Becky's View: Blood Moon by Teri Harman

Blood Moon by Teri Harman
♦publisher: Jolly Fish Press
♦release date: June 22nd, 2013
♦hardcover, 354 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦series: Moonlight trilogy, book 1
♦source: from publisher for honest review

Willa dreams of true events and her best friend is a ghost. Simon can heal any wound with a touch and senses others’ emotions, intentions. All their lives they’ve felt alone in their bizarre abilities, hiding behind a facade of normalcy, wondering why and how. The night Simon walks into the Twelve Acres Diner and meets Willa face to face, in a swirl of electric heat, they are bound to one another and glimpse the magic of who they are.

Across town a witch is held prisoner in the derelict basement of an old Victorian house. One night as it rains, she dares to reach her filthy, scarred hand out the window. Willa, walking home from work, recognizes the pathetic hand from a recent, terrible dream.

After a daring rescue of the witch, Willa and Simon are catapulted into the alluring but dangerous world of witchcraft and the magic of The Six Gifts. Answers to all their questions are within reach, but they’ve stepped into the middle of a deadly fight for the Powers of the Earth. Do they stay, risk their lives on the promise of power, or walk away?

Teri Harman's groundbreaking debut novel, the first installment in The Moonlight Trilogy, completely reinvents the modern concept of witches and magic. With its authentic translation of the history of witches into a fresh and entertaining package with unprecedented characterization, Blood Moon is sure to capture readers from the first page.

Review: I've been drawn to stories about witches and magic for as long as I can remember.  Years ago, after reading the book Mists of Avalon, I did a really in depth study of wicca and natural magic---not really to become a witch myself, but just to quench a deep curiosity about this mystical religion and find out what it was all about.  It's really quite fascinating!  Blood Moon, a story full of romance and magic and destiny, impressed me with a unique take on magic that was partly fantasy but also drew heavily upon the real culture of wicca and paganism that felt very authentic to me. 

The story follows Willa and Simon and their discovery of each other (their meeting is very insta-lovey, but has a good explanation behind it) and the realization that witchcraft and magic are real and they are both very gifted.  They've always felt out of place with their secret gifts and I loved how each one separately feared telling the other about their powers.  The scene where they both find out is perfect.  Aside from Willa and Simon,  there were quite a few characters in Blood Moon that I just enjoyed reading---especially Willa's best friend, a ghost named Solace.  One thing I did find a little off-putting was the villain, Archard.  He was suave and elegant and pure evil, but I found him just a bit cliche. 

The plot of the two covens, one good and one evil, both trying to create a True Covenant, was captivating and full of action and danger.  One of my favorite parts of this story are the scenes in the past, though.  It shows an earlier time, the last time two covens tried to form a covenant, and adds a great depth to the story, creates some fantastic twists, and introduces a few more great characters to the mix.  The two plots really compliment each other and then converge beautifully at the end.  I loved that even though this is planned as a series, the main plot of this book felt complete. 

Be sure to check out my interview with author Teri Harman here! 

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Purchase Blood Moon:  Amazon  •  BookDepository  •  Indiebound