One of the things I love best about my life is the time I get to spend reading. There is something deeply satisfying about being able to gift myself a day devoted completely to pleasing myself with a good book. That pleasure enters a whole new dimension of enjoyment when the book of choice is one of Claudy Conn's paranormal romance novels. Most recently, Hungry Moon~Quicksilver captivated my attention. Did I make a day of it? Yes, I did. I lounged in my floor length, red silk nightie, with painted toe nails, and generally pampered myself for a whole day. It was blissful. If that is the kind of respite you need from your otherwise busy life, I highly recommend taking a page out of my book, with Claudy's Quicksilver.
Now, on to my review, because you need to understand why lounging dramatically in pretty lingerie, reading can be so satisfying.
Series/Title: Hungry Moon, (Book 1)
Quicksilver
Author: Claudy Conn
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (December 9, 2012)
ISBN-10: 1481072196
ISBN-13: 978-1481072199
Reviewed by: AvidReviewer.com editor, Vonnie Faroqui
Rating: 4/5
Ravena Macallister, Is a woman on the verge of sexual exploration. Only one problem. She is running from herself and as long as she is doing that, self exploration is going to have to wait. You can think you are ready for the next level in life, and not
be ready when you get there. That is Ravena. For all of her beauty, academic achievement, and sleek athleticism, she is still an untried, inexperienced girl, playing with fire and love. Well, we know what happens when little girls play with fire?
Claudy Conn's heroines usually start out as virginal, with simmering sexual desires carefully hidden below the surface of their persona.
Quicksilver's Ravena is no exception. Standing on the edge of the future she prepares to step over the edge of the known and begin her sexual exploration. She is vibrant, powerful, talented and free; a sexual volcano waiting to erupt under just the right amount of heroic pressure. Don't get me wrong. I'm not knocking it. Claudy's formula for thrills is a potent and powerful mix. As an author, she has skillfully balanced plot, story line and character development, with steamy sexual erotica. And her writing has only gotten bolder with time. Claudy, goes there when she writes and she isn't shy about taking you there too. [I digress.]
First off, the heroine is going to be innocent, virginal even. She will be a
stunner and will have waited for the right man. He will be a
man, all man, virile, powerful, magically and in physical prowess. He will be a man of purpose, equal to our heroine in nobility of heart and of soul.
He will not be virginal. He will, quite probably be afflicted with some curse, or handicap that makes their coming together seem impossible.
We know. those of us who have been following Claudy's many series, that a way will appear in which the hero and heroine will be together in every sense of the word. Because it is destiny! No matter how much tension Claudy is going to build for her characters, no matter how vile the villain, or terrifying the obstacles may be, nothing is going to prevent our hero and heroine from consummating the intense fires of passion and love burning in their souls. Yes, we know Claudy will take us there. The fun is in discovering how.
What will Claudy throw along their path, our path? Will it be a tragic loss, or a terrible curse. Will there be a monstrous evil to overcome or a sinister unfathomable threat. Will it be pride or humility that prevents one or the other of the lovers from opening up? We may not know the how, but we know in the end it will happen. There will be no denying satisfaction. satisfaction on every level. That is just how good it is going to be.
So, I assure you,
Quicksilver is not going to disappoint. It has all of the classic elements of good story telling. There is a villain, he's truly evil. He totally wants the heroine. Thankfully, he is just a little too over confident and that sets the warning bells off. Our heroine
has just been burned by awesome looks and superficial interest, masking as love. She sees Evil coming from a mile away; no real danger of her falling under his love train. Still there is the threat he might rape her.
The real problem is in how to go about rescuing our hero. He is out of this world, gorgeous, smart, self sacrificing, out of this world! No, I mean it, literally. He
is out of this world, unreachable in any way but by magic. And, he is cursed with ill luck. not literally this time. Just, well he's been bit by a were-wolf. It doesn't look good for him, trapped, cursed, full of sexual potency himself. She is in one world and he is in another, helpless to protect her, or help her, forced to watch as her life blood is spilling. It's dramatic.
If only Ravena would stop denying her uniqueness, and surrender to her true nature. Then her power would be a strength instead of a weakness. Ah me. Claudy even manages to weave in a little character building morality along side the sexual tension. Nothing comes too easily. The struggle to find each other may be destined, but in order to overcome the threat of evil and stay together, there is going to be real pain, the kind that grows self knowledge, and enough sacrifice to demonstrate sincerity, giving the relationship value.
I don't want to give you any more or the story than this. You can read the synopsis, and guess at the plot line. The real enjoyment comes when you let go of what you know or think you know, and simply go on the journey. Surrendering to a story is as enjoyable as surrendering to destiny, to love, to great sex. When you are in it, there is nothing else.
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