Book Review- Moon Spell (Part 1 in the Tale of Lunarmorte) & River Crest ( Part 2 in the Tale of Lunarmorte)

This past November I had the chance to review a debut book by Samantha Young called Lunarmorte, which I completely fell in love with. You can read my 5 star review here. RecentlyLunarmorte received a slight story make over, along with a new cover and a name change to Moon Spell. Along with it's recent release, today it's sequel, River Cast was released! I have had the chance to read and review both books.

Moon Spell, Part One In The Tale of Lunarmorte

By Samantha Young

Published by CreateSpace

Released on March 1st, 2011

Source- Book from the author to review

5 stars- I Really Enjoyed It

Existing in the shadows of our world are supernatural races; children blessed by the ancient Greek gods with unimaginable gifts, and at present they are fighting a two thousand year old war with one another.

The Midnight Coven, an alliance of dark magiks, faeries, and daemons born of black magik, believe that vampyres and lykans are lesser supernaturals and a threat to mankind.

The Daylight Coven, a confederate of light magiks, faeries, vampyres and lykans, believe in the equality of the races.

Into this war, seventeen year old Caia Ribeiro is born, a lykan with a heritage unlike any other. A heritage that, whether she wants it to or not, will put her into the ver heart of battle (quoted from Goodreads).

Just like the original book Lunarmorte, Moon Spell is a fantastic book filled with a richly detailed, engaging wolf mythology, and lore rooted in ancient Greek Mythology. This unique mix along with a cast of various paranormal characters really makes Sam's stories stand out in a YA market full of great paranormal characters and plots. The story's strong, feisty, independent heroine Caia, and swoon worthy protective alpha, Lucien add the perfect blend of chemistry, and romance to a story ripe with action, twists and a little bit of snark.

I absolutely love the wolves in the Lunarmorte series.This is one group of wolves I'd love to spend the day with and it wasn't hard to fall in love with them or their family dynamics. I liked that Sam allowed me to feel a connection to them through Caia's story. Caia not only has to learn both her lykan heritage and her magik powers, but she has to adjust to being surrounded by a large, loving, protective and at times fun loving pack. Not feeling like she belongs could be Caia's biggest down fall and it's what makes her so vulnerable to part of the story's plot.

Let me just say, Moon Spell doesn't have any shortage of action, character chemistry, and twists. There's a lot of great interaction with the pack both in their human and wolf forms, which I really enjoyed. Let's just say there's a great war brewing between the lykans & vampyres against the dark magik alliance with the deamons, faeries. I enjoyed Moon Spell just as much as I enjoyed Lunarmorte and I definitely recommend picking it up.

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River Cast, Part Two In The Tale of Lunarmorte

By Samantha Young

Published by Createspace

Released on March 9th, 2011

Source- Book from the author to review

5 stars- I Really Enjoyed It

The war is escalating.

Caia is caught between her loyalty to the Daylights and her new insight into the hearts of the Midnights.

Invited to train at the Centre under the tutelage of the Daylights, Caia and Lucien immerse themselves in the world of the Head of the Coven, Marita. With an upcoming battle hanging over their heads, Caia and her Alpha struggle to understand Marita’s vision for the future of the Coven, and withstand her manipulation and plans for them. Plans that are sure to separate Caia from Pack Errante; plans that inadvertently push Caia not only further away from Lucien, but from all Daylights.

Conflicted… Caia must choose a side in the war. And her choice may mean sacrificing all those she has come to love (quoted from Goodreads).

Darker twists and turns, and a continued sizzling chemistry between Caia and Lucien, make River Cast a fantastic sequel to Moon Spell.

River Cast continues were Moon Spell left off and now Caia is torn between her pack and embracing a different life with her magical powers. What I missed the most from Moon Spell was not having a lot of scenes with the pack, but Samantha delivers a new kind of action in the form of her magik world.

The twists and turns start when Caia goes to the Centre to learn how to handle her magik powers, she soon learns nothing is what it seems, even in her relationships with her friends, her pack and especially Lucien. FINALLY there was a scene with the Caia and Lucien that I've been waiting for since the beginning of the series. That's all I'll say about that (leaving it spoiler free).

Along with Caia and Lucien's relationship is the fun, humorous duo of Jaeden and Ryder. I absolutely loved how Samantha wove their story into River Crest and I really enjoyed getting to know them more. I think Samantha did a great job at engaging all the characters into the story and keeping the two unique relationships going. I liked that Jaeden and Ryder bring a different element to the story.

River Cast is a fantastic, spell binding story that's part dark and twisty and another part action packed with some sizzling romances. Not to out do herself with Moon Spell's cliff hanger, River Cast leaves me wanting the third installment in this fast paced, engaging series. Seriously, I love the mix of werewolves, witches and more! I definitely recommend picking up this series!