Moonlight

Moonkind #2

by Ines Johnson

She was no damsel but he rescued her anyway.

You can never go home again…
Viviane Veracruz is on her way home from university with a degree in one hand…and a baby in her belly. Desperate to escape the judgement of her family, she accepts a sexy stranger’s offer to pose as the father for a few days. The plan is for him to run off leaving her family none the wiser. But the longer Pierce Alcede stays, the more she can’t let him go.

Home is where the heart is…
Pierce Alcede has finally come to terms with the fact that he is a lone wolf, prone to roam the wilderness alone and never settle down with a family of his own. When he meets a pregnant woman in need, he thinks nothing of stepping in to take the brunt of her family’s ire. But somewhere between working on the Veracruz Ranch by day and climbing into Viviane’s bed at night, Pierce forgets to run away.

Can a woman searching for a place to belong find a home with a man who lives to roam?

Moonlight is the second in a paranormal romance series full of alpha men and the strong, capable women that bend them to their knees. If you like a touch of magic in your romance novels, then you’ll love the witches, fairies, and wolves in the dystopian world of the moonkind.

Genres: Romance, Paranormal, Fantasy

252 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 10, 2017

Reviews

[X ✚ Black Magic Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

For someone who doesn't have kids himself, I'm a sucker for men with a protective Daddy instinct - and in MOONLIGHT, Pierce Alcede delivers that and so very, very much more.

Viviane Veracruz is in trouble. She's a shifter - a wolf in a modern-day world in which fae, witches, and shifters live openly among humans - and she's pregnant.

By a human.

Her professor.

And he says the baby isn't his.



And she's graduating with no job offers, no prospects, on her way home to Sonora, Mexico with nothing but a degree, a brewing - and fatherless - baby, and a strange wolf by the name of Pierce who just might be the answer to most of her immediate problems. A lone wolf by nature, Pierce is consumed by the instinct to run, unable to stay caged in one place for long. But that instinct will save Viviane's sanity when she brings him home as her pretend mate and the supposed father of her child, letting her ease back into her domineering, maddening family without too many humiliating questions and allowing her to stay in their good graces even after Pierce, according to their bargain and his lone wolf tendencies, inevitably leaves.

Except Pierce finds himself more and more reluctant to go, and in Viviane this lone wolf might well have found home.

MOONLIGHT is the second book in the Moonkind series, but you don't need to read the first to enjoy it as a standalone or understand the story and worldbuilding. I'd never read this series, but still followed along quite easily with the overall lore. (Guilty confession: I was supposed to read this in time for the #WOCInRomance Book Club chat on Twitter, but I was too buried to finish it by the proper date. So I'm playing catch-up.) Whether you know the series or not, you're in for searing instinctual attraction, heart-warming sweetness, and a tug of war between a heroine and hero who have every rational reason not to fall in love...but whose hearts don't want to listen to reason at all.

Overall I found the story a light, charming read that balanced romance with angst with humor, while freckling about interesting bits of lore that hinted at the world that once was, and how the world as we know it came to be this place of magic, shifters, and strange new rules.

She knew full well that two centuries ago, human beings had knocked the world off kilter and brought the planet closer to the Moon's orbit.

The worldbuilding isn't overwhelming, though. In a few places I'd like to have had more than just hints, but that may be a casualty of not reading the first book - or a believable void in character knowledge when it seems as though much of the truth of the past is buried in lore and legend. This leaves the stage free to focus on the romance, and the many obstacles in its path.

Something truly notable about MOONLIGHT is that it repeatedly takes stabs at toxic masculinity - placing women in positions of power and strength through their determination and intelligence, continuously rejecting and deriding typical male bad behavior born of patriarchal ideals, spotlighting a hero that most would label a beta and pointing out that his beta characteristics aren't lesser, but instead what should be encouraged in a reasonable, caring, non-arseholeish alpha type. Viviane is a strong woman from a family of strong women; their family of sheep farmers has been dominated and run by women (and a female alpha, her mother Gloria) since the men of their pack let their egos get in the way of their livelihood and ended up decimated or invalids after a disastrous turf war with another pack that suffered equal losses. When the women stepped in to pick up the pieces, set everything right, and keep their family afloat, a new pack order was instituted that ensured Viviane would be raised in an environment that encouraged her to be fierce, intelligent, firm-willed, with a refusal to buy any man's BS or let any man dominate, override, or rule her. (Or mansplain to her.) She's very much about setting her own path, to the point of leaving the farm to attend university and explore her passion for industrial sciences despite her mother's disapproval and her mother's rejection of her ideas for how to modernize their farm for sustainability during droughts and other hard times.

Pierce is a man at odds with himself. He's honorable, noble, kind, gentle, soft, but not weak; confident enough in himself that he has no need for posturing and bragging, handling his interactions with Viviane and everyone else with a combination of pride and humility, equanimity, common sense, and good-natured humor. He's sensitive, caring, with a parental instinct he didn't even realize he had until a meeting on the train to Mexico led him to a vivaciously beautiful, wickedly smart, utterly pregnant woman who doesn't damned well need his protection or his support, but wouldn't mind having him in her corner.

He's also a drifter whose very nature means that he can't keep his promises, even when he most wants to, because it's in his blood to leave. To follow where the wind and his paws take him, making anything between him and Viviane - or anyone else - utterly impossible. His lone wolf nature clashes deeply with the honorable characteristics he displays as a human, yet both the man and the wolf agree on one thing:

They both desperately want Viviane.

And they're pretty fucking intense about it.

His gaze flicked up to her without warning. Once again, her heart did that electric shock thud. On the other hand, maybe it was good he didn't have a singular focus. Because when Pierce Alcede did offer up all of his attention, it felt like you were standing in the full beam of the mid-morning sun.

One of my favorite dynamics in a story is a combination of instant attraction and slow burn - which sounds like an oxymoron, but it's possible when the couple in question fight that attraction for their own reasons. And it's entirely amusing and endearing to watch both Viviane and Pierce dance around each other, mentally talking themselves out of thinking this could ever be anything even while falling into the small, familiar intimacies of an established couple, not even realizing how they're slipping into each others' habits and routines even as Pierce becomes a part of the family life and the daily workflow of the farm. Throughout this, Viviane's mother is both a riot and a menace; unpredictable, stubborn, wild, independent, ferocious, judgmental, hilarious, loving, dangerous, a little vain.

"Do I look old enough to be a grandmother to you?" Gloria tugged at the loose waistband of her fitted jeans. "Did you even think to ask my permission before you did this?"

"No, mama." Viviane rubbed her fingers at her temple; a monster headache was on its way. "When I was taking my clothes off, preparing to have sex, I did not think about you."

Not even Gloria's snarling, teasing, and skepticism can stop this fake mating from becoming real. Viviane's long needed someone she could be vulnerable with without that vulnerability being used against her as a weakness, or undermining her partner's respect for her strength; Pierce has long needed an outlet for a nurturing side that's been unfulfilled for some time. There's no denying that those needs leave them open to each other in a way that brims with fast-building tenderness. You can feel that these two were waiting to find each other for their entire lives, edges growing more and more raw with the wounds of other relationships and other troubles until they finally found the balm they needed: each other.

"Falling in love is not an act of stupidity. It's magic. You're worthy of that magic."

When that slow burn finally builds into a full flame, it's explosive - the kind of rough, desperate, no-holds-barred sex you tend to look for in a shifter romance. I wasn't quite feeling it at first, but as it progressed and the two found their rhythm, they were at once sensuous and wild, loving and utterly savage in satisfying their inner wolves' desire for the one who would be their mate. And Pierce? Said something that very few heterosexual (or let's face it, queer) men ever do during sex:

"Tell me what you need, Vivi?"

Damn, boy. That's sexier than any dirty talk. I'll howl for that.



Vivian is a woman to be admired, and Pierce is definitely a hero worth loving. Especially with a moderately satisfying HFN-to-probable-HEA ending (with a brief twist for a last few pages of breath-holding drama), in which he's stepping in to take on a role as father for a child that isn't even his own, staying for Viviane yet still finding an outlet for his roaming, while setting up the foundation for the two of them to be equal partners in raising this child - and in working to bring her mother around in order to modernize the farm and maintain their family's livelihood while still respecting the old ways.

So why not five stars?

1. Too many typos and POV breaks to ignore. With indie books I tend to forgive the occasional slip here and there; god knows I know how tough it is to refine a book to typo-free perfection when you're either working with independent publishers with small editorial teams, or sourcing your own editorial team, etc. But when typos and breaks are cropping up on every page, it's a bit much.

2. I could buy Pierce loving Viviane, as we really get to know her as a person throughout the story - where she comes from, what she values, what she believes in, what she wants. Pierce doesn't quite get the same treatment, though; Viviane asks him very little about himself and his background/roots, and while he gives a few details here and there, half the time it's part of his internal narrative and not to her. The concept of the lone wolf with alpha characteristics who doesn't need to act like an alpha brute seems to be all he is - and while he shines with a compelling force of personality, there's not enough platform for that personality to stand on. Not if I'm supposed to believe that Viviane is interested enough in him to really get to know him and love him, and not if I'm supposed to believe the sudden leap toward spending their lives together. The emotion is there - like I said before, I can believe these two have been waiting their lives for each other - but the practical foundation isn't. Though there's a long period of days glossed over as general routine and settling in, so maybe this took place off-page during that time.

3. MOONLIGHT pokes delightful fun at toxic masculinity and brings us a refreshing hero who knows how to be confident without being overly aggressive, how to be supportive and protective without being domineering, how to listen, how to be a partner instead of a gatekeeper, how to be attentive without being creepy or controlling. But. That gets overshadowed by falling back on toxic masculinity standards in multiple scenes where Viviane's ex and the biological father of her child, Professor Daniel Liu, is mentioned. Where Pierce's broad, tall, muscular body is described as perfect, Liu is compared to him in a way that subtly denigrates the fact that he was shorter than Viviane, his shoulders more narrow in width. Later Liu's soft, small hands are compared to Pierce's larger, more callused paws in a way that implies he fails to measure up. Y'all. Can we not do this? Punching across lanes like this and using Western toxic masculinity standards to judge and denigrate Asians for naturally having smaller, more compact builds? Not to mention this also derides trans men who are often excluded from socially enforced definitions of masculinity for having smaller builds and smaller, softer hands, falling into the same trap as mocking Drumpf for having tiny hands and using that as a judge of his character and his validity as a man, while ignoring how it hurts and insults trans men who might share those same physical characteristics. Judge Daniel Liu for being a piece of shite who uses a student for sex, gets her pregnant, cheats on her with other students (including those just shy of legal age), and then brushes her off / abandons her. Don't turn natural Asian physical characteristics into part of that judgment and somehow a reflection on his character and value as a lover.

Despite that, overall MOONLIGHT was a fast, rather enjoyable read with a few speed bumps; I blitzed through it in about an hour and a half, even when reading on my annoyingly small phone screen while waiting for my Nook to charge. If you like smart, confident heroines, quietly strong-willed yet sensitive heroes, Black men taking on a nurturing father role, and shifter romances that smoothly integrate the shifter aspect into the practical everyday lives of shifter culture, then I think you'll enjoy this. If you're Asian and/or FtM and don't like seeing your natural characteristics used to emphasize that the bad guy is, indeed, a bad guy...steer clear.

Read the review complete with a voice clip of an excerpt at Black Magic Reviews.

[Julie Jefferies · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pierce and Vivian meet on a train after Pierce has just left his parents to start his life afresh as a lone wolf. Pierce has never fitted in living in the city, he's always wanted to run free. Viviane has just finished her college degree in the city and is heading back to her family in shame, despite that she had top marks, and excelled far above her classmates she hasn't received a job offer and is pregnant to her college professor. So now she has proven her Alpha mum right. When Pierce and Vivian first meet, she assumes his gentlemanly behavior is just ulterior motive to get what he wants, just like all men. After an altercation where Pierce defends Vivian, they are both thrown off the train. Soon they find themselves entering to a mutually beneficial agreement that will hopefully see Vivian accepted back home into her family. But from the instant Pierce marks her, it becomes clear this arrangement just might not work out how they planned.

I love how Ines writes her characters, you receive a full understanding of what drives them. I love Vivian's conviction of who she is, and what she wants. This is actually a very powerful story of acceptance, and I must admit I think Pierce is every girls dream guy. Moonlight is a must read. If you love Ines Johnson work, you will totally love this story.

I understand that I am received a copy of this book for a VOLUNTARY, completely honest, and non-incentivized review

[Cary Morton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book directly from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Moonlight by Ines Johnson was nothing like I expected. I’ve read many werewolf themed books over the years, but this one genuinely surprised me. It was interesting to see a plot where werewolves not only had a new lore behind them but to also have werewolves generally accepted in everyday life by humans. It was something I’ve seen done in many vampire novels, but not in one about werewolves.

The main Couple, Pierce, and Viviane were endearing, steamy, and unsure in their budding relationship, and I thoroughly enjoyed both characters immensely.

Editing wise, I ran into one or two typos, but nothing so obvious as to pull me out of the narrative. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a sweet werewolf romance with some pretty unique characters and lore.

[Nicole Normand · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy from the author and also found it for free on Amazon via Go Big or Go Home
The first chapter repeats the epilogue of the last book. I thought it was a really dangerous game to mark someone if they were not your fated mate. Here too we get a speech but about pronouns. Many repeats about the male student body who were mediocre to no end. The h passed for an arrogant b**ch multiple times but people/author would call her independent or strong. Pierce has a dream and the same two paragraphs are repeated a few pages later, as if it's now happening in real life. I had a hard time liking the mother and the daughter. I loved Pierce as much as in the other book, if not more. Apparently, the story is based on A Walk in the Clouds but I don't know what that is. I had a hard time finishing; too many battles to be won, even in the last pages. There's also a lot of mixed-up facts from one chapter to the other.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book via Bookfunnel and am voluntarily leaving a review. Loved, loved, loved this quick read. I was glad it was about Pierce who made his appearance in the first book Moonrise. The characters in this book were absolutely enchanting. Pierce meets his soul mate in Viviane. It started out as an agreement between them so that Viviane would not be disowned by her family for being pregnant without a mate. Pierce marked her and went to her home to meet her family. It was so great that Pierce finally found were he belonged and I was so glad that Viviane was the strong, vibrant and intelligent woman he needed. It was funny to read about the cultural differences between the city life and the farm life. But Pierce made it. An excellent read. Can't wait to read about Viviane's sister story in Moonfall.

[Aurora · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this second story in the Moonkind series, Pierce's train trip to freedom is once again interupted by an encounter with a damsel in distress. Smart, beautiful, and pregnant by a human professor who didn't want her, Viviane is going home to face her family, accept her shame and take her place on the family sheep ranch but Pierce offers to stand in as the baby's father, at least until his wanderlust compels him to leave him to hit the road.
Johnson's story of the Veracruz pack and the neighbouring wine producing Guerreros paints a very different kind of life from the city dwelling Alcedes and easy going Pierce and the determined but insecure Viviane have a chemistry that's all their own, but the story is sweet, sometimes hot and every bit as charming as the first story in the series.
Good, light paranormal romance.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

First let me state, I received an Advance Reader Copy, (ARC), but this in no way influences my review. I always leave an honest review.

Wow, this story was Gr8. This is book 2 in a post apocalyptic world filled with lots of supes. Pierce, a werewolf, is sort of a lone wolf, {even though he’s in a pack with family}, & he’s the brother of Jackson from book 1. He’s taking a train trip to Mexico and on the train he meets Viviane, also a werewolf, who’s pregnant by a human, {and her parents are gonna hate that}. She ends up asking Pierce to be her fake baby daddy, and he agrees. Except it’s not a short term thing. Looking forward to many more stories. I recommend this read. 5 Thumbs up

[Christina Luberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a hard time putting this book down. Pierce has always been a lone wolf, no matter what his family wanted. Now he's headed to Mexico on the train. Viviane has always fought with her mother on her life in college, but now she has her degree. She is head home to let her family know that she got pregnant by a human. Pierce and Viv meet on the train and due to some humans they are kicked off. What's going to happen now? Why would Pierce stand by her? How will her family take everything? The only issue I had with the book is on the last two chapters on the pregnancy sound like one thing and then in the last chapter it was something else.

[Sadie Forsythe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this wasn't bad. But it wasn't anything to write home about either. Mechanically the writing is fine and I actually liked both of the characters. (Plus, I really appreciated seeing black characters lead a PNR. It's too rare.) But everything happened a little too fast and there was just a little too much back and forwards, will I-won't I, yes/no, etc. for me. And it could do with a little more editing to catch things like, "She sat down on a rock and balled."

On a side note, I didn't realize that this was book two in a series when I read it. I had no problem picking it up and diving right in. It stands alone just fine.

[Jennifer Soppe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am voluntarily reviewing a copy of this book that I received for free.

Moonlight is the second book in the Moonkind series and stands alone with interrelated characters. In this book Viviane meets Pierce, both werewolves, on her train ride home after her college graduation. As the story progresses what started as a fake mating to help Vivi becomes more real than either of them realized. Some additional twists lead to interesting discoveries. I am looking forward to what Ines Johnson does next in Moonfall.

An exciting addition to the Moonkind series

[Julia Murdock · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC copy of this book and I have read and reviewed it. Therefore giving my voluntary and honest review.

I have read exceptional stories over the past years and I have read stories that have left a true imprint. This story was a story of heart and incredible love. It also showed that we are not always meant to be the strong one. And when a hand is giving it is not to belittle or demean. Also shown that there cn be a place that can hold us still. Embrace us and show that trust comes in every form. A stunning story an I give it a true 5 STARS

[Mom2three · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book two in this series, but it is a stand-alone and can be read as such.
I love paranormal romance, and Ines Johnson is a genius with this genre. I love the premise behind the supernatural in this one. Werewolves aren't in hiding, and are mostly accepted. The characters are really strong in themselves, and seeing them come together is beautiful. I don't want to say anything about the plot, but I will tell you that it is steamy and there were a few things I didn't see coming. I can't wait for book 3!

[Annette Drewett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strong women, sexy shifter males with a powerful storyline, what better way to spend a morning. Viviane seeks acceptance from her family but only Pierce is willing to listen to her. Pierce needs a reason to stop wandering, will this be enough? I loved this book.
I received an ARC copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Rosemary Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two shifters meet on a train, just before they get ejected for something that was not their fault. A friendship starts and an alliance occurs, when one has a problem, which the other offers to help with. Let's just say that things just become much more interesting.
Yes an enjoyable read, especially if you enjoy the shifter genre.

[Barbara "Cookie" Serfaty Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moonlight (Moonkind Series Book 2)

The love story of Pierce and Viviane. Pierce is not the lone wolf he think he is. On a train he met Viviane. She is on her way home and she is pregnant with no mate. Pierce is a knight and he is riding to the rescue. Can he fix in to a family and be a father? Great story.

[Teresa Woodard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lone Wolf?!?!

Pierce has been roaming for a long time. His family is afraid to admit it. They don't want to lose him. Viviane is returning from college with something more than a degree. They meet on a train and end up getting kicked off. Then it REALLY gets fun...lol. This story has some interesting surprises.

[Daphne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pierce is a great dude

I swear Pierce has such a good heart. To take on someone else's responsibility is amazing. Viviane's mom Gloria is a mess. She's protective over her family and she's unapologetic. Pierce is finally able to roam and have his family.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good quick read that involves a young woman heading home pregnant with no mate and a lone wolf who decides to help her by acting as the father . Well written and I do recommend this series and author .

[Alethia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moonlight

I am totally in love with this book! Pierce was so sweet and caring and yet all wolf. Viviane was an epic, well rounded character. The two together in their story was like moonlight magic!

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this story was fantastic!

I was gifted an ARC in return of an honest review.

[Alisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm loving this series! This second book was even better than the first. Pierce and Viviane were adorable and their story was fun and heart warming.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a sweet story. Viviane tugged at my heartstrings and Pierce was awesome, stepping in for her the way he did. Two people who found home in each other.

[Stacy Fernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pierce

I am so glad that Pierce didn't end up being a runner. I like Viv. Her mom is totally nuts!

[Nanc · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this story in the Moonkind series as we get to see what happens with Jackson's brother, Pierce.

[sharon sobzak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pierce

Better flow and a more finished feel than the first book, fewer editing errors too. A good story about two individuals who in finding each other, find themselves.

[Debby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reminded me of the Keanu Reeves movie A Walk in the Clouds ... I really liked it

[Gerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moonlight

Good reading. Loved that Pierce found his love and stopped roaming. Loved the ending. Can't wait to read more about these shifters. Highly recommend reading.

[Gail Kiogima · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet and Spicy

An excellent story of love growing through adversity. The characters are vibrant and realistic. This is a good world to visit.

[QY · Rating 4 out of 5]

happy tears. engaging storyline.

[Willow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Happy sigh! Pierce is perfect for Viviane - what a great partnership they have. Love the characters. A 'real' man, who isn't intimidated by a strong, intelligent female because he is secure in himself. Hooray :)