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A review by cspoe
Terror by Moonlight by Hank Edwards
5.0
Plain and simple, I’m absolutely head over heels in love with every single aspect of this series. I devoured the entire thing in a week—woke up extra early to read, stayed up too late, read while walking, eating, and frankly—instead of writing! Hank Edwards created such a quirky, hilarious, terrifying, and desperately romantic series that it is now going to be one of my comfort re-reads forever. I’ve never been a huge fan of slow burns (I am impatient) or friends to lovers (there never seems to be enough focus on the importance of the friendship) but wow… Edwards did both tropes justice and blew me away.
Our adventure begins with Terror by Moonlight. Cody Bower and Demetrius Singleton are best friends. Have been for nearly their entire lives. Despite polar opposite looks and personalities—Cody the athletic straight guy, and Demmy the quiet thinker who is gay—they have gone into business together after holding down uninteresting, lackluster jobs in their small town of Parson’s Hollow. They’ve opened Critter Catchers, an animal control company with heart. But so far, they’re in the red and have next to no customers.
Their first call is to remove a raccoon from the house of a cranky old man, and during that process both the raccoon and man end up… well… very dead. Bloody and torn apart, as if attacked by a very big and very vicious animal. And to make matters worse, one of Cody’s many ex-girlfriends is a cop on the local force and she smells something hinky about Cody and Demmy’s presence at the crime scene. Add to this a new reporter for the local paper, Oliver, being romantically interested in Demmy, and Cody trying to understand his jealousy—no, it’s just annoyance, really—the guys are in for a wild adventure.
Because what makes this series outrageously fun and scary? Monsters are real and the Critter Catchers are on the case. Cody and Demmy have to face the reality that something very dangerous is lurking in the woods around town and they’re the only ones who can stop it before more citizens are slaughtered.
I’d read this first book a while ago and loved it, but somehow life got in the way and I’d forgotten to read the rest. So when I returned to this title a second time, howling with laughter and freaking out over the chaos that ensued, I dropped off the face of the planet to read the rest of the series. Cody’s uncertainty around his best friend, his confusion and hesitancy over why he finds himself occasionally taking a look at Demmy’s backside, and dealing with his intense dislike of Oliver, is heart wrenching. He’s stumbling around in the dark, trying to make sense of his own sexuality, and is too baffled and afraid to say anything to anyone. Edwards does such an amazing job at crafting Demmy and Cody’s friendship. The depth of their relationship, even in Book One, makes both their inner struggles so profound and believable. Incredible character construction, from positive to negative traits, dialogue, reactions, and everything in between.
Our adventure begins with Terror by Moonlight. Cody Bower and Demetrius Singleton are best friends. Have been for nearly their entire lives. Despite polar opposite looks and personalities—Cody the athletic straight guy, and Demmy the quiet thinker who is gay—they have gone into business together after holding down uninteresting, lackluster jobs in their small town of Parson’s Hollow. They’ve opened Critter Catchers, an animal control company with heart. But so far, they’re in the red and have next to no customers.
Their first call is to remove a raccoon from the house of a cranky old man, and during that process both the raccoon and man end up… well… very dead. Bloody and torn apart, as if attacked by a very big and very vicious animal. And to make matters worse, one of Cody’s many ex-girlfriends is a cop on the local force and she smells something hinky about Cody and Demmy’s presence at the crime scene. Add to this a new reporter for the local paper, Oliver, being romantically interested in Demmy, and Cody trying to understand his jealousy—no, it’s just annoyance, really—the guys are in for a wild adventure.
Because what makes this series outrageously fun and scary? Monsters are real and the Critter Catchers are on the case. Cody and Demmy have to face the reality that something very dangerous is lurking in the woods around town and they’re the only ones who can stop it before more citizens are slaughtered.
I’d read this first book a while ago and loved it, but somehow life got in the way and I’d forgotten to read the rest. So when I returned to this title a second time, howling with laughter and freaking out over the chaos that ensued, I dropped off the face of the planet to read the rest of the series. Cody’s uncertainty around his best friend, his confusion and hesitancy over why he finds himself occasionally taking a look at Demmy’s backside, and dealing with his intense dislike of Oliver, is heart wrenching. He’s stumbling around in the dark, trying to make sense of his own sexuality, and is too baffled and afraid to say anything to anyone. Edwards does such an amazing job at crafting Demmy and Cody’s friendship. The depth of their relationship, even in Book One, makes both their inner struggles so profound and believable. Incredible character construction, from positive to negative traits, dialogue, reactions, and everything in between.