Johnson, Alaya - Moonshine
Mon, Jun. 28th, 2010 05:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterDisclaimer: I know and like the author (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
utsusemia) and got the ARC from her.
Zephyr Hollis is an ex-demon-hunter current-do-gooder. She's on various committees, teaches immigrants in night school, and campaigns so much for Others (supernatural beings) that she's known as the vampire suffragette. And then Amir the very hot not-vampire asks her to locate a vampire mob boss for him, and stuff get complicated.
I felt a bit bad reading this when I did, as I wasn't particularly in the mood for urban fantasy (as defined nowadays, which sadly has very little to do with cities). This has the standard female lead, sexy supernatural boyfriend, and mystery, but what first set it apart for me was that it was set in 1920s New York. I am also immensely glad the sexy supernatural boyfriend is not a vampire or a werewolf, as I am thoroughly sick of both. The vampires are interestingly gross; they don't die in a convenient poof and instead leak blood everywhere, and I like that they aren't sexy and romantic.
What I liked most about the book is the way Johnson treats Zephyr's do-gooder nature. She gently pokes fun at it (I especially laughed at Zephyr's account of how she spends her day), but it's an affectionate laughter that doesn't mock the issues Zephyr is invested in. I also very much enjoyed Zephyr's non-romantic relationships. They don't take up as much space as the main romantic relationship, but I liked that Johnson gives you enough looks at them so you can see that Zephyr doesn't exist in a vacuum. I particularly liked her friendship with her roommate Aileen and her not-quite-friendship with upper-class-socialite-become-reporter Lily.
Unfortunately, the part where the book didn't work for me was the romantic relationship. I don't think it's nearly as bad as most urban fantasies; for one, there isn't the Love Triangle of DOOM (DOOM for the reader, not the book characters) that bores me to death. And Johnson has Amir be morally gray in a very real way; I'm not sure I've forgiven him by the end of the book, and I like that Zephyr's unsure as well. So it's actually a fairly good romance compared to what I've skimmed through in paranormals, but the whole smouldering guy of mystery thing just doesn't work for me anymore.
It'll be interesting to see if this is the first of a series. I like the world enough to keep reading, especially because I want to see more of Zephyr's family, Aileen, and Lily, but I also kind of like the book ending where it does.
Links:
-rachelmanija's review
-rushthatspeaks' review
utsusemia) and got the ARC from her.Zephyr Hollis is an ex-demon-hunter current-do-gooder. She's on various committees, teaches immigrants in night school, and campaigns so much for Others (supernatural beings) that she's known as the vampire suffragette. And then Amir the very hot not-vampire asks her to locate a vampire mob boss for him, and stuff get complicated.
I felt a bit bad reading this when I did, as I wasn't particularly in the mood for urban fantasy (as defined nowadays, which sadly has very little to do with cities). This has the standard female lead, sexy supernatural boyfriend, and mystery, but what first set it apart for me was that it was set in 1920s New York. I am also immensely glad the sexy supernatural boyfriend is not a vampire or a werewolf, as I am thoroughly sick of both. The vampires are interestingly gross; they don't die in a convenient poof and instead leak blood everywhere, and I like that they aren't sexy and romantic.
What I liked most about the book is the way Johnson treats Zephyr's do-gooder nature. She gently pokes fun at it (I especially laughed at Zephyr's account of how she spends her day), but it's an affectionate laughter that doesn't mock the issues Zephyr is invested in. I also very much enjoyed Zephyr's non-romantic relationships. They don't take up as much space as the main romantic relationship, but I liked that Johnson gives you enough looks at them so you can see that Zephyr doesn't exist in a vacuum. I particularly liked her friendship with her roommate Aileen and her not-quite-friendship with upper-class-socialite-become-reporter Lily.
Unfortunately, the part where the book didn't work for me was the romantic relationship. I don't think it's nearly as bad as most urban fantasies; for one, there isn't the Love Triangle of DOOM (DOOM for the reader, not the book characters) that bores me to death. And Johnson has Amir be morally gray in a very real way; I'm not sure I've forgiven him by the end of the book, and I like that Zephyr's unsure as well. So it's actually a fairly good romance compared to what I've skimmed through in paranormals, but the whole smouldering guy of mystery thing just doesn't work for me anymore.
It'll be interesting to see if this is the first of a series. I like the world enough to keep reading, especially because I want to see more of Zephyr's family, Aileen, and Lily, but I also kind of like the book ending where it does.
Links:
-
rachelmanija's review-
rushthatspeaks' reviewTags: