Witching Moon

September 8, 2003
The newest entry in York's paranormal Moon series opens with the attention-grabbing first line: "The last guy who had walked in his shoes was a dead man." Hero Adam Marshall, a Georgia nature preserve ranger, has an edge over his murdered predecessor, however; his feet transform into big hairy paws. The naturalist with a nose for crime-busting is a werewolf. The mysterious marshland shelters secrets and superstitions of its own, including a coven of witches who won't be stopped in their generations-old quest for revenge. Dr. Sara Weston, a young botanist with a flair for medicinal herbs—in addition to more fantastical talents she's blocked all her life—aids Adam, but will she get in touch with her powers before she becomes a victim? Since the villains and the source of Sara's powers are revealed early on, this book is considerably less suspenseful than York's previous offering, Edge of the Moon. Still, York's colorful characterizations, mood-setting sentences ("The rustling sound skittered over her skin like insect legs") and flair for details make this paranormal romance a compulsive read.

September 15, 2003
Can a witch with a doctorate in botany and a werewolf forest ranger find true love and triumph over a coven of orgiastic, drug-sniffing evil witches to live happily in a town inhabited by witch-burning residents? This can only be done by the skillful York, who relates the tale of lone wolf Adam Marshall, who runs a private nature preserve in the swamps of Georgia where he encounters the evil coven and begins to delve into the town's history. His life is turned upside down when he falls head-over-heels in love with Sara Weston, who has come to the swamp in search of plants with pharmaceutical properties. They have an uncanny link that lets them share dreams and see when each other is in danger. York has penned a convincing and sensual paranormal romance, and readers who fell in love with the characters in her last book, "Killing Moon "(2003)," "will be glad to meet them again. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)