New Release: Under the Harvest Moon by Tracie Provost

New leader of the Aether coven – of one – Juliette doesn’t have long to recover from the coup that almost killed her. Vampires and their human lovers are dying in a strange murder suicide that isn’t what it seems, and the vampire contact at the New Orleans Police Department wants her help. A sudden and mysterious loss of power alerts Juliette to the fact her enemies haven’t given up the fight. If that wasn’t bad enough, December and the coming blue moon prophecy haunts her. However, it’s another normal day in the life of the centuries old vampire thaumaturge.

I greatly enjoyed the first book in the series, so it was lovely to be back in New Orleans with Juliette.

This book picks up only days after the last book, with Juliette still reeling from the coup that saw her made leader of her coven. I loved how the different threads were wound together and expanded on. The new cases of the murders plaguing the city were exciting and I loved how Juliette used her magic at each scene. The constant dark cloud of the blue moon hung over the characters, hinting at an exciting resolution of the overall story to come in the third book. I also loved how Juliette and Josh’s relationship developed in this book.

Juliette is a great character. I really like the idea of the vampire mage, and Provost’s world building is great. I loved learning more about the types of magic, as well as about the vampires, gatekeepers and werewolves. Despite it being a crowded genre, the author manages to bring something new to the vampire clans of New Orleans.

As with the last book, there are lovely touches of humor and plenty of fun pop culture references.

The main story for this book is exciting and Juliette’s foe is suitably formidable and threatening.

Despite this being the second book in the trilogy, there is still some form of resolution, however there is a lot left up in the air for the third book. I’m even more excited than before to find out what will happen when the blue moon rises in December.

I award Under the Harvest Moon…