Childfree, some talk of the “breeding season” existing, maybe twice, but not what it entails.
There is a bonus chapter at the end of this book with breeding kink content involving the couple from Eclipse Ritual. I did not read it because the author kindly titled the chapter with the kink so it could be skipped if needed ❤️
TLDR; Do not read this book 😔
I am very cautious to leave bad book reviews because I think to really give a book a fair chance and full review you should at least finish it and I do not have a problem DNFing a bad book. I completely read this book, aside from the breeding bonus chapter, because my experience with Eclipse Ritual made me believe Kate Rivenhall could pull off a good story in the end. She didn’t.
The poor editing in this book is the main reason I gave it a low rating, but the poorly fleshed out plot is what cemented the single ⭐️. I am not the kind of person to get hung up on a few errors, but this book did not read like something the author took the time to care for and correct and tidy up before sending it out in to the world. The previous book in the series was not perfect but I think Kate Rivenhall at least gave it a second look over before publishing it. Kate Rivenhall could not have possibly looked at a single passage of Bloodmoon Ritual again after initially typing it up and it is nearly unreadable because of this.
The premise/couple dynamic had potential. I almost have to wonder if Kate is ok, did something happen to her before publishing Bloodmoon Ritual, because when comparing the two books they’re almost unrecognizable as being from the same author.
✨Long, semi-detailed rant✨
I have seen how good this author’s work can be, and yes there are some typos in Eclipse Ritual, less than a dozen maybe? I could easily overlook them, though because authors are human and they make mistakes.
The inconsistencies, errors and typos in Bloodmoon Ritual, on the other hand, were sort of shocking. Is devastating too big of a feeling?
There were not only obvious typos, like a backslash before the period of a sentence, an out of place “q” next to a “w” in a word, ellipses not following the same formatting, but there were also scenes with inconsistent storytelling. Some examples I can remember:
A character has clothes on at the beginning of a sentence but feels something on bare skin at the end of the sentence with no transition to being undressed, and no transition to being redressed either.
A character is in bed, remembering something then suddenly they’re interacting with furniture from their memory with no explanation of how they got from the bedroom to…the kitchen? Unclear.
Sex positions are often a little hard to wrap your head around but these positions were not always unusual or difficult to believe considering the characters’ size difference, but they were explained so poorly, so weakly, with so little detail that they could not be followed.
I am, honestly, feeling sort of drained and can’t remember many more examples. This book was so messy and disorganized, coming so quickly on the heels of what I considered to be a pretty great read by the same author, that I may be right back in the reading slump I was in before I read Eclipse Ritual.
Sadly, if you can overlook the editing failures, the story wasn’t particularly good either.
The character growth was nonexistent until the final chapter, and still then it was rushed and felt more influenced by Rhyder and Temperance’s interactions with Ronan and Obedience than from within their own relationship.
The external conflict, while resolved similarly quickly in the previous book, felt shallow and safe in this book.
Reading Eclipse Ritual I didn’t know until the middle of the book that Ronan was fighting for Obedience’s safety and happiness and was also cunning enough to handle the dangers others in their religion posed. Every time Ronan and Obedience were in danger I wasn’t sure what the outcome would be: were they stronger, more intelligent/patient than the oppressive men of their cult? Would they make a mistake? Maybe because of their blind love (one of the most devastating mistakes to read about IMO)?
Bloodmoon Ritual had the opportunity to tell the same story from a different perspective. Rhyder believed in the religion of the cult and Temperance knew they were dangerous and wrong while that dynamic had been switched in the previous book. Rhyder, like Ronan, used the machinations of the cult against the other members to prove his and Temperance’s worthiness and keep her safe, but he did not do it with the intention of putting a stop to the wrongness in his religion. He was simply the strongest and most violent in a society that values strength and violence above most else. He was a true believer.
So I wasn’t worried that Rhyder would lose and I wasn’t worried that anything bad would happen to Temperance, despite her being more submissive and conflict-averse than Obedience.
I was worried that Rhyder would never do anything worthy of Temperance’s love and I don’t think he did.
The world building in this book was nice…in that it gave more weight to the previous book’s content 🤷
The supernatural-adjacent plot points were also difficult to swallow, when I think in a better edited/executed book they could be easier to accept. Herbs to induce bloodlust, herbs to make you horny, herbs to make your eyes glow red 🤦 It was corny.
Technically this book has a HEA, but no amount of suspension of disbelief will allow a reader to accept that.
I understand that writing and publishing taboo romance is difficult in a good year and nearly impossible today. I bought these books from a seller that does not discriminate against taboo romances because they could not be borrowed or bought on the zon. But this does not excuse poor quality writing or editing.