I've had this book on my NetGalley Shelf for a while and why the hell haven't I started it sooner? I mean, the story extremely captivating, I wasn't hooked up straight away because I needed to understand the magic world, but it didn't take long though.

Briar is the FMC whose heart was shattered when her ware boyfriend left town without telling her four years prior. Now, Briar finds herslef helping the Conclave of her town, trying to save her brother from being connected to a murder. when Kane, her ex, returns unexpectedly. And they are now working together to find the killer.

The twists of this book were incredible. I gasped while reading most pages of the last 30% of the book. I got some of the twists but most of them were so unexpected and well thought out that made it a glorious book to read.

Even though it's the first book of a series it doesn't end in a cliffhanger, which I was grateful for, but I can't wait to put my hands on book 2.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.
4 stars book from me. Loved the plot and the storytelling in Shadowed Moonlight and relatable, likable characters,. Loved every single second reading it.

Although I have been reading a lot of novels featuring weres, it seems that my love for such stories are immeasurable because when I read the synopsis of Shadowed Moonlight, I knew that I had to request it. Luckily, I got approved and here I am, writing this review. Shadowed Moonlight has its ups and downs, thus, the 3.5 star rating. I enjoyed some parts of it and some had me frowning. The book is only around 261 pages and there are a lot of things to cover given the themes explored in the story. It’s too fast paced for my liking.

Anyhow, let’s backtrack to what Shadowed Moonlight is all about. The novel follows the story of Briar, an Aura Magi, who can look into your past memories and remember things for you. Her ex-boyfriend, Kane Slade, is a werewolf who abandoned her four years ago, literally destroying her life. As part of her moving on strategy, Briar had made sure to never cross paths with Kane again. Unfortunately, a series of gruesome murders had been suddenly happening in the City where she lives in and ultimately, led her not only to meet but work with Kane. While it’s your typical lovers to enemies to lovers story, I find that I still enjoy them and Shadowed Moonlight is no different. It has the perfect formula of a tragic love story between a couple who’s absolutely head over heels in love with each other but due to uncontrollable circumstances, they got torn apart. The romantic conflict in the story was interesting and it’s something that I can understand why things happened.

What did not sit right with me, however, was that everything just happened so fast that I was not able to fully invest myself with the other aspects of the story including the characters. Every heavy conflict was resolved in a rush manner and I had a hard time reconciling why forgiveness came so easy. There was no period of processing the feelings and everything. The characters were also underdeveloped that it took some effort for me to at least relate to them at some point. I did like the mystery aspect of the novel though because it was scary and understandably so. The author did it right for I was really taken aback when the mystery killer was finally revealed. It never crossed my mind that such character would have the audacity to be the killer. Imagine the hairs on my back standing after Briar uncovered the identity of the person plaguing Cambria City with horrific murdered bodies of the supernatural.

All in all, Shadowed Moonlight has its pros and cons. I was just glad that reading it was not wasted at all because it gave me enjoyment albeit the issues that I have mentioned above. Of course, there was really a lot of smut so if you like these things in your paranormal stories, you better try this one. Plus points that this book is a standalone so no more pining for the 2nd installment to be published.

I do enjoy all things werewolf, vampire and murder and this was a solid read! I enjoyed the fake mates trope quite a bit. It left a little to be desired with the world building and with such an interesting magic system I would’ve loved more of that! Intrigued to see where the second book takes us!

This first book ist fast paced, thrilling, sarcastic and spicy - what more needs there to be?! I love the trope of fake dating, also second chances, however I'm no fan of addictions...

I will admit that it took a little bit for me to get into this book, but once I did, I was hooked. There were lots of interesting twists and turns, a few of them I kinda guessed and some I didn’t. There were also a couple of things I wasn’t fond of, but they are a personal preference not a problem with the book or author. I hate it when characters don’t talk to or trust each other, and I am not a huge fan of more romance than mystery. This is actually a pretty good mix of romance and mystery, so I can’t be upset too much. LOL! This is an exciting, well-written, steamy, and interesting paranormal romance sure to please fans of the genre. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hodderscape and author K.C. Harper for this eARC.

So I liked the writing in this book, it's light and easy but still captivating and descriptive. The plot had a good start but unfortunately became very much neglected which lead to it being very surface level and predictable.
Which leads us to our main problem I had with Shadowed Moonlight - our FMC Briar. She is just so, so unlikeable! And not in a good way. She kept telling herself (us, the reader) how she's strong and will do anything to protect the ones she loves while actually being just whiny, passive and an addict herself. She had very few redeeming qualities.
Also there is A LOT of miscommunication!
3.25 stars

- werewolves
- vampires
- murder mystery
- second chance
- fake mates

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of shadowed moonlight in exchange for an honest review.
Peaked my interest straight away, I enjoyed the pack and clan dynamics, loved the murder mystery aspect of the book and honestly wish I had more of that at times.
Sometimes it felt like nothing was happening other than relationship conversations between the main characters and it got a little dull.
It lacked in world building, I couldn't really picture what the world looked like outside of where the characters lived.
The magic system was interesting and I wish there was more on that too.
The ending fell a little flat for me but suppose it's potentially open for a second book
FMC: 23
MMC: 25

3.5 Stars

I love Suzanne Wright so seeing her name in the blurb was an automatic read. This book had a lot of promise but I found it difficult to connect with the female main character, I disagreed with many of her choices. K. C. Harper is an excellent writer and I really like her writing style just not this specific character, I would definitely read another one of her books!

I severely disliked the FMC and I disagreed with just about every choice she made in this book. Although I did finish the book it honestly felt like I wasted my time.

I do however see how someone could enjoy this, i would possibly recommend this to someone as their first urban fantasy however as a chronic fantasy reader it was severely lacking for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
🌶🌶 / 5

✨ Second chance romance
✨ "Enemies" to lovers (one-sided)
✨ Touch her and die
✨ Fake mating
✨ Found family

I've been going into my ARCs blind lately (well, I read the description when I request them, but by the time I get approved and then read them, I've forgotten what they're about unless it's by an author I've already read before) and that's really been paying off for me. I had no preconceived notions with Shadowed Moonlight and that worked quite well for me.

If you've ever gotten one of those IG ads for those chapter by chapter apps about werewolves and the alpha is always a cheat-y mc-cheaterson, this is very similar in vibes, but infinitely less cringey and better written.

What I liked:
There was an actual plot! Did I guess pretty much every twist before it happened? Yes. But I usually do, so I'm not going to hold that against the book, especially since there were a couple non-major reveals that I didn't see coming.

The drama! Listen, maybe it's just because I've been binging Big Brother (and what an insane season it's been so far!), but I'm loving the drama. I'm not usually one who's big on love triangles and messy romance (unless it's of the stabby variety a la FBAA), but the drama in this was *chef's kiss*. Think like old school The O.C., not Riverdale.

What I didn't like so much:
I wanted more world building. There was so much to explore, but it felt very surface level. I wanted more of the lore and history, more on the different factions and why they came to be the way they were. And if you're gonna have a whole different world and talk about geography - give me a map 🙏

Lastly, I do hope that there will be a sequel because the ending could go either way - kind of like when show runners don't know if their season is going to be canceled or not, so it is nicely resolved so you're not left hanging (see: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot and Standish), but there's definitely some threads that could be pulled to create another book (or more).

Overall, it was an entertaining read that I had trouble putting down.

If you liked McKenzie Hunter's Legacy series, I think you'll like this one too!

This was a refreshing and fast paced urban fantasy filled with all of our favorite paranormal creatures, murder mystery vibes, high stakes and great spice.

I could really feel the FMCs rage and the MMCs desperation as they worked through their issues. Definitely check the TWs before reading.

The world building and magic system was pretty straight forward and easy to understand. I honestly did not see the twists coming and loved how the author kept us on our toes the entire time.

There was a good amount that was unresolved at the end of the story and I hope we get more soon!

Thank you to K.C. Harper, the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you for the early copy of The Shadowed Moonlight. What a sexy supernatural fantasy! I enjoyed this book. The chemistry was so good. Thank you again

It wasn't what I expected but it was still relatively good. If you like urban fantasies you'll probably like this book. For me the biggest flaw was the characters, I really didn't like Briar and all the decisions she makes throughout the book were a bit irritating. The romance was ok but nothing very memorable too.

One thing I will say about this book is *French kiss* regarding the smut! The book is written in the POV of Briar and just a heads up does start out slow, but gradually moves faster if you can get past the first few chapters.

There are multiple plot holes missing and the dialog can be a bit rough to understand but the premise is there. If we can fix the plot from jumping all over the place this would be a solid book.

I won’t lie, I was frustrated a couple of times because it seemed like why we’re focusing to much on common slang and reusing words. One less “iron hells” lol.

I think the world itself is interesting and I truly wish there was more world building, but there isn’t much. There is some explaining but there isn’t much, it felt basic. So I didn’t really get pulled into the book like I wanted to.

I would truly give this maybe a 2.5 rating because I honestly see where this can go, but it needs some massive edits and a big white board to fill in the missing plots.

Disclaimer: I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

“My nerves were bare. Torn open and debrided. Being in Kane's presence, having him touch me, inside of me, it stole my breath, and I wasn't sure I'd ever get it back.”

"And I'm not stopping until you scream my fucking name so loud, the whole world knows it."

"There it is," … "That's my girl. Take it all."

Paranormal creature. A drug no one knows how to deal with. A brother she is trying to save. The love of her life who abandoned her four years prior back in town. A series of murder mysteries to solve and she is the only witch with Aura powers to help. Basically a recipe for disaster right? Add to that the fact that he is an alpha of a pack and you have a very tension packed, quite spicy and possessive romance story in quite a dark setting with an unresolved past and a second chance romance with marriage of convenience. This book started out as confusing as it sounds but, at the end of the day every single fantasy book starts that way. But then the author slowly solved every mystery, answered every question and gave us all the spice we wanted in this complicated story. I enjoyed getting through it possibly even more than I was expecting. It didn’t feel like a particularly hard book to read and I have to admit that it hooked me in pretty fast. And the characters were frustrating at times but all with their good parts. I enjoyed reading about their dynamics and their found family tropes and their possessive alpha male, claiming mate scenes. The FMC was sometimes a bit too vexing (not always in the good way) but overall I could understand her point of view and I can’t complain. While for the MMC … well, he is another story entirely. Did I fall in love very fast very early on? Possibly. So much so that I would list him in the top ten? Not really. But the story is far from over so … I supposed he’ll have time to rise !!

"Power-hungry little minx." His fingers flexed against me. "Being mine, carrying me inside of you, makes you Pack, but it doesn't give you our powers."

"I held back because you hated me. I held back because this was my shot to fix things, and I wasn't about to fuck it up by scaring you off?" His head slanted toward mine, hands landing on my hips. His mouth was so close, the heat he kicked off enveloped me like a cloak. "I held back because if I fucked you, if I tasted you, if I kissed you the way I want, you wouldn't have been able to handle it."

“I smiled, soft and deep and not nearly sated enough. "Don't tell me you're done already, big bad?"
His predatory laugh was a hungry promise that brushed against my soul. I squealed when he flipped me onto my stomach and cocked my ass in the air. "Not even close."

DNF. Im happy i gave this book a try, i wanted to try reading a book revolving around alphaverse because i havent before. Maybe due to the fact i havent read this type of book before i didnt enjoy as much i wish i could have. I found some of it cringe and hard to read. I was more annoyed than anything while reading this. I also didnt understand what was happening it felt all over the place. The main character made stupid choices and was overall idiotic. The main characters whole personaliy was her trauma, nothing else. I plan to come back to this book once i feel more comfortable with these kind of stories. I felt the writting to be easy and understandable. I just didnt really like what its about.

This was a really fun, fast-paced urban fantasy! I enjoyed the cast of characters and the mysterious spins that the story takes. A great start to a new series!

Sex-filled, this book really leaned into the werewolf dominance dynamic - "Look away Briar" quickly became commonplace! Thankfully K.C. Harper managed to write this romance without the some of the other elements like Knotting. This book was an easy read, with comfortable tropes and a recognisable love triangle. Harper provides easy reasons to hate the people we should and redeeming arcs for all of the characters we are supposed to like by the end of the book, so very little thinking was needed our end to parse out any 'grey'. It took a while to understand some of the language of the world which you are launched into without preamble but overall this helped keep the books pace.

If you read books for the plot, I would give this one a miss. In between the sex scenes, the murder mystery plotline within the political machinations of werewolf/vampire/magi clans feels secondary. At least the usual communication problems that fuel romance stories were dealt with head on - thank goodness the protagonist's friend literally told her it was actually her making it all more complicated!

Unfortunately the ending felt rushed with a plot that neatly tied up with just about enough of a cliff hanger for that potential book number two, but again, if you're reading this for the plot alone then you're probably reading the wrong book!

Overall an enjoyable, guilty pleasure type read, I'd be hard pressed to suggest this to fantasy fans who love significant world building, but any fans of romantasy books like Fourth Wing or Bride would enjoy it!

I love fake dating and anything supernatural, but something about this book just didn't grab me until I was halfway through. Since it was an ARC, I pushed through to finish it before reviewing. The second half really picked up, so it went from a 2-star to a 3-star read for me.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC of Shadowed Moonlight.