Reviewed by Taylor

TITLE: Under a Crescent Moon
AUTHOR: Mercy Celeste
PUBLISHER: Total-E-Bound
LENGTH: 195 pages
BLURB: Murder, mystery, sex and magic. It’s just another typical night under a crescent moon…

New Orleans Police Detective Taylor Campbell has done his best to leave Xander Cooper alone. Years ago, he joined the Army to get away from the temptation of the younger man. But a series of murders around Xander’s restaurant has Taylor running scared. And when he happens upon Xander holding off a group of thugs, his honour is forgotten.

Xander Cooper fell in love with Taylor when he was a teen. Now an adult, he’s waited and watched and hoped that Taylor would one day see him as more than a little kid meant to be avoided. He didn’t expect murder to bring Taylor to his bed. For Xander, giving Taylor his heart is easy. Letting him in on the family secret is another thing all together.

He didn’t expect that Taylor would have secrets of his own. Secrets that make a little thing like Xander being a witch seem tame…

Reader Advisory: This book contains scenes of violence, rough sex, mild BDSM, dubious consent and cheating.

REVIEW:

New Orleans Detective Taylor Campbell has been in love with Xander Cooper for many years, but ran away at the age of nineteen because his attraction for then fourteen year old, Xander concerned him.  He’s returned to New Orleans and stumbled upon a series of crimes that might affect Xander.  Xander is guarded and worried of falling again for Taylor and he’s discovering and exploring secrets he’s scared to name.

I don’t even know what to say about this book.  It was all over the place and that saying “throw in the kitchen sink” would apply for the plot, the characters, and the dialogue.  You have to cast away any plausibility and get past a ton of flowery language.  Not to mention the abundance of sex scenes.

I don’t understand why the paranormal aspect was there, either.  I didn’t feel that it added anything to the story, and seemed in use at completely random times.  A character appearing from the grave to ask for a favor, a character escaping cuffs in a non-threatening scene, etc.  I’m also a bit weary of all of these New Orleans stories centered on witchcraft, vampires, and things of the like.  It’s SO played out.  It doesn’t feel fresh and I didn’t really get the vibe of the city, which is strange since I live near New Orleans.

The characters came across SO whiny, too.  They just went round robin with blame, hissy fits, immature actions, and never just spitting out the truth.  Non-stop fights about the past, the present, the future.  Throw in sex scene after sex scene with dialogue such as this:

“You’re so beautiful right now,” I whispered against his mouth. “Pleasure flushing your skin. Your eyes gone dark and hungry.” 

…and I want to claw my eyes out.

Then there was the BDSM in the book that, for me, came out of nowhere, and that’s really all I can say about that.  It made me uncomfortable, and I can read BSDM no problem.  Lots of people may like it, may find it oh-so angsty, and be fine with it.  It wasn’t ‘wrong’; I just didn’t feel I had a solid lead into it.

But not only did you have this BDSM throw in in the middle of the book that confused me, it was tied in with some car thief thug, who somehow managed to grab the interest of one of the characters.  You also had murder, which one of the characters was RIDICULOUSLY accused of initially, and some post-traumatic stress, terminal illness, a baby and lots of riches and you have me scratching my head and utterly frustrated.

Not for me.

Taylor rates it –

BUY LINKS: Totally Bound

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Taylor is one of the official reviewers on The Blog of Sid Love.

To read all her reviews, click the link: TAYLOR’S REVIEWS
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