Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews

Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


William's story lived up to my expectations.  He is a very cool character that more or less stole the show from the hero in On the Edge. Not that Declan wasn't a perfectly good hero.  Well, he was a bit more 'golden boy' than I like my heroes. But he worked for Rose. As for personal taste, I go with William!

What can I say? I like 'em edgy.  I appreciated how the Andrews shaped Williams character and showed all his textures and layers.  One would think that a changeling would be a pretty basic guy, all id.  Not William. He has a dichotomy, although he does aim for simplicity in his actions and thought processes.  And wonderfully self-controlled, considering.  He had to learn it the hard way, which is organic.  I think he was very true to his nature.  He had that primal, violent aspect, but also a loving, sensual (and not just in an erotic) nature. Although he had never been part of a family, you could see that he valued and treasured the concept of family.  I especially liked how he reacted to Cherise.  Just on a primal level, he fell for her and 'knew' she was meant for his. Even with that instant feeling, nothing was guaranteed in the story. There was a long journey for them, and that love story adds to but doesn't take away from this distinctly gritty fantasy read.  Although I will put this on my urban fantasy shelf, I guess it really isn't UF. It's more like rural fantasy.  Hey, would love more books in this sub-genre!

Speaking of rural fantasy, I loved the local color.  With On the Edge, that was a major appeal of the story, the down-home Southern ambience of the story. This story goes even deeper. This is about swamp people.  It felt very authentic and real.  I think we can all identify with having an interesting family.  How we have various relations that are just kind of odd, but we love and accept them because they are family. That's this book in a nutshell.  Cerise's family was full of characters, each one distinctive. They gave her a headache and sometimes a heartbreak, but they were blood, and blood is thicker than water.  So what if her family has some folks that aren't strictly human? Every family has quirks. I loved Cerise's loyalty to her family, and better yet, that William could respect that and realized that his Mate's family was his family now.

As far as adventure and action, this book has it in spades.  As with other books by Andrews, it can be gritty and gory.  The whole storyline about the scientific/magical adaptations was rather stomach-churning!  If you're squeamish, you might not want to eat while reading some parts.  William is seriously awesome as far as his warrior skills, and Cerise more than holds her own. In fact, she rocks the house.  She's a tough, strong woman, the kind of woman you want to high five.  Despite being tough, she has some vulnerabilities that give her a realistic portrayal.  I could identify with her love of family but her feeling of being trapped by obligations. I liked her a lot. On top of her emotional and mental fortitude, Cerise is an incredible swordswoman, which definitely works for me, because I love swordplay.  I also liked that her family is full of tough guys, of both sexes. Particularly, liked Kaldar and Aunt Marid, and little Lark. Let's not forget Gaston.  But all in all, quite a brood, the Mars!

This was a long book, for sure, but there wasn't filler. I think moreso that there was a lot of story to be told, and no need to cut some of it out. We got William's fully-fleshed story and I loved it.  Although I fully adored On the Edge, I love this in a different way. I think that's a great progression for a series, that each one feels different, although it captures what I love about Ilona Andrews' writing and stays true to their voice.

Now I'm wondering what these folks can get up to next in the Edge, Weird, and Broken, or all of the above!  Glad there are more books in this series to read!



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