Smexy Books

Romance and Urban Fantasy Reviews

  • Review Request
  • Contact
    • Smexy Reviewers Profiles
    • New Reviewer Application
    • Contact
  • Advertising
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • By Genre
      • BDSM
      • Contemporary
      • Erotic
      • Fantasy
      • F/F
      • Historical Romance
      • Historical PNR
      • LGBTQ+
      • M/M Romance
      • New Adult
      • Urban Fantasy
      • Paranormal Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Romantic Suspense
      • Young Adult
    • By Letter Grade Rating
      • A Reviews
      • B Reviews
      • C Reviews
      • D Reviews
      • DNF Reviews
  • Features
    • New Releases
    • Smexy Deals!
    • Retro Review
    • Weekly Wrap-Up
    • Blog Tour
    • Scenic Sunday
    • To Be Read
    • Guest Post
    • Top Ten/Happy Friday
    • Smex Scene Sunday
  • The Psy/Changeling Channel
You are here: Home / A Review / Review: Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews

Review: Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews

September 30, 2010 by Mandi 25 Comments

Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews (The Edge #2)
September 28, 2010
Urban Fantasy
Paperback, 447 Pages
Ace

Reviewed by Mandi

Favorite Quote: Every handsome man had a flaw. It was just her luck that in William’s case that flaw was lunacy. The man was nuts.

Cerise Mar lives in the Edge. A place between the Broken – where you and I live and the Weird – where the people with magic live. The Edgers, as they are called, have some magic and are mostly poor and spend their time feuding with each other. Some from the Edge can cross into the Broken or the Weird, others who have too much magic, can not make the cross and spend their entire lives in the in between. Cerise lives in the Mire – a swamp filled place where sogginess rules and where Louisiana dumps all of their criminals. Her family owns a big part of the swamplands between the state of Louisiana and the Weird. They have been feuding with a neighboring family, the Sheeriles for many, many years. After Cerise’s parents go missing, Cerise discovers the Sheeriles have overtaken her grandparent’s house and may have had something to do with her parents disappearance. Cerise is desperate to get her parents back, and will fight this feud with everything she has. She first needs to make her way into the Broken to retrieve documents to prove that house belongs to her family.

William is a changeling from the Weird. Changelings are feared and frowned upon in the Weird and his mother gave him up when he was one day old. Growing up at Hawk Academy, an orphanage of sorts for changelings, he was never nurtured, learned to fight, and grew up under very oppressive circumstances. William has spent much of his adult life searching and fighting with Spider. Spider works for the Hand, a secret organization that has magically transformed soldiers, all very creepy and evil. They are never the hunted, the always are the hunter. Spider has killed eight changeling children and William wants him punished. He has fought him twice, and they both limped away. William wants a third and final time with him.

Because William survived his fight against Spider, the Dukedom of Louisiana’s rival territory, Adrianglia wants William to sneak in find out what magical object Spider and his crew are searching for in the Mire. It is when both William and Cerise are trying to get back to the Mire that they meet. Cerise quickly realizes William is a deadly fighter, and William learns Cerise is no slouch with the sword either. Together they find their goals interweave and they start their journey togther.

Many are familiar with Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniel series where they give us the very sexy Curran and wonderful heroine Kate. Last year, they started a new series, with the book On The Edge. We first meet William in this book, and what a great character he is. Growing up in such an oppressive orphanage, he doesn’t know how to interact with people. It doesn’t help that he is a changeling and the wolf seems to rule his mind for the most part. He doesn’t get sarcasm, or jokes. He is very territorial and he kills with absolutely no remorse. He was taught by violent methods the difference between right and wrong, but he often has to remind himself, or think back to his training before proceeding with something. Grace and social skills does not come naturally to him. What does come quite naturally is his feelings for Cerise. He doesn’t have a lot of experience with women wanting him, so he doesn’t recognize her desire. He has that “want” and “mine” thing going on in that wolf brain of his. He tries to seduce her with a fish head, or bringing her dead animals. Or even his fighting skills:

William lost himself to the flurry of punches and kicks. Bones crunched, people howled, someone’s blood wet his knuckles. It went fast and was over too quickly. He tossed the last man at Cerise, just for the fun of it. She reached out and very carefully popped the Edger on the head with the hilt of her sword. He went down.

William strode to her. That’s how it’s done. Drink it in.

She surveyed the carnage behind him. “Did you have fun?”

He showed her his teeth. “Yes.”

Cerise is just about as cold a killer as William is. She has lived her entire life feuding with families and has learned to wield her sword with deadly accuracy. She says, “Failure happened. The trick was to accept the risk and try anyway.” That is how she lives her life. When her parents go missing, she becomes head of her unruly family, and carries quite a heavy burden. But she steps up, and basically says – bring it!

Speaking of her family, again, Ilona Andrews gives us a crazy bunch of people that bring so much to this story. We have aunts, uncles, and cousins all with very distinctive personalities. Two that really stand out are Lark and Kaldar. Lark is Cerise’s younger sister, who calls herself a monster. She hides in the woods and strings up dead animals. There is so much to her character that we haven’t even discovered yet and I really hope Ilona Andrews dives into her more in future books. We also have Cerise’s cousin, Kaldar who is very sarcastic, steals stuff from everyone, and is a good guy – but also on the edge of being sleazy. Again, he is set up to provide us with some good things in the future.

The world is amazingly imaginative, the villain is super evil, and events happen that made me go whoa! The attraction between William and Cerise is really great fun, with some very cute moments and the action never stops the entire book. I loved this book!! It can be read as a stand alone, but William is first introduced in On The Edge. This is a definite “Smexy Must Read!!”

Rating: 5/5

Recent Reviews:
Dear Author: B+
Darkly Reading: 5/5
Book Addict: 5/5
Strictly Reviews: 5/5

This series includes:
On The Edge
Bayou Moon
Untitled #3 – 2011

Ilona Andrews’ Website.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon
  • More
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Filed Under: A Review, Five stars, Ilona Andrews, Penguin, Urban Fantasy

Comments

  1. Julie says

    September 30, 2010 at 7:38 am

    Great review! The book store better have this one in stock today because I'm foaming at the mouth for it…especially now that I've read what you wrote. I love Ilona and Gordon Andrews!!!

    Loading...
    Reply
  2. Leontine says

    September 30, 2010 at 8:14 am

    Nice review Mandi ;) it so reminds me of another series I really need to start *sigh*

    Loading...
    Reply
  3. Blodeuedd says

    September 30, 2010 at 9:06 am

    *dies a little bit*
    I really need this book now

    Loading...
    Reply
  4. tori aka ggs_closet says

    September 30, 2010 at 9:32 am

    Im sure this was a fab review. LOL Am waiting to read myself. I love the talented team Ilona Andrews. There isn't a book they've written I haven't feel in love with.

    Loading...
    Reply
  5. Tricia says

    September 30, 2010 at 9:34 am

    I loved William in the first book. I can't wait to get my hands on this one!

    Loading...
    Reply
  6. Jenny says

    September 30, 2010 at 9:40 am

    YAY! Can't wait to read this one. Ilona Andrews never fails to make me laugh:) Nice review Mandi!

    Loading...
    Reply
  7. Fiction Vixen says

    September 30, 2010 at 9:48 am

    Oh a fiver!! Damn I really need to hurry up and get to this one!! Great review.

    Loading...
    Reply
  8. carolsnotebook says

    September 30, 2010 at 10:20 am

    Man, I still have to read the first. It's just sitting on my shelf waiting patiently.

    Loading...
    Reply
  9. Smokinhotbooks says

    September 30, 2010 at 11:49 am

    It didn't hit me until now that William was in the first book – so I have to read this one now.

    Loading...
    Reply
  10. Lizzielvr says

    September 30, 2010 at 11:52 am

    Not often I see that 5/5 rating! But I do agree, this is a great series!

    Loading...
    Reply
  11. VampFanGirl says

    September 30, 2010 at 1:05 pm

    I admit, despite all your praise of this series, I'm still not quite sure what to make of it… But you say this is a "Smexy Must Read"? I trust you. In the cart these reads go!

    Loading...
    Reply
  12. Patti (Book Addict) says

    September 30, 2010 at 1:38 pm

    Loved this book! I <3 William but I <3 Cerise too – they're great characters. Her family cracked me up!

    Loading...
    Reply
  13. Danielle says

    October 1, 2010 at 1:20 am

    ARGH! I want it (hurry up Amazon!)

    Didn't read the review for fear of spoilers, but I like seeing 5/5…

    Loading...
    Reply
  14. Ally says

    October 1, 2010 at 8:02 am

    Great review Mandi!

    Would it be possible to read this book without reading the first book or would you loose lots of important deets?
    :)

    Loading...
    Reply
  15. Mandi says

    October 1, 2010 at 8:05 am

    Although William is introduced in the first book, this one can definitely be read as a stand alone.

    Loading...
    Reply
  16. Jennifer (An Abundance of Books) says

    October 21, 2010 at 10:11 am

    I included a link to this review in my own Bayou Moon post.

    Loading...
    Reply
  17. online form generator says

    July 10, 2013 at 5:41 am

    Horizontal Siding and Vertical Sliding refers to the outer layer of a wall,
    with shingles or boards or gaps subtly angled to shed water.
    It’s easy to use a fake IP address on i – Phone and i – Pad, but you need to know what you need the fake IP for. We saw earlier that we could, through links to email addresses, contact directly with an email.

    Loading...
    Reply
  18. visual Form builder says

    July 10, 2013 at 5:51 am

    There are a number of benefits associated with form builder just the
    same way it is the best tool to showcase potential. Armed with your domain and keyword, you are now ready for the second stage.
    Maybe you should look into thick bar training, it’s proven to be healthier and its used by bodybuilders, NFL teams and even the Special Forces.

    Loading...
    Reply
  19. online form builder says

    July 16, 2013 at 9:05 pm

    Flash web designers will like the cost and the creativity of the Trendy Flash
    Site Builder. You might get one or more benefits of outline designer along with
    it is the ideal means to unleash the capacities. Net’s builder has been out for a little more than a year, yet it already helped more than 5,000 webmasters to create their online forms.

    Loading...
    Reply
  20. online form creator says

    July 17, 2013 at 7:29 am

    However, there are several online interfaces available where one needs to
    click on different types of options to send HTML code in email or to generate HTML code.
    For professional web site builders extra complex laptop software program for net
    design is needed. Decide now because if you are a weight lifter,
    you will not build the chest that you are looking for.

    Loading...
    Reply
  21. online form Generator says

    July 18, 2013 at 1:12 am

    Those that cannot apply for this kind of card or that would prefer
    a different solution could consider a prepaid card that comes with a
    credit building element as an alternative. Rather, they’re designed to help spark possibilities in your own mind. We saw earlier that we could, through links to email addresses, contact directly with an email.

    Loading...
    Reply
  22. online form generator says

    July 26, 2013 at 4:36 am

    All they need to do is to enroll with their name, email, contact number and country
    and vemmabuilder will cater to the particular country of the person.
    It’s a good idea to have separate email promotions for prospects and customers, too, because you typically need to send different information to the different groups. Decide now because if you are a weight lifter, you will not build the chest that you are looking for.

    Loading...
    Reply
  23. online form generator says

    August 9, 2013 at 4:05 pm

    Those that cannot apply for this kind of card or that would prefer a different solution could consider a prepaid card
    that comes with a credit building element as an alternative.
    It’s a good idea to have separate email promotions for prospects and customers, too, because you typically need to send different information to the different groups. Decide now because if you are a weight lifter, you will not build the chest that you are looking for.

    Loading...
    Reply

Leave a Reply to Jennifer (An Abundance of Books)Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome to Smexy! If you are reader feel free to use our search feature to find a specific book or browse through our features to find Smexy Deals, New Releases, and book news!

As an Amazon Associate, we do earn from qualifying purchases. We also earn a small commission on affiliate links to Apple, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords,  Booksamillion, and Bookshop,org.

 

Shop our Affiliates!

Amazon

B&N

Apple

Smashwords

Booksamillion

Angela

Melanie

Jen

Kate

Iby

Kate H.

Sign Up for Daily Emails


Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

.

Follow Us!

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on Instagram

Top Posts & Pages

  • Sunday Smexy Deals!
    Sunday Smexy Deals!
  • Smexy’s Top Ten Favorite Sex Scenes of 2012
    Smexy’s Top Ten Favorite Sex Scenes of 2012
  • Monday Morning Book News!
    Monday Morning Book News!
  • Review: Manacled by SenLinYu
    Review: Manacled by SenLinYu
  • Review: The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros
    Review: The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros
  • Smexy Deals- Deals for books by Nikki Payne, Ava Wilder, Lucy Parker, and more!
    Smexy Deals- Deals for books by Nikki Payne, Ava Wilder, Lucy Parker, and more!
  • Review: The Finish Line by Kate Stewart
    Review: The Finish Line by Kate Stewart
  • New Releases- Week of May 26-30, 2025
    New Releases- Week of May 26-30, 2025
  • Review: The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary
    Review: The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary
  • Smex Scene Sunday
    Smex Scene Sunday

Disclosure

The majority of the books reviewed at this site have been provided for free by publishers, authors, or other third parties like NetGalley or Edelweiss. Acceptance of a free copy does not guarantee a review or a positive review.

As an Amazon Associate, we do earn from qualifying purchases. We also earn a small commission on affiliate links to Apple, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and Booksamillion.

Shop our Affiliates!

Amazon

B&N

Apple

Smashwords

Booksamillion

 

Find Our Reviewers

Angela @fv-angela.bsky.social l Goodreads

Melanie @melonreads.bsky.social l  Goodreads

Jen .@thebooknista l Goodreads

Kate  @kateminasian l Goodreads

Iby Instagram l Goodreads

Kate H. @Naranjadia l Goodreads

Copyright © 2025 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

%d