Reviewed by Jess
TITLE: Krystal Blue 
SERIES: The Blue Moon Series #1
AUTHOR: Destiny Hawkins
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 338 pages
RELEASE DATE: July 30, 2016
BLURB:
As far as Crystal Knew, she was just a normal girl. Sure, there were some instances where she wondered if she were something more, but what more could she be other than a foster kid from Nevada? There’s no such things as vampires and witches…right?
After abruptly leaving home to study Zoology in California, Crystal runs into Alveya Tera, a beautiful, and, yet, dangerous member of the mysterious Josbryn family. After recovering from an almost fatal car accident she soon learns that there are definitely more than just animals and humans in the world. She also learns that the beast her mother died protecting her from wasn’t just a part of her imagination.
Neither was her unusual appetite for meat.
REVIEW:
I haven’t read a longer urban fantasy story in a while, so I was excited to dig into this one. Though I got invested in Crystal as a main character and was rooting for her until the end, I don’t think there’s much that is special or noteworthy about this story that we haven’t already read in hundreds of other books. The length ends up hurting it—it’s a fairly long book, but so much of it could have been edited out or paced better.
Crystal Blue is a good character to start a story with because she’s so fiercely independent. She basically has to start life from scratch after aging out of foster care and going to community college while homeless. It’s easy to sympathize with her, and it’s heartbreaking to see all she has to do just to stay afloat and stay safe while all of these new things are happening around her.
While the parts based in reality are compelling, the supernatural elements are less so. All of the people Crystal meets in California—Alveya, Theo, Fred, the Josbryn family—are very one-dimensional and don’t serve to make me want to learn more about the Blue Moon mythology. They seem like stereotypical brooding villains who just keep secrets and skulk around town. If I were Crystal, I would’ve high-tailed it out of there a long time ago. She was way too quick to accept and trust these awful people, despite her being such a strong and perceptive character.
The writing style and choices feel very dated. This book recalls the mid-2000’s craze of paranormal/urban fantasy romances that always include sexy, naïve women thrown into wild situations that include a brooding, evasive love interest. It doesn’t feel fresh just because it is an LGBT romance—it still feels like a retread of books like Twilight. It feels stale. There’s also an undercurrent of distrust between Crystal and the rest of the female characters that comes from sort of an old-school mindset. Readers today don’t really respond well to the whole “I’m not like other girls” thing anymore.
Despite this being an F/F romance, the most admirable romantic tension is between Crystal and Fred, a handsome jock-type who is more sensitive, attentive, and kind towards Crystal than Alveya ever manages to be. In fact, Alveya only grew on me in the last 10% or so of the book. If she was a male character, she’d definitely be considered emotionally and physically abusive. She’s constantly jealous and possessive of Crystal, then turns around and acts like she can hardly stand her. And she’s always physically hurting her—pulling her around, slamming her into walls, etc. Only when Crystal comes into her true strength and power do we see them on equal footing, but it doesn’t feel like enough. These two aren’t good for each other, and despite some good moments of sexual tension, I just couldn’t get invested in their romance.
I don’t think I’ll continue with this series. Besides Crystal, I’m not interested in any other the other characters, and the mythology is way too convoluted. Destiny Hawkins can write good action sequences and good romantic tension, but this series just isn’t doing it for me.
RATING: 
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