I quite enjoyed this book. I hate to admit that I liked the first half better because of the plane crash and survival theme. The book overall was good. I think the coming together of the main characters romantically was a little strange, but I am hoping there will be a sequel that will help flesh it all out better. I like the corporate deception, theft and murder inclusion. It made the book feel more realistic in the fear inspired in their experience. I'm looking forward to more from this author and these characters. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book had a lot of potential but faltered in the second half. I liked the part where they are in the wilderness but when they return to fight the bad guy it just fizzled out for me. The relationships between the two mains feels forced.

I really enjoyed this book even though I had a problem with the central premise about the bad guy causing the plane to crash. It is a credit to Ms Clarke that I was able to put that to one side and enjoy the story. Rachel and her friends are going on a well deserved break but their plane crashes in the middle of nowhere and off the radar... one of the number has medical training and we get the full details of how she treats the various injuries. It is a bit gory but it feels very real and because of that you buy into the credibility of the exercise to get to safety. This isn't one of those books where our hero breaks a leg but is dancing 3 chapters later. The danger and the fight for survival is very well handled.

There is a lot of depth in the story and an opportunity to show how good people can step up when there is a crisis and Ms Clarke handles her ensemble cast very well.

There is much to get lost in and the book is recommended if you enjoy crime, slow burn romance and hoping the bad guy gets his comeuppance!

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

This book is written by an author who was unfamiliar to me. I selected it because the synopsis sounded interesting. I am always looking for a good suspense/mystery. Moon Shadow falls within the suspense category with a soft romance flavor.

There are four main characters in this book. They are Sarah, Tilly, Rachel, and Claire. In addition, there are many secondary characters. I would say that the most dominate one is “the bad guy”, Justin. In a nutshell, Rachel is a superb programmer who writes a program for a company. Her boss, Justin, wants the program because it is worth millions. When Rachel completes the program, she takes a vacation to Alaska with her three girlfriends. Justin uses this opportunity to sabotage their plane and steal the program.

Most of the book deals with how the four ladies manage after their plane crash. It was very interesting how they were able to survive, and you can tell that Ms. Clarke has done her research. The book is laid out using “Day 1 … Day 2… etc.” format. This was well done because it really helped present the emotional and physical challenges they faced. The story is very different from most suspense books that have come out recently and I think readers will enjoy it. However, there was a little too much detail, and it slowed down the story periodically.

The romance segment of the book was between Rachel and Claire. In my opinion, romance was not the main focus of this book. So, if you are looking for a romantic book, you might find this lacking.

I will certainly look for the next novel by this author. I rate Moon Shadow 4 out of 5 stars.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

An extreme survival story about four women trying to survive the Alaskan wilderness and the madman that wants them dead.
This story is very dark. As a story of survival both through hundreds of miles of Alaskan wilderness and a sociopath that is to be expected. The characters each had a lot of emotional trauma in their pasts and that combined with the dire circumstances caused an overall gloomy feel around the story.
The survival aspect of the story was thrilling and felt very realistic, from supplies and their uses to how they traversed the dangerous terrain. The action sequences were exciting and intense. Intense is the word I would use to encapsulate my strongest feeling about Moon Shadow.
Rachel and Claire had great chemistry and I really liked both of their characters. I was a bit disappointed by their interactions related to each other as romantic interests. I know I could never understand Rachel and all of the levels of trauma effecting her but ultimately couldn’t connect with her actions and decisions after the second time she did what she does. And by the end I was not invested in their relationship the way I wanted to be.
I loved the different characters and what each one brought to the table both in skills and personalities. The group meshed well together and often brought brevity to an extremely stressful situation.
I enjoyed the story and was on the edge of my seat The entire book.

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review of the story.

The story is told by several voices and two timeframes. At first, it was like reading two books - the story of Sarah and Alontyne is introduced in very proper Puritan style of speech - me thinks a bit confusingly at first.

The story of Raven Morgan Le Fay and Hazel is told in current, combative styles.

What do you do when your existence in the here and now could alter American history irrevocably?

What do you do when your only purpose in a lonely, isolated life is fighting demons and other evil beings?

What do you do when your the Queen Witch who can see where this all leads?

You band together to save humanity as we know it.

Fun read, quickly built relationships, fighting the good fight.

'ARC provided by both NetGalley and The Publisher in exchange for an unbiased review'

**'It is comparatively easy to become a writer but staying a writer, resisting formulaic work and generating one's own creativity -- well that's a much tougher matter..'

There are a variance of books that have put me in an anxious mood to start reading them sometimes because of their juicy synopsis's but then after getting into the stories that high expectation just unscrupulously deflates, then those feelings of frustration and questionable mixed emotions appears during the progress of the stories. Well 'MOON SHADOW' is just one of these books -- just an average and a kinda weird story. And no exaggeration where never for a moment did this farce relationship between two of the leading ladies seems genuine, it just seems forced.
This is supposed to be this author's coming out debut book but i'm having some wavering overview on whether my perspective should appear less negative or just a brief view on the book itself.
I think few interested readers might gain an insight during the storyline as to why things started happening -- and why this whole fiasco started and got to where it did take this traumatic turn. With this day by day detailing of what was happening to all partaking character; some having many serious injuries and were also suffering both physically and psychologically after their plane crash.
There's quite a lot going on in "MOON SHADOW' -- for instance: the writing and action is very fast-paced, the chapters are long, the premise borders between it being an interesting and mysterious one, the assortment of characters do have their own distinctive storyline development and backstories with one of the leading ladies seamlessly being impulsive at times while another had this dark side that he had to succumb to getting rid of everyone in order to get something that did not belong to him and finally, a few of the plot twists can be deem uncomfortable to read at times but might still keep readers guessing until the end.
I must confess that after i got near the conclusion of this book I did initially thought Ms.Clarke had painted herself into a corner with this storyline's suspenseful and thrilling element but then with all those ultimate explanations during the storytelling, of the why's.

This is the first time I’ve had the pleasure of reading a book by Ms Clarke and hopefully it won’t be the last.
Rachel Portola, computer programmer has finally finished with a top secret program that would be valuable to many companies around the world but her supervisor Justin has decided to steal her program and sell it keeping the money for himself. What he doesn’t know is that Rachel has embedded a trigger that will make the program useless after a few months. That is unless she enters the code to keep the program up and running.
When Rachel’s husband is killed in an accident Rachel decided to move to Cleveland, mainly so she could be close to her best friend she’d first met while attending college. What Claire doesn’t know is that Rachel has come to terms with herself that what she feels for Claire is much more than just friendship. She’s in love with her.
Claire Davenport has divorced her husband mainly because she too had come to the same point in her life where she decides it’s time to tell Rachel how much she cared for her. Claire, along with two of her childhood friends, Sarah and Tilly book themselves a trip to Alaska where they have planned to rest and be pampered at a resort for a few days. Claire has finally convinced Rachel to go with them even though Rachels idea of a nice vacation is a sunny beach. Did I mention Rachel hates the cold.
While Claire was raised in the lap of luxury Rachel grew up watching her white father beat her mother. They had no money, so she spent her young years in foster care. But she also got to spend her summers living with her grandfather on the reserve where he taught her about tribal traditions and how to survive the hardships of living.
Now the women are headed to Alaska not aware that Rachel’s supervisor, Justin has planned for her plane to crash killing all aboard. Now only the four women have their work cut out for them. How to survive the elements while trying to reach home again. And when they get home taking their revenge against Justin who thinks he’s actually got away with his plan.
Ms Clarke has given us a book you won’t want to put down. The four women have to travel over, up and down the mountains, all without food and water is an adventure you will be glad you’re on but of course you can do it in the comfort of your own home. Simply a wonderful read. Very, very enjoyable.
ARC via NetGalley/ Bold Stroke Books

Sorry to say I am on the fence about this one...for a debut novel though it shows a lot of promise. I love survival stories and if you give me 4 strong women doing what they can to survive then I'm a happy reader. The action, plot and survival part of this book were very good.
The part where it goes downhill for me is the romance...I still have no idea why these women are attracted to eachother...they have multiple long talks about loving eachother, but I don't get the connection or the feeling that goes with it.

I do feel this writer shows a lot of promise though and I would pick up one of her next books if they come.

**An ARC was provided by BSB via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!**

I have waffled over this review for days. A part of me wants to quibble over little bits of it, but that's not right.
For the most part however, I will say this author shows promise. I look forward to watching her authorial voice develop, because she already shows signs of doing certain things well.

Adventure -- She can certainly write determined women who have a keen sense of justice and are courageous enough to go after what they want! And these women were brave. Afraid at times, but they did what they had to do. That is courage. But I want to speak up about one thing that left me shaking my head.

The bear. If, Heaven forbid, you are confronted with a bear, any bear, not just a massive one in Alaska, you should make a wall of bear repellant spray. Yes, visualize a wall of that spray, because you don't want to miss the bear because you're shaking. Make yourself as large as you can, using your coat or backpack or whatever you have that will make your body look bigger. Bears have notoriously bad eyesight, but they will see a large dark being in front of them who is yelling, "Bad bear!" Never, ever, ever run. They may have bad eyesight but their hearing and sense of smell is what keeps them alive. If you run, they will smell your fear and hear you. And they WILL give chase. And then you will be a bear snack-of-the-day. It has happened in Alaska and even where I live. So don't ever run. Lesson over.

I enjoyed the adventure aspect of the book far more than the romance. (Sorry Ms. Clarke) The setting was vivid and stood out. I felt those rocks, the water and the desperation of the characters.

Three stars for the promise, the potential and one hell of an adventure!

Moon Shadow is a debut novel by Suzie Clarke. It is a pretty good beginning for Ms. Clarke with some room to improve as an author.

The story begins in Cleveland, Ohio, but ends up being mostly in the wilderness of Alaska. Rachael has created a computer program for her company that is worth millions on the black market, and her co-worker Justin has decided to steal it. He has to get rid of Rachel first though and contracts to have her killed in Alaska on her vacation with her friends, including Claire, the woman she secretly loves. The plan almost works when the plane they are flying in crashes in the wilderness hundreds of miles off course. The four friends survive the crash with injuries, but now must figure a way out to safety.

The premise of the story is excellent. I really like adventure stories, and this part of the novel is my favorite. The story is easy to follow and flows well in this part of the tale. I connected with Rachel and liked her as a character. I had a bit of a problem connecting with Claire. Both of them had a tendency to cry way too easily and often. I understand the situation they were in, but still…

The romance part of this book is where I have the biggest problem. To put it bluntly, Rachel and Claire talk too much about how much they love each other. I wanted less flowery talk and more action.
If you like mystery and intrigue novels with a lot of action in a wilderness setting, then you might enjoy this book. I believe Ms. Clarke shows promise in her writing, and I hope she continues to improve her craft. I will be looking for future books from her.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

Rainbow Reflections: https://rainbowreflections.home.blog/

I... had trouble with this one.

The writing style wasn't bad, so that wasn't it, but I just couldn't get into this book emotionally. To be fair to the author, I'm fighting a vicious cold after traveling all last week for Christmas holidays, so that could be part of it.

This one started off with a bang and I was immediately interested in the storyline. 4 women surviving a plane crash and on the run from a crazy dude? Yes please! Unfortunately, the more this book went on, the more I realized that I didn't care about any of the characters whatsoever and the story was falling flat. The scary bad dude wasn't all that scary since there were no real encounters with him, the romance between two characters felt super co-dependent and very stilted, and I still don't understand some of the choices that the author made towards the end.

To be blunt, the language used felt debut-ish at times, but it was easy to follow and the writing style was enjoyable for the most part though. Honestly, the survival bits of this story were the best parts for me, although some of the situations felt waaaaay too convenient, and I could have tossed all of the romance out the window. I'm being a bit harsh here, but this one felt amateurish to me overall even though it is very readable. Remember though, I'm sick and not in the kindest of moods, so take my review with a grain of salt. For me, 2.5 stars.

**Many thanks to Bold Strokes for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.**

FAN-B****Y-TASTIC READ

THIS IS A NEW AUTHOR FOR ME. MY GO TO AUTHORS DON'T SEEM TO BE DOING ANYTHING FOR ME AT THE MOMENT SO I WANTED TO TRY A NEW ONE.

RACHEL AND HER THREE FRIENDS, TILLY, SARAH AND CLAIRE ARE GOING ON A VACATION TO ALASKA. HOWEVER, BEFORE THEY ARRIVE AT THERE DESTINATION THE PLANE GOES DOWN AND THEY HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO SURVIVE IN THE MOUNTAINS. LUCKILY, RACHEL HAS EXPERIENCE AS A SURVIVILIST AND IS AN EXPERIENCED BACK PACKER AND SARAH IS A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL. ALL ARE STRONG INDEPENDANT WOMEN WHO WILL NOT BE BEAT. DURING THERE TIME OUT IN THE OPEN FACING THE DANGERS AND TRYING TO KEEP SAVE WHILST TRYING TO FIND HELP THEY HAVE THERE UPS AND DOWNS, ARGUMENTS AND ACCIDENTS ALONG THE WAY, BUT, DO THEY SURVIVE?

RACHEL HAS ANOTHER ISSUE, SHE HAS FEELINGS FOR HER FRIEND CLAIRE AND DOESN'T WANT TO TELL HER IN CASE SHE LOSES HER FRIENDSHIP. DOES CLAIRE RECIPROCATE RACHEL'S FEELINGS OR ARE THEY DESTINED TO LOSE THEIR FRIENDSHIP?

JUSTIN WORKS WITH RACHEL AND IS DESPERATE FOR THE TOP SECRET PROGRAM SHE HAS DEVELOPED. HE WILL STOP AT NOTHING UNTIL HE GETS WHAT HE WANTS.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK. I TOOK A CHANCE WITH A NEW AUTOR AND I AM VERY HAPPY I DID. I LOVED THE STORY LINE, I LOVED ALL THE CHARACTERS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF JUSTIN WHO DESERVED EVERYTHING THAT WAS THROWN AT HIM. THE PACE WAS JUST RIGHT.

I HAVE READ ABOUT 140 BOOKS THIS YEAR AND I WOULD SAY THIS IS NOW MY NUMBER ONE READ. I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND READING THIS BOOK.

I RECEIVED AN ARC COPY OF THIS BOOK FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY AND VOLUNTARILY LEAVING MY REVIEW.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bold Stroke Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A fresh, exciting new voice for fans of lesfic.

With a few notable exceptions, 2019 has not been a golden year for fans of lesfic. Then comes along, Suzie Clarke’s, “Moon Shadow” and I exhale with a sigh of relief. This is quite simply a corker of a thriller. I won’t recount the blurb - because let’s face it publishers are far better at this than us mere mortals, but “Moon Shadow” is unmissable for devotees of lesfic. It has everything: an expertly plotted narrative, well-drawn characters and twists and turns galore. I read this in one sitting not even bothering to take a break for a cup of tea. The inevitable dehydration that followed was worth it; because this was a thrilling, satisfying read.

Ms Clarke - you leave me breathless.

Rachel is a computer programmer who just create a top secret program. Justin who is her boss wants to sell it for millions. He will do anything to get what her wants even if it's leads to murder.

When Justin learns that Rachel is going on vacation he realize his opportunity to get rid of her for good is now in his grasp. He hire someone to sabotage the plane although his target is Rachel he a bit sorry for Rachel friends being collateral damage.

Rachel thought all she has to worry about on this trip is wether to finally admit her feelings to her best friend Claire. Rachel and Claire have suffer some great loss in their life but they always been there for each other right along with their friends Sarah and Tilly. When the plane goes down Rachel has to lead her friends to safety when she learns this wasn't an accident that her boss wanted her dead. As she grapples with this she doesn't let it stop her from getting everyone to safety. I like that each women had something to contribute as they tries to stay alive. I like that even though they had server injuries it never stop them even when they wanted to give up.

When they finally find help they decide stay in hiding because they know it's not over yet but then they decide to take the fight to Justin and his accomplices. As they recover Rachel and Claire finally have chance to be together but will the things they have to deal with stand in their way.
This was a good read I really enjoy it this could easily be a made for tv movie or even on the big screen.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.