Review: After Moonrise by P.C. Cast & Gena Showalter

After Moonrise
P.C. Cast & Gena Showalter
Published: Oct. 23, 2012 (HQN)
Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon

Reviewed by: Candace

Rating (out of 5): 3.5 stars

This review is a two-parter because both authors contributed a story to this duo-logy.

After Moonlight is the name of an agency that investigates murders, hauntings and things that go bump in the night that the police can not or will not touch because of the supernatural nature of the occurrences.

Possessed is the contribution from P.C. Cast.  I’ve never read anything by Cast, but after this I can definitely say that I will in the future.  My problem with this story is the ending.  The story circles around Raef, Lauren and Lauren’s dead twin Aubrey.  Aubrey’s death was listed as accidental but unbeknownst to everyone else, Aubrey’s spirit is still hanging around, communicating with her twin.  The problem with this is that any time Aubrey attempts to discuss her death, including the fact that she was murdered, her spirit shrieks and disappears.  Lauren comes to Raef and After Moonlight for help because her sister’s spirit is bound.

Raef is troubled because none of the usual signs are there.  Raef has always been susceptible to the feelings of negativity, thus can sense out death pretty clearly.  When taken to the scene of Lauren’s death, he finds nothing there.  Which leaves a curious twin, a spirit who can only partially help and a man who communicates with the dead who finds himself sexually attracted to a sister. But which one?

Characters from both stories help along the way.  Lana and Peterson help with Raef’s case, and they play parts in Haunted, which is Gena Showalter’s contribution to the book.  The plot to the story is cool and I would definitely advise checking it out.  But the whole romance dynamic of this paranormal romance bugs me.  Raef has feelings both both sisters, one is dead, one is not and both sisters have feelings for him.  The big climactic fight scene involved Raef fighting for both twins.  The romantic entanglement did not work for me.  The things that did work for me are Cast’s writing and the plot.  She is one hell of a writer.  I will read her again.

Now onto Haunted.  The story begins with a horrifying scene detailing the murder of a young woman while another watches.  There are a couple things the reader is certain of: one, the murderer needs retribution and, two, we aren’t done with the murdered girl.

The After Moonlight offices come into play here, but with different characters.  Lana from Possessed has a roommate named Harper.  Actually, it’s Aurora Harper but the princess moniker pisses her off, so the hotheaded beauty prefers Harper.  Next we have Levi, a cop with a hair-trigger temper, who lives in the same apartment complex as Harper and Lana.  Initially thinking that he wanted to ask Lana out, his opinion on that matter changed as soon as Harper showed up at his door and asked his police opinion on a matter.

Harper is an artist and is painting what she thinks is a crime scene.  As it turns out, Harper is right and the suspect happens to be the same man that Levi is suspended from the police force for assaulting.  Levi and Harper have something in common.  Around the time that they both moved into this apartment complex, they both had memory lapses.  They would each miss chunks of time, but with Harper’s case, they seem to involve more work on the painting detailing the crime scene.

The murderer is a slimy, pitiful creature who is absolutely begging for a ghastly end.  The revelations that come with that are jaw droppers.  If anyone can make you go “oh no she didn’t!” it’s Showalter.

As far as characters go, Raef is likable.  The underdog who was picked on for his abilities  as a child has grown into an adult that uses those same abilities to help the seemingly helpless.  Lauren fights hard to help her twin’s spirit which is something that most of us with siblings can completely understands.  Levi is a cop with a temper (the further into the story we get, the more he reminds me of J.R. Ward’s Butch) and dogged determination to see justice achieved.  Harper is a sarcastic beauty who also will fight for those she cares about.  The characters are likeable and you want to see them succeed.

But I’m not a ghost fan, not when there is romance. If you are a fan of ghost paranormal romances, this is definitely the book for you. Two phenomenal authors come together and create a collaboration celebrating love and retribution amongst the spirit world.  As far as further PNR endeavors go, I will stick to pulse-less characters with fangs.

Sexual content: Sex, sexual scenes