Review: Circle of the Moon by Faith Hunter (Soulwood #4)

Circle of the Moon (Soulwood #4)
Faith Hunter
Published: Feb. 26, 2019 (Ace)
Purchase: Book Depository or Amazon
Review source: copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review 

Reviewed by: Margaret

Rating (out of 5): 4 stars

Note: While review will be spoiler free, it does make reference to previous books. If you haven’t started this series yet, check out VBC’s review of book 1, Blood of the Earth.

Nell Ingram has recently returned to work at Psy-LED after months on “disability” at the end of the previous book. She’s mostly been doing research and filing reports, so she’s surprised when team leader Rick LaFleur calls her into the field. When she and her partner arrive, they find Rick, a shifter, recently returned to human form at the site of a witch circle with no memory of how he got there. So was Rick’s presence a coincidence or did the circle summon him? Nell’s research finds that similar circles have been appearing for months. And Rick seems to be keeping secrets from the team.

Much like in other books in the series, the mystery develops slowly. There’s a lot of information to digest and only short bursts of action. But the world is so interesting that I never really mind the slower pace. I do wish that Nell would do some research about her own magic at some point. I feel like she, and therefore the reader, doesn’t know much more about what she is than she did at the beginning of the series.

Though it’s not told from his point of view, Circle of the Moon is mostly Rick’s story. After the way he’s been tormented throughout the series, I’m happy with the resolution he gets, even if I did see most of it coming. But first, he really gets put through the wringer. The events surrounding his tattoos, told in the short story “Cat Tats” (which is included in the anthology Blood in her Veins and also currently available on Hunter’s website) play a big part in the book. Though helpful, it’s not absolutely necessary to read that story first—it’s summarized pretty well. It’s been several years since I read it and I didn’t have any trouble following.

Things are changing for Nell as well, though most are works in progress. I’m happy to see her embracing her relationship with Occam, even though she’s not sure about what she wants yet. I’ve been rooting for them from the beginning. She is, however, quite confident in her dealings with her other team members, especially the new regional boss. It’s fun to see Nell challenge him, especially knowing how far she’s come since the series began. I’m excited to see where Nell and her team, especially the new additions, will go next.

I’ve never felt like you had to be reading the Jane Yellowrock series to read Soulwood, but there are a lot of characters who cross over in Circle of the Moon. If you are reading Jane, you definitely want to be caught up before starting this one since there are some major spoilers for Dark Queen.

Sexual content: kissing