Moonshifted

I was provided this Advance Reader Copy by the publisher.

Alexander begins this book with the same brisk action and unique perspective that made the first book, Nightshifted, so enjoyable. Alexander is a real-life nurse, and brings that realism to her urban fantasy featuring a nurse working on Y4, the top-secret paranormal creature wing of the hospital. There are a gazillion urban fantasies out there right now, and for me that touch of medical realism is what sets this series apart and makes it an engrossing (and sometimes gross!) read.

The plot and pace are well-woven here. Edie must balance paranormal shenanigans at work, paranormal shenanigans outside of work, and the urge to save the junkie brother. The only thing I find irksome is show more Edie's habit of one-night stands. She had to have some kind of personality flaw, I know, but it makes me feel like staging an intervention for her.

Also, this book deserves an award for 'most creative use of an MRI machine.'

I read a lot of urban fantasies. I've tried to follow a number of series, only to drop them by the wayside. This series--free copies or not--is one I will continue reading. It pleases the fantasy-lover and layman-medical-geek in me alike. show less

Edie Spence, nurse on Y4, the secret floor of County Central Hospital where the supernatural are treated – the vampires, the werewolves and, in the past, even zombies and dragons. She doesn’t have nearly enough time, especially with the holidays coming up, and even less money hence her taking overtime during the holidays in the hope of more money to pad her rapidly disappearing paycheck.

That in itself would be exhausting, but that’s before the king of the werewolves gets run over in a hit and run right in front of her. He’s badly injured to the point of death and even the medical professionals on Y4 can’t raise the dead – but the werewolf politics should he die (and the accusations that fly) are dangerous things to get in show more the middle of.

And then there’s Anna, the vampire she preciously helped and even considers a friend. She has a job for Edie as she prepares to found her own vampire house, a job that requires her to keep a ceremonial knife safe.

Whichever is the cause – werewolf or knife –people start trying to kill her, ransacking her home and even risking the wrath of the shadows, the hospital’s mystical protectors, to get at her. And to make matters worse, her drug dealing brother is digging himself into trouble, her parents are coming for Christmas dinner and she has a German Ghostly Cyborg eating her electronics.

That was immense fun. I liked the first book, Nightshifted, and found it interesting and pretty entertaining, but Moonshifted is head and shoulders above it. With the beginning of this world introduced, we’re now running with this story in all directions and nearly everything is pretty much excellent.

The world building is incredible – there has been such a lot of research that has gone into the various supernatural lores that are relevant in this book – including the 101 ways to make a werewolf which is drawing on some really obscure legends that I had to re-look up and I thought I was pretty overwhelmed with shapeshifter legends already. The way the vampires work, the way the werewolves work – they’re all really really deep and with their own separate twists that add a lot of originality to the story; concepts like the werewolves’ shorter life span (which makes so much sense when described) and the vampire shortage not of human blood, but of actual vampire blood since it takes so long for them to produce. All of these add wonderful new facets to old myths and legends and a completely new spin on everything.

But along with the mystical world building which is wide open and growing, there’s also the powerful realities of being a nurse. I love books when the protagonist has a profession and I’m left thinking “this author has worked this job” because it’s so real, they’ve either worked it or really put some sterling effort into making it real. John Hartness does it, Diana Rowland does it and Cassie Alexander certainly does it. It’s not glamourised, it’s not sugar coated and it’s not clean – but the nitty gritty of nursing is there, the good and the icky, the sheer value and importance of it coupled with how undervalued and difficult it is. It’s a really good depiction and makes the entire series so much stronger and more real because of it.

What is best about both of these elements of world building is that they’re used appropriately. There’s no massive info dumps and no long monologues. It is shown rather than told, what we need to know is revealed in as much detail as we need to know it. It’s completely restrained and leaves me hungry to know more – like what exactly the Consortium, and Meaty, actually are for one! everything feels natural because the knowledge is presented in a realistic fashion without every leaving us floundering.

And the story is fun – it intertwines excellently with Edie’s life but her life doesn’t stop because of it. This is something else I love about this book, in a lot of Urban Fantasy it feels like the protagonist can just put their entire lives on pause while they deal with the plot of the book. Edie isn’t like that – she has a job, she needs money, she even needs the desperate holiday overtime. She can’t just not take those extra hours because the plot has been dropped on her, life goes on. And it’s not just her job – she has family she can’t just drop because dramas are happening, she had her brother and his issues, she has her parents coming round for Christmas Dinner. She can’t cancel all this – and she has to clean up the flat ready for them – just because she has plot drama! Life goes on! Perhaps most impressive to me is Edie’s friend’s – they have their own lives, their own issues and that isn’t subsumed because of Edie’s plot issues. Charles has a thing with werewolves, he’s not setting that aside because Edie is having problems. Gina has relationship drama, Edie can’t just ignore it because of plot reasons – he’s Gina’s friend, she owes it to her to be supportive. Edie can’t just refuse Anna’s plea because it would be convenient to do otherwise. This is such a change from so many urban fantasies where friends just exist to support the protagonist.

But aside from twining nicely with both the world building and Edie’s life, the plot is fascinating. It’s excellently paced and written, even with those elements blended into it, the book continues moving forward and never has slow periods. Even Edie having to go buy a couch cover just fits so neatly and adds to the book, these mundane tasks all add something, all develop something and help highlight the relationships without long monologues or info dumps. The mystery behind the injured werewolf king is a curious one. From the beginning I realised that the accused was clearly not the person behind it – it was too obviously a red herring – but I didn’t even remotely predict who was actually behind the attack nor how it all came together with werewolf and vampire politics interlinking. It was really well done, all made sense, and all was a complete surprise. On top of the mystery, the actions scenes, when they arrive, were well written and had that perfect balance of pace versus description.

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4.5/5
Despite oh so very deceiving synopsis, Moonshifted is not about choosing sides or men. Just like Nightshifted, it is a constant attempt of one lonely human with a big heart to survive among scary supernatural forces. That's it.

Nurse Edie doesn't have any superpowers, she is not particularly pretty, especially working night shifts (Edie, I know how you feel. I don't like the look of myself in the mirror after a week of night shifts too) and she doesn't have awesome powers of deduction. In other words, she is normal just like us. An overworked, young health worker with no life and desire to help at the most unfortunate moments.

Edie barely escaped a vampire trial in Nightshifted, and she gets right in the middle of werewolf power show more games when a truck hits a werewolf king of her city. On the other hand her vampire friend Anna asks her a big favour and Edie can't refuse little girl she saved once before...

Now vampires hustle her and some odd zombie-like werewolves are trying to eat her, and she is tired of being the one who solves all the mysteries, and it's Christmas and her sofa has bad blood spots on it, and her parents are coming for dinner. It's too much, it's too dangerous, and again she is way over her head...

I love that I felt for Edie so much, that the author could make us feel her constant fatigue, desperation and desire to just get it over with and have some sleep.

Moonshifted is a better, stronger book than Nightshifted. Edie carves her own way, not necessarily traditional for urban fantasy heroines but that's what so good about this series. You really don't know what awaits around the corner.

Highly recommended for all urban fantasy fans, medical professionals and night shift workers around the world. :) show less

Reviewed by: Rabid Reads

Cassie Alexander has really hit her stride with this second installment by adding werewolves into her unique para-medical world. The story is richly detailed, the plot is complex and Edie Spence is absolutely delightful. Moonshifted offers a fresh perspective on a popularized genre by combining nursing with dark humor and wackiness to create a winning blend that’s not to be missed.

Instead of the typical who-done-it, this book’s plot revolves around who-can-be-trusted and the answer isn’t as straightforward as you might expect. Through no fault of her own, Edie finds herself surrounded by questionable friends. Everyone seems to have their own hidden agenda except for Edie, she just wants to do her job and show more have the odd one night stand. I enjoyed the constant power plays in this installment; it was hard to know who to trust and the ending does a bang up job of disproving all of your suspicions.

The heroine of this series really stands out amidst the sea of women in Urban Fantasy. She’s a very life-like fictional character with real responsibilities and I’m happy that Alexander continued to build upon this aspect after Nightshifted. Edie isn’t your typical protagonist that leaps before looking; she makes real, conscientious efforts to avoid trouble but unfortunately for her, trouble loves company. On more than one occasion she voices that she’s about to do something silly but it’s usually an attempt to stave off an even worse outcome so you can’t help but admire a heroine who’s not only able to identify evil but chose the lesser option. The only thing about her personality that has me a little perplexed is her penchant for one night stands. After two books there still doesn’t appear to be a clear cut love interest which is fine just… a little peculiar for this genre.

I consider myself to be a rather tough werewolf critic so I was surprised by how easily Cassie’s lupines passed my tests. I honestly wasn’t expecting the lore to be very thorough seeing how each installment in this series revolves around a different breed of preternatural but Alexander’s attention to detail is commendable. She describes the differences between bitten and born wolves, old blood vs. new, and how the moon affects each subgroup. The hierarchy, history and mourning process are also explained. This book kind of makes me wish that Alexander would write a spin-off werewolf series!

Moonshifted demonstrates that there are still untapped areas left to be explored in Urban Fantasy and that Cassie Alexander has found one with her Edie Spence series. show less

In all honesty, I'd rate this book just a shade above crap, that is if you're considering it within the realm of a published novel with even a hint of literary merit. If, by chance, you're interested in sub-par porn with an needlessly and poorly executed elaborate plot, then this is the book for you!

Seriously, I'm disappointed. The first book wasn't exactly a mind-blowing pieces of literature either, Alexander is certainly not a Dickens, but it was fun and entertaining. The main character was a strong woman, mildly promiscuous, but not slutty, and then Shapeshifted happened.

The interesting werewolf/vampire dynamic, though elaborated upon in the next book, did not draw me further into the book's universe. I had wrongfully predicted show more after reading the first book, that I would be interested in the following two, but as it turns out, I no longer have plans to read the third installment. The main character was a total slut in this story, and practically owned up to it. I can assure you, I am no prude, but books like this, where the protagonist seems to have an implicit goal to have kinky sex with a member of every present species in the series before it ends, is part of the reason that the Urban Fantasy genre gets a bad rap. It is becoming a stereotype that I abhor.

Also, if an author is going to obviously add a character into the story in order for them to conveniently save the main character, it needs to be done tactfully. It must also not be overused. This is the second time that Alexander has done this. The first instance was Asher, who then played a similar role in the second book as the first, and then the second example was the bear-shapeshifting boyfriend, who had only a tentative attachment to the main character. No doubt Alexander employed this method so that the reader "wouldn't see it coming".

My intelligence has been insulted.

This kind of writing is painfully formulaic and reminiscent of -shudder- Stephanie Meyer. And yet even Meyer employed strategic symbolism. Shapeshifted reeks of amateur mimicry, to the point that I've read fanfiction more original than this.

My advice, don't read this book, and if you don't believe me, that's fine, go rad it and then afterwards regret having wasted precious moments of your life. show less

What has Edie Spence gotten herself into now? After everything that happened in Nightshifted, she has no desire to become that involved in the paranormal again. Then she and co-worker, Charles, witnesses a hit and run with a werewolf. They quickly put their medical training to work and the werewolf becomes a patient on Y4. They soon learn that this werewolf is the alpha of one of the local packs.

What Edie doesn’t realize is that this is the start of a war between rivaling werewolf packs and that the hit and run wasn’t an accident. Someone is trying to get rid of the alpha. She has vowed not to get involved. She has been down that road before and has been burned. Then Lucas comes into the picture. He is the nephew of the alpha that show more was hit. As much as she tries to stay neutral, it doesn’t happen. She tries to get assistance from her vampire friend, and when that doesn’t work, Edie needs the help of the pack to remain safe. Lucas is the one who is assigned to guard her. What will happen to Edie? Will she be able to stay uninvolved? How will this werewolf war be resolved?

I have said it before that I really like the Edie Spence series. Being in the medical profession, it is hard to read books (or watch shows) that represent medicine in a serious nature because I get nitpicky about things that they are doing wrong. That is my job. When it is present in a comedy, it is easier for me to forget my job and just enjoy what is happening to the characters. That is exactly what this series does. I know that this is not reality and I can put my nurse hat away.

That being said, I love paranormal books. Having both of those two wrapped up together is the perfect package for me. I really like Edie Spence in the fact that she is a new nurse and is especially new on Y4. That means that she doesn’t always know what the policies/procedures are. This is good because the reader doesn’t know them either. You learn when she is learning. Alexander’s writing is done in a way that you don’t really have to know anything about medicine to understand the book. That is not what it is all about. It doesn’t go into medical jargon that the lay person cannot understand. It is an easy read and one that I highly recommend to anyone who likes paranormal books.

I also like the variation in the books. You never get bored reading them. Nightshifted was mostly about vampires. Moonshifted is mostly about werewolves. Even though those are the main themes, there are other paranormal creatures in the books. In Nightshifted, there was an incident with a fire-breathing dragon. Y4, the paranormal unit within the hospital, houses every kind of paranormal being, so there is a vast assortment to write about and still make sense within the story line. Lastly, I love the quotes. I had shared some with my review of Nightshifted and I’ll share some here too. Most of these are funny because they hit home and again, I shared quotes with my co-workers. show less

Moonshifted, sadly, is not as good as its predecessor. The plot of the first book was tight and suspenseful, whereas the storyline in Moonshifted is rather confusing and disjointed. The first installment also had a surprisingly sweet romance that provided some relief from the grimness of the rest of the book. Now that's gone, replaced by a mess of romantic entanglements that don’t really do anything for the story. The writing is not as polished, and the whole final quarter of the book felt slapped together, complete with overly dramatic dialogue, moments that were supposed to be emotional but weren't, and rushed explanations that didn't completely make sense. To be clear, I didn't hate this book. In fact, there were parts of it I show more really enjoyed! But in comparison to the first book, Moonshifted was a bit of a letdown. show less