Review: Moonlight War-Act 1 by William Collins

Book: Moonlight War-Act 1
Author: William Collins
Series: The Realmers #2
Genre: YA sci-fi, paranormal
Pages: 383
Release: August 29th 2016
Source: author ecopy (thank you, Will)

After the catastrophic events of book 1, Evan and Brooke are trying to come to terms with recent revelations. However, it isn’t long before their duties as Venators throw them back into action. 

Whilst Evan faces a deathly trial to advance further in his training, Brooke embarks on her very first mission, which sees her embroiled in a war between the vampires and werewolves of London. If the werewolves and shifters baying for her blood wasn’t enough, Brooke also has to face a starkly changed Arantay. 

Meanwhile the Dark-Venator forces are rising, whilst Evan and his friends contend with the mysterious disappearances of several Venators. Could they have been kidnapped? Evan also faces backlash from many of his fellow trainees, who hate or fear him. Evan thinks their reactions are bad now, but it would be nothing if they discovered his secret. His peers may even try to kill him if they learned the truth. 

Evan knows he has to pass his trial to gain his first mission as a Venator, but he may never make it that far if his hidden powers aren’t controlled. Across the realms, a terribly malignant force has learned of Evan and Brooke, and plans to strike.

Goodreads / Amazon US / Amazon UK

**I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion in any way**

**Warning: Spoilers for Book 1**

This book picks up on the heels of the last book. After that epic climax, Evan and Brooke are trying to figure out just how to live with the fact that they are children of demons, possessing magic that no Venators should ever have. Soon enough, Brooke is sent on her first mission as a Mid-Realmer while Evan must prepare for a deadly trial to earn the rank of a Mid-Realmer himself. But Evan and Brooke's secret identities as the children of demons may not be as much of a secret as they thought...

Evan remained in Veneseron, which allowed us to explore more of its world and customs. New classes, new training methods, new lifestyles, new sports and pastimes, everything was expanded. Much like the last book, I did feel like there were instances where it was more information-based than plot-based, but it didn't take away from the story. I really enjoyed reading about the vast imagination of the author, and how he was able to smoothly integrate every species together into one place. 

The story definitely took a more urban fantasy and paranormal turn in this book, specifically with Brooke's journey. Though it wasn't hindering, I felt that it made the world a bit more complicated, blurring what we already know about vampires and werewolves with the author's take on them. Whereas the first book I could deem as a sci-fi novel, this one was sort of between sci-fi and paranormal.

We got a ton of new characters in this novel. New antagonists, new characters of potential importance, new allies. Though I did enjoy seeing the world and the politics behind some of them expand, I felt there were just a tad too many new characters and POVs to keep up with, along with too little information about them to really remember each one. Many didn't get enough page time for me to properly develop a connection to, with the majority of their histories remaining to be a complete mystery. There are a few I suspect will play an important role, but it's hard to say.

There was more Arantay! I was very pleased to get more of his POV, and would definitely like to see even more in the next instalments. He has the revenge character arc going on for him, which is always fascinating to me. Plus, I would love to get to know more about his feelings for Brooke, as I am ever a hopeless romantic. His character is definitely the most dynamic in this book!

This book definitely did not lack in creative imagination. There are a few unanswered questions I have, as well as some unresolved plot lines, but this is Act 1 after all, so I'm certain there will be another one to continue the story!