon Murphy, she sets out to find the mysterious bukor, Mezareau. Cassandra never expected to find love again- but is Murphy the kind of man who will stick around? Together, they will have to face some unusual circumstances that will make both of them re-examine everything in which they believe.

MIDNIGHT MOON is the fifth book in the Nightcreature series. Lori Handeland picks up the story of Priestess Cassandra, who appeared previously in CRESCENT MOON. Each book in this series is a stand alone novel despite the reoccurrence of several characters. Ms. Handeland does an excellent job at orienting new readers to the world of the Jager-Suchers without boring long-time readers of the series.

Priestess Cassandra is a fascinating character and one this reviewer is excited to see with her own book. Her story is hinted at in CRESCENT MOON but is fully developed in MIDNIGHT MOON. Readers will sympathize with Cassandra's desire to hold onto her daughter at all costs while hoping anxiously that she will be willing to take the first steps into a new future. Cassandra's growth both as a woman and as a voodoo priestess is an essential element of MIDNIGHT MOON.

MIDNIGHT MOON is an outstanding paranormal novel that delves deeply into the world of voodoo. Lori Handeland has created the perfect backdrop for Cassandra's story by setting the tale in Haiti. The romantic elements of MIDNIGHT MOON are not quite as strong as in previous books but the paranormal elements make this one of the best books in the series. Ms. Handeland has firmly established herself as a leading writer of paranormal books with MIDNIGHT MOON!

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

I found book five of the series to be slightly disappointing. It was still a good read but lacked the werewolf edged passion I have come to expect from Ms. Handeland.

Handeland is a master storyteller of the paranormal persuasion. Her characters vibrate with life and speak to the reader. And her plots are just unique enough to set them apart from other paranormal series that have otherwise become tired. She continues her Nightcreature series with this fast-paced, gripping installment that kept me on the edge of my seat.

Cassandra, whom we met in the previous book, is now on a mission for the Jager-Suchers to Haiti, where she must uncover the secrets to resurrecting the dead. She goes in the guise of helping her friends Diana and Adam, the latter whom is cursed with becoming a werewolf one day. But she also intends to learn for herself--for a far more personal and tragic reason. Her single-minded determination leads her to Devon Murphy, who agrees to guide her into the heart of a sinister voodoo sorcerer's territory, a place rumored that none ever return from. As the two adventurers draw closer to the answer of the mysterious ritual needed to raise the dead, danger binds them ever tighter in its tempting grip.

I was very excited to see Handeland continuing with Cassandra's story; the spirited and unique voodoo priestess from New Orleans. Her vitality and charm are somewhat more subdued in this installment though, as she searches for something that she desperately wants to fulfill her happiness. Her one track minded mentality is a direct hindrance to the romance, which unfortunately takes a backseat in this book. Murphy is a charismatic opportunist himself and is not without his own secrets. His and Cassandra's relationship is not really one built on romance per say, more like pure and simple lust. Cassandra's behavior can be looked at in an understandable light though once readers learn of her motives. Luckily the overall plot and laugh-out-loud witticisms from Cassandra make this a very entertaining read. I had a few unanswered questions about Murphy, who is not nearly as developed a character as Cassandra. The paranormal atmosphere in this latest from Handeland is top-notch, just don't look for the same level of romance in this one as she has provided in previous installments. Look for her next in her exciting Nightcreature series, "Rising Moon", coming January of 2007.

K. Montgomery
Official reviewer for The Mystic Castle

I have read all five of the Lori Handeland MOON series. I hope she writes more, these are some of the best paranormal books I have ever read. Highly recommended

Voodoo Priestess Cassandra has a ton of secrets, but her main desire is to raise her daughter from the dead. And where better to learn the secrets of the dark arts than Haiti, and an evil Bukor, Mezareau. Led into the mountains by a secretive, sexy and mysterious guide Murphy, who wears beads and feathers in his hair, Cassandra realizes and finds more than she bargained for. Finding romance, lots of mystery, and a few zombies, Cassandra struggles to find the answer to how to remove a curse from a fellow friend/Jager-Sucher, and resurrect her daughter. If you are a lover of the series, Handleland will not disappoint. And you will even get to see some of your other favorite characters in the series, Elise, Edward, Diana and more. It was an enjoyable read that took me only two days. Get it and read up!

I thought it was one of the best in the Nightcreature Series so far. Handeland continues the series with Cassandra (whom we met in the previous novel--i.e. voodoo priestess) who is on a mission in Haiti to find a voodoo priest reputed to be able to raise the dead. Apparently, it is an art the society wants to know how to do to remove the curse (also from previous novel). Although, Cassandra has her own reasons for wanting to raise the dead. Apparently, Cassandra is in the witness protection and had lost her young daughter through a horrible situation from her past. Still grieving, all she can think of is having a way, a chance, to bring her back. Cassandra's past unfolds slowly as the novel and its mysteries also unfold.

I was completely engrossed in the storyline throughout this entire novel. I simply could not put it down. Handeland outdid herself with this one.