Blood Moon by Teri Harman a Bewitching Read

I’m happy to be part of the Blood Moon blog tour! Granted, I’m posting a few days later than scheduled, but hey. Time marches forward, even when we’re deep in the heart of Scottsdale without internet access (which is another story for another day.)

Now, ladies and gentlemen: Blood Moon!

Okay, this is one of the coolest covers ever.

From the back cover:

Willa and Simon’s lives are tainted by strangeness. Willa’s best friend is a ghost and she dreams of true events. Simon can heal any wound with the touch of his hand and senses other’s emotions, intentions. For all their lives they’ve been alone in these bizarre abilities, hiding behind a facade of normalcy, but the night Simon walks into the Twelve Acres Diner and meets Willa face to face, in a swirl of electric heat, they realize there is something magical about who they are and what they can do.

Across town a witch is held prisoner in the derelict basement of an old Victorian house. One night, as it rains, she dares to reach her filthy, scared hand out the window, at the same moment that Willa walks by. After a daring rescue of the witch, Willa and Simon are catapulted into the alluring by dangerous world of witchcraft. Now the couple must make a choice: Join the True Covens and fight a Dark witch hungry for their destruction or walk away, turning their back on their Gifts and who they really are.

Teri Harman’s groundbreaking debut novel, the first installment in The Moonlight Trilogy, completely reinvents the modern concept of witches and magic. With its authentic translation of the history of witches into a fresh and entertaining package with unprecedented characterization, Blood Moon is sure to capture readers from the first page.

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Teri Harman may be a debut author with Blood Moon, which came out a week or so ago from Jolly Fish Press, but she’s got writing chops galore. She’s a regular contributor to KSL.com, KSL being one of the largest media outlets (if not the largest) in the Intermountain West. She also hosts a monthly book segment for Studio 5, the region’s number one lifestyle show.

So, Blood Moon! First, watch this trailer. It’s spot on for the tone and style of the book. In fact, I was pretty floored when I first watched it, because it was like the trailer-makers had been inside my head looking around when they made the little film.

Then go read an excerpt of the book.

Then check out Teri’s website. It’s chock full of great book reviews and tons of great content.

Then follow her on Twitter and Facebook. Great tweets and updates. Always worth reading.

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Now, for my review.

Blood Moon tells the story of Willa, who has always known she was different, but she didn’t know why. Her best friend is dead. And by that I mean, her best friend is someone who is a disembodied spirit. That is, until she meets Simon, in whose presence Willa feels something, let’s just say, intense. (You have to read it! I refuse to spoil the joy of that moment for the reader.)

Willa must act when she sees the hand of a woman trapped in a basement extending from a window—even though the owner of the house is the most terrifying man Willa has ever encountered. Fortunately, she meets someone from the past whose strength gives Willa the courage and power to do what she must to help the endangered woman.

This sets in motion a series of events that send Willa and Simon on a crash course with their newfound destiny. And I’ll just give the hint that … witches are involved.

While I’m not usually the audience for witch stories (I’m a total chicken about anything remotely scary!), I happily make an exception for Teri Harman’s writing. The prose is just poetic, every sentence well crafted. The writing just lilted me along through the story. The romance between Willa and Simon is very satisfying (that’s the part that I always go for in a book!), and the stakes are incredibly high. It’s a royal battle between forces of good and forces of evil, and up until the very end, it’s impossible to know which will triumph.

Isn’t she just stunning?

And so, if you’re a witch fan, or if you’re a fan of delicious prose, find Blood Moon at a bookstore or online bookseller near you. And don’t forget to follow Teri all over the internet. She’s pretty darn cool.