REVIEW: The Harvest Moon – Joshua Ian

Genre: Paranormal, Historical, Romance, Dark

LGBTQ+ Category: MM Gay

Reviewer: Maryann

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About The Book

England, 1834.

On the night of a harvest moon, in the shadows of late autumn, Malcolm comes across a quaint village tucked away in the forest. It seems the perfect spot for a weary traveller to lay his head, and maybe find a little company. But there is dark magic afoot, and lots of local gossip swirls around the seductive titian-haired weaver, Daniel. All Malcolm seeks is a night’s pleasure. He never suspected he would have to worry about losing his life. Or his heart.

This novelette is about 13,000 words in length and the first entry in the Darkly Enchanted Romance Series.

About This Series

Historical romance with a paranormal edge! The Darkly Enchanted Romance series takes its inspiration from mythology, fairytales, folklore, and legend to give you sweet and sultry romances with just a touch of spookiness. Witches, ghosts, and mythical creatures – you know never what you might fall in love with in these enchanted stories.

The Review

This was a first time read for me by Joshua Ian, and I was just fascinated with this poetically phrased novella.

Malcolm Robertson seems to have his life pretty well planned out for the future, even though he’s criticized by his great aunt for not having a wife. Malcolm’s interest isn’t in women, and he keeps that a secret. He has sisters, so he knows the family legacy will pass on through them. He’s made his fortune in investments, and will be able to provide for his sisters no matter the situation.

Traveling to and from his great aunt’s estate, it occurs to him that he’s never really noticed the small village that he has stopped at before. A copse of trees in the moonlight draws Malcolm deeper into the darkness with a young man he meets, Daniel Weaver. Malcolm and Daniel spend the night together at Daniels cottage, where Daniel relates the very odd story of the weavers and how his parents met. He also tells Malcolm that men before him were afraid of him.

What was at first a beautiful night turns into terror, as Daniel’s attitude changes and he demands Malcolm leave his home.

Malcolm returns to his room over the tavern, and the next morning during breakfast he hears the strange tale of Old Man Weaver and his grandson. Although he is already packed and ready to return to his family, his plans change – he knows he has to return to the cottage. Malcolm has no idea what danger he’ll be in or who he will find when he returns to the cottage of Daniel Weaver.

“The Harvest Moon” is a superbly written novella, with so much vivid description of historical England in 1834. Besides the amazing written word, the novella dips into fantasy, superstition, fear and legend. Malcolm and Daniel are amazing characters that bring so much emotion to this tale.

I highly recommend “The Harvest Moon”, a superbly written, quick and easy-to-read page-turner.

The Reviewer

Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.

I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.

My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!

As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.

My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.

I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.

But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.

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