The False Moon

The Immutable Moon #2

by Jacqueline Rohrbach

Outsiders call them False Moons, but Garvey’s kind call themselves Moondogs. Moondogs hunt. Moondogs live free. Moondogs stick together. Moondogs are half-breeds, not completely accepted by those who consider themselves “true wolves.”

Garvey is a Moondog to his bones. He and the unexpected get along just fine. That’s why when Molly, the vampire who should be a mindless eating machine, turns out to be an oddity, Garvey decides to hide her away instead of killing her.

But that leaves him needing another vampire to carry out the schemes of the two powerful werewolf rivals he’s caught between. What’s an improvising Moondog to do other than find some poor sap and create a new one?

Garvey might be a Moondog to his bones, but to defeat his enemies, he must navigate their world and be the stupid, subservient beast they expect. At least on the surface. Behind the scenes, Garvey intends to turn their plans against them and bring the two greater packs to the brink of war.

Genres: Paranormal, LGBT, Horror

291 pages, ebook

First published May 21, 2018

About the author

Jacqueline Rohrbach is an asexual/aromantic author of queer romance and speculative fiction. Her books focus on offbeat characters caught up in strange, sometimes absurd situations where they have to grow with each other in order to save the day. She loves her cinnamon roll alphas with extra icing, her sarcastic ladies with the spine to back their spunk, and her antiheroes with the softest of soft spots for the love of their life. Currently, she’s the author of four full-length novels and three novellas. When she’s not writing, you can find her walking with her two dogs, Mulder and Nibbler or trying to catch a nap.

Reviews

[Kazza · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a good series for lovers of paranormal writing, especially if you like a queer bent. I don't mean Alpha and Omega-centric universes and romanticised shifters, I mean full on paranormal werewolves and other beings.

The False Moon did exactly what I hoped for, it built a wonderful extension to the detailed platform of The Worst Werewolf. The Varcolac and Isangelous packs are being played, wolves within as well. There are several players and reasons. The Moondogs, the False Moons, are under threat. Desperate times calls for desperate measures. Perhaps not this desperate, but when you're used to wrecking other's plans so successfully you can get kind of confused about your own ability to (not) plan.

The characters I loved or loved to hate were fleshed out even more, including Garvey, Tovin, Yuri and Nadine, Eresna, Lavario and Amber, Kijo - while lifestealers, ghosts and brewing trouble were all about, and growing. Then there's Mercy. She's new in this book. Part-time Southern belle charmer. Full-time wife, beard and co-conspirator to mayhem and murder, all with a smile, nice hair and nails. Bless. She's awesome.

The humour is, as always, on point. Snarky, youthful, for the most part, but with Lavario being the elder statesman, poised and elegant, he's the deliverer of Bette Davis pro-level snark. The great world-building also continues. Then there's the emotion. These beings, these wolves, vampires, ghosts, they should not be likeable, and yet Jacqueline Rohrbach makes them just that, immensely likeable. Even lovable. God, this is another book where I'm emotional at the end. I'm desperately hoping for a reprieve for someone - I keep telling myself nothing is over until it's over. Maybe that's just where my head is at right now. I also hope Miss Hungry is okay too. Then there's Tovin's ghost, Destiny. I don't know if I should like her or not but, for now, I like her a whole lot.

There's some sex in this book - gay, het, a bit of lesbian canoodling, just dashes of general sexual fluidity. The publisher has 'sex level: explicit'. While I agree with the word 'explicit', there isn't a lot of sex in this book. There are two definite sex scenes that stick in my mind, one is gay the other is het. Just as the characters are diverse, so is the sexual fluidity. Win for me but maybe not for some readers. And sometimes people equate 'explicit' with 'often'. It isn't often. Just putting that out there. There's romance on a couple of fronts, but the balance is tipped more in the direction of paranormal, horror, humour, and an ensemble cast. Still, Garvey and Tovin are interesting and very oddly and uniquely adorable.

Garvey continued. “I’m sorry for the horrible first date. If we live, I’ll take you on another.”
“Another horrible date?” Tovin hissed in his ear. Or was that the cat?
“No, not on another horrible date. A better one.”
“Low bar.” Tovin clutched Garvey’s shoulder. “Run faster. They’re gaining.”

[M.I.A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes, you read a book at the wrong time... Albeit an excellent book it doesn't hold you as it should. That's my dilemma with The False Moon and it's one I will definitely need to re-read for full-impact. Unfortunately I've been so distracted with current events and the likes my attention kept flowing in and out of this story.

I'm giving this story 4 stars for a few reasons

~ It's incredibly well written. I love Rohrbach's writing style.
~ All the characters are well developed with personalities that lean towards dark and twisted.
~ The paranormal world that Rohrbach creates is engaging and incredibly well detailed
~ I enjoyed the pack dynamics and the politics

I do want to say this is purely dark paranormal fiction with LGBT characters, I would not put this in the romance section. There is something happening between Tovin and Garvey but it really doesnt take precedence over the paranormal world Rohrbach's has created and pack politics.

I will also add that one would need to be fully engaged to enjoy this. It involves about eight+ main characters and each of them are equally important to the progression of the story.

I would recommend this for anyone who is aching for solid paranormal fiction that character driven and has dark undertones.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this delightfully entertaining continuing saga of the rather dark and violent wolf-shifter world by Jacqueline Rohrback. One of the most entertaining elements of her books were her delightful chapter titles, some of which were simply out of this world. As to the story it self, it grabs your attention from the beginning all the way to the cliff-hanging ending, which I presume means book 3 is in the works, and hopefully with a sooner than later release date. This is a voluntary review of an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from Booksprout.

[Isabelle Adler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely incredible. I liked it even better than the first book in the series - I think because this time I knew what to expect going in and was far more invested in the characters. Even so, this blew my mind.
The second installment in the series follows the entanglement of the different werewolf packs, and the scheming quickly escalates into nothing short of a battle for survival for all the major figures. With vampires and life-sucking ghosts thrown into the mix, things get desperate really fast, and all the petty intrigues take a back seat to a much grimmer reality than any of the players had bargained for.
The development of all the characters was expertly drawn - which was quite a feat considering the amount of POVs. I must say Garvey is still my favorite character of the bunch, with his goofy dark humor, fatalistic approach, and deep loyalty.
The writing was the exact style that I like - concise, snarky, and powerful.
I'll be waiting very very eagerly for the next one, because I'm dying to know how it will all pan out in the end.

[Barb VanderWel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this & I can't wait for more.
I will be also leaving a review on Goodreads @ Amazon.
And letting everyone know about it.
So i gave it a 5 Stars.

[Kim Watt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not a huge romance reader, and a lot of the current shifter and paranormal romance have me reaching for a Pratchett or King to bat it away with. But. But. This is clever, funny, loaded with puns, and the werewolves in question are less seductive and glamorous, more varying degrees of narcissistic and/or incompetent. And that’s before we even get to the vampires, who are possibly my favourite thing in both books. Except for Garvery’s “wife”, who is hilarious and wonderful.

There’s also a fantastic origin story for both werewolves and vampires which I really want to learn more about, and will definitely be picking up the next book to see if there’s more to come on it. My only reservation was that I didn’t quite grasp the intricacies of the werewolf clan infighting, but that may be due to me being a bit on the sleepless side while reading. It may all come clear later on, and it’s not enough of an issue to stop me recommending these for anyone looking for a fun read with a dash of believable romance.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

he is a moon dog, who is a half breed. they hunt they do everything they want but others look down on them. he is stuck between two powerful packs. he finds a vampire but he hide her instead so he needs to find another. what is he going to do about it all? follow him as he decides what to do and where to go to next

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

steamy true mate story .

love and betrayals abound

funny and sweet.

re-defining family,pack and loyalty.

great hot read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Nadea Croix · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book, the creative and cunning scenes that has action, intrigue and challenges with a twist .