The moon Shines Red is a clean historical fantasy romance that has a bit of a fairy tale feel to it. I loved this book and the beautiful messages within it about love and perseverance so much. I haven't felt this way about a book since I read The Bird and the Sword earlier this year. There are a couple of heart-pounding romantic scenes in this book and I fell in love with the tortured Lochlan right along with our leading lady.

Lochlan is a tortured soul who has lived cursed for 500 years unable to touch anyone without killing them, so he has isolated himself from most other people. One day Elin is out walking in the forest and she sees a beautiful white owl. She starts following it until she ends up at a clearing and there she meets Lochlan. They are immediately drawn to each other, but Lochlan warns her to keep her distance. They part and Lochlan plans to never see her again but fate has different ideas.

I liked Elin as a character a lot. There is a secret about her that is eventually revealed and while it's pretty easy to predict, I still really enjoyed the story. The only complaint I have about her is that she is pretty defenseless in the beginning and stays that way throughout the whole story, even after she begins to learn how to protect herself she never has the opportunity to use those skills. I really would have liked it if she would have had the opportunity to come into her own in that aspect.

The antagonist Zeph ended up being more layered than I initially thought and I liked the story behind him and what was revealed about him. I don't always sympathize with the bad guy in books, but this was one of those times where I could feel badly for him to an extent. The next book is going to be about him and I do wonder how he can be redeemed after some of his actions. He just went too far and so I'm not sure how I'm going to feel about him in the next book.

As for the fantasy aspect of the story, I thought it was pretty well done. The story involves the Seelie and Unseelie courts in the faerie realm. We don't actually get to see too much of the faerie realm in the book as it takes place mostly in the human world, and that's something that I would have liked to explore a little more. I'm pretty sure that will happen in the next book though, since it will be about Zeph.

Thanks to NetGalley, Book Enthusiast Promotions, and the Author for giving me a copy of this book.

Huh. Didn't think I'd ever say that, but wow, this book was absolutely beautifully kitschy.
Considering I'm not into fae lore, or insta-love, for that matter, I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

A curse, a cutesy yet epic love story, an amazing villain, a teeny bit of subtle humor, atmospheric, almost fairytale-like writing, myth, mystery and action, all this and more is what you'll get with Pamela Sparkman's The Moon Shines Red.
Looking forward to the sequel.

The Moon Shines Red, Heart of Darkness 1, Pamela Sparkman

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre:  Romance, Sci-fi and Fantasy

Well, some you win, some you lose. Sadly this was a lose for me. Its garnered a whole slew of 4 and 5 star reviews so clearly its spot on for many readers, but I'm not among them. 

I thought I'd like it, it sounded intriguing but I just felt disassociated from the plots and the characters. I just couldn't connect with them in any way, didn't really feel anything for them, didn't care if things worked out. I did skim read the last 60% just to finish as it was clear when I got to 40% that it wasn't going to work for me :-(
That happens, reading is subjective, not liking it doesn't mean it's a bad book any more than liking a book doesn't mean it's good. Its just My View of it, and if you share my taste in reads you may feel the same. 

Its perfectly well set out, doesn't leave plot lines hanging, is easy to follow and has a proper ending where everything is clear and story-line for later book emerges, but it felt almost YA in the way the plots played out and the characters acted. Though I've enjoyed some YA in the past its not my preferred reading type and this just didn't work for me. I won't continue with the series.
 
Stars: Two, a great book for many readers, but wasn't one for me.

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers

Enjoyed it although it is my usual genre. Well written with a great eye for detail and a world that not many can really create without it being too boring.

A really original story. Good overall writing .Strong plot