Full Moon Rising

Keri Arthur's Full Moon Rising was one of the books in the RWA goodie bag I got at the registration desk. I've been curious about this one since reading the All About Romance review of it a few months ago.

A rare hybrid of vampire and werewolf, Riley Jenson and her twin brother, Rhoan, work for Melbourne's Directorate of Other Races, an organization created to police the supernatural races--and protect humans from their depredations.

While Rhoan is an exalted guardian, a.k.a. assassin, Riley is merely an office worker--until her brother goes missing on one of his missions. The timing couldn't be worse. More werewolf than vampire, Riley is vulnerable to the moon heat, the weeklong period before the full moon, when here need to mate becomes all-consuming . . .

Luckily Riley has two willing partners to satisfy her every need. But she will have to control her urges if she's going to find her brother. . . . Easier said than done as the city pulses with frenzied desire, and Riley is confronted with a very powerful--and delectably naked--vamp who raises her temperature like never before.

In matters carnal, Riley has met her match. But in matters criminal, she must follow her instincts to not only find her brother but to stop an unholy harvest. For someone is doing some shifty cloning in an attempt to produce the ultimate warrior--by tapping into the genome of nonhumans like Rhoan. Now Riley knows just how dangerous the world is for her kind--and just how much it needs her.

As the blurb suggests, this is not a traditional romance. Since I knew this in advance, I was prepared for it. Arthur's is an interesting and compelling world: 4 out of 5. The story is told in first-person from Riley's point of view, and it's clear the world she lives in isn't a calm one. She faces danger, along with the machinations of others, on a regular basis.

She also lives in a world where it's perfectly acceptable to take multiple sexual partners without guilt. I like the way Riley makes no apology for it; she simply presents it as a normal part of her life. What I didn't like? It's a big spoiler, so scroll over the white text at your own risk: Both of her lovers turn out to be part of the plot. One I can understand, but two doesn't say much for her taste in men. Wouldn't she have had an inkling about one of them? Apparently not.

The plot isn't tied in a neat bow by the end. Since I was prepared for this, it was fine, but other readers might find this frustrating. I thought the conclusion worked and was satisfactory. Full Moon Rising is a fast-paced story packed with lots of action. Arthur does a good job of creating a vivid, memorable world I would be happy to revisit.