Moon Tortured by McKenzie Hunter – A Book Review

Posted December 7, 2019 by Booksandblurbs in Reviews, Urban Fantasy / 0 Comments

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Moon Tortured

(Sky Brooks – Book 1)

by McKenzie Hunter
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Urban Fantasy
Available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited

Down & Dirty

This is the beginning of a pretty popular Urban Fantasy series, one the whips and twirls through a plot line that stretches dimensions. Free on Kindle Unlimited.

What is about?

(Blurb on GoodReads)

Skylar’s death came not at the end, after a long fulfilling existence, not in the middle, as a result of an untimely tragic event—but at the beginning, with her birth.

As a final effort to save her dying unborn child, Skylar’s pregnant mother, a witch, sacrificed herself by invoking a powerful spirit shade to inhabit Skylar’s body, imbuing her with life. For twenty-three years, Skylar lived a life of oblivion, content with her simple job, loving adoptive mother and the monthly inconvenience of a full moon hangover after being sedated and caged when she changed into a wolf.

It wasn’t exciting but it was her life until one night, she woke up in a strange room in the middle of rural Illinois—bruised and with jumbled memories of her mother’s death from a vampire attack. The Midwest pack comes to her rescue. Known for being more ruthless than altruistic, she doesn’t know if she can trust them.

But after an assassination attempt by a necromancer, an abduction attempt by a mercenary, and more aggressive and violent attacks by the vampires, she has no other choice but to accept their help.

The Midwest pack quickly discover that Skylar is the host to a spirit shade, who gives her magical abilities, that make her as much of a danger as an asset and that she is the key to the vampires’ plan to perform a ritual that will give them unrestricted power. Tension rises as the pack become divided between those who think her life is worth protecting as a potential ally and those who believe she is too dangerous to live.

In the end, Skylar finds herself fighting for her life—a life that may be tragically taken too soon.

Thoughts on Moon Tortured

I tried to read this a year or so ago and gave up, it felt too disjointed. Giving it another go, I got through it – as the story itself is bloody fascinating. Sky is both naive and strong, a combination that is as intriguing to the reader as it is to the Midwest pack.

That said, it has its issues. Some editing, transitions and general confusion. Scenes advance with little explanation and there seems to be some continuity problems.

Regardless, I did end up enjoying Sky’s story and will pick up book 2 to see where she goes from here.

Pros:

Interesting metaplot.
Sky.
Pack rules…. there are seriously unforgiving.

Cons:

Jumbled writing.
Lack of transition in some scenes.
Minor editing errors.
There have been at least three different covers for this novel, leading to possible confusion. Great covers, mind you, but readers need to be aware and read descriptions before purchasing again.

Perspective

First Person, Single POV

Ending Type

Episodic

Rating

R for Violence and Language (No sexual content as of yet, aside from a kiss or two)

Romantic Dynamic

M/F

Character Age Range

20’s +

My Final thoughts on Moon Tortured

Despite the errors I ran across and the jumbled way the plot was approached, this is an enjoyable book that ventures into an entire new world, one that encompasses seven books. This series, unlike many featured on BookandBlurbs.com, is complete. Free on KU!

Published May 11th, 2014
366 Pages