Review ~ THE MAYFAIR MOON (The Darkwoods Trilogy #1) by J.A. Redmerski

After a nightmarish encounter with a werewolf, seventeen-year-old Adria Dawson loses her sister, but gains the love of a mysterious young man and his legendary family.

Strange and tragic things begin to happen in the small town of Hallowell, Maine: residents come down with an unexplainable ‘illness’ and some disappear. In the midst of everything, Isaac Mayfair is adamant about keeping Adria safe, even from her sister whom he has warned her to stay away from.

As unspeakable secrets unfold all around Adria, impossible choices become hers to bear. Ultimately, no matter what path she takes, her life and the lives of those she loves will be in peril. As she learns about the werewolf world she also learns why her place in it will change the destinies of many. ~From GoodReads

As a fan of paranormal young adult books, I dove into THE MAYFAIR MOON with great expectations. On the whole, I wasn't overwhelmed by the story, but I did like it.

THE MAYFAIR MOON is the story of Adria, a teenage girl living in Georgia with her beloved sister, Alex, her co-dependant mother and abusive step-father. After the two girls are attacked by what seems to be a werewolf, which is mistakenly attributed to their step-father, they are sent to live with an aunt and uncle in Maine. Alex is changed by the attack. She is sullen, distant, angry and eventually runs away from home, joining what appears to be a cult. Adria, desperate to find and save his sister, is befriended by a group, a mysterious family, the Mayfairs. Adria is immediately attracted to Isaac Mayfair, son of their leader. Being pulled in two directions by two warring packs, between her sister's group and the Mayfairs, Adria must decide between her sister and her heart.

So as I said, I did like THE MAYFAIR MOON. I found the author's writing to be precise and easy to follow. This is a book that I was able to read extremely quickly, despite the length. The writing is very descriptive, setting-wise, but never felt bogged down with details.

 I also liked her take on werewolves. It wasn't just bites and full moons. There was a lot more going on than what I normally see. The werewolf world was full of centuries long vendettas, blood bonds, and political conflict. These variations added just enough to the story to make me feel as if I were reading something completely new.

But there were also a few things about THE MAYFAIR MOON that made it less than great, for me. For starters, the story moves fairly slowly. Once the girls move to Maine, there isn't a lot going on. I think that can be explained by the fact that there is a lot of world-building, or explanations that take place. Once the different people and backgrounds are in place, the plot does pick back up. And I  would expect the next book in the series to maintain that pace now that the background has been established.

I was also thrown by the connection between Adria and Isaac. It felt rushed to me. They meet, and there's an immediate connection. Then, they are around each other a few times, but nothing that screamed "True Love" to me. Then Adria finds Isaac with another girl, runs out of the house and refuses to speak to him. She's embarrassed, I understand. But I don't get the level of hurt and how she feels he owes her an explanation. When he does explain, and she accepts, then he tells her the other girls who live in the Mayfair house are jealous because of their connection. Which reminds me, the Mayfair house...it seems sort of like a harem. I understand why the people are there, but I felt sort of gross with the way the girls are always all over Isaac. But they are werewolves, so I guess it's explained by the animal attraction theory.

Overall, I would say that THE MAYFAIR MOON is a book that I didn't love, but I did like a quite a bit. With a dark, brooding atmosphere and a paranormal mystery THE MAYFAIR MOON is a book that will appeal to fans of paranormal young adult books.

Favorite Quote:

" 'No, seriously,' Nathan went on, 'Isaac is what your folks might call a Ladies' Man.'

I saw Isaac's expression out of the corner of my eye; it shrank into something less solid and more humiliated. I laughed. Inside, of course.

'He even has his own cologne,' said Nathan. 'It's called...Dark Allure or some cheesy thing like that.' (pg. 127)


Published February 6th 2012

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Source: Received from author in exchange for an honest review.