Under the Moon (Goddesses Rising, #1)

by Natalie J Damschroder

Their power gives them strength...and makes them targets. Quinn Caldwell is the epitome of a modern goddess. Her power source is the moon, her abilities restricted only by physical resources and lunar phase. She runs a consulting business and her father's bar, serves on the board of the ancient Society for Goddess Education and Defense, and yearns for Nick Jarrett, professional goddess protector and the soul mate she can never have. But someone has developed the rare and difficult ability to drain a goddess of her powers, and Quinn is a target. With the world thinking Nick has gone rogue (whatever that means) and that Quinn is influenced by "family ties" she didn't know she had, keeping themselves safe while working to find the enemy proves harder each day. But not as hard as denying their hearts...

• ISBN10: 1937044548
• ISBN13: 9781937044541
• Publish Date: 1 November 2011
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Entangled Publishing
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

Under the Moon was a pretty good Paranormal Romance. It was different than others I've read, mostly because it's about goddesses. But not the Greek or Roman goddess that we're use to reading about. They're just goddesses, no mythology required. Quinn is a goddess and she draws her power from the moon. While she is extremely powerful, the phases of the moon do leave her without it for much of the lunar cycle. Thankfully, she has a protector for the week of the New Moon, but he's on his way to her early, because there's a leech loose: a man who can drain the powers from a goddess.

I definitely liked the plot of Under the Moon better than the romance. I found the idea of leeches very interesting. Women are the only ones with power, so there are no gods. And a goddess has to willingly give magic to a man in order for him to be able to steal power from another goddess. I loved this whole dynamic! The women are in control, but they're not all powerful. There is a balance, but one goddesses' trust in her man is causing problems for the rest of the community. Quinn is on the hunt for this person, especially when a contact mentions "family ties." Quinn is an only child, adopted, and her adoptive parents are dead. So her only family is possibly evil?

The romance was okay. I was pretty excited at the beginning because Quinn mentions that she uses sex to build up her strength. For years she's been using her assistant, Sam, but she knows he wants more from her and she just doesn't see him that way. Then her protector comes into the picture. Nick and Quinn may only see each other for 12 weeks out of the year, but apparently something has built up in that time. While I did think Nick was a better fit for her, I was kind of hoping Quinn would change her mind about Sam. The falling for your protector thing is pretty cliche, and Sam is 10 years younger than Quinn! I would have loved some older woman with younger man romance! Oh well.

In the end, I did like Under the Moon. The plot was engaging and the world was interesting. The romance was pretty good, even if it didn't go the way I wanted. The one thing I was disappointed in was the lack of sex. When sex magic is mentioned, I expect some sexy times! There is, but nothing really that great.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Cocktails and Books]

Quinn Caldwell runs a bar, Under the Moon, uses her goddess powers to help others, serves as secretary on the board for the governing body of goddesses, loves her assistant Sam and is in love with her protector Nick. Her life is about to become a lot more complicated when a leech starts stealing goddesses powers and seems hell bent on getting Quinn's.

Nick, Sam and Quinn start their own investigation into the leech and discover that the person responsible for this problem could be a member of Quinn's birth family. They'll cover many miles and have several run ins with the bad guys before this story comes to an end. But along the way, Quinn, Nick and Sam will also learn what they are willing to live without and what they much do to make those they love happy.

I liked Quinn. She was ballsy while being emotionally torn apart by not only her relationship with the two men she loves, but also the family that gave her up when she was a baby. She was the type of woman that people everyone else in front of her if it meant protecting those that she loved. Even with her sister, she was torn between being pissed at her for doing what she'd naively done and wanting to protect her because she didn't know any better.

Nick and Sam both had attributes that I enjoyed, but you could tell each time Nick and Quinn were together that they truly were meant to be together (although a certain male didn't make you feel confident as you read the story that they'd get their happily ever after).

An enjoyable read with a deliciously alpha protector our to ensure his goddess stays safe.