Blue Moon

I wish more days were like this. I worked only three hours before leaving to catch a matinee performance of Thoroughly Modern Millie. I'd never seen the movie, but I adore the theatre, so I jumped at the chance to go when a coworker invited me. It's a fun story, and it was quite well-performed here. Great stuff!

In book news, I seem to be one of those readers loved by publishers these days. While I've seen many readers say they are tired of vampire novels and the like, I can't get enough of paranormal romances if they are done well. That's the key, of course. Thankfully, that's the case with Lori Handeland's Blue Moon, which was very well done: 4.5 out of 5.

Blue Moon is a first-person story told from Jessie McQuade's point of view. Jessie is a police officer, and there have been problems with wolves biting people in her town. Her pursuit of the truth leads her to Professor Will Cadotte, a man Jessie's boss and mentor warns her against. But she can't help the attraction between them.

I'm sure you can guess that werewolves are the paranormal element of this story. What I like most about Blue Moon is its almost perfect combination of mystery and romance. It was interesting to learn more about Will through Jessie's eyes. I have to admit that I'm a fan of romances where the hero is more attractive than the heroine. A recent Romancing the Blog column discusses this kind of story; for me, it's simple fantasy. Come to think of it, though, I like plain/less attractive heroes, too. I'm getting sidetracked here. My point is that I like the characters and I thought they dealt with interesting internal issues.

As for external issues, there are the werewolves to deal with. Caveat: I'm not the most mystery savvy reader, and there aren't a lot of people to choose from when it comes to identifying a villain. Still, I thought the story has a few interesting twists.

I bought Hunter's Moon, the next book in the series, and I look forward to reading it.

Alyssa