Moonglow (Darkest London) – book review

Moonglow
By Kristen Callihan
Release Date: July 31, 2012
Publisher: Forever
Book #2 in the Darkest London series
Number of Pages: 384
Historical Romance/Paranormal
Ages 15 and up
CW: sexual assault, violence, murder,
domestic violence, grief
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Once the seeds of desire are sown . . .
Finally free of her suffocating marriage, widow Daisy Ellis Craigmore is ready to embrace the pleasures of life that have long been denied her. Yet her new-found freedom is short lived. A string of unexplained murders has brought danger to Daisy’s door, forcing her to turn to the most unlikely of saviors . . .

Their growing passion knows no bounds . . .
Ian Ranulf, the Marquis of Northrup, has spent lifetimes hiding his primal nature from London society. But now a vicious killer threatens to expose his secrets. Ian must step out of the shadows and protect the beautiful, fearless Daisy, who awakens in him desires he thought long dead. As their quest to unmask the villain draws them closer together, Daisy has no choice but to reveal her own startling secret, and Ian must face the undeniable truth: Losing his heart to Daisy may be the only way to save his soul.

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It seems I may have been correct that the first book in this series, Firelight, did a lot of the heavy lifting regarding the world-building. That allowed this book to flow more freely and rapidly. There was still world-building as the lycans had only been touched on before, and the gims are brand new. Yet the characters are already known and the scene is already set.

Daisy is recently widowed. She hadn’t chosen her husband and he was much older and quite cruel, so she is celebrating that her mourning period is over and she can finally get on with her life on her terms. Yet that very first night of freedom ends in a friend’s murder, Daisy surviving a beast attack, witnessing a murder, and ending up in the home of a man who previously pursued her younger sister.

The reader is privy to many of Ian’s secrets, but not all of them. And although he was constantly trying to keep Miranda and Archer from each other in the previous book, I still liked him. I knew there had to be more to his story. Especially since he had been best friends with Archer many years ago. Miranda may not have quite trusted Ian with her sister, but she did trust her husband and Archer believed that Ian would do all he could to protect Daisy.

The chemistry between Daisy and Ian is fantastic, even while Daisy believes the man to be in love with her sister. Infatuation is more accurate, and we do eventually discover why that was. Daisy, on the other hand, is no mere infatuation. Something about her resonates with Ian’s wolf from the beginning and he can’t help but want to protect her and keep her close.

Other than the feelings that are intensifying between Ian and Daisy, there are some lovely and informative scenes between Daisy and her sisters. Daisy is learning things about herself that are surprising but not shocking, considering her little sister. But there is even more to know that their oldest sister has been holding onto until everyone was ready to hear what she had to reveal.

Daisy is strong of mind and temper, but vulnerable when it comes to her emotions and desires. Ian builds her while he also enjoys sparring with her. Their connection is beautiful and manifests in amazing ways over and over again.

My heart broke for the oldest sister and I cannot wait to see her marriage repaired and (hopefully) her husband find his way to accept the hidden world he recently discovered.

Oh! One more thing. Kristen Callihan continues to hold the title of queen of the slow burn. She keeps things hot and sexy while teasing the reader over and over. There is a scorching carriage scene that just…oof! Let’s just say Miranda has bad timing and made me want to scream in frustration. But it was glorious!

4 stars