Vengeance Moon

Earth Witches #2

by Lee Roland

“On my seventeenth birthday, my mother’s last gift to me was a vision of death—and a curse…”

Madeline Corso can’t rest until she hunts down the three unknown assailants who killed her father and witch mother. Two of them are now dead by her hand. But the third eludes her while she serves time with the Sisters of Justice—a mysterious order of female warriors with ties to her mother.

The Sisters have tracked the last murderer to Duivel, Missouri, and the dark underworld of the Barrows. But Madeline’s release is contingent on her fulfillment of a mission for the Sisters. Madeline doesn’t question them, but once in the Barrows, she discovers that things aren’t what they seem.

Can she rely on Michael, a handsome and enigmatic local businessman, to help her navigate a world of men and beasts? Or will she lose her heart before the mission is complete?  

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Witches, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Ebooks, Mystery

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 5, 2012

About the author

Lee Roland writes dark, contemporary fantasies where strong, defiant women and men battle evil. Her characters are passionate in love, savage in hatred, and defy conventional mores as they pursue justice.

Reviews

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vengeance Moon, Earth Witches #2, By Lee Roland
Grade: C+

“I gritted my teeth. He’d made an enormous leap from “she works for me.” Michael and I needed to have a serious discussion about the dramatic differences between employees and possessions.”

Madeline Corso has spent the last six years with the Sisters of Justice, a group of women who track down and kill dark witches, who have been rehabilitating her after she was convicted of murder. Madeline’s rehabilitation has consisted of learning how to fight and being skilled in weaponry by the Sisters elite warriors. Madeline hopes to use these skills to track down and kill the third and final man who killed her mother and father. Before Madeline’s earth witch mother died she placed a curse on Madeline that made it so she couldn’t rest until she killed her parents killers. With only one more to go to lift the curse, Madeline refuses to let anything or anyone get in her way.

Vengeance Moon is the second book in lee Roland’s Earth Witches series and throws you right back into the mysterious and haunting world of the Burrows. The Burrows is located in Duivel, Missouri and is filled with dark magic, Drow and other scary creatures of the night. Viper Moon is the first book in this series and I highly recommend reading it before starting Vengeance Moon. Mrs. Roland goes into a lot more detail of the earth witches, the earth mother and the Burrows in Viper Moon and you will understand the setting and its inhabitants much better.

Madeline is a strong, smart and bad ass character but for some reason I never really felt like I got to know her as much as I wanted to. The story is told from Madeline's point of view and I really wish that it hadn’t only because I wanted to see how Michael, who we are introduced to in Viper Moon and who I loved, felt and what he was thinking as he fell for Madeline. I was eagerly anticipating Michael’s book and sadly I was very disappointed with what I got.

As I mentioned before i loved Viper Moons and a big part of my love for that book was Michael. He was funny, witty, dangerous and very mysterious and I never knew which side he was playing which kept me on my toes. In Vengeance Moon even though Michael was the main male character I felt that he was barely in the book and wasn’t the same man that he was in Viper Moon. I am not a fan of when characters fall in love after two days and I like to watch their relationship grow and that never happened here. I was very disappointed with the romance part of the story.

The mystery of tracking down the final killer, getting back a necklace for the Sisters and getting to know the creatures called the Drows was amazing. I was very happy to see a lot of characters from Viper Moon in this book and to see what was happening in the Burrows. The hunt for the Portal necklace is very fun and will keep you guessing until the very end. The action is fast paced and very well written but it didn’t make up for my disappointment of Michael and Madeline’s relationship.
I’m not sure what is next in the Earth Witches series but I’m hoping that Etienne gets his own book and that it’s the next instalment in the series. I still love the world that Mrs. Roland has created and I will be forever fascinated with the Burrows and the creatures that live there. I was disappointed with this book but I have faith in the series and can’t wait to see what the Earth Mother has in mind for her next Huntress.

[Sibil · Rating 4 out of 5]

All'inizio non riuscivo proprio a ricordarmi di cosa parlasse il primo della serie (che tra l'altro mi era pure piaciuto molto!) anche se non è stato un grosso problema, visto che l'attenzione è incentrata su altri personaggi, ma pian piano tutto è tornato al suo posto e i miei ricordi si sono ravvivati.
E' stata una lettura molto scorrevole, che mi ha catturato e trasportato per un po' nel mondo del libro. Probabilmente 4 stelline sono un po' troppe, perché non è proprio grandioso, ma mi sono davvero goduta la lettura, quindi al diavolo! Per me le 4 stelline se l'è meritate!

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoying this series.

[Ken Liljengren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good!

Thank You Ms Roland

Ken

[Dietrich West-Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice plot, interesting new characters and easy reading while traveling.

[Jessica (a GREAT read) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It' been way too long since I last read Viper Moon, the book that started Lee Roland's Earth Witches series. So I basically had no memory of what happened already. Luckily, Vengeance Moon stars new characters with a new storyline so that helped.

Although, I know our heroine from last time shows up, but other names that get tossed out, I cannot say one way or another if they are returning characters or newbies. One or two names might have held some familiarity, but I can't say for sure. The bane of reading too many series!

Anyway, this story was pretty good! A young woman out for vengeance for her parents who were brutally murdered when she was just a teenager. Her mother was a witch and when she touched her dead body, in farewell, a spell was cast onto Madeline. She was marked with white hair and blue eyes and a scar, they were the result of the curse that demanded vengeance for what was done. Madeline manages to track down two of the killers in time, but after killing the second one, she is caught and sent to prison. Shortly thereafter she is moved to the Sisters of Justice's place where she was trained to be an assassin of sorts.

Now an adult, I think it was twenty-six, Madeline is given another mission, one that will lead her to the third murderer so she can finally put an end to her quest for vengeance. She is sent to Duivel, Missouri to find an object that opens up the Portal. It's too powerful to be out there unprotected and it once had a protection system but another witch disrupted that.

Duivel is a very strange town, filled with creatures called the Drow and other powerful magic users and dark entities. Madeline is a very strong heroine, she was trained for fighting and killing, yet she has no magical powers of her own. She's immune to the effects of magic, a secret she holds close to her.

Vengeance Moon was quite the read! It was fast paced and exciting. Although at times I struggled to try to remember things that happened in the last book--and it likely wasn't necessary--I did enjoy this book. Michael, our heroine's love interest was quite mysterious! I think we saw him last time around since a reference was made by him to our previous heroine, but since it's been nearly 2 years I cannot say much for sure. But the man is very mysterious and has his own dark secrets! The romance was good, it wasn't all hot and heavy, but the sort of sweet build-up kind.

The action, as I said was awesome! Pretty nonstop as it went from tracking down the bad guy to learning new information to the case Madeline was also working on in conjunction to tracking down her family's last murderer. It's definitely a different kind of urban fantasy read, but it still makes for an entertaining read! I enjoy the different heroines that come into play each book, so it's like each book can be a standalone and the previous characters make an appearance. I am looking forward to seeing where this series is headed, since it's still early on, nothing in the long run seems to be clear. But the journey to that point is going to be filled with amazing reads, I can feel it!


Overall Rating 4/5 stars

[Maghon Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been a while since I read the first book, but luckily, the same characters are around but each book has different main characters that are all in one place. The barrows. This place just rockets off the CREEPTASTIC scale. Nothing is like a normal town and the supernatural creatures walk I'm daylight using magic in plain sight. It's pretty crazy but oh what a fantastic world this author has built!

So this is Madeline's story. Her mother was a witch, but she has no powers, unless you count the fact that she can sense all magic and what type it is. She's also a lethal assassin trained since her parents were murdered. Dude, this little chick is scary. Lol! A curse was placed upon her at her mother's death and she must fulfill it. This curse leads her to the Barrows. She's strong, she's stubborn, and she will not back down from a fight. And even though she can kill in an instant, she's compassionate and is willing to help others. She's also smart and sweet too.

And Cassie and Abbie and Michael are all still around. Ettiene is a very scary dude, while there's crazy people running amok! I loved that some of the old characters are still in play here. I think Cassie is still my favorite as she was the beginning of the series start but I do like Madeline. And I believe so does Michael- a whole lot! While the romance part comes into play with Michael and Madeline, there's still the mystery that is the focus. Plus the crazy plot twists and a ton of action, which is always my favorite!

I love the world building! And I really like that people can jump right into the series if they haven't read the first one. You do miss some goodies, but you won't feel clueless either. And I am a fan of the writing style. Over all I love this series. I'm still a fan and will continue to be! I am now going jump straight in to book three as I don't want to wait to see more of how things will play out! 3.5 ASS KICKING WITCHY PAWS!!

[Cassandra Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was trying to decide whether to give this a 3.5 or a 4 star review. But in the end I let the fact it was a really easy read when I wanted one sway me to give it the extra half point.

This book doesn't follow Cassandra from the first book in the series. She makes a cameo (heavily pregnant with twins - I guess that's the Earth Mother's idea of a reward for bad behaviour or something) but doesn't play any roll past the first few chapters. Instead we have Madeline, who is emotionally tough but not as sassy as Cass was. In some ways, Madeline is actually quite gentle. Which turns out to be handy because she makes allies of groups that Cass would have just shot, and those alliances help save the day in the end.

I wasn't surprised that Michael turned out to be the love interest. But he lost a lot of his appeal for me between book one and book two. In the first book he was charming and persistent, trying to win Cassandra over, but in the second book he and Madeline have clearly been fixed up from the start by the Earth Mother; there's a brief clash of wills over whether he'll let Madeline retain her independence but, once he agrees, the two fall together without any problems.

I expect, given the way the book ends, their relationship is going to get more complicated in the third book.

The only thing that troubled me was the way the monsters were portrayed in this book as compared to the previous one. Cassandra fought some pretty bloodthirsty carnivores, and yet all the ones Madeline encounters are actually gentle and misunderstood. Are they the same group of critters, or are the carnivors in another part of town (seems unlikely)? And if they are the same critters, that says something very disturbing about Cassandra's actions in the first book. I'm just not sure how I feel about that.

[Joshua Burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

As seen on Rabidreads.ca:

Vengeance Moon by broad strokes paints characters and a town black, white, then grey.   The grand message seems to be that any happiness to be found will be found in darkness.   Three men killed Madeline's parents.   Her father was only a restaurant owner while her mother was an Earth witch in possession of a very powerful talisman known as the Portal.


The naming of this powerful item and the phrasing of the Sister of Justice's mantras have this trait in common: INSERT EMPTY WORDS HERE.   Where some might suspect an ancient order of women who kill under the order of a Goddess to have a couple of poets born to them to add some color to their chants like "control evades one like the moon; any attempt to climb its beams takes one on a detour to the Sun" instead we have "fear is a gift, a precious thing that keeps me alive; fear is a weapon to manipulate and control; fear is the enemy; I will not be conquered by fear", which admittedly gets the point across and looks quite good when spruced up in italics.


The plot churns at an equally undecorated pace.   Yes, in the first few pages you will find a map of the town where all the action takes place but no, you will very rarely, if ever, feel the need to consult it.   The Barrows equals the bad part of town where prostitutes pace the streets and ruins, from some horrible event, fall in on themselves.   With all this said, the color so thickly thrown on where it is, the special effects and creature design/variety keep the pages turning.   As a love story, it may be composed of toothpicks, but as a future SyFy Saturday night special it succeeds.

[Ami · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only goal in Madeline Corso's mind is to take revenge on her mother's killers. The last man she is looking for takes her to Duivel, where she meets the enigmatic Michael ...

Hmmm, plot wise, it's more straight forward than the first book, Viper Moon, and there's no big surprise. I actually like Madeline a bit better than Cassandra, because at least Madeline shows her fighting skills (she saves Michael's life!) and doesn't spend most of her times thinking about the men in her life.

UNFORTUNATELY, I'm disappointed with the hero -- Michael. He came as intriguing and flirty in book #1, I even thought he stole the spotlight from the supposed-to-be lover of Cassandra (the heroine in book #1). However, in this book, he becomes really dull and boring. He's mooning over Madeline, telling her that he loves her, being kidnapped ... There are no scenes here that impress me when it comes to Michael, and he's supposed to be very powerful, being half-human and all. Man, I'm sorry to sound a bit harsh, but in this book, Michael is pathetic!! In fact, there's another guy, Étienne, who is waaay more intriguing than Michael -- and in this book, he steals the spotlight.

If this is the kind of style that I will get from the next books, I'm not eager to continue.

[Carien · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, so I was very curious about this one. Add to that the fact that my favorite character from book one seemed to be the love interest in this book and this book became a must read.

I liked Madeline from the start. She's a tough cookie, but also really young and naive at times. The sisters who trained her were really cool as well. I was glad that my favorite of the sisters had a supporting role in the rest of the story.

Michael was just as cool and interesting as I remembered from Viper Moon, and I was happy to see him in the role as Madeline's love interest. He's charismatic, a bit creepy and very complex.

The story did once again suffer from inaction. The heroines in this series sure know how to dawdle when they should be taking action instead. Once again the villains were kind enough to plot their evil deeds based on the phase of the moon though, so no harm done.

That aside this was a fun and enjoyable book and I will certainly keep an eye out for more books in this series and by this author.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this but not as much as Vengence Moon. Probably because the relationship between Madelaine and Michael seemed more forced and less real than the one between Cass & Flynn. I felt like Cass and Flynn had a real connection and for me that was missing between Mad and Michael. It seemed like she just had 2 good characters on their own so she just slapped them together with a mystical connection. I actually felt like Maadeliane had more of a connection with Etienne. Also I spent most of the book thinking Madelaine's mum was horrible as you would never do that to your own child, so I was glad that they explained that . I also wasn't too keen on Michael agreeing to work for his evil dad to save Madelaine .

[Darcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't sure about this one when it started, wasn't sure how it would connect with the first book. It wasn't until Cass showed up that things became more clear. I really liked seeing the world of the Earth Witches expanded, the Sister's of Justice were in interesting facet.

Madeline was an interesting character, one that was like a pied piper who drew everyone to her. I loved the way that she collected the group of misfits. Each one was perfect in how they could help her and oddly, gave her a sense of family.

I was surprised to see that Michael was the love interest in this book, but they are perfect for each other. I do worry about their future with the price that Michael had to pay at the end. I just hope it works out for them.

[Melindeeloo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come but... I really liked this, I didn't remember a whole lot from the first book when I first started but that wasn't a huge problem since the main character is a new one and as the story progressed and we started running into previous characters it all came back. I really liked this leading lady, she on a mission of vengeance and has been trained as an assassin, but somehow manages to still be a kind and decent person. I liked the love interest, who was 1st runner up in the last book and I am hoping that Roland will do the same for the guy who lost out in this book too. I went hunting on Roland's site to see if I could find out about the next book - since this world is still open for more- but no news yet.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

This was a new to me author (I won the book from a blog), and I very much enjoyed her book! This is the second book in the series, but I was able to follow along pretty easily. The heroine was great - really intriguing strong character with a fascinating backstory. I would have rated this a bit higher, but I felt that the romance was a bit lacking. In fact, I just couldn't get a good sense of Michael at all. Why were the 2 attracted to each other? There was some mention of a binding between the two, but it was never explained. That said, I enjoyed the book so much that I'll definitely check out the first book in the series, Viper Moon.

[Scooper Speaks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked this one even better than the first book. Roland does a good job of introducing characters then showing a different or unexpected side of them.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The rushed romances seem to be the worst part of these books. It takes 10 days to get engaged. I know it is fiction, but seriously? -_-

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review courtesy of Romance Junkies: http://romancejunkiesreviews.com/artm...

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I think more than the first!

[Runningrabbit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed!

[Jeannie Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved how different women came to fight the same evil.. Excellent read and series..

[Cori · Rating 3 out of 5]

fluff!