Rebecca York - Full Moon

Together for the first time in one thrilling volume are Rebecca York's Killing Moon and Edge of the Moon , the first two of her highly acclaimed werewolf novels full of suspense, intrigue, and passionate hunger.
Killing Moon
A P.I. with a preternatural talent for tracking finds his prey: a beautiful genetic researcher who may be his only hope for a future.
Edge of the Moon
A police detective and a woman who files a missing persons report become the pawns of an unholy serial killer in a game of deadly attraction.

Comment: My favorite type of PNR is still shifters. I like the idea of someone having matching skills/habits/characteristics to some animal behavior but while still maintaining a human understanding and personality. There was a time I hunted (ah ah) these types of books, always hoping to discover the next best series (like psy/changeling by Nalini Singh, one of my absolute favorites) and I got an used copy of this one around 2008 or 2009. After a decade, I finally got to it.

Int his book we have two stories, which are the first and second ones in the Moon series by author Rebecca York (there are ten books). I think this was a deal I got at the time and that is why I got the omnibus edition.

In this contemporary world, there are people with strange traits and powers, such as the ability to shape shift or to be open to suggestions.

In the first story we have protagonist Ross looking for a killer and finding his mate in the process and in the second story we see detective Jack also looking for a killer and meeting the woman he can't resist.

It was nice to read these stories. I think the author has a good eye for what she feels is important to say, she doesn't get too lost in things that don't matter to the plot and I really appreciated the fact we got enough information about the characters to imagine them alive and doing the things they do. I liked they had worries and plans and that they didn't just give in to their whims or desires just because. When intimacy happens between a couple - despite the "being mates" destiny premise - it still feels part of the plot, part of the context that brought those people to that situation.

However, these stories lack enthusiasm, they lack spontaneity and liaisons between the characters besides convenient friendships. I think having loved other series where the community in which the characters are inserted has ruined me for books where the characters don't have huge families/packs/groups where we can see them interacting with different people and beings and having just another side to them besides the ones they are starring in.

Ross, for instance, is a shifter but he is/feels alone and I got the sensation he could have just been a "normal" guy because we don't see him part of a (loving) pack.

Jack's story doesn't feature shifters anyway, so...

Basically, Killing Moon features Ross, who wants to know if there's a possibility genetics like his can be the cause for shifter baby girls to die at birth and boys to suffer so much after puberty. That's how he gets to know Megan, who turns out to be his mate. I assume these things will be developed as the series move along but since the main focus is the crime investigation, these details don't have  lot or air time. I liked Ross and Megan and the concerns they shared once their situation was solved. But they were both lacking a bit more passion and spontaneity in their relationship (I don't mean the sexual intensity of their attraction or moments in bed).

It's not a preference of mine in romances to have the villain's POV like here but he was bland enough to not be a real problem for me.

The HEA was cute, though, but it could have been even more sweeter in how the descriptions were written.

In Edge of the Moon we have Jack's story, he is a police detective who is a friend of Ross. 

Jack is surprised but glad Ross trusted him with the fact he is a shifter so now Jack is a lot more open to the possibilities. He didn't expect to feel such strong attraction to Kathryn when she fills in a missing person's report but we know their being together is directly linked to the demon/djinn? that is influencing some things so he can avoid the villain from taking over his powers by claiming his name. The villain has killed many people in rituals and that is why Jack and Kathryn get together in common situations so often, they also share dreams where the imprisoned demon communicates with them. 

This sounds like a confusing thing and I guess maybe that's why some readers didn't like this one as much. Paranormal aspects aside, I would have liked to see more development in widowed Jack's family situation regarding Kathryn because he has two children and a sort of housekeeper who doesn't accept Kathryn easily.

There is nothing wrong with these stories if one thinks about the type, the genre, the time they were written. I liked the fact this was not sex oriented (meaning, we don't have 9 pages out of 10 with the couple not resisting each other) nor was it an info dump. Both stories were well written, had interesting details but neither was fascinating enough for me to feel compelled to read more installment in the series. They are good as they are but not exciting or addictive.

Grade: 6/10