Moon Fever (Includes: Primes, #6.5) by Susan Sizemore

Moon Fever (Includes: Primes, #6.5) Reviews

• 
  S. Rutherford

  Tempting Fate
  This is obviously part of a whole series, because there's so much detail thrown into a handful of pages. It's not overly bad, but for someone who doesn't know much about the series, it feels a little much. I really liked the background taking place after Hurricane Katrina and the scenes in New Orleans. That was pretty neat. It was written fairly well, too. Just feels like it should have been a full size book on its own instead of part of a novella.
  
  The Darkness Within
  This story had TONS of potential. I especially loved how it was almost an on-the-edge-of-your-seat suspense. The sex was okay; nothing to fan myself over. The background story was pretty intense. I even appreciated the brow-beaten personality of the heroine who, for lack of a better word, needed some serious help in the romance department. Though I did like how skeptical she was throughout, considering her history. You'd just think she'd learn her lesson quicker.
  
  The ONLY thing I'd have to complain on is the loose string at the end. I get the story was long enough and was probably cutting it close, and was probably the reason why the author didn't have time to really tie up all the ends. But unfortunately, there was a very important detail left unanswered: the "drawings". The detective suspected Jim because of the drawings, though he somehow learned it was his dad. Well, if he never actually KNEW who the murderer was, then how did he draw those pictures? If they weren't him, then he'd never mentioned how they were planted in his room by someone else. So either way, they were completely left out. The story would have been fine had THAT piece of information never been brought up to begin with. But it was. And it was left unexplained.
  
  Heck, I grew up drawing pictures of people getting slaughtered all the time and I never acted on it. The art was my escape. It was never explained for him, though.
• 
  Cynthia Armistead Newman

  This was one of those "I finished the last thing I was reading and I'm bored, what's already loaded on the iTouch?" reads. It was on there because the anthology includes
  Lori Handeland's "Cobwebs Over the Moon" (Nightcreatures, #10) and I read all of that series a while back. I didn't care to read the rest of the anthology at the time, but I hadn't gotten around to deleting the book. Ah, happy digital packrat am I!
  
  If I've read anything by
  Susan Sizemore other than "Tempting Fate" (Primes #6.5), it was eminently forgettable. I'm absolutely sure that I haven't read anything else in her
  Primes series, because I probably would have thrown said material firmly into the nearest hard surface (or whatever the equivalent is with bytes) because of the insanely annoying number of times Sizemore feels it necessary to remind us that her vampires are Primes! Alpha Primes! They are! Really! And that means they fight a lot! Especially over women! Otherwise, it's a Mary Jane story set in New Orleans. I have a strong feeling that most of the Primes series is Mary Jane-ish, but I may at some point be trapped and forced with the prospect of staring at the inside of my eyeballs or reading more of Sizemore's stuff. I'm not sure which would be worse right now. I'll get back to you on that.
  
  "The Darkness Within" by
  Maggie Shayne feels terribly familiar, although I'm sure I haven't read it before. I have, however, read other Shayne novellas in other anthologies, and this story follows a familiar pattern. Sexy gal who doesn't think she's attractive has had a run of hard luck and may lose the house she has bought relatively recently and loves. Said house has a spooky past that she didn't know about when she bought it. Stalwart too-sexy-for-her man gets involved somehow, preferably in a way that allows her to question his motives. They are inexplicably drawn to each other and screw like bunnies (or near as makes no difference), then blame their lapse in judgement on whatever weirdness is going on in the house. (Yep, that's what they all say - and no safer sex anywhere! Does paranormal activity preclude discussion of sexual history and prevent STD transmission?)
  
  "Cobwebs Over the Moon" by
  Lori Handeland (
  Nightcreatures, #10) isn't the most logical entry in that series. Neither is it the most illogical - but by the tenth entry, the series' mythology has gotten a bit ridiculous, so I don't know why I even bother bringing up something as irrelevant as logic. Silly me! In every book, we're introduced to a woman who is in some way tangled up with werewolves, then to a man who is tangled up with her and/or the creatures and, of course, whose loyalties are uncertain. There is always an element of danger to add spice to the romance that has to grow between the two. The formula never changes at all. There are always evil werewolves, but sometimes there are also good ones. If you like predictability in your paranormal romance,
  Nightcreatures is a great series for you.
  
  I suppose
  Caridad Piñeiro's "Crazy for the Cat" isn't technically any better or worse than any of the other three stories. There's more variety in the shapeshifting and the main setting is the Amazon jungle. I couldn't get past the bigotry and colonialism, though. Dark is bad, light is good, of course! Those poor benighted natives couldn't possibly handle a few rogues without that white woman, could they? Spare me.
• 
  Laura

  This was one of the few anthologies where all the stories were good. I don't feel I had to skim, or ignore certain stories.
  
  "Temptin Fate" by Susan Sizemore was the whole reason I got this book. It was okay. I was confused at first by the whole "10 years from now"-that's when it takes place. Not the future, not the present, but just "10 years from now." It turns out that "now" is directly after Hurricane Katrina. Our heroine is a teenager in 2007, so the story is 10 years from now. Go fig.
  It was a good story, typical Primes-man I love those Primes!
  But the ending was super abrupt. I am more upset about the ending than anything else. It just...ended. So I give it 3.5 stars :( wish I could say 5
  
  "The Darkness Within" by Maggie Shayne was good, I'd give it 4 stars
  Caroline is a 40 yr old woman who just got divorced, has a crappy user of a boyfriend/booty call, and apparently a ghost. I loved Jimmy-a 25 yr old hunk who has been in love with Caro since she was his babysitter, er his little brother's babysitter lol. He has been seeing the dead girl since he was a kid. He helps her through it, helps her find herself, and helps save her from her crappy ex-husband, and crappy ex-booty call. Oh, and there are several twists and turns throughout this story..it could easily have been a full-length novel.
  
  "Cobwebs Over the Moon" by Lori Handeland-3.5 stars A Paris hilton-esque Manhattanite heiress is running from werewolves and ends up in Alaska. Her mom (who her father said was dead) was really in a safe house near the Arctic circle. The action was good, the writing was good, the ending was a little "too neat and tidy" with the "everything will be fine" vibe. But I liked it. It might be part of a series, if so, that might make the ending more believable.
  
  "Crazy for the Cat" by Caridad Pineiro was super action packed and really interesting. A little out of my normal scope of romances, but I liked it, and I wouldn't mind reading more of her books. A scientist is killed by a jaguar in the Amazon but his partner in New Jersey decides she has to come down and find the plant he had discovered. it could save lives as a powerful antibiotic. But the bad guys are loggers who want to devestate the local tribe, and the plant is in the way of the loggers path. So Jessica goes down there, meets a guy, er were-jaguar, and falls in love, finds the plant, saves the day, and gets a happy ending. It was a fun read. 3.5 stars
• 
  Cindylou

  They were all really good. I enjoy short stories in between novels.
• 
  Witchmetal

  I tried to read the first and last short story but neither for me. I liked the story by Maggie Shayne though it was only a touch paranormal. I really enjoyed the Lori Handeland story.
• 
  Maura

  Tempting Fate - Susan Sizemore - 1 /5 - Even for a novella, this is short. It starts out pretty confusing with Desiree Gill, a New Orleans psychic, having an erotic dream about Jon Coyote, her favorite rock star, being a vampire. She wakes up the next morning convinced it’s a dream and certain that she’s never met the man. 3 months later she’s pregnant. Turns out Jon really is a vampire and he had sex with her and left her for three months and inadvertently erased her memory of him. So then she’s faced with the explanation of the whole vampire world and to deal with his actions. His behavior was pretty assholeish for supposedly loving the heroine. If we believe the fact that the memory thing was an accident, then he left her for 3 months without a word after having sex with her while she gets to retain the memory of THAT... and he's supposedly "in love" her. Spectacular connection and loving, bonding sex and he just disappears without an explanation. (Also add in irresponsible since he apparently didn't use protection...and never bothered to check in with her). That alone is worth some serious grovel. Does he do it? No. The story is too short for any of that. In fact, they work nothing out. They start to talk about it, then they get called down to a party after she accepts the explanation, he plays the guitar and she realizes she isn’t mad at him. The end. And me not happy about all the lack of closure.
  
  The Darkness Within - Maggie Shayne - 3 /5 - Caroline has had a shitty year, with a divorce, a dead-beat boyfriend and the possibility of losing her house. So when a strange, wet woman invades her home and the cops think she’s crazy, it seems to be getting worse. But one bright point is Jimmy Lipton, the man who is 10 years younger than she is and whom she used to babysit. He’s attractive and doesn't thinks she’s crazy...but he’s also way too young to consider a relationship. Besides, he’s way too good to be true. But Jimmy has loved Caroline since he was a kid and is determined to prove her wrong, that he’s not too good to be true and he’s not too young for her. In fact, he sets out to protect her from the threats in her life. It was certainly refreshing to see an older woman / younger man pairing. Jimmy was pretty great, but Caroline was very frustrating. I’m think she must have been a doormat her entire life to be so beaten down by this point. And because of that I wonder how well Jimmy really knows her and therefore what the chances are that he is really in love with her. Then there’s the conflict with the other men...I wish there’d been a bit more closure with the villain and his motivations. And what was up with her ex-boyfriend? Jimmy is the best part of this story - no doubt about that.
  
  Cobwebs Over the Moon - Lori Handeland - 3 / 5 - This is most definitely set in the author’s Night Creature universe, but it works as a standalone. All the rules, if you know them, apply, but if you don’t, no big deal. There aren’t any werewolf hunters or anything like that. What you do have is Carla, a socialite from NY, tracking her mother down in Alaska after her father was killed by werewolves, which she doesn’t know yet. She finds her mother, but also many werewolves trying to track down and kill both her and her mother. These are not friendly shapeshifters. They are evil werewolves. She is helped by Dylan Shepard who has been protecting her mother all this time and has knowledge of how to defeat werewolves. This story was just okay, but relied way too heavily on insta-love to make it work. Carla has been avoiding commitment all her life but gets one kiss with Dylan and she’s ready to be with him for the rest of her life. The action, suspense and the mystery surrounding Carla’s experience were interesting and well done, but the romance did not have enough depth, even for a novella.
  
  Crazy for the Cat - Caridad Piñeiro - 3 /5 - This was different. After her lab partner and sometimes lover is killed in the Amazon, Jessica heads straight to where he was working to salvage his work. She is guided by Javier da Costa, who is a part of the native tribe she’s working with, but also something more - and of course they’re attracted. She learns that he and the local tribe members voluntarily become shapeshifters by embracing animal spirits and becoming that animal. Jessica is rather put off by this and makes clear her sentiments and that she’d never want to be that. So when she’s attacked by the shapeshifter who killed her partner, Javier makes the decision to turn her to save her life. So now she’s a werecat and pissed off about it. But Javier couldn’t live without her and can’t regret his decision...and has to convince her to accept it and him. This was good, but again, I think, while not insta-love, it didn’t develop the relationship sufficiently for me to buy Javier being willing to turn Jessica against her will to keep her with him. Nor did it explain why these people who become shapeshifters through a voluntary ceremony are able to convert others with a bite...many times it’s because of a virus in the saliva, but in this case how is an animal spirit transferred through the teeth? Nevertheless, the setting and the background were rather unique for paranormal, so I was intrigued. And how nice it was to see painful were shifting...as it should be. No sparkly insta-transformations.
  
• 
  Jessica

  There are 4 short stories in this anthology, and so I will give some short comments on each author's story.
  
  Susan Sizemore, whose books I am a fan, presents an interesting addition to her paranormal vampire series. There is an intrigueing style to the presentation of this particular story, that is different and may throw a reader off a bit at first. But catching up to it all does not take long. Its a fun read. My only comment is that I would have liked to have seen it as its own book.
  
  Maggie Shayne's story was also quite good. It managed to creep me out enough that I had to go to bed thinking happy thoughts to prevent wierd dreams. The romance story is a well done older woman to younger guy situation with a different take on the obstacles. One of those obstacles being the paranormal aspect of the story, which I think is extra creepy to anyone who has every seen that movie The Ring (they even reference it in the story). There is a ghost situation here with a creepy young girl, dripping wet and staring,popping into the house and yard during the most inopportune moments. Good stuff. I don't think I have read this author's stuff before, but I will look for it in the future.
  
  Lori Handeland is an author I am unfamiliar with. Her story was a different take, for me anyway, on the werewolf situation. Young heiress, neglected and emotionaly abandoned by her parents finds herself on the run with people dropping like flies all around her, only to rise again as mindless fanged furry felons. I felt that I was just given a taste of this werewolf world and I wanted to have more. I hope that there is more of this sort by this author, else I will be sorely dissapointed.
  
  The final story is by another author unknown to me. Caridad Pineiro(insert the tilda over the n). Another good take on the were-animal situation, a little bit of it familiar and some of it fresh. Fun read. I may look into this author as well, to see if there is promise to her author works.
• 
  Yvonne

  I usually don't like short stories, feeling a little ripped off usually especially when it is a great story but this book has a nice selection and all are interesting reads.
  "Tempting Fate" is an unusual vampire story where our vampire is a rock story. Desireee has an erotic dream about Jon, only to find she is pregnant. This story would have made a great novel, and the story rushes to the neat finish. Shame. A great story cut short...
  "The Darkenss Within" was fabulous. I couldn't put the story out of my head and it didn't seem to rush to a neat end. This is a mystery of who the ghost is and what does she want. Much better than the usual formula for romances. Excellent.
  "Cobwebs over the Moon" Was a little thin, it has a rich Manhattan socialite rushing to Alaska after the death of her father, only to find what she is looking for has her being chased by werewolves intend on her death. Not a smooth story, it seem struggle in parts but a good premise is rushed at the end for the happy ever after. Hmm Happy to try the author's full length stories.
  "Crazy for the Cat" at first I thought the story was Very similar to a Christine Feehan short story with a similar premise I delved in and saw it was totally different. Based in a tribe in the Amazon, our heroine faces danger and disbelief to find a cure for the disease that killed her sister. She finds the tribe welcoming but gets involved in a war with the evil loggers. She is almost killed and when rescued finds love in the jungle. Cute! I an happy to seeks out other books form this author. Well written and you can smell the jungle around Jessica. Very atmospheric.
• 
  Megan

  I have to start out by saying that I only read two of the novellas from this anthology. I read Maggie Shayne’s “The Darkness Within” first. That was sooooooo good! I believe it is the best Maggie Shayne novella that I have ever read from her! The chemistry that the hero and heroine have in that story is just sizzling! Very steamy! The other story that I read was Susan Sizemore’s “Tempting Fate.” This one was a little shorter than Maggie Shayne’s story. It also was very predictable, and actually, pretty boring. It was so short, there was really no plot, no chemistry between the hero and heroine… No.. nothing. 5 stars for Maggie Shayne’s story and two stars for Susan Sizemore’s story.
• 
  Sara

  Entertaining enough. The one about the Primes was my favorite and the reason I got the book from the library. I just love those Primes. It would be embarrassing if anyone found out. Big, dominant, protective males are my thing? No way. Not in real life. But I guess fantasies aren't always what you really want.
  The other stories were okay. It was nice to read about a werejaguar. I don't read enough werecat stories, even though cats are my thing.
  The ghost story isn't my usual cup of tea even though the love scenes were steamy. Not the kind of paranormal I like.
  The Alaskan werewolf story was interesting. The protagonist was a society type. She didn't sound too snooty but still not a lady I can understand very well.
• 
  Brutally Honest

  "Tempting Fate" by Susan Sizemore - It was okay. The vampire society described here was weird.
  
  "The Darkness Within" by Maggie Shayne - Pretty cute, but still just okay. I didn't like how Carly kept this poor guy at arms length for so long. And of course, the ghost thing was ridiculous, and the ex husband AND ex boyfriend going after her? I'm sorry, that's just too much.
  
  "Cobwebs Over the Moon" by Lori Handeland - What the fuck even was this?
  
  "Crazy for the Cat" by Caridad PiÑeiro - Hero is non-white, which was nice. Yet somehow there was still racism in this book. So not so nice. The rest of it was all right.... I wasn't really impressed. I've read much better shifter stories than this, even this short.
• 
  Jan

  Susan Sizemore: Tempting Fate - a novella of the "Primes" series
  
  Reading this was sweet, like getting a sampler box of Godiva chocolates and finding only one piece in the box. The one piece wanted you craving much more - like a half pound box. If you’re gonna write a novella the decent thing to do is at least make it 150 pages NOT 62 !!!!!!
  
  Of the 4 stories in the book why did the one I was most interested in reading have to be the shortest?!?! Grumble, grumble, grumble - But still a fun although short read.
  
• 
  Amy

  I only read 2 stories out of this book. I read the Maggie Shayne book, "The Darkness Within", which I would give a 5/5. A fantastic story. I wish she wouldn't put her stories in anthology books though. Her stories are just too good for that and even though they are shorter stories, she could so put them in full length novels if she wanted to.
  
  I then read the next story "Tempting Fate" by Susan Sizemore. I gave this rating a 2/5. I wasn't thrilled with this story though. I mean, what can 62 pages really do for a reader. It was just so rushed and just not good.
• 
  Sara

  Oh my... I've just finished to read "Tempting Fate" and I think it's one of the most beautiful and sweet story ever read!
  This is a heart-melting, thrilling story, where your dreams come true... Which girl has never dreamed to be with her so worshipped Rockstar???
  And I loved a lot the way Desi and Jon met the first time...and then the second.
  He's just so sweet and amazing! And I liked her too.
  Every character is interesting and nice.
  Now I think I can't just go read the others if my heart is still beating so fast for this story!
• 
  Ruth Violet

  wow. this book is sooo excellent. i loved it. i loved all the writers they are some of my favorites: susan sizemore,maggie shayne,lori handeland, and caridad Pineiro. they are all excellent writers. from the very first sentence in all the stories i was hooked. some anthologies you read sometimes you comes across with atleast one story that you dont like. but that isnt the case here. at all. another word for these stories. spicy. but sooo awesome. i would definitely recommend it.
• 
  Kathleen Burket

  I only read "Tempting Fate," Primes 6.5, by Susan Sizemore in this anthology. It was very confusing with flashbacks that occurred ten years before the present in the story interwoven with other flashbacks that occurred a few months before the present. Not much dialog during these flashbacks to break up the long, tedious reflections on the past. Sizemore's Primes stories are among my all time favorite series, but this story fell far short of a typical story in this universe.
• 
  Emma

  Susan Sizemore's 'Tempting Fate'-Jon Coyote & Desiree/Maggie Shayne's 'The Darkness Within'-Jim Lipton & Caroline/Lori Handeland's 'Cobwebs Over the Moon'-Dylan Shepard & Carly Kelly/Caridad Pineiro's 'Crazy for the Cat'-Javier da Costa & Jessica Morales
• 
  SJuhl4

  The anthology had two great stories and two I really didn't care for. But is definitely worth the read.
  'Cobweb's Over the Moon' (Lori Handeland) and 'The Darkness Within' (Maggie Shayne) are fantastic.
• 
  Lindy

  Good anthology. I especially enjoyed Maggie Shayne's story.
• 
  Linda

  Don't be put off by the first story in the book which is rubbish, the rest of them are quite good.
• 
  Maria

  Susan Sizemore's short story was lame. She needed more pages to develop her characters and their motivations.
• 
  Lyn

  I totally enjoyed this book. There are four stories from different author's that offer a variety of different sides of heated paranormal romance. I recommend the read...
• 
  Emily

  I kept getting the feeling that the author's just weren't very interested in their own stories. Just...meh.
• 
  Rebecca

  This was really good loved sizemore's story as usual very wicked
• 
  Fiona

  Each story included in Moon Fever is well worth the time spent reading. I liked some, perhaps more than others, for different reasons but enjoyed them all.
• 
  Karen Desmond

  4