Crown of Moonlight by K. M. Shea Series: Court of Midnight and Deception #2
Published by K. M. Shea on March 17, 2021
Format: Paperback
Pages: 352
ISBN: 9781950635122
Source: Purchased
I thought becoming Queen of the Night Court and marrying the deadliest fae assassin in the supernatural community were the biggest dangers I’d ever face. Hah!
Once I meet the fae monarchs of the other local Courts, I realize the good times are only just beginning! They hate my guts and don’t even bother to use their fae tricks to hide their disgust of me and my human blood.
At least I know where I stand with them, which is more than I can say for my husband, Rigel.
My relationship with Rigel is…complicated. We married for political reasons—my greatest desire was that he wouldn’t kill me after the ceremony. But now that he’s saved me from countless attempts on my life and joked with me through boring Court socials, my thoughts about him have veered into uncomfortable territory.
Not that I have time to think about all of this.
Those attempts on my life I mentioned? Yeah, they’re getting bolder and a lot harder to survive. I’m confident one of the other monarchs is behind it all, but I don’t have the power to make them stop.
So far, my wits and Rigel’s blades have gotten us through everything. But if something BIG gets dropped on us, will we survive?
Court of Midnight and Deception is an urban fantasy trilogy set in the Magiford Supernatural City universe. It features fae, werewolves, vampires, and wizards! This complete trilogy is packed with humor, adventure, and a sweet, slow burn romance between a reluctant fae queen and the assassin who tried to kill her.
Spiritual Content
There’s mention of “demon horses,” but that’s all as far as spiritual content goes.
As far as magic goes, Crown of Moonlight takes place in the Magiford Supernatural City world (first seen in the Hall of Blood and Mercy trilogy), a world inhabited by wizards, vampires, werewolves, fae, and — until a couple of hundred years ago — elves. (There are dragon shifters in the world, too, but neither they nor their magic appears in this book.) All of them have varying magical abilities (as described below).
- Wizards have magical houses and the ability to “bend the elements to our will — like fire, wind, water, you get the point — and fight or defend with raw magic.’ (Quoted from Hall of Blood and Mercy #1.)
- “The fae are in a similar but opposite position. Since they have to use things to channel the magic for them, they can use magic for things like sealing powers, disguises, embedding a spell in an item, a strain of hypnosis, and so on.” (Quoted from Hall of Blood and Mercy #1.)
- Vampires are typical vampires, except sunlight only makes them weaker and uncomfortable. They have enhanced senses and are faster than werewolves but not as strong.
- Werewolves are typical werewolves who can shift at will. They, like vampires, have enhanced senses. (See difference above.)
- Though elves aren’t present, certain elven artifacts and spells are around. Due to the elves’ ability to create magic simply by existing, elven items are extremely powerful and have varying effects.
- Dragon shifters are the only shifters capable of casting magic.
Violence
Most of the violence in Crown of Moonlight centers around assassination attempts against Leila, including attacks by spell-powered shadow monsters, snakes, a necromantic monster animated by shadow magic, and a booby-trapped door with two magic-rigged Chinese butterfly swords. Aside from these, the only other violent acts are Rigel killing a fae by stabbing him in the neck, Indigo and Rigel knocking King Fell unconscious on Leila’s order, and a short brawl between the other members of the Fae Ring. None of these scenes are gory or inappropriate.
Drug And Alcohol Content
Skye chews antacids when upset or stressed out, but that’s all as far as drugs go.
While visiting the Paragon, the entire Fae Ring — except for Leila — drinks tea that, though nonalcoholic, “has a similar effect to the consumption of spirits. Strong spirits.”
Sexual Content
There are two non-descriptive kisses between Leila and Rigel. In one scene, Leila walks into Rigel’s room and sees him get out of bed shirtless. In another, Leila spends the night sleeping in Rigel’s bed, and they wind up snuggling (the first of several similar nights throughout the book).
Swearing Or Foul Language
Not present.
My Take On Crown of Moonlight by K. M. Shea
By blending adventure with humor, K. M. Shea makes Crown of Moonlight delightfully entertaining yet mysterious enough to keep readers on the hook for this slow-burn-romance trilogy’s third and final book.