DRAGON'S MOON - Lucy Monroe
Children of the Moon , Book 4
Berkley Sensation
ISBN: 978-0-425-24662-7
September 2012
Paranormal Romance

Scotland - 1149

At twelve years old, Ciara watched as her older brother first went along with his companion in hunting two ravens, and then watched as a dragon saved the two Ean (raven shapeshifters) children by incinerating Ciara's brother and his friend.  The next day, Ciara was an orphan thanks to her mother's suicide.  Now, seven years later, Ciara lives with the Sinclair clan as the adopted daughter of the Laird and his wife, but she won't let herself become part of the family.  Caring about others only leads to heartbreak, and she does her best to protect her heart from further damage.  While so much has changed in the seven years since her brother's death, two things have not: Ciara still has dreams of the Faolchu Chridhe, the sacred stone of the Crechte wolves, that has been lost for centuries, and she still has nightmares of the dragon killing her brother.

Ciara's curiosity over the Ean about to join her adopted clan leads her to a tower where she gets the first glimpse of the newcomers.  She'd expected raven shifters to be smaller in stature than the wolf shifters, so the giant man among them immediately catches her attention, and she knows instinctively that he is their Prince.  The interest she feels in him is not something she wants and is so thrown off balance that she falls from the tower, only to be saved by the Ean Prince…a dragon shifter.  The very dragon shifter that killed her brother.

Eirik was only protecting his young cousins when he killed the two wolves in the forest that day, but he has never forgotten it.  His dragon isn't as easy to control as he would like, and after meeting Ciara of the Sinclair clan, it becomes worse.  To save the Ean from hunters and extinction, they have integrated into the Crechte clans, but Eirik hadn't thought this would lead him to his mate.  And the more time he spends with Ciara, the more sure he is that this stubborn, headstrong Crechte is his mate.

DRAGON MOON, the fourth of the Children of the Moon series, brings back some favorite characters as well as introducing a few new ones.  Eirik is the brother of Sabine from MOON BURNING, and he brings more of the Ean history to light.  Ciara has lived as the adopted daughter of Talorc and Abigail Sinclair (MOON CRAVING), and Ciara and Eirik even pay a visit to the Balmoral and his wife Emily (MOON AWAKENING).  Fans will enjoy getting a glimpse at past characters and learning about the new ones.  It definitely helps to understand the Crechte and Ean and the paranormal world that Ms. Monroe has placed in the Scottish Highlands by reading the previous books, but the romance—reluctant as it may be—is all about Ciara and Eirik.

After her father's death, Ciara watched as her brother was influenced by the Fearghall—a group of Crechte who believe Faol (wolf shifters) superior to Ean, and seek to eradicate them.  His death followed so closely by their mother's devastated Ciara, and she hopes to avoid any entanglements in the future.  While she may be innocent, she's also Crechte, and knows what her feelings for Eirik mean, even if she's never felt the like before.  Unlike the Faol, the Ean didn't integrate into the clans centuries ago, but now they have little choice.  Eirik isn't a Laird, but is Prince of his people, and the only dragon shifter in existence.  Both have kept to themselves while in the middle of family, and neither was looking for a mate, but fate has other plans for them.

A fascinating paranormal story, DRAGON'S MOON should not be missed.

Jennifer Bishop