Abigail has no choice but to marry Talorc, the Scottish laird of the Sinclair clan. She’s not pleased to be such a sacrifice, but at least she will be out from under her mother who hates her. Ever since Abigail became deaf at the age of ten due to a fever, her mother Sybil has not been able stand the sight of her and thinks she should have died because of her disability. If not for the aid of her step-sister Emily, Abigail would never have learned to read lips and talk in such a way where no one knows about her hearing disability. Now that she will be the new bride to Talorc, she is very concerned that she will disgust him, not only because she is deaf but also because she is an English woman.
Emily was promised to Talorc, but through a series of mishaps, she ended up marrying a rival clan leader when she was kidnapped three years ago. Talorc has no choice but to marry Abigail because it will stop a war from occurring between the British King David and his Highlanders. He also wants to keep the peace and make sure no English soldiers enter his lands because his people are a secret society of Chechte warriors who can change into werewolves.
When Talorc meets Abigail, he is smitten, but angry by the bruising and scarring she has sustained from her mother’s hand because of her refusal to marry him. He promises Abigail that he will never hurt her, and he feels the intense need to claim her as his own. This confuses him because his inner wolf howls for Abigail as his mate, which cannot be because she is human and English. Abigail realizes she has no choice, and if she can keep her deafness hidden and be a good wife to Talorc, perhaps he won’t find her lacking, and he will allow her to communicate with Emily again.
Moon Craving is a luscious feeling medieval romance with an alpha hero who will stop at nothing until his heroine loves him with every sense of her being. Abigail is very skilled, and perhaps too good to be true, in the way she can trick those around her, preventing them from discovering her lack of hearing. Talorc falls hard for Abigail the moment he sees her, even though he argues with himself because he doesn’t want to feel so deeply for his innocent and sweet wife. In addition, the stress of keeping his own secret leads to some humorous situations between the lovers.
Lucy Monroe can sure write some hot and heavy love scenes, and you may find yourself in shock by the specific acts they engage in together, such as Talorc sniffing Abigail’s armpit (can we say fetish?) and the rubbing in of his manly fluids on Abigail, which is his way of "claiming" her, dries much like hand cream with no bathing required. There is also an interesting secondary romance between two of Talorc’s highland warriors that may raise some eyebrows, but again Ms. Monroe shows that love can cross all genders and species.
Some of the language is out of place, such as Abigail using the word “okay”, which didn’t come into use until centuries later and other types of slang that may make the reader roll their eyes. If you can get passed that and need a good laugh and are in the mood for a hot, steamy, paranormal Scottish romance, give Moon Craving a read.