More reviews of Desert Moon

“A love affair with the Arizona Desert” - excerpt from a review by Dirty Discourse

Ty is the first son of an alpha and an alpha in his own right. He’s tall, dark, and yummy, but he’s the kind of man who believes in duty before pleasure. For a man who’s better at action than diplomacy, the pressure of taking over as pack leader continually weighs on his mind. When we first meet Ty, he’s kind of a dick to our heroine, but only because he’s too tongue-tied to speak without sounding like a caveman: Me. You. Now.

They’re at an airport, because Lana has promised to help her grandmother settle into Twin Moon Ranch before flying back to the East Coast. Ty takes Lana’s luggage, but does it so brusquely that she doesn’t handle it too well. Lana knows all about overbearing alphas, because her brothers and father are exactly the same way. Alphas stand at the top, and they stand alone. Emphasis on alone. She’s spent a long time earning her right to fight alongside them, and now this rugged, six-foot-two slab of muscle is treating her like a cub.

As the story progresses, there are other characters who stand out—an obnoxious, jealous tramp who endangers Lana, and a carefree, womanizing younger brother—but they’re minor compared to the setting itself. If a romance novel focuses on the relationship between characters, then Desert Moon is a full-blown love affair between Ty, Lana, and the Arizona desert.

Because in Desert Moon, the setting is as real a character as Lana and Ty. Anna Lowe weaves descriptions of setting into her prose the way a musician does with lyrics. And nowhere do you notice this more than the scene where Ty and Lana come together during a midnight run. When their howls combine with the desert’s song, I got all tingly in the right places.

One final thought: Shifter romances are all about destiny, yet Ty and Lana gave up on finding their destined mates years before the start of Desert Moon. I am a huge fan of romances with mature leads, and by mature, I mean characters who have loved and lost before they find each other. I love this one particular scene that happens when Ty is still drowsy from post-coital bliss. While wrapped around Lana, he marvels at the way fate had hidden them from one another until they’d grown strong enough to face each other’s demons. It’s a beautiful moment—one that’s filled with the promising hope of a desert come to life.

Read the full review here.