Would You BUY or PASS? Moon Bayou by JR Rain #FridayFiveChallenge #Paranormal

Welcome to the ‘Friday Five Challenge.’

Would you BUY or PASS if you had only a thumbnail image and five minutes to decide?

Here is my contribution for this week:

Having just read and thoroughly enjoyed The Black Hours by Alison Williams I was in a witchy kind of mood so typed ‘Witches’ into the Amazon search bar, after scrolling down quite a few pages I found this:

Moon Bayou (Samantha Moon Case Files Book 1) by JR Rain & Rod Kierkegaard.

Blurb:

From the author of the Vampire for Hire Series, J.R. Rain, comes a brand new Samantha Moon spin-off story co-written by bestselling author of The Dead Detective and The Department of Magic, Rod Kierkegaard Jr.

Samantha Moon loses everything – her kids, her beloved, the very unlife she knows – when a powerful curse catapults her backwards in time, to Louisiana during the days of Marie Laveau.

Though she pines for the familiar world of the present, Samantha must move fast – the superhuman vampiric abilities she relied on in prior cases have been compromised by the curse, leaving her vulnerable to a new kind of lurking evil…

Now, her talents as a private investigator will be ever more critical. Can Samantha Moon unlock the key to the past and return to her present, or will she forever remain ancient history? 

My Analysis:

Cover – I love everything about the cover – colour, typography, and the mask. It doesn’t give me any clues to the storyline, or tells me if it matches my search criteria, but it certainly hooked me in.

The book blurb – Yep, straight away I know this is my kind of book. My only worry is that because it’s a spin-off story I might need to read other Samantha Moon novels first to understand the character.

The Stats – There are 198 pages, and the Kindle price is £3.99 (also available in paperback and audio).  There are 16 reviews on Amazon.co.uk, 11 of them are four and five stars, and 228 reviews on Amazon.com, 80% of them four and five stars.  As I reached the reviews I spotted a well-known name which clinched the deal for me – Yes, the top review was from our very own Rosie Amber, and this is what she said:

Moon Bayou is a paranormal fantasy featuring vampires, werewolves and the voodoo culture around New Orleans. This book follows the already popular Samantha Moon series.

Samantha is a Private Investigator and lives in California, but she’s been asked to investigate the disappearance of Wendy Lo. Missing for six months, her parents are desperate for any news. Samantha is an unusual investigator in that she is a vampire, with mind reading skills, plus she can go out in the sunlight, due to some fancy rings she wears. However New Orleans has an uncomfortable atmosphere which she can’t put her finger on. More curious is the warning she receives from a friend about a blood price on her head, set in 1860. A ridiculous statement since Sam wasn’t around then, or is it?

When she’s captured by the Tête de Mort Krewe and help comes from friends she doesn’t remember, Sam has more questions than answers. It looks like Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau is the one she must turn to, but contacting her on the night of their most powerful ceremony has life changing results.

I loved this story, I have read the first Samantha Moon book, which reminds me I need to catch up with this series. The storyline was fast and full of surprises. I wanted to howl like a werewolf when the book ended, I wanted more!

BUY or PASS? – I was tempted by the cover and the blurb, but to spot a glowing endorsement from Rosie sealed the deal. It’s a BUY from me.

Moon Bayou – buy your copy.

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Take a look at who else has taken part in the Friday Five Challenge:

Rosie discovers the Death of a Charming Man

Cathy finds a murder mystery

Liz is busy doing the A to Z Challenge so no Friday Five from her but do pop over and offer your support.

The original idea for the Friday Five Challenge comes from Rosie Amber, and you can join up at https://rosieamber.wordpress.com

What is the Friday Five Challenge?

In today’s online shopping age, readers often base their buying decisions on small postage stamp size book covers (thumbnails), a quick glance at the book description and the review. How much time do they spend making that buying decision?

AUTHORS – You often only have seconds to get a reader to buy your book, is your book cover and book bio up to it?

The Challenge is this… IN ONLY FIVE MINUTES…

1) Go to any online book supplier,

2) Randomly choose a category,

3) Speed through the book covers, choose one which has instantly appealed to your eye,

4) Read the book Bio/ Description of this book,

5) If there are reviews, check out a couple,

6) Make an instant decision, would you BUY or PASS?

(then write a little analysis about your decision)