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Moderate: Sexism, Kidnapping
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
and I’m still just so honestly shocked that this was written by a woman. This came out in 2006, so I hope the author has recognized her internalized misogyny and has worked on that by now. We get enough of it from crappy men - we don’t need women shilling that too (that and toxic masculinity being regarded as romantic or just good in any sense)
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide
Minor: Homophobia
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Sexism, Kidnapping
Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual content
As the first book in the series, MOON CALLED establishes the presence of various supernatural factions such as werewolves, vampires, witches, fey, and Native American people like Mercy. It focuses on the current precarious position in which the werewolves find themselves; many of the lesser fae came out in a controlled manner several years ago, but the werewolves are an open secret in military circles. This sets up those groups and some of the relationships between them, including between Adam’s pack and the Marrok’s pack in the mountains. It also establishes Mercy’s history with Sam and her current position relative to Adam (living nearby and taking joy in simple pleasures, like annoying him with the car in her yard).
The plot revolves around a strange werewolf who shows up in town and then is attacked in Mercy’s presence, setting off a string of conflicts which involve kidnappings and an elaborate plan. It has some twists and turns but is pretty easy to follow. The meeting with the vampires has always felt a bit out of place in this story, but it’s serving to set up some things that’ll come into play later on. It’s a solid story with a lot of ground to cover, and it does it well. MOON CALLED is a great start to the series.
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Murder
Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child death, Confinement, Miscarriage, Rape, Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, Death of parent, War
Graphic: Confinement, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cultural appropriation
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Gore, Suicide, Medical content, Death of parent, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment
To start off the pace of this story is slower than you would expect. Only a few days pass by in the entire book, but it feels like weeks. I did find it a bit difficult to stay invested in the book, so I did take a break from reading this for a few weeks to read some shorter stories. However, once I hit about the 60% mark of the book I couldn't put it down.
I do really enjoy the way that the Werewolves and Vampires are portrayed. Or at least for the most part. Their history and way of life is interesting, but the whole, "omg, there's two males in the same space as a woman, they are going to fight over her!!" shtick got old really fast. Essentially every male Mercy encounters wants to "make her theirs", so there's a lot of metaphorical dick swinging as everyone clambers over each other to get to her.
The mystery itself I found intriguing, and was a clever way to introduce part of the world the story takes place in. This is what I was invested in during the last half of the book, but unfortunately the climax is a little lacking. I found myself thinking, "wait, that's it?" and re-reading a few paragraphs to make sure I understood it right.
Overall, there is quite a bit of tension, action (the non-sexual kind), lore, and mystery in this novel. I did enjoy it more than I was expecting I would, but it's not without it's flaws. I am unsure if I will continue with the series, but if I do it will be a few months before I pick up the second book.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Kidnapping, Murder
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Rape, Toxic relationship, Abandonment
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Torture, Kidnapping, Murder
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Sexism, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Hate crime, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Religious bigotry
Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Misogyny, Terminal illness