THE MOON SHINES RED (Heart of Darkness #1) by PAMELA SPARKMAN

‘He smiled today. His smiles are as rare as mine, so I took his smile and tied it to the ribbon around my heart, where I can treasure it always.’

Pamela Sparkman is a new to us author and after reading and falling in love with this book, you can bet we’re eagerly awaiting the next Heart of Darkness story, because the secondary character this story will be about, completely captured our imagination and fascination and we need more!

Whilst The Moon Shines Red can be read as a standalone, it is part of a duology and must be read before diving into A Monster Like Me (Book #2) and it does have a conclusion, however the end of A Monster Like Me picks up straight after The Moon Shines Red. So dive into Lochlan and Elin’s enchanting and beautiful story and prepare yourselves for a magical adventure in this urban fantasy romance.

We adore tales about the Fae fantasy folklore. Those pesky, treacherous creatures with their half-truths riddles and tricks, the alpha Fae who falls and fights for his love….the trysts, the curses, tricks and legends…sigh…they enthral us time and again, and we’re happy to say Pamela Sparkman most certainly treated us to an alluringly expressive and beautiful read, satisfying our much needed PNR fix.

The premise of the story captured our imaginations and hearts as poor Lochlan cut such a sad and lonely figure. This is a man who has only known isolation; never being able to experience the comfort of a touch, the warmth of a hug, the love of a woman after a curse was bestowed on him at birth, resulting in dire consequences for the person if they ignore the curse and touch him.

‘If he could make one wish, he would wish to have one moment in time where he could just touch her.’

Banished to a monastery with Searly, a Monk as his only true friend, (and what a heartfelt relationship it was) the pair have struck a firm friendship, with Searly showing a dogged determination to try and seek a reversal to the curse affecting his friend.

Lochlan has resigned himself to a life of seclusion and loneliness until he comes upon the beautiful human, Elin. This makes him want and need that human affection he has been denied all his life. However, little did they know their world was about to be turned upside down.

“Do not hide your pain from me, and I will not hide mine from you.”

Now, we could go into detail here about what unfolds, but where’s the fun in that? Oh no, you need to experience this authors bewitching story for yourselves firsthand, because there are surprises and twists galore to be enjoyed in this one!

‘For a reason unbeknownst to him he needed her to like him.’

This author had our hearts soaring over the lengths this man went to for love, she had our hearts beating and never failed to grip us with the surprises, twists, emotion, suspense and passion of this fantasy. The passion in this case coming from the connection between Lochlan and Elin. Their love was true, innocent, subtle, yet fiercely heartfelt. We believed it, we felt it, and we loved it. We certainly didn’t need a graphic sex scene on every page to convince us of the connection between these two, that’s for sure.

“I was willing to give you all the time you needed, I would have given you forever if you’d asked for it.”
“I know.”

Love, loyalty, friendship, forgiveness and hope. Pamela Sparkman did an amazing job of lovingly bringing Elin and Lochlan’s story to life, telling it with an old world storytelling charm that only added to the atmospheric surroundings. The vividness of the Faery realm, the beauty of her characters and the way in which she kept us glued to our Kindles was testament to the terrific story she delivered!

“…so you see, you love…it does matter. It matters very much.”