Review: Masked by Moonlight (Moonlight #1) by Nancy Gideon

Synopsis (Goodreads):

ALL SHE WANTS IS REVENGE.

New Orleans homicide detective Charlotte Caissie is dedicated to bringing down the crime boss responsible for her father’s murder. Using Jimmy Legere’s mysterious and irresistible right-hand man is a dangerous gamble, and not only due to his reputation as more monster than man. Because her feelings for Max Savoie are . . . complicated.

THEN HE RISKS HIS LIFE TO SAVE HERS.

Rescued from the swamps as a child, Max exists silently in Legere’s shadow, heeding only his voice—until Charlotte Caissie awakens his emotions and tests his loyalties. Stepping outside his cautious rules threatens more than just his heart. He could expose his darkest secret.

NOW THEY’RE BOTH IN OVER THEIR HEADS.

Testing boundaries they weren’t meant to cross means facing the truth about who and what they are—and what they need from each other. If Max is the murderer she seeks, Charlotte could be his next victim. She can’t afford to trust any man. Good thing Max isn’t one.

My Thoughts:  This book ... whoa.  Just, whoa.  It has everything I like in a paranormal with one of the most incredible main characters I've read recently.  I am honestly in awe of how Max took form on the page.  He's equal parts badass, feral killer and vulnerable, lost outcast.  And it worked.  It worked like something that worked really well.

Max's story is tragic and terrible.  He's been used his entire life without realizing it.  Jimmy cultivated his trust as a child and built him up without an outside support structure.  Without Jimmy, Max has no one to turn to.  Without Jimmy, Max doesn't have a future.  To me, that was the most horrible part of what was done to him.  He accepts that his life is what it is because he has no idea that he can have something different.  *sniffle*

Charlotte is a force to be reckoned with.  She's unwillingly attracted to Max. His fascination with her makes her uncomfortable but whenever he's in the room she's drawn to him.  As she begins to unravel what he is and how his past intertwines with hers, things get even stickier.

This book was pretty darn phenomenal.  I loved the bits and pieces of Charlotte's life that Max kept picking up on.  You could see his attraction for her deepening as he found out things like that she dyes her hair or what type of perfume she wears.  It was incredibly well done and it made Max an unforgettable character.

More books by Nancy Gideon

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