I was first introduced to Julie Ann Walker through her Black Knights Inc series, a delicious collection of books starring gorgeous bikers/secret agents who kick ass, save lives, and fall in love. She writes about strong men losing their hearts to even stronger women, and there's just something exceptionally captivating about her writing style that has me clutching at my chest and perching at the edge of my seat with affection for the characters.
I had the pleasure of meeting Julie at a romance event I threw back in February and she mentioned that she was in the process of writing a new series that would follow the same three characters across three books, but that--GET THIS--she'd be publishing all three novels at the same time so that her readers wouldn't have to wait to find out what happens. Amazing. Slow clap. Take a bow, Julie. Okay... moving on...
All three volumes of In Moonlight and Memories came upon my Kindle recently and I set upon them with determined delight.
Blurb:
Maggie: Ten years ago, Cash Armstrong stole my heart. Then he promptly joined the army—dragging my best friend with him—and left me crying on the front porch in a red sequined prom dress. Now he's back. They're both back. Cash, the one who still has my heart. And Luc, the one who saved my life.
Cash: How do you know if you’re at the end of the beginning or the beginning of the end? That's what I've been trying to figure out since a traumatic brain injury made me "unfit to serve." I'm back in New Orleans, and picking up the shattered pieces of my past means I must confront where my life's journey began... and where it all might end.
Luc: Long ago, Maggie May was mine. Not mine in the way you might think. She was mine because she was my only friend. Then Cash came along and we became brothers by something stronger than blood. We became brothers by choice. When tragedy struck, I was forced to make a decision that changed all our lives. I thought, after ten years, it was safe to come back home. I was wrong...
Review: In Moonlight and Memories was such an interesting, captivating read. It isn't the Julie Ann Walker we've come to know and love--hot, spicy, sultry, and filthy--but a gentler, softer side that's drawn out over three spectacular novels.
This is a hard novel to review without spoilers (which y'all know I'm strongly against), so I won't speak too much in regards to the plot, but I'll warn you that if quick stories are your jam, then you won't find satisfaction here. Walker throws us into these character's lives and takes us on a journey of deep, troubling emotion. I don't know that I've ever sunk so deep into the minds of the characters or felt their pain, their love, or their angst quite as much as I was able to with Cash, Luc, and Maggie.
And with the end of the book came my tears.
Now, don't get me wrong. This is still a romance novel, though in a different sort of vein that we're used to, so it does have a happy ending. But the path we take to that happy ending dead ends a few times, weaves and turns until we can't remember which way we're supposed to be going. There is so much emotion wrapped up in these three books that I forgot I was reading a novel and thought that perhaps I was reading a memoir.
The long and short of it is that In Moonlight and Memories is a beautifully, soulfully written series that sets you straight down in the middle of a New Orleans' bayou (man, did I learn so much and interjects you into the lives of these troubled cast members. There's long buried secrets, first loves, new romance, and childhood friendships and we get a front row seat to all of it.
It's out July 1st. Pre-order now!