I enjoyed this book as much as the first in the SPEAR series. The characters are rich and diverse, existing in the supernatural world. The writing is well done and exciting. Although first person isn't my favorite, it didn't stop my from giving the book a chance and usually I quit a few pages in. Do yourself a favor and read both SPEAR books. You won't be disappointed. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Vampires, werewolves, and various supernaturals?! I’m there.

The human in the mix was bleh. I was not a fan of Danika. She came off as self absorbed, reckless, and the impulsive that’s more grating than endearing.

The story moves at a good pace but can get sometimes clunky and chaotic as the larger scenes play out.

There was enough here to get me to pick up the first in the series and look out for the next. There was no cliffhanger per se but enough left open for a continuation.

This was a fun sequel to Both Ways by Ileandra Young. It takes place in the same secondary world filled with vampires, gargoyles, werewolves and other supernatural beings (referred to as edanes). The edanes are still generally discriminated against by the humans. In this novel the primary protagonist, Danika Karson, is back to work as a Supernatural, Prohibition, Extermination, and Arrest Regiment (SPEAR) agent with her girlfriend and partner Rayne (the vampire). There is a strange and new type of issue amongst the werewolves and only Danika, as an official Friend of the Pack, can help to solve this. This story follows her harrowing experiences trying to fix this problem.

I enjoyed reading this sequel and can’t wait for another addition to the SPEAR mission files!

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Great sequel to the first book. Its nice being able to follow characters along as a story progresses through multiple novels.

I've been trying to get into this book for a month, and it's just not doing it for me. The writing is high quality, the relationships are interesting, but there's just something that isn't hooking me in. Lesbian shifters of color, I thought I'd be all in; but it's just not capturing my interest. I'd recommend it to someone else if they were looking for this kind of shifter story, but it's not for me. Three stars because I think it's good (I really can't stress it) and I don't want to mark a book down just because I didn't like it personally.

So good. So very good!

Ileandra Young is a brilliant storyteller with excellent technical skill and wonderful humor. I read this in one sitting without planning to and I haven’t encountered a book that I haven’t wanted to put down in a bit. This is the second book in the SPEARS series and I did not read the first before this one. I was able to thoroughly enjoy it and immediately bought the first one so I can fill in some spaces and just enjoy this universe she has created.

The story centers around Danika Karson, an agent for a special task force working with supernatural beings to ensure peace among edane (supernatural beings) and mortals. Danika’s girlfriend, Rayne, is a vampire and serves on the task force that Danika spearheads. There has been a recent change in leadership in the SPEARS agency and Danika is challenged with changing allegiances, new enemies and a new relationship that is passionate, but precarious and clumsy. Danika herself is an imperfect hero, quick to get herself in trouble because she can’t help but make the comment she should not make in nearly every situation. She can be stubborn and impulsive, but has a brilliant mind and a lovely heart so beings come alongside her with ease often.

One thing that struck me was how consistent of a universe and characters she has built. I lose interest in a paranormal world when the magic and laws that govern the world are used to take shortcuts to solving character’s problems. The author uses the world to elevate the storytelling instead of shortchange it and I loved every bit of it.

I do love the romance elements of LesRom books and this was light on the romance. Danika and her partner, Rayne, weren’t on the same page together a lot of the time and the story is told strictly through Danika’s perspective. Because I did not read the first book, I didn’t have the strongest sense of Rayne’s character until the last quarter of the book. I didn’t notice this, though, while I was reading because the story was riveting, moved quickly and was engrossing.

And... Norma...Ileandra Young created a creature called a chittarik. Chittariks needed to be created and then she put the cherry on top and gave it the name of Norma. I LOVE Norma! The details of this being are delightful and I just love the existence of this creature.

I received an Advanced Copy of this book from Bold Strokes Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Danika has a fight on her hands, whichever way you look at it. Within SPEAR she has to assert her authority in the face of interference, her love life with girlfriend Rayne is never going to be easy- and she has rogue werewolves to deal with.

I haven’t read the first in the SPEAR series, but I didn’t find that a problem. I was able to get into the story and understand Danika and her world. And what a world! I like the whole premise. Ileandra Young has a wonderfully irreverent and forthright style and it works. It’s particularly effective in the first person narrative she has chosen. Her imaginative writing and compelling characters kept me gripped. I’ll be looking forward to more from this particular author.

I was given this ARC for review.

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I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review form Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley.

I had to read the first book Both Ways first as I needed to know what this entire story was. as I read the second book, you really did not have to read the first one in order to understand it. In this review I will be referencing the first book often.

Rayne and Danika who are at this point a couple Vampire and Human. This book is mostly about a fight amongst the werewolf packs in Angbec, there are some funny moments with Jack who is the mayor and some really sad parts of the book. What I like most is that the author did not bog this book down with unnecessary love scenes. I like that it was just a romance, and one about two people getting to know each other well. Then there is the other story of the werewolf fights and how Danika tries to make things better but things just continue to get worse. My favorite parts of this book were the action ones, where there was fighting.

This book did not have the whit and humor that the other book had. Danika and Rayne were a lot less interesting, and the author added new characters and then got rid of them when it fit the plot, and brought them back when it suited the plot. It just did not make for a super interesting or fun book. I definitely liked the first one Both Ways Better. This is not terrible by any means, it just could have been more flushed out. It also ended on a cliffhanger, but seeing as it ended I am not sure if I want to read anymore. The overall story is a bit fragmented and it fell apart in some places. I don't want to give any spoilers away so I will leave my review saying that compared to the first book this one was disappointing.

Ileandra Young was born to be a writer. Moon Fever is a YA book that readers will devour -- from fantasy, to sci-fi, even to a harrowing LBGTQ relationship Ileandra spun a magically creative story that seamless fits together. Danika, our heroine, is a no-nonsense badass and her journey from self-forgiveness to loss was so refreshing to read in this type of genre.

In all honesty, I lost some sleep over this book. Within the first few chapters, I was swept into the drama and couldn't put the book down. There was so much tension building up chapter after chapter, that I frequently had to stop myself from skipping to the back of the book. I felt a burning desire to uncover the plot and I needed to know whether or not Danika and Rayne would stay together. Needless to say, I can't wait for the next book in the series. Ileandra, don't leave us hanging, I'm entirely too invested now.


** I am featuring this book on my blog in a tope 10 write up on LBGTQ must-reads!

[CW: speciesism from main character, ableist language from main character, blood, transphobia, sexism, loss of body parts, torture]

I have very conflicted feelings about this sequel. Danika's egotistic actions irk me constantly, but I am still very invested in her story. In "Both Ways," her stubbornness and rashness often lead her into horrible situations. And now? Things are worse. With her team investigating in recent werewolf attacks, she is drastically overpowered by the edanes and yet somehow thinks it is a good idea for her to get involved in their conflicts.

For someone who has the highest vampire killing rate and is an excellent SPEAR agent for eight years, Danika is awfully bad at reading situations. Throughout the book, she fights more with her friends than with her enemies. In almost every situation, Danika manages to side with her enemies and argue with her friends right in front of them. I genuinely do not understand why she does that. And she needs to stop the Rayne-is-different-from-other-vampires kind of thoughts. This is just speciesism.

There are several amazing aspects of "Moon Fever" apart from the undoubtedly exciting and riveting plot of Danika's misadventures. There is one possibly bigender werewolf Pete/Petra, and a sprite Willow who uses sign language. Also, Danika's sudden period after its six-year absence is important to the story. When was the last time you read a book with menstrual cycles in the plot where it was actually relevant? Normalize them.

Remember how we knew almost nothing about Danika's father in the last book? Good news is that we get the answer in this book. Bad news is that there are more unanswered questions. Judging by the ending, there is going to be a sequel, and I hope it would explain everything in this book. Maybe we are going to get more logistics of blood mania, too. And I need to know if Jadz is okay. At this point, I like her a lot more than I do Danika.

Early in the book, I got tired of Danika always saying "but." It is extremely annoying because she always seems to fail to really listen to her friends who know better. Later on, Rayne also says, "But nothing. Why 'but'? Why always do you have a 'but'?" Finger snaps for Rayne.

If I were to sum up this book in one single sentence, it would be "Danika Karson whines about problems and her friends save her." I think I am very close to root against her and Rayne's romance because I like Rayne too much. That being said, I still believe Danika just needs a little more time to be mentally ready for her new job of dealing with edanes and relationship with Rayne. Hopefully, we will see her growth in the next installment.

A book which would have benefitted greatly from a summary chapter, or a better portrayal of the relationship between the MC and her girlfriend in the beginning of the book. The paranormal and plot is well written, but the romance part was for me underwhelming.

Danika: Team leader tasked with containing a new pack of werewolves who endangers both humans and other werewolves.

Pro:
Good premise – I like the world and how the paranormal and action is written.
Dealing with the dark parts of paranormal – I like that the book deals with the dark parts of paranormal which tends to be glossed over, for example how a vampire girlfriends works to deal with her desire for her lovers blood.
Good ending in a series – It ends with a cliffhanger, but not a major one.

Con:
Needs summary chapter - A “what has happened” is needed for those of us who didn’t read the first book. I didn’t understand the characters and had to re-read a lot in the beginning. A good summary chapter would have greatly increased the reading pleasure during the first half. As I didn’t have the background I thought the amount of angst wasn’t justified. Once I finished the book I understood the attraction between the MCs.
Drama with high angst – For me the high angst wasn’t worth the drama, but if I was invested in the characters from previous books this might have been very different.

This review is based on NetGalley ARC provided in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.

Intense!!

Danika was recently promoted to team leader within the Supernatural Prohibition, Extermination, and Arrest Regiment. Her crazy life is about to get a lot more so! There is a new and powerful pack of werewolves in town and they aren’t too keen to follow the rules! In fact, they are pretty much on a mission of madness and mayhem and Goddess help those who get in their way! Her girlfriend and fellow agent, the lovely vampire Rayne, is having problems of her own. With Rayne in trouble and wolves at each other’s throats, will Danika be able to save them all or will the moon fever break her once and for all?

This is the second book in a series. I didn’t read the first one and I feel like I missed out on a lot of important background info. I was able to figure things out but a recap of the last book would have been nice. I loved all the super natural characters in this book as well. Werewolves, Vampires, Trolls, Sprites…even a weird but awesome cat/bird/dragon type of creature, so cool!! This book is not for the faint of heart. It is full of suspense and drama that will leave your stomach in knots and have you biting your nails. (Could be I’m just a wimp and I am the first to admit that, but I still think it was insane!) Don’t get me wrong, it was REALLY well written and so good but really tension filled as well. While the story wrapped up nicely (and I was able to breathe again lol) there are still some things left open so it would seem a next book would be very likely. Enjoy!

I didn’t ask to read Moon Fever by Ileandra Young when the ARC books first came out at NetGalley. The blurb really sounded interesting, and the cover is gorgeous, but this book is the second in a series, and I haven’t read the first novel yet. Then I watched an author reading panel put out by BSB and heard Ms. Young read an excerpt from the tale. I was hooked. I went back to NetGalley and asked for the book. Thankfully, the folks at BSB were kind enough to let me have the novel at bit late. I’m really glad they did.

It probably took me a little longer to get into the story than it would for someone who has read Both Ways, the first novel. I had to quickly learn about characters and setting that had already been established. Ms. Young did include some back history that helped me, but I still wish I’d had time to read the two books in order.
Having said that, I did enjoy this book. The story is definitely action packed, from the first page to the last. What else can you expect with rioting werewolf packs, vampires, and other paranormal creatures in the tale? The story kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading. Ms. Young did an exceptional job at world building and character and story creation.

I connected fairly quickly to the main characters, SPEAR Agent Danica Karson and her vampire girlfriend, Agent Rayne. They go through some relationship problems as they have to contend with all those rioting werewolves, which adds a touch of romance to all the action in the tale. I admit to having a few problems with Danica. I’m not sure if she acted the same way in the first novel, but in this one, she ended up causing a lot of the problems by not listening to the advice of her friends and teammates. She kept opening her mouth at the wrong times and saying things that just made matters worse. I began to wonder when her friends were going to try to gag her. I even became frustrated with her as a reader. She just couldn’t seem to stop saying and doing things that made everything worse. This seems to be an odd behavior for a character that has just been promoted to team leader at the beginning of this novel.

Other than the character glitch with Danica, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I’ve also bought Both Ways, the first novel, and plan to read it as soon as I can. If you really love action packed paranormal stories with a touch of romance, then I think you will like Moon Fever. But I also think you should read both books in order. In other words, do as I say, not as I did. I’m a parent. I can say this. ;)

Thanks to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for giving me the chance to read and honestly review this novel.

I didn't read the first book in this series and don't believe it's necessary to in order to enjoy this book. It was an intense read, from start to finish, and left me wanting more. I wouldn't say it had a cliffhanger per se, but it definitely leaves breathing room for another book to continue this universe. Which was one I quite enjoyed.

The world-building was pretty wonderful in this story. It's filled with supernatural creatures such as werewolves, vampires, and various other creatures. It has a general dark feeling to the world as a whole but in a positive way. It just adds to the intensity.

The MC Danika Karson is a paranormal investigator in this urban fantasy mystery and her role makes for a lovely combination of the two genres. We've got a bit of a "Whodunnit?" aspect mixed in with the paranormal. Just delightful.

My only real "beef" with the tale is that the end feels a little rushed and everything just sort of wraps up too quickly for my tastes. As I said, there are some definite threads left over that'll allow for another book, but what does get wrapped up is done effectively, just without the kind of satisfaction I crave in a truly enjoyable ending.

Paranormal investigator Danika Karson is a fun lead character. She's headstrong in a way that makes her annoying yet admirable, and she's surrounded by a motley crew of interesting supernatural characters. The problem is that these other interesting characters aren't fleshed out enough, not even Rayne, Danika's vampire girlfriend. They're written well enough to pull me in, but they lacked the character development that I remained hungry for.

I liked the plot. A new werewolf pack is causing trouble and instead of leaving it up to the pros (Danika's team), the government gets involved.

And there's a secondary romance plot between Danika and Rayne, spurred by unresolved issues in Danika's past around vampires. But while Danika has many issues to work through at once, it felt like Danika was Rayne's entire world, which left me frustrated with their relationship.


The book maintains a quick, tense pace —things get a whole lot worse before they start to get better — which is what I look for in a fantasy novel. This is the second book in the S.P.E.A.R. Mission Files series featuring Danika as the lead character, and I can see it developing into a series worth following.

There is a new pack of wolves in town who are wrecking havoc with violence and instability. Danika in her new position as trusted team leader at SPEAR and with the help of her vampire girlfriend Rayne struggle to keep them under control. Will they succeed in keeping their people safe and will their relationship survive the chaos?

I really enjoyed the first book in this series - Both Ways - and highly recommend you read it. I didn't remember much from the first book though so I don't think it is entirely necessary to read it before this one, the author does a goo job introducing the characters and the works, but this book does pick up after the first book and is a continuation of Danika and Ryane's story. I love the characters, I love the human flaws that they have that really makes for a powerful combination with their supernatural powers. The world is really well created, its very vibrant and very real. I love what the author has done, and I think I'm going to go back to the first book just to stay in it a little longer. I think this book was a little more chaotic than the first one, and maybe it was by design, but I found it a little harder to follow, but still overall this was a really good book and I enjoyed it.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this book. The whole world with all the Edanes is brilliantly imaginative. The kind of whodunnit storyline is really engaging, and the baddie suitably menacing with a convoluted plot that is interesting. I find the hero, Danika, a bit of a liability. Everything she touches seems to work out badly for the poor sap she’s trying to help. She’s always being told to leave before something bad happens, but she doesn’t and then her friends get hurt trying to protect her when shock something bad happens. Even though they constantly assure her it’s not her fault, it doesn’t seem to help much when she charges in, and it’s hard not to see how it isn’t her fault. She’s the common denominator and wilfully stupid at times; throwing the keys away!
Meanwhile, for a British person it’s very hard to take the name ‘Wensleydale’ seriously. I mean not only is it a soft, crumbly cheese, it’s also impossible to read it without doing a Wallace accent (Wallace and Gromit, Aardman animation). Meanwhile if you’re Northern, “being a right Wendy” is a wuss (weak) and this really doesn’t work well for an alpha male werewolf. But overall it’s an enjoyable fantasy read and a great series. Also who wouldn’t want a chittarik (although I’m not sure about a desk and chair covered in droppings)?

Moon Fever isn’t as fun as Both Ways, the first book in the SPEAR Mission Files series, for an excellent reason: Danika is way too busy trying to stay alive and prevent an all-around war to be a smartass.

A new werewolves pack is in town, aspiring to impose its dominance. When Danika’s friend Wendy (sorry, Wensleydale Gordan) is overthrown from his position as Dire Wolves alpha, the new leader wants to take advantage of the mess already happening to take over everything. Danika reluctantly finds herself in the middle, all the while dealing with a new boss and trying to make her relationship with the lovely but dangerous Rayne work.

While this book could probably be read as a standalone, I recommend reading the series in order. You’ll get a better understanding of Danika’s actions, as well as Rayne’s, if you know how they met and where they come from. It will also explain why Danika’s team is so loyal to her.

As exhilarating as Both Ways, Moon Fever is more intense. Ileandra Young doesn’t give Danika nor her readers a second to breathe. I love urban fantasy when it’s as cleverly written as this, it feels so real I wouldn’t be surprised to meet a goblin or a gargoyle on my way to the bakery. The ending isn’t exactly a cliffhanger, but it’s open enough that expecting a third book seems reasonable, hopefully in the near future.

I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

3.50 Stars. I liked this read but I did not love it. This is the second book in the S.P.E.A.R Mission Files. I had so much fun with the first book Both Ways, that I had really high expectations for this. I also heard Young do a reading of this book and it was great, I was glued to my seat wondering what would happen next. Maybe I was too excited, maybe my expectations were too high, but I’m bummed that my personal enjoyment was not higher. The book is very readable and sucks you in, but I didn’t love it like I was hoping to.

It has been almost two years since book one, Both Ways, came out. I was worried that I would not remember the characters and plot lines that well and that I might feel a little lost. Luckily, that was not the case at all. As soon as I started reading, everything came together for me. Young’s characters are very unique so they came back to me quickly. I personally would suggest reading Both Ways first (especially in my case since I really liked book one) but I do think you could start here if you really had to. Most of the plot lines are self-contained in this book. However, there was some referencing here to things that happened in the first book, plus the main romantic relationship starts in book one so I would read them in order… but either way works.

Okay, let’s start with the good stuff first. I love this world Young has built. It is so easy to imagine and you feel like you are watching a big action movie. And action is right because this is almost non-stop action. The book is a good size length for a Bold Strokes Book, but the pages flew by anyways. I had thought to only read half the book last night but I stayed up reading to 3 am to finish and I didn’t even realize how late it was since I was so immersed in the story. Young writes very gripping scenes and that’s what I want in this type of genre book.

What stopped me from really enjoying this was the main character of Danika. She drove me completely nuts and I don’t remember her being so useless in the first book. I really like my MC’s to be strong competent women in paranormal and urban fantasy books so this was really rough for me. Danika would hurt someone she cared about and then later whine “What have I done? How could I let this happen?” Then Danika would start a riot and ask herself “What have I done? How could I let this happen?” What did she do, well she was completely useless and actually a menace to the people and city she was sworn to protect. She didn’t listen when people told her to leave, she didn’t listen when they said to keep her mouth shut, she didn’t listen when she was asked not to interfere and she didn’t head an important warning that was told to her multiple times. She was a one woman wrecking ball and I wanted to tell all her friends and coworkers to run far away to be safe from her. And after all this, she is actually praised for being such a good agent. I started laughing out loud almost uncontrollably at this part. I mean even her pet was missing for half the book and she never even thought about them. Danika was just one major fail.

If you are a fan of the series, I do still think this is worth reading. If you are a character driven reader, you might have some of the same issue I did, but it was an immersive read. If you are new to the series, I would recommend Both Ways over this one. I like this world Young created and I love the fast paced action of this series. I just hope Young can fix Danika so at least she seems competent because she was a mess in this one. I want the “Agent Danika” back from the first book.

I wanted to like this book but it is too chaotic and the plot was trying too hard. The attempt to tie up loose ends at the end of the books was messy and poorly designed. It really didn't fit. The writing is also very awkward. The conversation in several areas is clunky.