Customer Reviews

That Devil Moon

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Maddie Harris has had it with men. When she moves into her Grandmother's house in Beaver Cove, Arkansas, she is determined to lead an uneventful and orderly life as the local high school's assistant principal. Of course it's hard to consider your life normal when you not only talk to your dead grandmother, but can also see her. Oh, and let's not forget the one night of crazy sex, under the full moon, down by the lake with a late-night fisherman...

Ex-football star, Phil Wilcox, is working on redemption. He wasn't much of a husband in the old days and even less of a father, but he wants to re-connect with his 11 year-old daughter, Melissa. Three years sober, Phil is ready to jump through any hoop to have Melissa call him Daddy again. Even if that means being civil to his money-hungry, manipulative ex-wife AND building the first winning football season Beaver Cove has seen in many years.

Maddie and Phil...polar opposites. He knows nothing about fashion, while she color coordinates everything. She has a place for every single possession and his idea of `order' is getting takeout at the Taco Bueno. And if they could just stop picking at each other, maybe they'd find they have something in common...like a blissful night spent under that ol' devil moon.

Dana Taylor has crafted a witty ride for readers with That Devil Moon. You won't get away from this read without chuckling...whether it's from Phil's wicked sense of humor, his daughter's little, unknown facts or the crazy antics that happen in Beaver Cove. The momentum fell flat a few times and it felt as though there were two endings, but the need to find out if Phil and Maddie can make it as a couple, pushes you onward. While couched in humor, Ms. Taylor does explore the very serious subjects of redemption, pregnancy, drugs, staying in school, gays and stalkers and does an excellent job of not preaching to the reader or letting these subjects slip away in the humor. The secondary characters were absolutely outstanding. Randy Bailey, Maddie's gay best-friend and Melissa are hilarious, Grammy Harris tells it like it is and backwoods neighbor/student, Reba, is a quiet jewel. All-in-all, a delightful story and a one-sitting read. Pick this one up for an evening of fun.

Main characters Maddie and Phil were genuine and likable. All of the characters were well-drawn and interesting. Of course, Maddie and Phil clashed at first. She thought he was overbearing and he thought she was stuck up and this made for some funny moments. But despite themselves the two are drawn together. Maddie's gay friend Randy was an especially funny character and Phil's daughter Melissa was sweet and fun. She added a lot to the way Phil was pictured and father and daughter had some great scenes together.

I especially liked the southern flavor of this book and the supernatural elements, which were not overdone, but added so much to the story. The writing is fast-paced and witty. Devil Moon is a thoroughly enjoyable read from a talented author.

I like Dana Taylor's ability to create that alternate world we sometimes want to live in when our own requires a short escape. And it takes a suspension of reality to believe the premise upon which the story is based.

SPOILER ALERT: Don't read this paragraph if you want to be surprised. SPOILER ALERT
I can believe that a guy goes out in the middle of the night to let off steam. I can also believe that a woman, comfortable and secure on her isolated property, feels uninhibited enough to sleep outdoors--especially under the influence of wine. It's what takes place after that, that I can't believe.

That said, I enjoyed the characters, dialogue, and the setting. I would read more of Dana Taylor's books but, I'll know that sometimes, romance doesn't always give us reality. H-m-m, maybe reality isn't all it's cracked up to be...

Assistant Principal Maddie Harris is a control freak. But on one very strange night - orchestrated by a Devil Moon - she throws control out the window and has a one night stand with a complete stranger. This stranger, former NFL player Phil Wilcox, is not going away. Though these lovebirds don't recognize one another from their one night stand, sparks still fly when they bump (literally) into each other and soon they form a relationship.

Devil Moon had the makings of a 5-star book but it just didn't live up to the beginning. Phil was a little too self-pitying. Although a great hero, he couldn't get over his past mistakes as a drunk and a bad husband/father. I understand why he felt this way considering no one in the book seemed to idolize him or mention his football accomplishments. No footballs fans in the South is pretty unrealistic. Anyway, Phil kept assuming Maddie had realized she deserved better than him and run away. He couldn't have been more wrong. Maddie was a loving and loveable character. Her only flaw was how she could act quite irrationally at times. Lastly, the two climaxes of this book could have been combined to make something so much better.

The ending was pretty adorable but in the end I was still dissapointed. It's obvious that Dana Taylor has a lot of talent, I can't wait to see if her next book showcases it better.

This was a nice story about a woman who lost the only person in her life that gave it to her straight, her grandmother. She is suffering from a combination of grief and loneliness when she first comes across the man of the story. At first it was a hard to swallow situation but if books were all easy to believe they might be a little boring:) The story was a little frustrating due to the main female's strict scruples but it all fell into place with surprising ease in the end. Over all it was enjoyable and entertaining.

You know the drill. You hop up on the treadmill and are looking for something easy to read that you can walk away from as soon as you start getting tired...well, apparently this book was not it. I started reading Devil Moon and got so caught up with the scene in the moonlight on Lake Luna's shore, that I kept walking. And Maddie and Phil were such identifiable characters. In them I saw traits of myself and people I am close to, so it was like reading about family members. I just couldn't put it down.

Thank you, Ms. Taylor. I lost weight because I couldn't get off the treadmill. I couldn't stop reading!

Small town Americana comes alive in this magical story, grounded in the reality of some very likeable but quirky characters. Maddie and Phil exorcise their demons under the glow of a full moon hanging over Beaver Cove, Arkansas. This author explores some very serious realities even with a liberal dose of good natured humor. I love her work...and can't wait for her next book.

Try her first book - Ain't Love Grand.

It's been a very long time since I read a romance novel of any kind but under the advice of a friend I read Devil Moon. I didn't go in with too many expectations. Most romances are predictable, full of gratuitous sex scenes, cheezy dialogue & 1 dimensional characters. This novel was anything but predictable, the sex scenes weren't too out there, the conversations and thoughts were all so real and the characters were so believable that I felt like I knew them all and I was sad to reach the last page. For me, it's a 5 star read. I would strongly suggest this to anyone who likes romances who can be swayed to give a romance a try again after too many bad ones.

Devil Moon is a charming love story with well-rounded characters (even Grammy's ghost has a great personality!). The dialogue is terrific and the banter between stuck-up Maddie and laid-back Phil gave me lots of smiles. Randy makes a wonderful secondary character as Maddie's best friend while Pam makes a classic villain. I especially loved the sub-plot of the relationship between Phil and his daughter, Melissa, who ended up saving the day. The complex issues of single motherhood, abortion, homosexuality, and alcohol/drug abuse were dealt with sensitively and really added to the story line. This book is a cut above your usual romance and I definitely recommend it.

When the devil moon is out, strange things happen to Maddie, a seemingly straight-laced assistant high school principal, and Phil, the former football star, former alcoholic who's now the high school coach. They've both returned to Beaver Cove, Arkansas, to put their lives back together. Maddie is still recovering from a betrayal by her former fiancé. Phil wants to connect with his 11-year-old daughter whose money-hungry mother is keeping them apart. And then there's Maddie's theatrical gay friend (who has his own problems) and Maddie's Grammy Harris with her wise and blunt advice. The thing is, Grammy Harris is dead.

Devil Moon is Southern women's fiction with a mystical element, along the lines of Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. It has everything I love in a book. Great characters, great writing, and a great heart. It's witty, poignant, and fast-paced. Though it's not an erotic book, Taylor's writing is sensuous. It's a book I'll be reading again, just because I enjoyed it so much.