review - Bayou Moon

Bayou Moon

Ilona Andrews

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Look at the cover.....when the author's name is as big as the title, if not bigger, then I think it means that the publishers are pretty sure that name recognition is pretty good here....people are going to be looking for the name of the author as much as they're going to be browsing for books. I think - it's not like any publishers have come to me to explain this, maybe I'm just making things up. maybe I'm just guessing...but I'm also speaking for book-buying experience. Unfortunately, I think this also means that it's just a matter of time before we start seeing Ilona Andrews' books come out in hardback....you know, as soon as an author gets popular, we have to (don't HAVE TO, unless you want to read the books before the spoilers are all out) buy hardbacks. Which is one of those bittersweet things about authors you love to read getting popular. I don't mean to sound petulant or bitter, but as a long term book buyer - I know what's coming.... Happy for the authors, but sad for my pocketbook.

I like the cover - the swampy background - the sword.... the dark hair and different looks to the woman on the cover. They guy is kind of blond (The darker the better for my tastes), but he looks okay. Like the long hair. Wild.

The Book - What can I say? Thoroughly enjoyed the book. There was just the right amount of wildness in the characters. Just the right amount of crazy. Just the right amount of steamy....(normally, I can do without the steamy, but Gordon and Ilona do a good job of not going overboard, and yet getting the point across that two characters are pretty hot and bothered for each other...) Bayou Moon is set in the swampy area of The Edge, and features a character from the novel The Edge. William is a changeling that has been living in the Edge, ever since the events in the novel (previous novel featuring Rose and Declan). He's approached by the special ops of the Weird's citizens to help capture...or rather KILL an operative of the opposing country in The Weird. If you've read The Edge, you know a bit of the background, if you haven't then you'll learn a bit when you read Bayou Moon. William travels to find and kill this operative (Spider) and has a run in with Cerise Mars...

...and later her crazy family. I LOVE her crazy family. I love the way they are brought to life by Ilona Andrews. The dialogue, the narration, the different points of view....all blends so well together that there is not one boring or "down-time moment" in this novel. I love the edgy, dark personalities of Cerise, her family members, and William. There's a scene set in the town that just gives a glimpse of the different ways of the Edge families.

I also love the different animals that are described in both Bayou Moon and The Edge (the book). There are some seriously strange animals and wildlife in this series. Plants also - there are some crazy plants that come into play throughout this series.

William finds that his mission and Cerise's family issues have a lot in common. Cerise, with her crazed clannish family is the perfect fit for William, which brings us a dark and mildly twisted romance - the best kind of romance to have. (lol). Part of the courtship of Cerise and William is swordplay - real swords.

As with their other novels, Gordon and Ilona Andrews gift us with entertaining narration, great dialogue, twisted plots and some great fight/action scenes. They can also write very good "steam" scenes, that are pretty intense, and yet don't leave me with the feeling that I've just read porn that's been inserted into the book to sell copies. There are also appearances by the main characters in the previous novel, The Edge. Rose, Declan and Rose's brothers all have short and interesting scenes in Bayou Moon. Can't wait to see what they'll come up with next for an Edge novel.

If you enjoy urban fantasy, or fantasy set in strange settings, with edgy characterizations that manage to contain a lot of humor, you're going to love this book. It has it all. Funny, Heartwrenching, action, fighting, steam, .....PLOT! An Excellent Read.

Just in case....Ilona Andrews also writes the Kate Daniels series