Book Review: After Moonrise by P.C Cast and Gena Showalter

Book reviews

29 Nov

After Moonrise by P.C Cast and Gena ShowalterPaperbackReview copy provided by publisher/ DMCPR MediaHarlequin Mira, November 2012 Synopsis- Includes the stories Posessed and Haunted.Possessed by P.C. CastBeing a psychic detective who can channel only negative emotions makes Kent Raef good at catching murderers, but bad at maintaining relationships. Then Lauren Wilcox arrives with a most intriguing case: her twin sister has been murdered and is communing with Lauren's spirit - and sharing her body. Raef's the only one who can track the killer and free the spirit. But soon he begins to wonder just which twin he wants to save...and why...Haunted by Gena ShowalterArtist Aurora Harper is convinced she's witnessed a crime - a murder so brutal she's repressed the memories, only to paint the scene by the light of the moon. Now she needs her new neighbour, Detective Levi Reid, to help her track down the victim - and the killer. Levi's dealing with his own memory issues, but one thing he knows for sure: Harper is meant to be his, and nothing can take her away from him - not in this life...nor in death. Review- After Moonrise is a collaborative venture of paranormal authors P.C Cast and Gena Showalter. Both authors I know for their YA paranormal novels, Cast for the House of Night series and Showalter for her latest release, Alice in Zombieland.The novel consists of two novella length stories, Possessed by P.C Cast and Haunted by Gena Showalter. My initial caution in picking up this novel quickly subsided when I discovered they were adult stories not YA and I quite enjoyed both. The two stories are cleverly linked through the paranormal agency After Moonrise of which the protagonists in both stories are connected.Possessed is a quick, easy read about a psychic detective called Raef who has always been different. He’s been disturbed by his skill to track negative emotions of bad people his entire life and it is starting to take a toll on him. Until Lauren Wilcox and her twin Aubrey (a spirit) enter his office and ask for his help. For the first time in his life, he can sense positive emotions and they radiate off Aubrey in abundance. He is drawn to her through her twin sister Lauren and is determined to track down her murderer. In the process his feelings for both Lauren and Aubrey become confused. There’s also a really strange sex scene between Raef and the twins, which I just found a little odd!Possessed didn’t quite draw me in as much as Haunted which surprised me, since I have only picked up one of Gena’s novels (Alice in Zombieland) and failed to finish it. Haunted is a little darker, Levi is a run-down detective on suspension and is basically in a bad place when young, blonde and energetic Harper turns up on his doorstep requesting his help. She’s experiencing blackouts and when she awakes she is missing hours, days or weeks of her life and finds herself working on a painting of a murder, filling in the details little by little. Levi, who resides in the same building, also experiences blackouts and it is this commonality that brings Levi and Harper together. He makes Harper feel safe, and Harper makes him want a future. There’s some great chemistry between them as Harper is ‘mouthy’ and Levi is quite upfront too. As Haunted is a little longer, I felt the characters were better developed and I actually would have enjoyed this one as a full-length novel. This story is what brought my overall rating up to 4/5.I was pleasantly surprised by After Moonrise and have reconsidered my opinions about these authors whom YA novels I haven’t quite enjoyed. Though I did initially like the House of Night Series (by P.C Cast), my interest in this waned as the novels went on. The YA ‘voice’ in both of the authors’ works just didn’t sit right for me. But, in this novel where they have adult protagonists I thoroughly enjoyed it. So, if like me you thought about dismissing this book because of the authors’ YA presence, then perhaps you should give it a go- you may be surprised like me!I actually just realised Showalter has an extensive backlist of adult paranormal novels, so I will have to keep an eye out for those.