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Sunday, October 3, 2010

Review: Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin

Title: Low Red Moon
Author: Ivy Devlin
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pub. Date: 9.14.2010
Genre: Paranormal YA
Keywords: Grief, Murder, Love, Family, Loss, Werewolves
Pages: 256
Description (from arc):
Her parents are dead. She can't remember what happened. And now she's in love with the most dangerous creature in the forest.

The only thing Avery Hood can remember about the night her parents died is that she saw silver - deadly silver, moving inhumanly fast. As much as she wants to remember who killed them, she can't, and there's nothing left to do but try to piece her life back together.

Then Avery meets the new boy in school - Ben, mysterious and beautiful, with whom she feels a connection like nothing she's ever experienced. Ben is a werewolf, but Avery trusts him - at first. Then she sees that sometimes his eyes flash an inhuman silver. And she learns that she's not the only one who can't remember the night her parents died.

Oddly, LOW RED MOON was both more and less than I had expected.

I started the novel thinking that the paranormal aspects would be the focus, but quickly found that this was not the case. From early on in the novel the reader knows that Ben is a werewolf. To be honest, the reader actually knows as soon as they read the description. I assumed, since this fact is clearly pointed out, it would be a much bigger focus. Instead, this element is almost unnecessary. This novel could have had the same ending without anything paranormal occurring. I would have appreciated more backstory and lore regarding this aspect of the novel.

I was much more impressed by the rest of LOW RED MOON. In my opinion, Avery's grief ended up being the main focus. Sometimes I felt like it was almost too much of a focus... I sometimes find it frustrating when reading novels with strong themes of loss and grief. I understand why Avery would spend so much time grieving - her parents were just brutally murdered - but I felt that it made much of the novel repetitive, especially when she was trying to recall what happened that night. She never really moved past having seen "a flash of silver" that was "inhuman." I felt like that element could have been further developed...

I found the romance to be surprisingly intense. Most of the novel seemed to move at a slow pace, but not when it came to Ben and Avery. Those passages are what kept my interest when it occassionally flagged. I wish the relationship and why they felt so strongly for one another would have been explained in more detail. I felt like I was missing some key information.

Overall, LOW RED MOON was a good mystery with a passionate romance and a dash of the supernatural thrown in for good measure. Not the best, but it could've been. I'd definitely read more from Ivy Devlin, but, in her next novel, I hope to see greater exploration of the paranormal elements!

Grade: B-

For a chance to win your own copy of LOW RED MOON, go here.

Review Copy provided by publisher.

29 comments:

  1. I completely agree with you. It seemed like it was such a fast read, but I think there will definitely be more to come :D

    Thanks for hosting the giveaway!

    ashleysbookshelf@gmail.com

    Ashley's Bookshelf

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  2. Great review! The book sounds pretty interesting and I will have to check it out!

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  3. I love the leaning to Little Red Riding Hood. :) I love new takes on the classics.

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  4. Great review...I need to get to this book. I get what you mean...sometimes key things are missing and it makes it harder to understand the book than it should be!

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  5. This was a great review. I will definitely be putting this on the to buy list, even tho it doesn't have much of a paranormal theme!! It sounds interesting.

    mlawson17 at hotmail dot com

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  6. Great review. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts.

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  7. I've been seeing this book around, and I think it has a lot of elements I would enjoy. I love it when romances are intense, and the fact that this Ben may have a tortured secret sounds interesting!! :)

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  8. Great review! I've seen a lot of posts about this book around the blogosphere lately but I've yet to get my hands on a copy to read. It's inevitable though, because I'm drawn by the beautiful cover!

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  9. I kind of like that the story's only partially paranormal and focuses on other elements as well.

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  10. I've seen a lot of mixed reviews for this book. I guess I'll have to give it a try to know what I'll think of it. Thanks for reviewing!

    Erin D.

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  11. Fab review! I quite like the sound of this one, and will definitely be picking up a copy when it comes out in the UK next year!

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  12. Great review! Low Red Moon looks really interesting... I'm glad it's worth reading!

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  13. From the reviews I've seen so far, so people LOVE it, and some people are "meh."
    I guess I'll have to read it. =]

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  14. Great interview. Thanks for the great giveaway. Tore923@aol.com

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  15. I have had this one on my book radar for quite awhile... I think a retelling of Red riding Hood was an awesome idea.

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  16. Thanks for the review. I can't wait to read this:)

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  17. I really enjoyed your review I heard so much about this book and can't wait to read it! Thank you very much for the chance!

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  18. Thanks for sharing your review. I've seen this book around the web quite a bit but haven't picked it up myself yet.

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  19. I have seen the book around and I found it interesting that the focus was not on the paranormal as it usually is with books like this.
    Thanks for the review.

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  20. I love the sound of the synopsis. Thanks for your review!

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  21. im really looking forward to reading this!
    great review!

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  22. Hmm, this is the first time I've read a review about this book and despite it not being one of the best books out there it still does sound interesting. I appreciate the honest review!

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  23. Interesting that the whole werewolf thing isn't so big. I'm interested in this one tho.

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  24. Great review - sounds like my kind of book!

    another book added to the TBR pile!
    dcf_beth at verizon dot net

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  25. Great Review. I'm dying to read this book!

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  26. I can't wait to read this book-- i love fantasy and romance. I reaaly want to win!!!

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  27. This has been on my TBR list for a while. It looks great. Great review!

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  28. I'm glad that it is more about the emotional aspects rather than paranormal! It sounds like a great book!

    TaraTagli at gmail dot com

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