Review: Oracle's Moon

If I won one of those multi-million dollar lotteries, after using a portion of my extensive wealth for good... and maintaining my harem of hot men... I would throw gobs and gobs of money at Thea Harrison until she agreed to come live next door and write me stories every day. This lady continues to completely knock my socks with her Elder Races series. And Oracle's Moon may be my favorite yet.

The super-sexy man at the center of this book is Khalil. As the last book ended, the djinn agreed to watch over the young children of the Oracle. And once he makes a vow, he is honor-bound to uphold it. Not for a day, but for life. Grace, the Oracle, isn't really thrilled to have him around. Her life is hard enough. She's only recently come into her powers. She is 23, dealing with injuries from a car accident, and raising her sister's kids. She doesn't have money. She doesn't have help. She is completely out of her depth. And a blustering, know-it-all djinn is the last thing she needs on top of all that.

But as Khalil begins to spend more time with the children, he begins to transform. He lets them into his heart, and somehow Grace comes along with them. For a being nearly as old as time, he is utterly clueless, but I loved watching him learn to open himself up and embrace human feeling and emotion. At the same time, Grace finds someone she can trust and lean on. This is more important than ever as she struggles to make the powers of the Oracle her own.

The thing I love most about the Elder Races books is the fact that Harrison never relies on the overused tropes of the genre. Khalil and Grace have to struggle and grow to achieve the relationship they're working toward. But they stay true to character as they do it. There's no big misunderstanding or eye-rolling roadblocks of their own making. Khalil is alpha and powerful without being a jerk to Grace; and she is pure of heart without being an untouched, unbelievable virgin.

This isn't a book that is filled with constant action and a big, epic external conflict. Though there is some action and danger, this is a love story. You actually get to see these characters fall in love. It's not fated. It's not instant. But it's captivating and wonderful and it feels... real.

I can't think of a single thing I didn't like about this book. From the uber-hot sex... to the romance... the action... the danger... the cameos... It was everything I wanted. And it provides a great set-up for the next book, which again focuses on Dragos and Pia. I can't wait. 5 stars.

*ARC Provided by Berkley

Click to purchase: Amazon

Oracle's Moon

by Thea Harrison

Release Date: March 6, 2012

Publisher: Berkley