Rating: 5 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel


Cosmo wants to just be your average human in the worst way. Disappointing most of his friends and definitely all of his family, he tries his best not to use the magic he has available to him in an attempt to lead a more ordinary life. Cosmo’s impetus for turning his back on his abilities is the man he cannot fathom has fallen for him, but whom Cosmo loves so very much, Police Commissioner John Galbraith. Then Cosmo discovers that John may have been influenced in a most devious way and that the love he professes to have for Cosmo could be nothing more than an illusion. With that painful possibility threatening to derail their upcoming nuptials, a murder landing in John’s precinct that has his fiancé as the key suspect is the last thing either Cosmo or John need. But the reality is that Cosmo was in the wrong place at the wrong time and not only discovered the body, but may be the murderer’s next victim.

Stepping outside her usual genre here, author Josh Lanyon delves into the fantasy world of witches and warlocks, with a dash of mystery on the side. Mainly by Moonlight is the beginning of a new series and so go in expecting that there are some loose threads left dangling in this fast-moving novel. With some great side characters and some unfinished business that could still spell danger for Cosmo, this story leaves more questions than it does answers, but that’s just fine for the important ones, such as whether John’s feelings for Cosmo are really genuine, do get revealed in the end.

What worked so well in this story was the idea that Cosmo never really deviated from his decision not to take the easy road that his magical abilities would have afforded him. Instead, he was willing to push that life aside in order to be with John, which made an early revelation about their mutual attraction so devastating for Cosmo and the reader. The author kept everyone guessing right up to the end and that made for a pearl-clutching kind of drama that blended seamlessly with the mystery element of who exactly killed Cosmo’s archenemy and was after Cosmo as well. Establishing this new world where magic was such a part of the fabric of daily life, but where humans were unaware of it being used, was done very well. We were introduced to key players in this paranormal world and the hierarchy of the magic wielding beings who inhabited it while being entertained by a cast of characters both human and magical that kept me invested in the story that unfolded.

I would say that this author’s first foray into the fantasy/paranormal genre was a rousing success. I am hooked and can’t wait for the next installment in this new series.