Cursed to Death

Author: L.A. Banks

Genre: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy

Setting: New Orleans, LA

Types of Werewolves: Normal wolves, bipedal wolf monsters, "Shadow Wolves"

How Lycanthropy is Caused: Genetics, Infection from a bite

Synopsis: Sasha and Hunter are still in New Orleans after their battle with the rival werewolves and the vampire cartel. Now they owe the Fae a favor since they stood by them in court. When two Phoenixes end up murdered, Sir Rodney, the leader of the Fae, sends Sasha and Hunter to investigate. What they discover is a dark curse that causes the Fae to lose their glamour and become visible to average humans. Things go downhill from there after the same curse causes Hunter the Shadow Wolf and Shogun the werewolf to become irrational and territorial over Sasha. As usual, the vampires are the main suspects.

Review: Disappointed in this one. It was mostly about the Fae characters and not the werewolves. Plus, Sasha gets sexually assaulted and nearly sexually assaulted multiple times throughout the book. And most of the characters don't seem to care much about their behavior, even after the dark curse that causes them to act that way is lifted. Because of this, I was left unsure about whether I wanted to continue reading the series or not. It just seemed like such a cop-out excuse to me. And the whole story arc with Hunter and Shogun competing with each other has gotten old, to say the least. There were a few good parts, such as when Sasha and Hunter enter the shadow realm to fight the ethereal demon wolf forms of themselves, but most of it was rather uninteresting.

It's not a complete disaster, but it could have been MUCH better. So, unless you're a hardcore L.A. Banks fan, I'd skip this one. I'll probably read the next in the series and hope that it's an improvement and that the werewolves are a more prominent feature. Also, I'm interested to see the president's response to learning about the supernatural in the next installment. I would also like to see the story arc about the disembodied were-snow leopard fleshed out (no pun intended). But if the next "Crimson Moon" novel is as disappointing as this one, I'll be cutting the series from my reading list.

-Reviewed by: PenningtonBeast

For more info: http://crimsonmoonnovels.com

Undead on Arrival

Author:  L.A. Banks

Genre: Action/Fantasy/Romance 

Types of  Werewolves:  There are three different types of werewolves in the "Crimson Moon" series, normal werewolves that look like larger versions of natural wolves, Shadow Wolves that look the same but have special powers, and Demon-Infected Werewolves that are bipedal, hulking monsters.

How Lycanthropy is Caused:  Genetics, genetic engineering, and by infection. 

Synopsis:  The story is the third installment of the "Crimson Moon" series and involves the main characters Sasha Trudeau and Max Hunter trying to control and find a cure for Hunter's Demon Infection.  In the process a clan war between the North American Shadow Wolves and the Southeast Asian Werewolf clans is about to break loose with the vampires instigating the impending chaos. 

Review: while not as fast-paced as the second book, Bite the Bullet, Undead on Arrival doesn't disappoint.   There is plenty of psychological drama and tension within the story and the character's emotions are believable.  My only complaint is that the inclusion of the Fae castle and fairy realm made the book seem more "Harry Potter" than "The Howling."  Personally, I prefer my werewolves to exist separate from other mythical beings.  Other than that, it was an enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to the next book, Cursed to Death, which is out this October. 

More about the series can be found here:

http://crimsonmoonnovels.com/indexmonitor.php

-Reviewed by PenningtonBeast.