📙Title: Moonblood-bk#1-2

✍🏾Author: Jade Ambrosia-debut author

📅Publication date: 5-28-25 | Read 5-28-25

📙Format: e-Book/ Prologue + 42 chapters

Genre:
*Paranormal Romance
*Mystery
*Adult Fiction

Tropes:
*He falls first
*possessive H
*fated mates
*werewolf/human pairing
*Greek mythology retelling-Selene -goddess of the moon and Endymion-her mortal lover
*small town

👆🏾POV: 3rd person dual

⚠️ TW: death of parents, foster care, grief, wolf attacks h

Summary: After the murder of his father, Aleck is accused and found guilty by his pack even though he would never commit such a crime. He is exiled from his pack and stripped from his Alpha title. Selena is a small store owner until Aleck scents her as his mate. She is immersed into pack politics, passion, and danger.

👩🏻 Heroine: Selena "Sel"Claire-26-27, owns a store selling jams and honey

🐺 Hero: Alecksander "Aleck" Hale-27, former Alpha of MoonShadow pack

Other Characters:
* Cassie-Sel's BFF
* Amara-Sel's assistant at the store
* Derek, Cyprus-both Betas
* Skoll-leader of rogue pack, used dark magic
* Rafe-a friend of Aleck's father, still part of the MoonShadow pack
*Morden-a wizard and friend to Aleck

🤔 My Thoughts: This story had promise as a debut. It was romantic, spicy, and had some action too. Aleck was a fierce fighter acting as the alpha who protected Selena even though she was scared of his violent nature. There was a HEA and will definitely read book #2 Moonchild.

⭐Rating: 3/5

🔥Spice level 4/5 open door, explicit

🙏🏾 Thanks to NetGalley, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, and Jade Ambrosia for this ARC! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions are my own.

I really wanted to look this. Unfortunately, it was just not for me. The premise was good, but I just couldn’t connect to the characters or the story. And I had to DNF it had 65%.. I am sure some people will love this book. I’m just not one of them.

This was such a fun fantasy book! I highly recommend it for fantasy lovers, and I’m excited to read more from this author!!

Good read! When a young alpha is accused of killing his father, he is kicked out of his pack. It’s up to him to prove he didn’t do it to regain his pac and provide for the woman he loves if he can be brave enough to tell her his secrets.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you for allowing me to review

First of all, i'd like to thank Victory Editing, the author of this book, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

In my honest opinion, this book actually has potential.. and some might love this as the plot was quite intriguing. but there's also pretty much the same amount of readers who can't even finish the story.. and i found myself quite in the middle of both side..

Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC @jadeambrosia_author and #netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this paranormal shifter romance. The two main characters felt their bond immediately and experienced a bit of insta-love and insta-lust. The plot was spice-heavy and definitely romance-focused. If you enjoy shifter romances, you would enjoy this story!

If you like the following tropes, you’ll enjoy this story:
-small town
-fated mates
-dual POV
-werewolf MMC x human FMC
-insta love
-shifter romance
-possessive alpha MMC

I wanted to love this one, wanted a good shifter romance but unfortunately this one did not hit the mark. I wasn't even able to get through half it was just not hitting the spot for me.

DNFed at 42%.

“Moonblood” had a lot of promise, with a good plot setup and the premise of fated mates and shifting/omegaverse elements added in. After the first quarter of the book, I found it more difficult to read as the plot felt dragged on. I also unfortunately did not connect with either of the main characters. Overall, the spice of what I had read was nice and the writing was well done, I just had difficulty connecting with either MCs which I think ultimately led me to DNF. I look forward to read any future works from this author.

This book had great characters and you can connect with them. You will love the devotion that is given from the alpha as soon as he meets his mate. They are very different but are a perfect match. The story had a good plot and plenty of things going on, but I wished it was in more depth at times. Some areas were kinds glossed over that I would have loved to know more about and to get to better understand the characters in the pack. I was given an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a sucker for a shifter romance, but this one missed the mark for me and it really boiled down to a couple of factors: instalove and abrupt ending. You either love or hate instalove stories and while they normally don’t bother me, it did in the instance of gated mates and the shifter realm. If you’re already fated, why fall so fast? I wanted a slow burn to add to the intensity of the pairing later. There were other unfinished/unclear ideas throughout, but I did enjoy the mind connection. The ending was also very odd and abrupt. It wasn’t even a cliffhanger. It didn’t endear me to the story or make me want to continue the series.

I love me a novel of this genre. Could not put this novel down, it had me interested for the entire read and I was pleasantly entertained with the story line. Definitely would suggest it to other readers.

Moonblood by Jade Ambrosia is a fast-paced, fated mates shifter romance, loosely based on the myth of Selene, the moon goddess, and Endymion, her mortal lover. This story is very romance driven, with less emphasis on plot.

Unfortunately, this one didn't quite work for me, though I think fans of omegaverse/shifter romances will enjoy it.
The characters felt a little underdeveloped for me and their connection came across as more superficial than emotional; so the romance didn't fully resonate with me.

However, Moonblood is positioned as the introductory book to this larger world, with more world building and character/pack dynamics promised in the sequel. It may be that the next installment will be a better fit, offering a more in depth dive into the world, dynamics and relationships for invested readers.

Thank you to Victory Editing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed the development of the story and the romanticism of it all. I liked the characters and their relationship. My only critique is the pacing. It is a bit of a slow burn, there are intimate scenes relatively early in the book but it’s not until the book is about 80% done that the characters finally fully succumb to their desires. I would say this book is mid level for steam. I prefer my romance to be a bit spicier. Overall a good read.

I did not finish reading this book so will not rate it, but stopped reading because the multiple POV alternating was difficult/confusing. Felt very jumpy and I would recommend a bit more editing to ensure smooth transitions.
The pacing was also off - the plot is very promising and the concept is great, but think more editing is needed.

Moonblood was an okay read for me. The concept had promise, and there were moments of intrigue and beauty in the writing, but overall, it didn’t fully pull me in. The pacing dragged a bit in places, and I didn’t connect as deeply with the characters or their journey as I’d hoped.

That said, Jade Ambrosia has a lyrical writing style that may appeal to readers who enjoy atmospheric fantasy with a slower, more reflective tone. While it wasn’t a standout for me personally, I can see how others might appreciate its quiet depth.

This book has a great story line that has potential as a series. There were a few things that made me scratch my head, for instance the jumps to dream sequences with no set up took time for my brain to process. I also had no idea that a MMC calling the FMC goddess so much would be a negative for me. I did enjoy the characters of Selena and Aleck, this is a good shifter romance that is overall a light and enjoyable read.

I DNFed at 21%. Too many elements pulled me out of the story, making it difficult to understand the world. My last straw was trying to figure out whether or not it was established in this book whether or not werewolves were known or considered fictitious beings. The FMC is googling so then I guessed real but secretive but then she's asking whether or not other beings are real so...then no? And if the world thinks they aren't real, WHY WOULD YOU TRUST A GOOGLE SEARCH TO BEGIN WITH?!

Editing because I re-read. My friend also ARCed this on another platform and I apparently missed some gems.

The gems I missed are some the ties to the mythology. When I re-read I caught them and now I catch the set-up for Book 2. I expect the mythology piece to be more in your face in the second book.

**If you surface read, this is SMUT. Grade A smut. And as a wolf shifter romance lover, I'm here for it. The book info is very accurate.

I think you have to really read wolf shifter romance and know the genre to see the positives in this book. Its a niche thats often VERY poorly done. Like cringe bad. Just look at most covers.

That said, the plot isn't super strong, but it doesn't seem like it was intended to be. For this specific genre, thats not a surprise. I think its just enough to hold the story together. But tbh I wasn't reading this for plot. 👀

The characters - their romance and spice - are easily the focus of this book. And they have very good back and forth and chemistry.

Individually, I really like Aleck as an MMC. Hes morally gray but still... romantic? Dominant, possessive but still sweet. Usually, you get one or the other but he's both. Plus, his wolf is cool. Selena was strong from the beginning but not in that bada** kinda way. Very relatable FMC.

And the spice (which tbh is why I read wolf shifter romance) burns off the page. OMG! Its descriptive and theres no stupid phrasing like nether lips or slick folds to pull you out of it. And Aleck is greedy af. I had to pause a few times because Jesus! 🔥 The heat is well placed. It doesn't feel forced. **I was surprised how well it was written but if you read a lot of dark romance or erotica, it's probably a 3/5 spice level for you.

**5/5 stars! I'd read the next book just to see how the characters do in a different space and how that affects their... relationship. 😂 **Spoiler alert: there's no way book 2 is in the human world so there will HAVE to be world building, stronger plot, and prob a magic system in Book 2.

**I'm also hoping that some of the questions I have are answered. They're not cliffhangers, just questions. Also, I want to see how the myth ties into Book 2. It could be epic if done well.

But all in all, take THIS book for what it is. Good romance. Good chemistry. Good spice. An intro to the characters. 😋 I think Book 2 is where things will pick up.

With a stunning cover and captivating synopsis, I was really looking forward to Moonblood by Jade Ambrosia. I was excited for a werewolf romance and a retelling of Selene and Endymion. Unfortunately, this left a lot to be desired. I couldn't find much, if anything, of the myth and the story itself needed a lot of refining.

Pacing was one of the major issues I had while reading. The first quarter felt so incredibly slow. It was as though I was being told a story instead of experiencing it. It didn't flow. Then, we start getting into the romance and things start feeling natural, but it's constantly interrupted with this secondary plot. They never seem to mesh which makes this feel like two books forced into one. Alecks' plot to find out who killed his father (not a spoiler, literally happens on the first page) is shortchanged and devoid of emotion or tension due to the constant switching of storyline focus. When we get to the climactic battle, it fizzled. The build-up to caring wasn't there. The bad guy felt like just a name.

The romance was a strong positive factor. Alecks fell hard for Selena and worked to woo her. It did feel a bit like instalove, but that's to be expected for fated mates. Selena's character need a lot more work and depth to connect with. Considering there's a second book that focuses on Selena, it makes sense that she was kept pretty vague. The spice was okay but I didn't really get the primal play in it (at least not compared to other romances.)

I think Moonblood by Jade Ambrosia has a lot of potential and there are kernels of great ideas there. Unfortunately, the execution faltered a bit. Maybe with a stronger editor that can help streamline the story this would be amazing, but as it, I would say this is a pass.

review links to be added after publication

Thank you for the arc netgalley!
This is right up my alley bur unfortunately the world building was jusr not there I dnf'd at 30% I might be wrong but the first 3rd of this book was very me werewolf you mate now we bang