Tainted Moonlight

Tainted Moonlight Series, Book 1

By: Erin Kelly

Narrated by: Torian Brackett

Five years ago, a supernatural virus changed the world as we know it. What was once the stuff of fantasy and bad horror movies suddenly is reality - werewolves and vampires exist.

It isn’t the end of the world, though for Korban Diego, it often feels as if it is. A survivor of a vicious attack during the initial outbreak, Korban faces quarantine and curfews, as well as new rules, regulations, and prejudices that make it difficult for a werewolf to get his life back to normal.

It’s even more challenging when someone he cares about is attacked and doomed to the same fate. Now, Korban must face what he has become, before the beast emerges in the tainted moonlight.

Tainted Moonlight is a thrilling, new adult urban fantasy series that features a diverse cast of characters. In a world full of the supernatural, human nature has a whole new meaning.

©2016 Amy Erin Baker aka Erin Kelly (P)2020 Amy Erin Baker aka Erin Kelly

Great story and great narrator!

I am very picky when it comes to audiobooks — I have to love both the story and the narrator in order to be hooked and invest my time. I recently listened to the audiobook version of Tainted Moonlight by Erin Kelly (ASIN: B08CDYNWFV), narrated by Torian Brackett, and I was greatly entertained. Kelly provides a fascinating urban fantasy centered around werewolves while Brackett allows the story to come alive.

Book 1 of the Tainted Moonlight series follows Korban Diego who was infected five years ago during an outbreak of a supernatural virus. Because of the virus, Diego transforms every full moon. Being unable to stop one’s self from transforming into a beast is bad enough, but the restrictions on and prejudices of werewolves make Diego’s life even more challenging.

As a lycanthrope, Diego struggles securing a job. When the book opens, we find him at a job interview. He is hopeful, but when the interviewer asks Diego to purposefully infect him, he realizes there was never a real job for him. He declines the request, even with an offer of a large sum of money. Disheartened, Diego returns home, still jobless. He later goes out with his two roommates/best friends where he meets the lovely Sophie Bane — and his life is never the same.

What will Diego do when someone he cares deeply about is attacked and faces the same fate as him? Will he be able to control his own internal beast in order to help them control theirs?

The world Kelly creates is intriguing, and I really enjoyed the backstory of the existence of werewolves and vampires. However, vampires were merely mentioned in passing. It would have been interesting to see the similarities and differences between the restrictions and rules of the two supernatural beings, as well as see them interact with one another. I’m hoping to see more vampires in books 2 and 3 of the series.

Even though I would have liked to have seen more vampires where they were mentioned, I did enjoy the focus on werewolves. I think Kelly does an excellent job creating layers for the character Diego, allowing the reader to relate to him on different levels.

I was disappointed that I correctly guessed the true antagonist early on in the book, so the intended twist was a bit lackluster. Yet, the book was well-paced with likable characters and a good premise, so I enjoyed it nonetheless.

In addition, Brackett’s narration is phenomenal. I will happily listen to any book he narrates!
Overall, Tainted Moonlight is an enjoyable urban fantasy, and I look forward to reading books 2 and 3 of the series. I give this book 4 stars. I highly recommend this audiobook to adult readers who enjoy werewolves, well-done romance tropes, and excellent story-telling.

I loved running with Korban's pack!🌚💖🐺

Highly entertaining, unique, something-for-everyone werewolf romp by an amazing storyteller and a promising, up&coming new narrator!

Excellent performance from a debut narrator!

I absolutely love how Torian brought the characters and story to life! I may be biased towards the story, I wrote it, but his performance really knocks it out of the forest! Keep howling Torian, your talent really shines in this narration and I already can't wait for the sequel!!!

Great book

Really great a read.
Love the book and can’t wait for more down the line.
Continue success

A fun experience with a world class narrator

Every werewolf book or movie has some type of flaw. It's half the fun of being a fan of werewolves in the first place. From The Howling's strange case of weird sequels, to King's Cycle of the Werewolf/Silver Bullet, all werewolf media seems to have something strange, some blemish which makes the work have its own charm, never seen again.

Tainted Moonlight is a werewolf novel, and therefore has a strange flaw. Due to oversight in editing, Tainted Moonlight will move between 3rd person past tense "He walked to the store to buy eggs." to 3rd person present tense, "He walks to the store to buy eggs". It does this frequently, and I never got over it. Every time I heard it, it felt weird, and pulled me out of the experience. However, halfway through the book, I found myself listening closer to see if I could find one more instance, and was overjoyed when I heard the narration slip for one sentence.

When it comes to the story, werewolves are often used as a metaphor for something. In this case, it's used as a catch all for any number of conditions where one becomes an Other. Corbin's eyes have changed color, to the point he tries to hide his condition with sunglasses to blend in. The government has classified werewolves as Non-human, so humans rights do not apply to him. He is allowed to live in New York, but if he commits a crime, his best friend pays the price, and Corbin is put down like an animal. You've heard werewolf stories in this vein before if you're a werewolf fanatic, but there's a charm to Tainted Moonlight, and the small cast of characters are all likeable.

Speaking of our cast of characters, Torian Brackett is an absolute WORLD CLASS narrator, and I am surprised this is his first book on Audible. Torian handles each character, even to the minor characters who appear in one scene, with a grace and talent which much come from a strong career of acting. Not once in this 6 hour runtime did I confuse one of his voices for any other character. They all sound so distinct, they are all so strong and memorable, and Torian uses some post-production work to amplify the moment, that you are along for the ride and loving every second. He has a great sense of timing, and does a great job of sobbing when a character discovers they have been betrayed by a loved one. It really brings the scene to life, where a different narrator would have read it more flat..

Overall, I recommend Tainted Moonlight. It's a fun adventure with good characters, but the biggest reason to get Tainted Moonlight on Audiobook is for the killer narration work. I am going to follow Brackett for more audiobooks in the future, as his voice alone is a sale in my book from here on out.

More please.

I had the Good Fortune to win an audiobook copy of Tainted Moonlight, by Erin Kelly, read by Torian Brackett. I had to keep finding reasons not to take out my earbuds, or more errands to run in the car so I could keep driving and stay immersed in the story. It had everything I've been craving, humor, friendship, personal struggle, a dash of romance, attempted murder, mystery, and of course werewolves. Erin Kelly gives a new take on a classic problem: what do you do with people who turn into wolves, are they still considered human? I'm not sure I can wait for the next audiobook to appear, I'm going to need to find out what happens to Koban and Sofie soon.

Gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review

Normally I don't read romance or urban fantasy, but this was an engaging read. I listened when I had time during work and it definitely helped time pass. The characters are well written and believable, and I enjoyed the narration. This review isn't detailed because I know I'll ramble on and on and accidentally spoil something 😅 but it's definitely worth the read! if urban fantasy is your thing, absolutely pick this one up!

Great Narrator, Okay Story, Prudish Wolf Love

This book was solidly okay. It starts off kind of slow. It’s world building, but how much of that do you need? People turn into wolves; We all know the rules. (I liked the bit about werewolves loosing their right to a lawyer because they are not technically human anymore though. It just seemed so eerily... plausible). I wish a little more happened and the main characters needed to go full wolf WAY sooner. Also, I expected more wolf hanky-panky. I mean, two hot werewolves spending whole paragraphs thinking about how good the other one smells...let’s just get to it already! I read a lot of werewolf fiction and although I don’t primarily read it for the erotica, I have to admit I miss it when it’s not there. Hot, heaving, panting, fur-cover wolf bodies and no moonlight lusting in fragrant pine forests? You wouldn’t pull this nonsense on vampires.

I did very much enjoy the narrator. Usually I’m satisfied if the women’s voices don’t sound too goofy, but this guy has the gift. He really sold me on the characters and honestly kept it together for me when the plotting started to get a little loose. I hope they bring him back for the heavily setup sequel. He sounds hot too.

THRILLING

I received this audio book for a promo in exchange for an honest review. I devoured This book in a matter of hours. This was a thrilling tale and I can't wait for more! The only reason the performance gets 4 and not 5 stars is the inconsistent accent with Alex. The story was enjoyable, a refreshing take on werewolves with healthy friendships and love interests all around. The narrator brought the characters to life effectively and kept the reader's attention. This was a wonderful journey and I'm ready to devour book 2.

Great fantasy story and easy listen

Fun fantasy story. Easy listen and the narration was excellent. Cant wait for the next one so I can see where Corbin and Sofie (sp?) go next.