Moon Kissed

Wicked Games #2

by Michele Hauf

Escaping from bloodthirsty vampires, Belladonna Reynolds ran straight into the arms of a werewolf. As a man Severo drew her in with his dark good looks; as a beast he astounded her with his insatiable sensual appetite. Whether afraid or aroused, Bella fled to his lair when threatened by an evil monster of the night....Severo tried to keep Bella--his mate--safe from the vampiress who held a malicious desire for revenge against him, but he alone wasn't enough. Now Bella had taken the form of his most cursed enemy. How could he desire the very thing he'd spent his life destroying? And even if he did, what would the werewolf do to Bella on the next full moon?

Genres: Paranormal Romance, Romance, Vampires, Paranormal, Werewolves, Harlequin, Shapeshifters

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 2009

About the author

Michele has been writing romance, action-adventure and fantasy stories for over twenty years. Her first published novel was DARK RAPTURE.

France, musketeers, vampires and faeries populate her stories. And if she followed the adage 'write what you know', all her stories would have snow in them. Fortunately, she steps beyond her comfort zone and writes about countries she has never visited and of creatures she has never seen.

Michele also writes as Michele Renae, and you can find her erotica, chick lit, and Harlequin Romance titles at your favorite online retailer.

--From the author's website bio

Reviews

[WildAboutBones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this book except for one thing - it was too short but then all of the Harlequin Nocturne books are way too short. Very alpha male werewolf who needs to be taken down a peg or two by the woman he loves and then when he gets the girl he has the nerve to left half of himself want to throw her away when things happen that are beyond her control which in fact make it so that he could spend the rest of the 200+ year lifespan he has left. We first met Severo, our very alpha male, in Michele's The Highwayman and in Moon Kissed he has the nerve to pine away still after the heroine (his protege of sorts) in that pevious book when he has this lovely young woman who is falling in love with him. Men! Good thing they are good looking and usually have some redeeming qualities. LOL!

[Heather Boustead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moon Kissed:

Belladonna Reynolds loves to stay fit and being a flamenco dancer it comes with the territory, one night as she is jogging she runs into a bit of trouble in the form of three bloodthirsty vampires. Luckily she runs into an abandoned warehouse to hide and straight into the arms of Severo a werewolf. As Severo is holding her in his arms he realizes that the connections he feels to this woman can only mean one thing, that she is destined to be his mate. This is just the beginning as the vampires soon begin to stalk Bella and Severo vows to protect her.

This novel doesn’t get really good until about chapter eight before that it is more a “Romantica” and has less of a storyline, but once it does kick off the book is fantastic. It turns out Bella’s best friend who also happens to be a man, is dating a vampire which Severo had nick named Elvira in years past for her outrageous appearance. When it comes to light that Elvira is the jealous sort it leaves Bella in a world of trouble. Though I read this one along with Forever Werewolf, this one was not as well written as the first but it still held its own, it is a quick and fun read even if it does start off a bit slow story wise.

For More Reviews be sure to visit my blogs at:
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[Candy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is definitely not one of Michele Hauf's better books. I had read the series out of order starting with Her Vampire Husband and then read book 1. After enjoying both of those immensely, I was looking forward to finding out what the deal was with Severo. Instead I found a weak plot, poorly developed characters, and way too much cave man mentality. I'm certainly glad this was not the first book I had read by this author or I don't think I would pick up another book by her.

[Tonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished this book yesterday!! I absolutely loved the romance between Bella & Severo!!! Love vampires and werewolves!!!:-)

[Kimberly Parthenopaeus · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it

[Jae · Rating 1 out of 5]

While out jogging alone at night (because that's what any intelligent woman would do), Bella flees from three thugs. She runs to a warehouse, where another man hides her until the others give up and leave. Bella learns her would-be attackers were vampires and that Severo is a werewolf. Worse, Severo insists that the vampires will attempt to harm her again, and worse still, he's convinced that Bella is his mate.

That's about as much of a synopsis as I can provide without gagging. This book was vile. Utterly vile. Halfway through the first chapter, I was tempted to call it quits. Severo claims to be hiding/protecting Bella in the warehouse, but he just could not resist the urge to grope her breasts and pinch her nipples, knowing she didn't dare make a sound. The woman was crying, she was so scared, but hey! Let's escalate her terror by molesting her. How's that for a meet-cute? Once Severo lets her leave, Bella skedaddles then spends the rest of the night filled with both self-recrimination and curiosity. The following night, Bella goes out clubbing (which is what all sane women do after being molested), and Severo finds her. He convinces her the vampires are after her again, so she leaves with him. Wait. What? Yes, you read that correctly. She leaves the club with him. I would label this woman a stupid slut, but that would be unnecessarily insulting. To stupid sluts! Most stupid sluts at least have an iota of self-preservation. Not Bella. Fast forward to Bella and Severo getting it on eventually, because she can't resist how dangerous and exciting he is. The author included bestiality, because at this point, why not? Adding to the overall misery and misogyny of this book is the fact that Severo cost Bella her coveted apprenticeship with a professional dancer because he got jealous of her dancing with the other man. At what point don't you realize what an enormous asshole he is, Bella? Furthermore, during a fight between Severo and some vampires, Bella creeps closer to watch because she finds it exciting. He was killing them, and she thought it was exciting. At that point, I really don't think I'd have cared if she got killed by the end of this book. Thanks to the blurb on the back cover, we know that (spoiler alert!) Bella gets turned into a vampire. Slightly off-topic, but when is a blurb just a blurb, and when is it a spoiler? Anyway, Severo hates vampires so he's all filled with angst and woe because his mate is now a filthy, blood sucking monster. Are you for real right now?! He won't touch her, can barely stand to look at her, and she's all butt-hurt about it. The most annoying part of the entire 'Bella got turned into a vampire' subplot is the fact that the vampire who ordered it done did it as revenge against Severo. He kills a bunch of her vampire companions but lets her live, which really chapped my ass. I wanted comeuppance! I wanted vengeance! But Evie had spared Severo's life once upon a time, so he elected to let her live. He's a stupid slut, too, methinks. By the end of this shit show, Severo had decided that he would try to accept Bella as she now is, but he never did allow her to bite him. Excuse me? You routinely bang her while in shifted form, but you won't let her bite you? Pardon me while I pour bleach on my brain.

This book was horrid. On a scale of 1 to 10, the ick factor was 18. Vile. I can't stress that enough. Do yourself a favor and don't bother reading this celebration of misogyny. One star, grudgingly given because I can't give a negative score.

[Leila Anani · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this 2nd Wicked Games novel, our human heroine Bella runs straight into the arms of Severo, the werewolf hero as she's being chased by 3 vampires. It seems that her best friend is dating a very jealous vampire who wants Bella out of the picture. Bella and Severo fall in love but then vampires attack and turn Bella into one of them. Severo hates vampires, how can he love his mate now she's his worst enemy?

The premise for this one is fantastic. In most vampire/werewolf romances both are already supernatural, I really liked the idea of Severo falling in love with Bella whilst she's human and then having to overcome his prejudice against vampires. The other thing I really admire this one for are the werewolf wolf form sex scenes - while not graphic, this just not shy away from Beauty and the Beast - Most werewolf romances keep things human or beast/beast so this was refreshing.

The protagonists are both likeable enough. Severo's possessiveness got my hackles up a bit as did Bella's instant forgiveness and naivety but overall I thought both were fine.

The romance.... hmmmm. The beginning is awful. Severo is little more than a macho sex beast. He wants Bella and nothing will stop him. You do feel at least at the beginning their relationship is solely based on lust and this combined with his possessive behaviour.... Not so endearing. However stick with it because it does get better and by the time Bella gets turned into a vamp you are rooting for a happy ending.

If you like the Underworld & Twilight Franchises Moon Kissed will probably appeal. It's far from Hauf's finest but it's got a great paranormal universe, decent story and at least the characters don't have stupid names.

[Amber Daulton · Rating 4 out of 5]

In book 2 in the Wicked Games trilogy (which is set in the Beautiful Creatures series), Bella Reynolds is running for her life from a group of vampires. A seductive man protects her in an abandoned building, but he wants the same thing that the vampires wanted from her—sex. Her fear arouses him, but he lets her go, vowing to find her again.
Former pack master, now lone wolf, Severo knows he’s found his mate in Bella. The vampires are targeting her for a reason, and though he does his best to protect her, will it be enough?
I loved Bella! She was smart, focused, and accepting of the fact that paranormal creatures exist. Severo was harder to like because he was sometimes cold to Bella and because of his intense jealousy when she was around other men, but I understood why he acted the way he did, so he gets a pass.
The sex scenes were super fun and hot. More description would’ve been nice in a few places, but I wasn’t too confused as to what was happening. My only real complaint is that Severo didn’t kill his archenemy. This didn’t make sense at all, but that’s just my humble opinion.
Anyway, I really enjoyed all the scenes with Ivan. I haven’t read his story (I did read his parents’ story, though), and I’m interested in knowing more about him and his witch wife.
I have the next book in the trilogy and will read it soon.
4 Stars

[Donnelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, I have to say that I think that Hauf is a very talented writer - I've read several of her books, and have enjoyed them all. For the most part, that holds true for this particular book. There was a lot of suspense, and given the description on the book's back cover, the reader goes into the story knowing that Bella will be attacked, and when that actually happens, the reader feels the horror, confusion, anger and pain felt by both Severo and Bella. Those feelings seem so genuine and organic because we are treated to seeing how the relationship between the two develops from something that starts during a moment of danger and terror, evolves into slow acceptance and trust, and eventually builds into love. Considering the relatively low number of pages in books like this, that was an admirable accomplishment, and a testament to Hauf's writing skills.

That said, I had two very big problems with this book, and spoilers are necessary in order for me to delve into them:

First, I feel as though Bella accepted becoming a vampire a bit too quickly and easily. Yes, she struggled with it a bit, and there was a relatively lengthy section devoted to her learning how to feed, but all in all, while I can't say that it doesn't seem to phase her, it just seems like she accepts the huge, dramatic change a bit too quickly, especially given how much the man/werewolf she loves loathes vamps with every fiber of his being. The argument could be made that devoting pages to Bella fighting the change or bemoaning it would have been counterproductive and obviously wouldn't have changed anything. However, it still felt like Bella's acceptance of becoming a vampire came a little too easily.

By far my biggest issue with this book, however, is that while the reader believes that Bella loves Severo, and that he, in turn, loves her, by the end of the book, I still felt as though he loved someone else a bit more. A lot of time is devoted to Severo's backstory with Abby - a cat shifter/his familiar who befriended Severo's werewolf, and was a very important person in Severo's life. The reader is told many times that he truly loved (and still loves) Abby with all of his heart, and there are even multiple framed pictures of her throughout his house (one is even hidden behind a toaster in his kitchen). Beyond that, it is even mentioned that Severo was in love with Abby and wanted to have a sexual relationship with her, but she did not reciprocate those feelings. Though he says that he accepts that she's in love with another man, and he even respects that other man, it's still quite clear that he hasn't moved on, or moved past his feelings for her.

Severo tells most of this to Bella (after she finds the aforementioned picture behind the toaster), and she's mostly okay with it, going so far as to think about how she's not jealous when, at the end of the book, she and Severo (holding hands, I believe) meet up with Abby and her man, and Severo drops Bella's hand so that he can literally run up to Abby and give her a big hug. Subsequently, Abby and Bella do a bit of girl-bonding, and Bella seems to be perfectly okay with everything. All of that really bothered me, though. At one point, Bella even recognizes that the bond between Severo and Abby is deeper than the one she (Bella) shares with him, and basically asks him if he thinks that their connection will ever be as deep as the one he has with Abby, to which he replies that he "hopes so." Moreover, while Severo seems to reluctantly accept that Bella has become a vampire (going so far as to become a bit aroused when he witnesses her feeding off of another man), he still won't allow her to bite him. Evidently, that particular matter is explored in a subsequent e-book on Harlequin's website, but that lack of total trust and acceptance, even in the epilogue of the book, was a problem for me. Given that and the Abby issue, it almost seemed as though, while Severo and Bella love one another, it's a love that seems to be. . . missing something, for lack of a better way to put it - it wasn't as deep and true a love as I expected that it would be. I feel as though they were on their way to that point, but after Bella was changed, I think their love stopped evolving and deepening, due to Severo's vamp-related issues and Abby.

So, that was disappointing to me; I would've liked to have seen Severo truly, fully accept who/what Bella becomes by accepting her bite (again, in this *book,* not in a follow-up, online/ebook story), and by making some sort of mention that, while Abby would always be important to him, what he had with Bella was somehow more than that, or deeper, or better or *something* along those lines. I don't know if that makes any sense, but to suffice it to say, the love story started out great, but turned out to be problematic and a little bit lacking. I suppose it's entirely possible that all of those issues are addressed and resolved in the follow-up, but I think that going into this book thinking that it's Severo and Bella's complete story will leave one feeling as though the romance leaves something to be desired (and, in all honesty, I almost feel a little bit cheated that the love story was basically still a work-in-progress at the book's conclusion). Perhaps going into it thinking of it as being part 1 of a 2-part story would affect the way in which one views things, and ameliorate any or all of the issues that I had with the book.

So, overall, the book is pretty good, and anyone who is a fan of Hauf's will likely enjoy it. For me, there were some pretty significant issues that kept me from enjoying it as much I had expected and hoped that I would. Still, Hauf is a good writer, and anyone who is interested in suspenseful, emotional love stories featuring shifters and/or vamps would probably find this to be a good read.

[Sharon Ryder Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book it was easy to get into from start to finish. How ever i still dont understand how it all come about? Bella was being chased by Vamps as the Vampress was jealous her relationship with Seth her friend , Bella was saved by Severo who is a were"wolf- She confessed it to her friend Seth the day after what happened but new it sounded crazy!! but he confessed he had been bitten and knows all about vamps! the vampress was feasting on him.... (Then further into the book it mentions after her friend was turned.....that the vampress goes ofter friends then family... she done it all to get to Severo.. He new not of her friend Seth or Bella before hand. so why did the Vampress target them both? that for me has left a large question....i would also of loved to hear more of the faeries that were mentioned.

[Adrianna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really fantastic premise, title, cover, and writing....but books with the "cave-man" aggressive, wear-her-down hero just need to die. The first 2 chapters the heroine is rightfully creeped out and TURNED OFF by him, exhibited really negative reactions. It is so gross, basically SA, and is an instant turn off and ruined the entire book for me. Then in like chapter 3 she suddenly is attracted to him and extremely horny just by seeing him undressed once. Like what? She's a dumb character honestly. She's being stalked by vampires and continues to go out alone at night, doesn't seem at all concerned about warning her best friends about what is going on. Severo is also clearly in lust with the heroine, not love like with 'Aby' his lost love. It honestly felt like a bad Twilight rip off.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my all time favourite books, I read it growing up and I read it so many times the book cover was tattered! I've just noticed there's a second book that I've never read 😭🤧 my day just got substantially better. Will have to re read and then find out what happened to one of my favourite book couples!

[Bent Letters · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 Stars

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books!

[Naine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blurb: There's a fine line between fear and desire...and between hatred and love Escaping from bloodthirsty vampires, Belladonna ran straight into the arms of a werewolf. As a man Severo drew her in with his dark good looks; as a beast he astounded her with his insatiable sensual appetite. Severo tried to keep Bella safe from the vampires who held a malicious desire for revenge against him, but he alone wasn't enough. Now Bella's taken the form of his most cursed enemy, how can he desire the very thing he's spent his life hunting?

Finished this book in one sitting. I liked it because I was interested with Severo during his appearance in Kiss Me Deadly. It was a quick read but there was a mini story after this book titled After the Kiss. Severo fell head over heels with Belladonna. Vampires are considered mortal enemies of werewolves. Severo is the pack leader of the wolves and in the end Belladonna accidentally became a vampire and it really tested if Severo loves her even if she is a vampire. I recommend this to those who like a fast-paced and quick read paranormal romance story.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

0stars!!! wtf is wrong with readers and the authors that this type of behavior is even acceptable much less sexy? I'm so disgusted right now I almost can't even write this review. in the less than ten pages I read the "hero" smacks his palm over the heroines mouth (because simply covering it would have been too easy?), patronizes her, threatens to rape her, then sexually assaults her before letting her go with the knowledge that he can and will find her to get her to payup for keeping three vamps from raping her. this is not ok and anyone who makes someone like this a character to idolize deserves to be shot rather than continue perpetrating stories that humanize men like this and promote violence against women. I will never read another hauf book again and encourage anyone who stands against men like this to follow suit. because I don't care what the character does later in the book there's no redeeming actions like that

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michele Hauf has an excellent talent for creating tension and conflict within her characters. This book begins by demonstrating that ability very quickly. This is the second book in this series and greatly improves over the first book. It continues with a minor character from The Highwayman who as a werewolf has lived for quite some time. In this story he meets a human with whom he falls in love. The story focuses on dealing with the past and overcoming your fears. The heroine is strong-willed and fearless throughout the book. I enjoyed it tremendously and would recommend to anyone who likes a paranormal romance.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Severo's story... and Bella...

he saves a human woman, and can't let her go... she adjusts to his dominance, accepts his wolf (she insists on meeting his wolf, though he is uncertain he can control the wolf), and his love of Anna/familiar that lived with him for 10 years;

but Bella's best friend is seeing a vampiress - and she is jealous of Bella (Severo had saved her from her vampires)... and the vampiress has it out for Severo - he'd killed her family in the early days of territory... so she has her vengeance on Severo - turning Bella into a vampire... and now Severo must adjust, and let his love overrule his prejudice of vampires ...

and it all works out....

[Jess O. (From Jess to You) · Rating 1 out of 5]

"1 out of 5 stars. Okay, I'll admit I really didn't give this novel a fair chance, but I just couldn't get into it, which is why I only read up to Chapter 5."

Check out my review and a teaser here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/14gXquYTHzOyKBb9km8eUUnM761HUyBMs/view?usp=drive_link

[Lenna Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hero werewolf Severo will save Belladonna, Bella, from scary creatures that wants her. She is human but his wolf and he connects with her and will do anything on his power to keep her alive. But her can't watch her 24/7 because those creatures, vampires, will catch her and him unaware and one will make her turn a slow and painful. His his love outshine his hatred for vampires while his mate is one of will he let love rule over the bad.....

[Stacie]

Belladonna is running from three vampires and gets help from a werewolf. Severo saves her from being attacked but when he gets a whiff of her scent realizes that she is his mate. For some reason the vampires seem intent on getting to Belladonna. When they get to her and turn her into a vampire, Severo has to decide if he wants a mate that has taken the form of his hated enemy.

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew this book was going to have a lot more romance than action before I started it, so I was prepared. Sometimes I don't want all the romance but I was in that kind of mood now. It had a good twist in it and it had characters from Michele's other books that I thought were cool. Good romance read.

[Ivonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

no me gusto mucho ya que esto del hombre dominante no va conmigo, sea lobo o lo que sea no me enamoro Severo, toda su brusquedad desde el principio dejo mucho que desear
me gusto que Bella no se dejara malipular tanto, que lo que ella decia y queria lo hacia el giro que toma al final tambien fue bien WTF pero buenooo cada autora hace lo que quiere en sus libros y con sus personajes.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the characters. And Michele writes AMAZINGLY HOT sex scenes! *fans self* Picked the book up the other night, thinking I'd read a couple chapters. Two hours past my bedtime later... I had to force myself to put it down... with only THREE CHAPTERS LEFT TO GO! READ THIS!! NOW!

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn't bad, at all. You could tell what was going to happen by reading the back though, very predictable.

Not one of the best books I've read, but it was okay.
I liked the details in it. :)

[Ren Puspita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book before joining Goodreads in May 2010 , so I rated this just by what I feel after I finish read. Of course I already forget the story, it's been more than 13 years.

[Aileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book love the way the main characters relationship developed over time.

[Beckey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting story about how love conquers all even in the paranormal realm even when facing challenges & changes... Very good : ) & recommended read :)

[Deanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is ok. I enjoyed the first 2/3rds of the book more than the last third.

[Angel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. Not as much as other Hauf books I've read, but I still liked it.

Review can be found here:
http://amh-reviews.blogspot.com/2014/...