Moonblood: A Shifter Romance Novel - Jade Ambrosia - ARC Review

⭐ 3.5/5 stars
📖 ARC provided by NetGalley

Moonblood is a spicy, character-driven shifter romance that leans heavily into fated mates, emotional tension, and supernatural intrigue. As the first installment in a duology, it sets the stage for a larger story while focusing primarily on the budding connection between Alpha Alecksander Hale and the unsuspecting human, Selena Claire.

The premise is compelling: a disgraced alpha seeking justice, a mortal woman pulled into a hidden world, and a bond that neither of them can deny. The chemistry between Aleck and Selena is palpable, and the romance is definitely the heart of the book. If you enjoy slow-burn tension with a generous dose of spice, this one delivers.

That said, the pacing is uneven. The first quarter drags a bit, and the dual plotlines—romance and Aleck’s quest for justice—don’t always blend smoothly. The mythological inspiration (a retelling of Selene and Endymion) is intriguing but underutilized, and the world-building feels like it’s being saved for book two.

Still, the emotional beats land well, and the writing has a lush, atmospheric quality that suits the genre. It’s a solid start to what promises to be a passionate and dramatic duology.

📚 Verdict: A steamy, character-focused paranormal romance with potential. Recommended for fans of fated mates, werewolf lore, and myth-inspired love stories—just go in knowing this is more setup than payoff.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed the book but definitely felt more on the fluffy cozy romance side and was missing for me a bit of the angst and buildup

🌕✨ She is the moon, and he is the dream she can never wake… 🖤

If you’re in the mood for a fated mates, small-town, shifter romance with major spice and swoony tension, Moonblood might just be your next guilty pleasure. This is book one in a duology and leans heavily on the romance/character development with a steamy slow burn between Alecksander and Selena.

Our exiled Alpha is brooding, betrayed, and hunting for justice—and just when he’s focused on reclaiming his legacy, he meets his fated mate. Cue instant sparks, push-pull tension, and a dive into the supernatural that Selena never saw coming.

💋 If you’re looking for:
🐺 Fated Mates
🌕 Greek mythology retelling (Selene x Endymion vibes)
🔥 Descriptive spice
🏡 Small-town vibes
🖤 Power-balanced pairing
📖 Character-driven romance (the plot thickens in Book 2)

This was a solid debut from Jade Ambrosia and I definitely have questions about Cassie 👀

Book 2 can’t come fast enough!

#Moonblood #JadeAmbrosia #FatedMates #ShifterRomance #SpicyReads #SeleneAndEndymion #SmallTownRomance #AlphaMMC #BookstagramRomance #SmuttyReads #ParanormalRomance #WerewolfRomance #NetGalleyARC #IndieAuthorLove #DuologyVibes #BookstagramReady

This was the very first ARC sent to me. Thank you Jade Ambrosia and the team. I received the book yesterday around 7pm and I was so excited to get started, I stayed up past midnight reading it. :)

Jade Ambrosia is a new author to me. Actually, I believe Moonblood is their debut book. It will be released later this month. ( May 2025 )

I’m a sucker for a spicy werewolf book! Add in a morally gray character and fated mates trope, and I basically just need to hand over my wallet now. This book promised some chili peppers and it delivered. Overall, I would give this book 3 out of 5 peppers. I read spicy romance almost exclusively so my spicy tolerance meter may be a bit higher than your average reader. With a level 3 rating, you can be guaranteed a minimum of two open door intimate scenes. The writer uses occasional explicit language phrases and a sprinkle of kink.

The character development was the main focus of the book. They were well described and thought out.
- Alecksander, Aleck for short, is our main male character. He is the alpha of the MoonShadow pack. He is accused of murdering his father, the former alpha, and is therefore seen unfit to lead. He’s banished from his pack and is exiled. While wandering around, he comes across a small town where he meets Selena. The moment he sees her, he knows she is his mate. To his foes, Aleck is all big bad alpha and the type who will slash your throat, ask questions later; however, with Sel, he’s a big ( occasional furry ) romantic softie.
- Selena, Sel for short, can’t stop thinking about this hot guy who walked in her shop. She’s owned her shop for three years and it is her pride and joy. Her parents passed away in her early childhood so she knows nothing comes for free. The pull she feels for this stranger is undeniable but with her questionable taste in men previously, she is keeping her feelings for him at arm's length.
Aleck wants to spend every waking minute with his mate however, with the help of some mergers from his old pack, he’s trying to hunt down his fathers true murderer. These two share some cute get to know me dates and while Aleck is ready to claim her right then, and there, he’s scared she will run away if she sees his wolf’s true nature.

One thing I struggled with was the author's writing. They often repeated the exact same thing over and over. I made myself a note as early as chapter two with this observation. I got used to it as I read and let my eye jump ahead a bit when it happened. I suggest the author ask for a few more proof readers to help eliminate this.

This book ends with no cliffhanger. There are a few questions I would have liked to dig in to a bit more but there will be a second book coming. It will follow the same main characters so I’m hopeful I will find my answers in the next book called Moonchild.

In the meantime, happy reading everyone 💚
~ MaeBae

Fated romance between angsty werewolf Aleck and small business owner Selena develops unevenly but the sexy scenes are well done. The writer has a very good style and a nice feel for character. However the plot, in which Aleck is framed for a murder and driven from his pack and must untangle the plot to oust the bad wolf, is held together with silly string and has holes an elephant could fall through. I hope the author gets it a rigorous edit and reissues because it's a potentially good read.

Read via NetGalley.

Generally, a good read. I enjoyed the spark between the two main characters, Selena and Aleck. I would have enjoyed having more scenes of them together. I felt the world building to be confusing and non-existent. I am hoping that Moonchild will allow us to experience MoonShadow territory much more. I really thought it was refreshing to see a FMC actively ask for a slow down which is often not the case when fated mates are the trope. I wanted a little more from Aleck in terms of his thoughts, Selena too. I didn't enjoy the way things bounced between them, at times making it challenging to tell if you were reading from Aleck or Selena's thoughts. I think a good dose of editing would make this book shine for sure. Great job Jade!

First lets talk about the cover and gorgeous artwork for this book. It's beautiful and immediately caught my eye and made me excited to pick up this book. The book offers a lot of different tropes: He falls first, fated mate, instant love, shifters, possessive mate

Where I struggled with this book: If felt like I was reading two different books that did not weave in well together. You have the story of the MMC wanting to avenge his father and take back his pack. Then you have this erotic romance between fated mates. The blend didn't ever happen between the two for me. There needed to be more. More background, more character development, and more of a reason to keep turning the page.

I also had a big issue with the FMC. Is she an independent, strong woman that has a damaged past. Or is she a passive "oh cool you shifted a teeny bit so you obvi must be a werewolf, kiss me" person. It just didn't make sense.

Can I say that I also got ridicululously annoyed with overuse of the word "woman" and "goddess". Enough so, that I had to stop reading the book at multiple times and try again later.

What was great? The spice seasons in this book---chefs kiss. Phenomenal writing and scenes that were actually believable.

This book has good potential for a series but needs some work on character and world building. Selene is a human who owns a general store and was in foster care when she was younger. Aleck is a wolf shifter who was banished by his pack after being framed for the murder of his father. That's really the only character backstory we get in the entire book. There is magic in this world, but it is never explained and only mentioned as a plot point. The storyline with Skoll felt like an afterthought because it felt like it was used as a way to introduce other shifters instead of as actual plot.

I struggled with the writing style in this because the POVs shifted in the middle of paragraphs with no warning. I ended up having to reread a lot of this book because I couldn't figure out who was talking. The italics were used for POVs, thoughts, and emphasis, so I really couldn't keep track of what was said aloud or what was thought.

I will say, this book is the epitome of communication. I loved the adult conversations about consent and emotions. Jade Ambrosia did a great job showing the slow build of trust and emotional vulnerability. I was not a fan of most of this book, but the clear and honest communication kept me reading because it was so refreshing to finally see that in a romantasy book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, and Jade Ambrosia for the free eARC.

This was a fast paced, sweet fated mates romance. Selena is human, but when she meets Aleck, she has no idea what's about to come into her life. He watches her from a distance, but it soon becomes too hard to resist the mate bond, despite his wanting to ease her into it. When he finally admits what's happening, she's hesitant, but ultimately on board.

Thank you to net galley and the author for the sec of this book.

So this book made me realise how much I need the “will they won’t they” in a book. Like I love fated mates and I love their relationship but I feel like it just missed the mark for me personally. It felt like the plot had 2 separate parts which sometimes didn’t mesh at the right times of the book. I also enjoy when a write is less formal with their writing but this was leaning a little closer to fanfic than anything only in parts. The spice was great and I love that part but overall it just wasn’t just right for me

Always thank you for the opportunity to arc read this book!

The tropes included in this book are what you would expect from a shifter/paranormal romance-
-possessive MMC
-intense fated mates
-MMC fall first
-alpha shifter

The romance between the two main characters is lovely, wholesome and sweet. MMC is a devoted alpha and has an immediate attraction to his mate. I enjoyed this book, the romance is what kept me going. The only thing I would say is that it left me wanting a bit more. In my fated mates romances I love more of a push and pull- more angst and drama. This was almost too perfect of a relationship. However, for those that enjoy that insta click of a key, this would be right up your alley!

For a debut piece from this author it was overall, really good!

rating 3/5
spice level 4/5

Thanks again!!

1/5

This book was not for me and therefore a DNF. I just didn't get into it like I hoped - most likely because I am in a deep reading slump.

Unfortunately I can only give this 2 stars. Super thankful to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC and opportunity to review with my honest opinions.

Although the overall premise of the story is something I usually love in books, this one was extremely hard to get through. The random switches in POV, the dialogue, and the pacing were all areas that kept me unengaged in this story. I really had to force myself to continue reading. I do think that there is potential in this series and author, but will need to see some better editing and a deeper dive into the character development for this to really be something I could pick back up.

for the shifter romance lovers who are looking for something cozy and warm. we have fated mates, he falls first, strangers to lovers. and a retelling of the love story between selene (greek goddess of the moon) and endymion (her mortal lover). although their relationship moves quickly, i feel like it makes sense for these characters. there is no denying the love between aleck and selena, their relationship feels earned and so refreshing. they are just so wholesome, you can just feel the tenderness in their moments together. AND when they fully give into the bonding…it’s good 🙂‍↕️

other than the romance, the stakes didn’t feel quite as high. and i felt like we were getting more status updates more than anything. even when we were in it.

since this was written in third-person omniscient, we get everyone’s perspective in every scene which did throw me off a bit. i did get used to it by the end, i just prefer alternating pov chapters and third-person limited.

selena and aleck’s ability to communicate and love each and every part of the other was by far my favorite part <3

✶ thank you to the author and netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review ✶

Beautifully written, loved the banter between Selena and Alexk. The tension and slow burn build up really brought forth how they have amazing chemistry. It wasn’t plot heavy, I enjoyed the flow and the quick pace of the whole story. It was romantic, spicy, and had some action too. I would recommend to others who like shifter romances.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!!

A cozy small town shifter book….sign me up !

I really enjoyed this! The mmc falls for the fmc first and hard! I really liked their dynamic and banter.
I do feel like the pacing was slow and plot lacked at times but still had a great time throughout!

Read if you like
- fated mates
- small town cozy vibes
- werewolves
- Slow but worth it burn

I was really excited for this one—the cover is stunning, and the idea of a werewolf romance inspired by the Selene and Endymion myth sounded amazing. But sadly, it didn’t live up to the hype.
The pacing was slow, especially at the start, and it felt more like being told a story than being in it. The romance between Alecks and Selena was the highlight—it was sweet, even if a bit insta-lovey. But the plot about Alecks trying to solve his father’s murder felt underdeveloped and didn’t blend well with the love story. It honestly felt like two separate books mashed together.
The climax didn’t land, and the villain didn’t make much of an impact. Selena’s character also needed more depth, though maybe that’s coming in book two. The spice was okay, but the primal vibe wasn’t as strong as I expected.
There are some cool ideas here, but overall, it just didn’t come together for me.

I love a shifter romance so I figured I’d give this a go.
A small town cozy romance with fated mates.
I really enjoyed this book but sometimes found the plot lacking which I anticipated before I even started reading as the author made it clear this book was character driven.
This book leaves you wanting more and thinking about what will happen next I cannot wait for the 2nd

Werewolf shifters in the classic bipedal form from early horror movies, powerless, betrayals, alpha that is set up to be banished and lives to avenge his banishment and reclaim his pack. Along the way he finds his mate, adding a bit of spice and romance which is always welcome! For shifter fans, a solid trope and good weekend read.

Thank you Netgalley and victory editing for this eARC, all thoughts and opinions are my own xx

pre thoughts
- Werewolves

Overall
- This was a great fated mates read and had a lovely fantasy element The MMC falls first + fast. The plot is great and has good pacing and it was easy to follow. The chemistry between the FMC and MMC was impeccable, with a great amount of slow-burn.

stars 4/5
spice 4/5

check the TW prior to reading

tropes
- he falls first
- fated mates
- small town
- werewolf
- Slow burn