ARC Review: Cursed Moon by Jaye Wells

“Jaye Wells creates a mounting rollercoaster ride that staggers until the point of crisis and then descends in a lighting-speed drop towards the end. ” ~ Under the Covers

In the second book of the Prospero’s War series, Kate Prospero has a new case that she is working on. It involved missing sex potions that were stolen from an interesting character. To find the person responsible for this, Kate and her partner, Morales need to work together to find them before the Blue Moon. However, their leads are quickly indicating that this is of a larger matter, concerning bad guys who may be out of Kate’s league.

Meanwhile, Kate is harbouring her guilt concerning the events of the last book. To save her brother she did something that made her hate herself. So when her best friend is severely injured in a car wreckage, the concept of pain relief through various potions and cooking seems decadent to her, but it cases Kate to remember her guilt in a way that makes her snappy.

The Kate in this book seemed completely at odds with the heroine in the first book. I missed the smartass comebacks and the back and forth banter with her partner. The Kate in CURSED MOON is more weighed down and as a result, I didn’t enjoy her as much the second time around. Her actions grew tiring and I didn’t enjoy the fighting between her and her family and friends. I found that it slowed the pacing of the book greatly where I almost became disinterested in the story. Had the book ended there, I would have given it 3 to 3.5 stars. I wish there had been a better way to show the emotions of guilt and torment in Kate in a way that didn’t suppress everything that made Kate, Kate. She seemed like a different person, one that was harder to understand.

Moreover, the emphasis that Wells placed on the love triangle in book one seems virtually nonexistent in book two. Volos has his appearances yet they don’t hit as hard as they have in the past and they certainly don’t leave the impression I was looking for. Morales is slightly better in that he had a consistent presence throughout the book, but he acts more as a supporting friend than any love interest for Kate, leaving me feeling puzzled than ever before. I felt that everything I was looking forward to reading from the first book was missing from the first half of this sequel.

However, at the 60% mark, Wells picks up the pace, giving Kate and Morales some major leads in their case. This was what I was waiting for from page one from Wells. As the leads line up, more of that action I expected occurs, creating a far more adventurous storyline that quickly engages the reader. From there, it’s an easy race to the end.

So even with a faulty start, I ended up enjoying CURSED MOON in the end. While not my favourite in the series, Jaye Wells creates a mounting rollercoaster ride that staggers until the point of crisis and then descends in a lighting-speed drop towards the end.

*ARC provided by publisher