Moonlight

Pact Arcanum Saga #3

by Arshad Ahsanuddin

The moon has always been a light in the darkness, a symbol of change and transformation to those who hunt the night. Moonlight, the third book in the Pact Arcanum series by Arshad Ahsanuddin, charts the next episode in the bloodthirsty war waged between humans, Nightwalkers, Sentinels, and Daywalkers. As man and vampire intertwine in love and loathing, that formidable moonlight may just illuminate old truths—and powerful new deceptions.

The year is 2042. At the White House, Kevin Daniels, President of the United States, has a grave problem on his hands, and it takes the form of his daughter Andrea. As it stands, the two are getting along like wild fire. Now, a serious threat to Andrea materializes as her supernatural destiny is discovered, and puts him in the unenviable position of restricting her freedom just as she clamors for more of it. Luckily, he has just the solution: a newly designated bodyguard, Sentinel Toby Jameson, brother of Armistice leader Nicholas Magister Luscian.

Toby, still trying to find a place within supernatural society after coming into his power the year before, has more on his mind—mainly his steamy, yet decidedly contentious relationship with Layla Magister Curallorn, leader of the Daywalkers. One thing is certain: their erotic clashes are taking the inherent violence of normal interaction between Sentinels and vampires to new levels.

Soon, Toby’s connection with Andrea proves equally fraught with peril. A strong latent Sentinel and one of the future leaders of her race, Andrea is soon targeted by her enemies within the vampire community. When Vice President Alexander Collins reveals his cruel intentions toward her, the stakes are raised higher than ever.

In a vicious, other-worldly battle for dominion, Moonlight again breathes life into a world both fierce and fantastic, where connections are forged that are as deep as the ages—and severed in murderous minutes.

Genres: M M Romance, Fantasy, Vampires, Paranormal, Science Fiction, M F Romance, Paranormal Romance

262 pages, Nook

First published May 29, 2011

About the author

By profession, I am a hematopathologist, a laboratory physician who specializes in diagnosis of diseases of blood, bone marrow, and lymph nodes, such as leukemia and lymphoma. In my off time, I write LGBT Fantasy and Scifi books. Yes, I realize the irony that I write about vampires. ;)

Note: I do not guarantee a happy ending to any individual book within each series.

Reviews

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note: I originally read this book in 1st edition 8/13-14, 2011. This re-read is of the proposed 3rd edition of the paperback.

My Thoughts after the first reading: After an intense three days reading these books, I’m left rather adrift – these are so well-crafted that one is completely inside the world while reading them, and there is a resounding silence in my ears now that they are done. I don’t know how it is I am going to wait until the next book in the series comes out – it is due sometime in 2012. Edit: Starlight : Book 4 in the Pact Arcanum, as well as two novellas, is currently available.End edit That should not stop you from buying the first three books in the series and immersing yourself in this world – it will just make it all the more enjoyable when you reintegrate yourself with the next installment. That should encourage you to grab the full set now available and hope for another installment soon!

My thoughts after the second reading: I am still amazed by this series and the worlds that Arshad Ahsanuddin has created in them. I'm so glad I decided to go through and re-read this books, and this time I get to go straight into Starlight. I am also very excited to hear that Mr. Ahsanuddin is now working on the prequel, where we will learn more about Luscian and the rise of both the Nightwalkers and the Sentinels. Still highly recommended I am Katy Sozaeva, and I approve this message ...


Disclosure: I received a free eBook copy of the first edition of this book in exchange for an honest review. The book has been revised and re-released in a new edition with some content changes, but the essential plot remains the same. the book I just finished re-read is the proposed 3rd addition, with additional changes.

My Synopsis: When an attack on Toby and Andrea Daniels (the President’s daughter) results in the death of Toby’s AI, the AI’s internal government – The Nexus – unveils itself to the Armistice, and humanity, demanding retribution. The resulting backlash by humanity causes the development of an organization called Organic Underground, devoted to the destruction of The Nexus and establishment of the AIs as being under the control of organics. Toby agrees to serve as liaison between The Nexus and the Armistice, leaving him in great danger as OU attempts repeatedly to assassinate him. How do they keep finding him? Who is the traitor in their midst?

Additionally, in this book, we see the relationship between Toby and Layla growing, and a surprising result of their union. Nick and the group of people we spend most of our time with in the first two books are more in the background in this one, as the Armistice moves into its second generation of mortals.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

My enjoyment of this one is only diminished by the fact that I don't really like Toby. I just never could warm up to him. Looks like there'll be another chance to change my mind? lol But the backstabbing, political maneuvering, and endless evil machinations in this book are a delight. No wimpy vampires here!

I love this series, even though it completely stresses me out. Once again, I'm going to have to take a breather for a couple of days before I move on to the last book.

I'm not ready for it to be over!

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 - Stars

Series is still going strong! Great fight scenes, new reveals and strong relationships as usual.

Full review to follow.

[JASON J. ALMONTE · Rating 5 out of 5]

Officially Addicted!

This third book in the Pact Arcanum series does not disappoint. The story and world building is on par with the other books, even though presented with a different protagonist. It is just as fast a read as the other books and just as enjoyable. Be warned: the storyline is addictive and twists in the plot will have you hooked and moving onto the next book. That is just what I am doing!

[Jason Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series gets better and better. The issue I mentioned with the earlier books concerning character development is no longer a problem. The characters are as vivid and real as the amazing world this author has built.

[Shelby · Rating 5 out of 5]

God I love and hate Arshad equally and with passion!!! As always this was another fantastic novel in this series which of course made me cry. I adore the way Arshad can really make you care about a character and then spin the story in such a way you know the inevitable is coming and yet you’re still hoping it’s going to turn out differently. Of course then I’m always still devastated when it turns out exactly the way I know it has to even though I was wishing and hoping and praying. This world is so rich and full. The blend of sci-fi and paranormal is just plain seamless.

Toby Jameson has always stood just a little bit in his brother’s shadow. Even more so now that his eyes have been opened. When your brother is essentially the de facto leader of the Free People it’s sometimes a little hard not to get lost under his reaching umbrella. As much as Toby loves Nick he wants to be able to stand on his own, to have a life outside of his brother’s. When Nick discovers the supernatural destiny of President Daniel’s daughter Toby is only too happy to take the assignment to protect her when she heads back to school outside the Armistice Zone. Andrea understands what it’s like to have family in ridiculously powerful positions and she and Toby connected instantly when they met. Now if only his relationship with his lover Layla, the Prince of Wrath and leader of the Daywalkers could be as simple.

As much as I adore Nick and his entire contingent of friends and lovers I enjoyed the shift in focus in this story. I really fell for Toby and his internal struggles. Being Nick’s brother is really not an easy proposition and I appreciated how Toby still longed for the life he was forced to leave behind upon awakening as a Sentinel. There were a ton of complexities to the relationships in his life and they made Toby a really fascinating character to identify with.

So Toby and Layla…wow contentious much! But in the most delicious way. Layla is so strongly her own woman, and after as many centuries as she’s been alive and at the front of her people it’s no wonder why. I really appreciated how hard it was for Layla to accept she had real feelings for someone and to try to reach out even when she goes about it in precisely the wrong way. The change in their reality throws everything everyone has ever known into question. I was cheering for these two to work out their differences and to be ok with the fact that they really loved each other in spite of their status as Sentinel and vampire.

Toby and Andrea…poor thing! I loved the friendship these two developed almost immediately. There was such a shared understanding of living in the limelight because of who they were related too. Of course the events as they unfolded in England bonded these two together stronger than anything. I appreciated the way they handled it though and how it didn’t adversely affect their other relationships.

Toby and Nick…brothers what can you say! I adore Nick and watching these two scratch and fight it out was wonderful! I loved the insecurities they both had and yet how their pride would often get in the way. I really felt that they loved each other even if they couldn’t always get along.

Toby and his band…Go Toby! Fight for the life you want to have for the time that you can have it. There was something in Toby that just needed to have this outlet for himself. The way everything came together here built this story beautifully!

Toby and Rafael…yummmmmmmmmmy!!! I might be a teensy tiny bit in love with Rafael. He’s the best friend a guy could have and the yearning he hides…awwwww. I have an inkling where this story line is going in the future and I really hope it ends up where I want it to. :D

Of course as per usual the world building is fantastic and becomes even more complex in this story as the romantic elements take a backseat to the developing politics. The AI’s emerge from their hiding and announce they have their own leadership and want to be recognized as a people! Holy crap was that interesting! I found the way that Arshad wrote their dialogue to each other in the tech speak fascinating and was such a clear identification of their personality and structure. Love, love, loved this addition to the story!

All of the inter connecting storylines here overlapped each other and layered together to create one absolutely brilliant story! As much as we were meeting the younger class of Sentinels and their friends all my old favorites were still very much around. In fact this is the first time I can honestly say I didn’t dislike Jeremy. I appreciated him as Nick’s partner this time around and felt like he was really a balance for Nick in a way I never have before. (Still waiting for my ultimate happy in Nick’s life line though…the boyos waiting in the wings…I will melt!)

Normally too much political intrigue runs the risk of slightly boring me. Not in this case! I find the way the world is reacting and the developing complexities to all of the politics incredibly interesting. I keep waiting to see what new change is going to develop next. Which faction is next going to try to destroy everything out of fear and hate and anger. There’s plenty of action to keep this story moving along at a quick pace despite the length of the novel. But really this story kept me interested because of the characters and everything they were dealing with both professionally and personally. I wanted so much for Toby and yet knew that Nick’s fears were valid and would come back to haunt them all.

So, so, so, so, so, so GOOD!!! Can’t wait to finish the series and cross my fingers that Arshad doesn’t leave me devastated in the end!

[Ellen Sweeney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note: this review contains some spoilers.

Moonlight is the third novel in the Pact Arcanum series by Arshad Ahsanuddin (hematopathologist by day, vampire fiction writer by night!) The third installment is by far the strongest of the three books by the new author, who has clearly paid attention to the feedback on his first two novels and used it to improve the quality of his storytelling, and particularly the quality of his characterization.

Moonlight draws you in quickly, beginning at an emotional moment for several of the characters, at the funeral of the First Lady of the United States of America. POTUS distracts himself from his grief by meeting with Nick, vampire heartbreaker, protagonist of the past two novels, and President of the Armistice, a political union of a few races of parahumans peacefully coexisting in North America. We quickly learn that the President’s daughter is herself a latent parahuman Sentinel, which means the President will need to make a difficult decision about letting his estranged daughter go back to her life in England, which, due to its location outside the Armistice zone, will likely result in her latent powers manifesting and thus launching her into the life of a warrior against the less friendly vampires. But not only is she a latent Sentinel – she is a powerful Sentinel leader, making her a target for the vampires outside the Armistice zone – as we discover not far into the book, when she is kidnapped. Also kidnapped is Nick’s brother, Toby, who was sent to protect the President’s daughter and in her finds a friend who understands what it means to live in the shadow of a President.

In the process of kidnapping the pair, the vampires set off an EMP device which burns out Toby’s AI implant – resulting in the death of a sentient creature and setting off a war with the AI community, who have evolved just enough to know they are treated as less than the other races, but not enough to know how to respond diplomatically. As Nick tries desperately to negotiate with the cold, analytic decision-making of the AIs as they threaten to destroy the human race over the actions of one man, we closely follow the struggle of all races to understand one another enough to avoid a complete catastrophe. Combine that with an unexpected pregnancy between two races that have warred for so many millennia that no one believed they could interbreed (specifically, two individuals who fight constantly and have to seriously consider how they will move forward in their relationship as parents) and a child of a new race that is destined to end the war between races, and you end up losing a lot of sleep as you keep telling yourself “Well, just one more chapter and then I’ll go to bed.”

The plot of the book is enthralling, and I could not put it down – I read it twice this summer, and both times I read the entire thing in under 48 hours. But perhaps even more remarkable than the thrilling story is the emotional development of Ahsannuddin’s characters. In his first two novels, the characters seemed a bit flat and as though they were mostly in the novel as a vehicle for the politics – even the romantic triangles (and more complicated polyhedrons) seemed unrealistic and not compelling. But in Moonlight, the characters genuinely struggle with vexing decisions and messy feelings. There are many characters faced with situations in which there is no right answer, even if they could sort through all of their conflicting loyalties and emotions, which they can’t. They make decisions, and as the reader you question them, and question whether you would have made the same decision in their shoes, and that is the kind of thing that good storytelling is all about.

If you were a fan of the first two novels, you will love this one. If you were lukewarm on the first two, or haven’t picked them up yet, make your way through the series and get to Moonlight. It may be the novel that gets you hooked on Ahsanuddin’s work for good.

[SueM · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.
I must admit to being hesitant to read this third installment of the Pact Arcanum series, as in this novel, the focus of the story shifts from Nick's love triangle, the Triumvirate and Nick's close friends who are the Winds, to a slightly younger generation of leaders; I love the characters of Nick and his cronies, so I was rather reluctant to leave them behind... In Moonlight, it is Nick's younger brother, Tobias who assumes the lead character, and unsurprisingly, his friends also become more important within this story.

Ahsanuddin's world building has always been mind-blowingly impressive; detailed, complex, and logical; and in this novel, his record remains unblemished. As the story evolves, new elements are required in his world, and these new elements fit seamlessly into the existing infrastructure. The plot, again unsurprisingly, remains on the dark side, with the cruel realities and sacrifices of war and politics once again very apparent.

The change of focus away from Nick and his friends is also reflected in a small change of genre; moving from a sci-fi/fantasy-romance to being a straight sci-fi/fantasy. The few love and sex scenes found in the previous two novels are non-existent in this novel, except by inference and for the characters' motivations for their actions. Previously, I had commented that I remained a little emotionally detached from Ahsanuddin's characters, and while this remained unchanged for me, the impact was of a much lesser consequence given the shift away from romance. The gap left by the removal of the romance was filled instead by even greater complexity of storyline, some threads of which fully developed, while other threads remained to hint of things to come in future novels.

While I personally mourn the distancing of Nick and the loss of romance, I also still really enjoyed this novel for what it is - a highly developed sci-fi/fantasy novel, and would happily recommend it to those who love reading the genre.

[Jeff Laws · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was originally published at http://jccsst-random.blogspot.com/201...

This book wasn’t the action packed book that the last one was but I still really enjoyed it. This one is more about the relationships between all the members as well as a few new ones. All of the issues between the President and the Sentinel’s comes to a head in this issue. But there is a new race coming into it’s own that threatens all humans of the world. Can they all work together and bring peace, or will this become an all about war?

With twists and turns and with this book being fronted by new lead characters, it was a little different but still right in line with the other books. I did really enjoy it and am continually amazed at the world that Arshad has created. He really does paint a picture of everything going on really well. I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. I definitely recommend this series and I look forward to finishing the next book.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moonlight by Arshad Ahsanuddin is the third book in the Pact Arcanum series. Chronologically following Sunset all of the usual characters are present, but focus has switched from Nick to Toby. There is also a new political group that gets introduced into the mix and it surprised me a lot when it was introduced. This book sets up a lot of changes to the political balance with ramifications that will be felt in the rest of the series for certain.

Arshad continues to write masterful plot twists and imaginative characters. In all honesty I enjoyed books 1 and 2 a little bit more, but that is because I like Nick as a character a little bit better than Toby. This is still a great book and I can't wait for the next installment to be released!

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoy roller coasters, this is the book for you.
Moonlight began as a rival to Sunset.
In the end, Moonlight won.
True to form, Ahsanuddin wove a tale of action, intrigue, suspense, mystery, love, betrayal, redemption and hope.
Moonlight begins where Sunset left off and was full of twists and turns that kept me so hooked, I could NOT put it down and read the entire book in one day.
I found this book to be the most emotionally charged read of them all.
The ending of this book gave me hope and left me eagerly awaiting the next installment.
Arshad has proven himself to be a very talented writer and I look forward to seeing all of his future work!

[Diane Dannenfeldt · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was so much that happened in this book. There was a point that I was driving home from work when a certain something happened and here I am driving and crying. I loved the AI's coming into their own and was saddened with the loss of some of their lives. There is betrayal & I think they got off way too easily for all they did. We do get introduced to the new Winds but they really didn't play too big a part as the story is still centered around our main characters. I really don't want to start the next book, as it appears its the last, but I have too :)

[Verditwist · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are up to book three of this series then you pretty well know what to expect. It starts with a bang and the usual suspects. Then, about half way through, undergoes a sea change that will set the story on a new direction into the future. It does this by introducing a major new entity to influence events. So, what else is new? Duplicitous politicians, secrets you don't tell the wife, underground resistance movements plus a new life form. Keep at it AA, I'm loving it.

[Ann Kietzman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author has a way of drawing you into the story and keeping you there until the last page has been read. I would highly recommend.

[Yy Tang · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful sequel to Sunset. I'm really getting invested in these characters and the world that Mr. Ahsanuddin has created. I can wait until the next book is released!

[Brenda Cothern · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the twists and turns of this novel. Though I will say, I cried for Toby even though I knew what going to happen. It's been awhile since a novel has made me cry. Good Job!

[Capri Komprood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm addicted to this series.

[Viki · Rating 4 out of 5]

RTC

Hopefully.

And the rating too. I want to hit those four stars but I am a bit sad and angry at a certain development so...

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was very excited to get to read the 3rd book in the Pact Arcanum series. It was kindly given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. I loved the first two books in the series and this one was no different. The characters from past books are here, as well as some new ones. Of course, give the life spans of some of the characters; it is no surprise that they keep turning up!
A new twist is added to the story when the AI’s join the table as a species to be reckoned with. The Nexus, as the orators of the AI call themselves, come into the picture when an EM pulse is used to destroy the cybernetic implants of a group of Sentinel, one of whom had no backup in existence. This destruction of an AI “life” is looked upon as requiring an extreme response from the AI community. This response could destroy the entire world’s population if the perpetrators of the murder are not brought to justice.

Another part of the story involves the awakening of the new generation of Winds. Who they are and what they mean to the Armistice may surprise you. When one of them has reason to carry a grudge against the Nexus things get tricky.

I am not going to tell you what happens in the book, as that is unfair. I will say that Toby and Layla have a surprise in store, and Nick will face more sorrow. A new Sentinel will be kindled in an unlikely place, and you will hate and love the ending.

[Bobbi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moonlight is the fourth book of the Pact Arcanum series that I have read. All four have been added to my favorites list. These stories are fantastically written. Arshad Ahsanuddin has written a fantastic science fiction romance series of books. The characters and the world that he has written for them is wonderful.
I can't seem to get #3.5 The best of times so I will be moving on to #4 Starlight. I'm sure I will love it!
This series of books are definitely a must read and I can't wait for more!

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another interesting read from this author. One more book to go, I think. I cried at the end but I'm not sure if that was Toby's death or the fact that my cat was diagnosed with congestive heart failure today.

[Gayle]

Thank you goodreads giveaways and Arshad Ahsanuddin for your gracious gift of Moonlight: Pact Arcanum: Book Three.

I look forward to experiencing the whole series.

[Eve]

kindle freebie 11.17.12

[William Bitner Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful series, I am so enjoying every word.