BxB Recommendations ♤♡◇♧

2. Bad Moon*

by Wehoardcats

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Themes included/tags:

- Supernatural (werewolves, monsters, witches, hunters, full moon... )

- Sexuality / Identity (very mature and "true" when talking about issues, sexuality and identity) (bisexual, transgender, acceptance, difficulties)

- Realistic-sad (there are really well written, yet difficult, emotional moments with the characters, where we can somehow all easily relate to...) (it is not a cliche self-hate or low self-esteem sadness... not that I am disrespecting self-esteem problems, but I have seen too much of it in cliche stories, where it even is badly written...) 

- Tension (a lot of it) (subtle, yet intense) (sexual tension is also present) 

- Friendship (amazingly developed friendships, where the friends are actually present  and ready to support the protagonist in his life) (The focus is still on everyone... there's not much of a not developed or useless secondary character)

- Climax (a readergasm [readerXorgasm] - just invented the word haha)

Number of chapters: 64 (mostly long)

State: Finished

Level of comprehension: Maybe a little hard at the beginning... (I'm talking as a French person here. English isn't my first language).  As you advance tho, you understand everything. 

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SYNOPSIS OF THE BOOK:

Narrowly escaping an attack by wolves, Jaylin Maxwell is driven towards the alluring Quentin Bronx. Together, they unleash the beast inside Jaylin's heart.

*****

Jaylin Maxwell has a strange relationship with wolves. They've saved his life before, but they're coming after him now. Attacked again, he only survives with the assistance of Quentin Bronx, a handsome man who brings his own wolf to the battle. Quentin is drawn to Jaylin, and despite their romantic tension, Quentin reveals a dangerous truth: there is a monster inside Jaylin, a monster that the wolves of the East are coming for. Under Quentin's guidance, Jaylin learns of his monstrous nature. Struggling to gain power over his body, and over his heart as he falls for the alpha protecting him, Jaylin prepares for the ultimate battle against the monsters coming for him-and the one inside himself.

[[Winner of the 2018 Fiction Awards!]]

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MY REVIEW (Subjective opinion) - NO SPOILERS:

Positive:

Bad Moon is also one of my favourite books (BxB and not BxB). I believe it is a pretty mature book though since it talks about a lot of serious topics, like death, mourning, maybe a little of depression, acceptance, cancer, heartbreaks, toxic relationships and again. Saying it like that, Bad Moon may seem like a heavy book to read, but it is not as heavy as I make it seem (it is just me, as a reader, who appreciates the author talking about these topics). The main plot though revolves around some strange wolves running around the city, two weird helpers, some magical medicines, multiple myths and legends, and, obviously, a bad moon. A really bad one. Oh, and add a supposed existing curse to the story. What a great melting pot! The world the protagonists live in is modern, and the ambiance of the story overall is really gloom. The major keyword; mysterious. 

The author also has this special ability where she can formulate some of her sentences incredibly beautifully and professionally. As if her sentences were some kind of poems. It happens a lot through the chapters, and it is so enjoyable!

Jaylin Maxwell, the protagonist of the first book, is such a lovely person. At the beginning of the book, I would personally describe him as a mentally complex and internally half-fragile man. Half-fragile, because he is still very strong. He doesn't give up; never did, never will; all of it for his mother, for his friend Tisper, for Olivia... and for himself. He ISN'T broken, but he does have some bad scars that have managed to mess up his now blurry vision of the world. Yes, he isn't alright, but he will never say it, even to himself. But most importantly, Maxwell is the good person that you would love to help, but can't because only he can help himself. 

Quentin Bronx, on the other hand, is, at the beginning, one of the most mysterious characters I've read about. Though, he is mysterious but not in an abstract way, because you are able to learn a bit about him and his past, so that you can at least portrait him. But he is mysterious in the way he acts and the way he contacts Jaylin to warn him...  However, Quentin Bronx isn't the cliche powerful man with mystere who wants to dominate and capture his prey. No, he is class, gentleman, and respectful. In brio, Quentin is husband material. 

Finally, the end of the story is sweet. Perhaps, a little bittersweet on some levels, but still very satisfying. The climax just before was so strong, so the ending let the readers breath softly and appreciate the smoothness of the ending. And if the readers want more, there is the second book called Perigee (not Pedigree haha!) which is even more intense of a story than the first one...

Negative:

On the bad side, there is not much to say... perhaps, as I said with The Sword Unbroken, some readers may be frustrated with the long chapters or the fact that it is a VERY slow story. Even slower than Smaoineamh's stories. There are a lot of details, descriptions and a complicated vocabulary (to me at least...). Even I got a little impatient while reading the book because I felt like sometimes there was nothing happening... BUT that's only an illusion because, in the end, you'll understand that every single thing had his little importance to the story. 

P.-S.: Wehoardcats' story, Bad Moon, has become a paid story since 2019. As I said with The Sword Unbroken from Smaoineamh, I know that for some of us, readers, it kind of sucks, since not everyone has or wants to give money... (Tho I am extremely happy for Wehoardcats!!) But, I can guarantee that if you pay to read it (and encourage the author)... it will be so damn worth it as well! (Plus, the second AND the third book are still free! And omg they are amazing, especially the third one...)