Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Review of Black Moon by Jessica McQuay


Description:

"Am I losing my mind?"

Paige couldn't help but question her sanity. What other explanation could there be for her hearing a conversation held barely above a whisper in the back of a classroom full of students? What about coming home to find one of those very classmates lying in wait in the darkness of her home, ready to attack her?

Confused, frustrated and feeling every ounce of her social ostracism, Paige confides in the one person she's always been able to count on: her mom. But when her mom reveals a deeply rooted, unbelievable family secret, Paige discovers her world is filled with more than she ever imagined possible. A world where fairytales live alongside nightmares and secrets are the glue that binds them together. Suddenly no one is who they seem and Paige is faced with more questions than answers. Can she survive in a world filled with creatures scarier than anything she could imagine and where deceit runs as thick as blood? Or will the truth send her over the edge?

Review:

What would you do if you found out that you were different?  Paige's world comes crashing down around her after a girl from school attacks her twice.  She thinks she's losing her mind until her mother confirms her otherworldly heritage.
This book was different from anything else I have read.  It's YA paranormal, but has NO romance whatsoever in it.  This is just a story about a girl and her heritage.
That being said, the book was  a blend of magic and mystery.  I enjoyed the relationships that formed throughout the story.   The connections were intriguing.  I liked how everyone was connected in some way in this book.
Overall, this was a good book.  I recommend it for urban fantasy and fantasy lovers of YA novels.  I give this book three glittery stars for being a unique read.


 

Black Moon - Chapter 1 Excerpt


I could feel the fear morphing into adrenaline as it seeped through my blood and coursed through my body. Suddenly I no longer cared that I was about to launch myself at a werewolf. Seven of them to be exact. But I wasn't alone and I knew I was ready. It was all very clear now…this is what I'd been training for these past few weeks.

I shut my eyes for a brief moment, just long enough to center my core and fill it with the abundance of life energy in the forest surrounding us. I could feel the magic swirling and pooling within me, still a new sensation, but warm and comforting all the same. Now, I felt protected.

I opened my eyes as the filmy protective barrier around us fell back into the earth and seven pairs of eyes momentarily gleamed hungrily before launching themselves at us. I locked eyes with Naialah, nodded, and ran straight for the closest werewolf.

***

A month ago you wouldn't have the slightest idea that I am who I am today. I still have a hard time realizing that Paige Tailor is no longer the shy, quiet, blend into the background senior in high school anymore. Actually, let me back up a bit. I am still a senior in high school, (for one more month), and by all accounts, anyone at H.H. High would say, if asked about me, "Oh Paige. She's kind of quiet and keeps to herself. Really, she's a bit of a no one on campus. But she is pretty smart." And they would be giving you a completely accurate description of who I am. It's who I always thought I was. It's who I always thought I would be. A nobody. Someone who blended into the background and people hardly took notice of.

I believed that with one hundred percent certainty. Until it all changed. Until one day I woke up and the girl staring back at me in the bathroom mirror felt alien. Her eyes were still the same deep shade of green. Her brown hair was still the same long wild untamed curls. In fact, at first I couldn't tell you what it was about my reflection that felt so unlike me. Was it my outside appearance? Or maybe it was an internal change happening subtly where no one else could see?

Maybe, more simply, I was losing my mind.

I probably would have gone with the crazy theory if it hadn't been for the incident that happened later that day in science. It's the incident that catapulted everything. The incident that ultimately led me here, with Naialah, confronting werewolves and hunting down a murderer.

***



Biography of Jessica McQuay


Have you ever tried to sit and write about yourself? If not, let me tell you, it's not an easy task. I can write for hours and hours about the characters and plots that fill my head, but the second someone says, "Tell me a little about yourself," I look at them like they've grown two heads, have diamonds for eyes and a forked tongue.

For the past year I've wanted to rewrite my "about me" section because what I've had, although accurate, doesn't actually tell you a thing about me. But a year later and the word document in front of me remains as blank as ever. Today I've decided that enough is enough. I am going to tell my fans exactly who I am.

I'm a geek. Simple as that. I love to read only slightly less than I love to write. Very slightly. The margin is so tiny that it can hardly be categorized as a margin. My favorite author and the person I'd give anything to sit and talk to over coffee is Kim Harrison. Rachel Morgan is a kick ass witch and she's real, I don't care what anyone says. If Kim stops writing Hollows books I may curl up in the fetal position and die.

I love to do this thing where I put on yoga pants, a tank top and tennis shoes, line up with other women, turn on really loud music and start dancing to choreographed steps. Otherwise known as Zumba! It keeps me sane, and I get to let loose and be someone no one else gets to see except others that enjoy the very same thing. My instructors are like my own personal life coaches.

Oh and I LOVE music. No, like I love it. Really. I have music floating around in my head as my characters act out scenes I'm creating while driving my kids from one thing to the other. I play an instrument too. I'm in a band and everything. Of course it's not a cool instrument like a guitar or anything. Refer to above re: to geek. But being a part of the community band and playing my clarinet is as much a part of me as breathing.

I know I mentioned kids briefly above and that's because I'm a mom. No really, I am. I have four little people that depend on me, who are my world and who are also the cause of the seven grey hairs I spotted in the mirror the other day. Which, by the way, is crazy because I'm only 31. Soon to be 32, but who's counting?

I'm a wife. My husband and I have been together since high school. That's right people, high school sweethearts. Not sure how he puts up with me and all of my geekdom, but it's one of the many reasons that he's my best friend. That and he completes me. Okay, I couldn't even say that last part with a straight face. He gets me though and that's what matters, so I keep him around.

So, there it is. I'm a writing, reading, dancing, clarinet playing geek. I'm a mom that moonlights as a writer and a wife to a wonderful man. I drink entirely too much coffee, love spending time with the world's greatest friends, because I have some of them, let me tell you. I can watch movies five out of seven days a week and there aren't enough Friends episodes to keep me happy.

Thanks for reading about boring ol' me. And Thank you for being a fan. I wouldn't be me without all of you. 


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Trailer:
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