Sep 18 2010
REVIEW: Captured by Moonlight by Nancy Gideon
Dear Ms. Gideon:
I had initially stayed away from these books because of the generic mantitty covers and the general paranormal malaise I was feeling. I picked up the first book because I was told that these books were police procedure stories. The heroine, Charlotte ‘CeeCee’ Caissie was a New Orleans detective and she becomes entangled with Max Legere, a shapeshifter of some sort and possibly the head of one of the largest, most powerful crime syndicates in New Orleans. While I had some problems with the first book, Max was sufficiently intriguing for me to pick up the second book.
I had quite a few problems with the second book, Chased by Moonlight, particularly because CeeCee was supposedly investigating a crime that involved Max while still sleeping with Max. I remember the time that she kissed him the interrogation room and my head almost blew off my shoulders. But I had the third book and I was hoping to find out more about the mystery element pertaining to Max’s heritage and so many others had said that the third book was better.
I guess this third book is better in that CeeCee does almost not police work and thus that totally inaccurate portrayal isn’t part of the story and while we did learn more about Max and his power, more new questions were raised than old ones answered. I also thought book 3 shined a harsh light on the difficulty of maintaining a romance between the same characters over a number of books.
Max and CeeCee engage in a teeter/totter of emotions, getting into fights on one page and telling the other “I love you” on the next. The problem with this is with each utterance of “I love you”, the words become less meaningful until they got to the point of being almost disingenuous. I don’t really know if either knew what it meant to love the other.
Max refuses to share the shifter secrets with CeeCee for no apparent reason. Max knew little about shapeshifting and while CeeCee was never the brightest candle in the candelabra to me, Max viewed her as some kind of deity. Why not share with her? The only reason why he didn’t share was so that CeeCee could do something stupid relating to the shifter part of Max’s life and the forced conflict and fights could continue. Their constant refusal to communicate and continued secret keeping was supposed to create tension but it was so fake and contrived that all it really did was frustrate me.
The characterization of CeeCee continues its downward spiral in this book. Seen from the eyes of Max, CeeCee is strong and sexy. But CeeCee as her own narrator and in her own actions is displayed as thoughtless, defiant, and uncontrolled. CeeCee has so little understanding of Max and his nature (admittedly this is Max’s fault) but when she is provided insight, instead of trying to work with it, she butts up against it.
I kept asking myself what kind of detective could she possibly be. She had no ability to filter through information and analyze it and come up with reasonable conclusions. Detective work requires meticulous attention to detail, methodical review of the facts, reasonable inferences drawn from facts and CeeCee displayed none of these characteristics.
The two engage in physical violence toward each other. They are cruel to each other in both word and deed. I actually felt that there was a scene in which Max begins to rape CeeCee but in the end turns it into a blissful orgasms because he bites her neck and she succumbs. I’ve read my share of forced seduction scenes and this one really bothered me, primarily because CeeCee had been violated in a terrible fashion when she was much younger:
The pairing of the human and the beast also strained credulity. Three books is spent building up Max as this super super natural. He’s stronger, more powerful, more pure shapeshifter than any other shapeshifters. Yet mere Charlotte a human can somehow defeat nature, the natural instinct, and control him when Max himself cannot. It’s very fairy tale which seems ridiculous to complain about in the course of a paranormal but it didn’t ring true throughout the story.
The story had such a weird rhythm and I often questioned scene choice. Like after a funeral, they held a party even though there were killers somewhere out there. We spend a bunch of time at the party with food and dancing wherein the characters engage in a lot of internal rumination. This is then followed by a barbecue . Am I reading a romantic suspense book? or Full House? There was too much focus on the emotional part of the story and the sex part of the story when there were supposedly all these dangers around them.
The book lacked focused and sometimes consistency. For instance, Max didn’t know baseball from softball from football but could say, “This is softball, not roller derby” in response to a cautionary warning from her.
Unfortunately, this book is it for me. The book reminded me of a fish flopping around on the deck. There was no direction, no control, the storyline was all over the place, and Max, who I liked at one time, became too much of a caricature. I know that there are three more stories planned in this universe, but I’ll can’t foresee reading them. D
Best regards,
Jane
Book Link | Kindle
| Sony
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Sep 18, 2010 @ 20:03:03
That whole point about the landed carp thing kind of did me in. YUCK.
Sep 18, 2010 @ 20:04:44
Part. I meant, part. >__<
Sep 19, 2010 @ 01:34:46
I second Elsee about “landed carp.” Landed carp aren’t sexy. They’re awkward and slimy and about to be eaten. Poor word choice there.
What also bothered me about the excerpt (I haven’t read any of the books) is the unequal power dynamic. If CeeCee were able to hold her own at all against a super-power shapeshifter, it would feel less like a rape scene. CeeCee, however, is a mere human who can only submit as Max forces himself on her. She even flashbacks to a previous rape, which means Max is definitely doing something wrong. I also find it hard to believe that just him saying her name would snap her out of it and “[snatch] away her fright.”
Sep 19, 2010 @ 02:28:33
No mantitty on the cover – but it didn’t seem to improve the book for you.
This is the second book that you posted with a D grade in the past week – I probably wouldn’t be as patient as you to finish the book, let alone post a review.
Why do you think editors publish these books with the glaring issues that you have addressed in your reviews?
Sep 19, 2010 @ 16:01:45
Ouch! Denim is very strong material
Sep 19, 2010 @ 18:18:41
Thank you Jane. I had the first book on my TBR list, but…the excerpt, with the flashbacks is so not good. Add to that the lack of communication and I don’t think this is the series for me.
Sep 20, 2010 @ 23:43:48
I’m a sort of paranormal fan, so do look out for books of the ilk, however, having read all 3 reviews of the trilogy, it’s safe to say I’ll be giving this series a miss. Thanks for reading the books and doing the reviews, though each book seems to be worse than the last. I particularly did not like the premise of the second book about the heroine dating a prime suspect in a murder case. Total conflict of interest.
Sep 21, 2010 @ 19:11:56
Dear Jane,
Apparently, your general malaise has wormed its way into your brain. I found it very difficult to recognize three books I had already read and totally loved, with your twisted view of the content. Its one thing to do a review, its another to do everything you can to turn readers away from one particular author. I was also surprised to hear that you are a top authority on what goes on in N.O. Police stations, and that there are NEVER relationships between suspects and cops in any police precinct ever.
You talk about the problem suspending disbelief. We true paranormal readers are LOOKING for a way to suspend disbelief. You don’t suppose that there is REALLY a school named Hogwarts? Or that Nora’s werefolk and witches REALLY live on the coast of California?
I am a romantic, but I don’t find a problem with Max and Cee Cee. As for the “rape” scene, Cee Cee sets the whole thing up knowing that Max’s amimal side will make it rough for her, because she wants to be a part of that side of his life. As for Cee Cee’s ability to control Max, isn’t that the hope that most of us who read about strong paranormal heros have? That we, the normal woman, can be the love of that man. I’m pretty sure these negative comments will never see the light of day, but I had to try. I’m sorry, Jane, (insert Dan Akroyd line here), but you blew this one.