Book 17, 2024

[chez_jae]

Moon Kissed by Michele Hauf

My rating: 1 of 5 stars



I finished my "work" book on my lunch break today. It was Moon Kissed by Michele Hauf, and it's part of Silhouette's "Nocturne" line. Main characters are aspiring dancer Belladonna Reynolds and werewolf Severo.

While out jogging alone at night (because that's what any intelligent woman would do), Bella flees from three thugs. She runs to a warehouse, where another man hides her until the others give up and leave. Bella learns her would-be attackers were vampires and that Severo is a werewolf. Worse, Severo insists that the vampires will attempt to harm her again, and worse still, he's convinced that Bella is his mate.

That's about as much of a synopsis as I can provide without gagging. This book was vile. Utterly vile. Halfway through the first chapter, I was tempted to call it quits. Severo claims to be hiding/protecting Bella in the warehouse, but he just could not resist the urge to grope her breasts and pinch her nipples, knowing she didn't dare make a sound. The woman was crying, she was so scared, but hey! Let's escalate her terror by molesting her. How's that for a meet-cute? Once Severo lets her leave, Bella skedaddles then spends the rest of the night filled with both self-recrimination and curiosity. The following night, Bella goes out clubbing (which is what all sane women do after being molested), and Severo finds her. He convinces her the vampires are after her again, so she leaves with him. Wait. What? Yes, you read that correctly. She leaves the club with him. I would label this woman a stupid slut, but that would be unnecessarily insulting. To stupid sluts! Most stupid sluts at least have an iota of self-preservation. Not Bella. Fast forward to Bella and Severo getting it on eventually, because she can't resist how dangerous and exciting he is. The author included bestiality, because at this point, why not? Adding to the overall misery and misogyny of this book is the fact that Severo cost Bella her coveted apprenticeship with a professional dancer because he got jealous of her dancing with the other man. At what point don't you realize what an enormous asshole he is, Bella? Furthermore, during a fight between Severo and some vampires, Bella creeps closer to watch because she finds it exciting. He was killing them, and she thought it was exciting. At that point, I really don't think I'd have cared if she got killed by the end of this book. Thanks to the blurb on the back cover, we know that (spoiler alert!) Bella gets turned into a vampire. Slightly off-topic, but when is a blurb just a blurb, and when is it a spoiler? Anyway, Severo hates vampires so he's all filled with angst and woe because his mate is now a filthy, blood sucking monster. Are you for real right now?! He won't touch her, can barely stand to look at her, and she's all butt-hurt about it. The most annoying part of the entire 'Bella got turned into a vampire' subplot is the fact that the vampire who ordered it done did it as revenge against Severo. He kills a bunch of her vampire companions but lets her live, which really chapped my ass. I wanted comeuppance! I wanted vengeance! But Evie had spared Severo's life once upon a time, so he elected to let her live. He's a stupid slut, too, methinks. By the end of this shit show, Severo had decided that he would try to accept Bella as she now is, but he never did allow her to bite him. Excuse me? You routinely bang her while in shifted form, but you won't let her bite you? Pardon me while I pour bleach on my brain.

Favorite line: "It's called dancing. People do it all the time without falling down and having sex."

"Breath" line: And Bella let out a breath she must have been holding since the vampires charged through the patio door.

This book was horrid. On a scale of 1 to 10, the ick factor was 18. Vile. I can't stress that enough. Do yourself a favor and don't bother reading this celebration of misogyny. One star, grudgingly given because I can't give a negative score.