Reviewed by Sarina
TITLE: An Auspicious Moon
AUTHOR: Julia Talbot
PUBLISHER: Turtlehat Creatives
LENGTH: 80 pages
RELEASE DATE: September 15, 2016
BLURB:
From cat shifter to werewolves, An Auspicious Moon collects seven short stories about the animal inside. Sit up and Beg and Sit Pretty features Killian and Evan, the werewolf and the man who saved him from captivity. In Chew Toy, CIA agent Jack thinks being eaten by a tiger is a bad way to go. Good thing the tiger is also a man. Crate Trained sees Gary getting a bite he never expected during casual sex. In Doggie Style, Ray thinks Doc is just a new foster pet. He’s in for a shock. Finally, in Wolfy Resolutions, Cage has no desire to go to his demon friend’s party, but it might be worth his while.
This book has been previously published. The publisher has changed.
ANTHOLOGY REVIEW:
While the blurb doesn’t give you a ton to go on in regards to the stories, I felt this anthology had a pretty good mix of stories and characters. Also, even though each offering was fairly short, I was never left feeling as though things were unfinished and I came away pretty satisfied both at the end of each story and once I’d finished the book itself. If you enjoy shifter stories and you’re looking for something you can read during a short break or perhaps while you’re waiting for the bus, this would be a really good option and I’d suggest giving it a try. 🙂 My average rating for the book came out to a 3.8* so I rounded it up to 4*.
Sit Up and Beg 3.5*
This was a decent start to the book; I liked how the author kind of plopped you down in the middle of the ‘action’, so to speak, and I found the overall plot interesting. I do wish I’d gotten to see more of the overall operation that Evan was working to take down but all in all this was an enjoyable story that I wouldn’t mind reading again.
Sit Pretty 3.5*
Carrying over from the first story, Sit Pretty is a sequel of sorts and is the only story in the book that features the same main characters as another offering. I really enjoyed getting to see Evan and Killian working together to rescue more shifters but, like the previous story, I would’ve liked getting more of a feel for the organization and set up they were taking down. Still, it was great getting more time with these two men and I enjoyed the story as it is. Just a note, but there is also some very light bdsm in the form of spanking that, even if bdsm isn’t you thing, I don’t think you’ll have an issue with.
Chew Toy 3*
I had mixed feelings about this one. I liked the story in general but felt it was a little too similar to the first story in the anthology for me to get more enjoyment out of it. What little I got to see of the main characters, I also enjoyed but the story itself came off as a little too easy. It never really felt as though they were in any real danger and the lack of urgency just made this an okay story for me by the end.
Crate Trained 4.5*
One of my favorite stories in the book, this features a friends turned lovers situation with an unexpected shifter twist. I really liked how Gary came to be in his current predicament as I’ve not seen it before (That I can remember, anyway) and while it is unfortunate that he had to go through it, the fact that it lead him to getting the one person he wanted but didn’t think he could have was a nice positive to it. While I would’ve really liked to have seen these two men get more time together, what you do get to see of Gary and Chey was great and their chemistry was really apparent. I look forward to reading this one again.
Doggie Style 3.5*
While this isn’t a new trope in the shifter genre, it was a nice story all the same. I found a great deal of amusement over Ray’s choice in careers but also felt for him in regards to having no pack and trying to connect to that part of himself in any way that he could. I didn’t feel the connection between Ray and Doc as much as I would’ve liked but there was enough there to believe they’d make a good go of it. I was confused, however, as to why the main characters felt they needed to keep Doc’s identity a secret from Ray’s sister as she already knew about shifters. *shrugs*
Wolfy Resolutions 4.5*
Another favorite and one I’d dearly love to read more of in some way or another. With the holidays coming up, I was more than happy to read this New Year’s story that featured unexpected happy endings all around. Cage and Barney were a good match and I especially liked Barney’s refusal to let anyone label him as a twink. The one character I’d love to see more of, however, is Cage’s friend Amel; from his description he’s someone that deserves to find someone to love and love him in return. His reaction to Cage’s ex after Barney’s little smack down just made me love him even more. Great story; I’ll probably read it again before the end of the year. 🙂
Party of Two 4.5*
This was a great ending to the book and another really good story. The main characters were so good for one another and it was wonderful seeing them together. Slightly slower paced and without a huge sex scene, this was just a nice feel good story to finish the anthology off with. This also felt like the most complete out of everything I’d read as it had a great epilogue that showed Liam and Matthew a year down the road.
RATING: 
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