The Mayfair Moon (Darkwoods Trilogy #1)
Author: J.A. Redmerski
Genre: Paranormal YA
Blurb:
After
a nightmarish encounter with a werewolf, seventeen-year-old Adria
Dawson loses her sister, but gains the love of a mysterious young man
and his legendary family. Strange and tragic things begin to happen in
the small town of Hallowell, Maine: residents come down with an
unexplainable ‘illness’ and some disappear. In the midst of everything,
Isaac Mayfair is adamant about keeping Adria safe, even from her sister
whom he has warned her to stay away from. As unspeakable secrets unfold
all around Adria, impossible choices become hers to bear. Ultimately,
no matter what path she takes, her life and the lives of those she loves
will be in peril. As she learns about the werewolf world she also
learns why her place in it will change the destinies of many.
Pulling up into my driveway, I saw that the porch light wasn’t on. I
never noticed before how eerie that old Victorian-style house was in the
dark even though I’d seen it a hundred times just like that.
Isaac put the car in park.
“Are you okay, Adria,” he said turning sideways, one arm resting on the steering wheel.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
“You will be, or you are?”
Leaning
across the seat, I pressed my lips gently to his cheek, just under his
eye. “I am,” I said. “I wouldn’t be if you weren’t here.”
A smile softened his face.
I placed my hand upon the door handle of the car and Isaac grabbed me.
“Stop,” he demanded, smelling deeply of the air.
His eyes darted around apprehensively.
Suddenly,
Isaac threw the car back in drive and slammed on the gas. My body
lurched forward and then backward, thrusting me harshly against the
seat. I fumbled for the seatbelt, but couldn’t get it on. The car
swerved through the snow, mud and slush, tossing me sideways.
“Isaac!”
“Hold on!” he shouted.
I
braced myself against the dashboard, one foot pressing on the door.
Slam! Clunk! The hood of the car caved in. Steam and anti-freeze
whistled and spewed from the wreckage. The car was dead. Black eyes and
dripping teeth bore down on us through the windshield. I screamed. My
body pressed so hard against the seat I felt it jump the track forcibly
and fall backward.
The windshield crumbled into a thousand
nugget-like pieces of glass. The beast’s head entered the opening and
roared, blood and thick saliva spewed from its blade-like teeth. I
managed to get into the back seat, cowering low halfway into the
floorboard.
I heard an uncanny pop! and then a long, grating
sound. Isaac’s seat pushed backward and snapped completely off its
tracks. I moved over just in time before the seat crushed me. Isaac’s
door flew off, landing feet away in the snow. Another deafening roar
ripped through the car and Isaac, massive and beastly, burst through
what was left of it. The wreckage tossed with me in it. I held onto the
back of the front seat. Trees and white ground flip-flopped in my vision
many times before the car landed upside-down. Snow cushioned one side
of my face, the roof of the car pressed against the other.
The
taste of blood filled my mouth and I could feel something hard and cold
penetrate my side. At first, no pain followed, but then a burst of pain
surged through my body.
Review:
The Mayfair Moon is a fantastic first novel in a trilogy about werewolves. The book follows our heroine, Adria (whose name I love!), as she moves in with her uncle in Maine and strange things begin to happen with her sister, Alex. Soon Adria finds herself surrounded by a weird family who seems to hate her, a handsome guy who is sending her mixed signals, and things she thought were only fairy tales. What is really going on behind the scenes of her small Maine town? What really happened to Alex and just who are the Mayfairs?
I found this book to be very well written and really addictive to read. Once I started it, I couldn't put it down. The story flowed effortlessly and I loved the Maine setting. I'm not a huge werewolf fan, but this book may have me swaying a bit more in their favor. The characters were unique and had personalities of their own, along with problems that readers can relate to - so I was almost immediately invested in them and their stories. I liked the relationship between Isaac and Adria, even if it was a bit too syrupy and somewhat cliched at times.
The back story of the novel was done well and strengthened the main storyline. I enjoyed the entire werewolf concept of the book and all of it's tangents. I was definitely left wanting more after finishing the book, and I'm really glad that it's just the first book of a trilogy. I'm eagerly awaiting the next book so I can read more about Adria and Isaac and what will happen with them. I highly recommend this for fans of YA paranormal fiction and definitely fans of werewolf fiction.
About the Author:
J.A. Redmerski is a Contemporary
Fantasy and YA writer - author of THE MAYFAIR MOON and DIRTY EDEN. She’s
a mother, werewolf & zombie fanatic, book addict and a happy
hermit obsessed with the Universe. Oh, and AMC's "The Walking Dead".
Jessica
started her first novel at the age of thirteen and has been writing
something ever since. Generally, she loves characters in life and on
paper. She pays attention to people, especially those whose
personalities make them different from the rest of us: the drug addict
roaming the Laundromat that talks to himself, the young, inattentive
mother in the park with the meanest kid on the playground - (the entire
cast of 'Swamp People') - characters fascinate Jessica and she hopes
that it shows in her literary work. Some authors that inspire Jessica
are Neil Gaiman, Cormac McCarthy, Max Brooks, Anne Rice, J.K. Rowling,
Richard Matheson, William R. Forstchen, Carrie Ryan, Stephenie Meyer and
Lisa Smedman.
