Moonshine was an uneven experience for me. I loved, loved, the prohibition-era feeling of it (the heroine rides around on a bicycle in the snow and is called the "vampire suffgatte"). I loved the non-European character of Amir, as well as the emphasis on immigrants rights/vampire rights of all those new vampires living in tenements.Quite an interesting twist on the whole vampire culture.Zephyr is an ex-Defender (killer of vampires and Others (there seems to be fairies and djinni too) who has ref...

A 1920's vampire novel? Be still my paranormal loving heart. :-D

Have you ever picked up a book with a lackluster cover, read it, and thought to yourself, “Why isn’t this book a bestseller?” There are hundreds of books (perhaps more) that go unrecognized every year. These books are almost impossible to find at your local bookseller, there is little to no details about them, and they remain in obscurity. While bestsellers take up shelf space, crowd display windows, and leave avid readers thinking, “Why is this book even popular? It’s trite, poorly written, and...

Moonshine is quite different from the usual urban fantasy sprinkling the shelves. First of all, Zephyr does not put on leather pants to go hunting (though her name would suit her wicked well in one, eh?), she barely has clothes (clean ones at least) to put on for normal stuff. Actually, Zephyr is not a hunter. Not a willing one anyway. She’s what they call a “vampire suffragette.” And she’s a do-gooder. Like, the kind of do-gooder that’s involved in a gajillion societies and goes to pickets ever...

This book is set in the 20s. Not exactly the roaring 20s we usually are privileged to have in our movies, but more like the social problems of the 20s we rarely see. This book, of course, goes further and has another group of people who suffer the injustices of prejudice. "The Others" are any groups of people who aren't human.Zephyr is a "do-gooder" with a heart of gold. She doesn't blindly try to help anyone in need (but she does what she can for those who ask) and sees the hypocrisy of some of...

Basically this is the paranormal romance catering completely to my id. 1920s Jazz!Vampires! Zephyr being the awesome bleeding heart liberal ex-demon hunter that she is! Female-to-female interactions that completely pass the bedchel test and are ALL AWESOME. Daddy issues from multiple characters! Hot but morally ambiguous male lead! AND BEST OF ALL, a ‘open world fantasy’ that does NOT try to use Supernatural Creatures as a replacement metaphor to explore racism without any POC in the cast! (You

Meet Zephyr, the vampire suffragette (she's not a vampire, though, quite the opposite). This book hooked me and wouldn't let go. First of all, the setting: New York City, 1920s. Female heroine very involved in social justice who's also a teacher. Does it get any better than that, I wonder? The plot reminded me of The Godfather, in a good way - different factions of a city fighting for power and blood, with a lot more social commentary than Mario Puzo's novel as well as a dollop of supernatural e...

I couldn't decide quite how to rate this one. Although I ended up enjoying it, I was able to walk away from it initially and wasn't drawn back to it. If it hadn't been a challenge read, I might have left it a while longer. So ... 3.5★ even though I'd read #2, if it's to be a series. Moonshine tells the story of Zephyr Hollis living in NYC in the 1920's. She's the daughter of Montana's best demon hunter. She moved to NYC after deciding demon hunting wasn't for her. She considers herself able t...

Every time I go into Barnes & Noble, I always check out the bargain section. Well today I looked at it and I found this book. I'm not sure what it is that made me want to buy it. I think it was because it says on the cover that it is "A cross between Gangs of New York and True Blood. That sounds awesom. Anyway, I got it for $3.99!(gotta love that bargain section...lol)

Obviously I'm WAY behind the times with this one, but after reading SUMMER PRINCE, I went searching for anything the author had written and was excited to find she'd done an urban fantasy vampire centric novel (two even!). This definitely played with the urban fantasy genre with some delightful twists: setting the story back in time to Prohibition, creating a main character who's not as much of a "warrior" as a true social justice warrior - throwing all of her energy into trying to make things b...

An urban fantasy/paranormal romance set during Prohibition in an America in which supernatural beings called “Others” exist and are known to the public, but lack civil rights. Thankfully, they are not just stand-ins for real-life oppressed groups, as those groups also exist (and are oppressed) in the world of the novel.New York City teacher and full-time activist Zephyr Hollis, who becomes widely known during the book as “the singing vampire suffragette,” is the daughter of a demon-hunter, but u...

Sucked in from the onset, I fell instantly in awe of the singing vampire suffragette, Zephyr Hollis and her world of out of the coffin, vamps that have inalienable rights just like any other person. I find my fascination didn't end with the character of Ms. Hollis though, it also extended to her dashing counterpart Amir and her charming friends, Lily, Iris and Aileen. Johnson definitely has a knack for character creation. Paired with the strong 3 dimensional characters was also a very staccato a...

Moonshine is a 1920s Take on 2000s Paranormal Romance TrendsReviewed on virginiaheartsvintage.com.As someone who enjoys the odd dip into paranormal romance, Moonshine had been on my radar for a couple of years. I lost track of it because it’s not available on Kindle or through my library system. But when I read the synopsis for Johnson’s upcoming release, Trouble the Saints, I was so enthused I had to track down this book from a decade ago. I discovered, surprise, this book does indeed feel like...

Zephyr Hollis has a reputation as a do-gooder. As a singing vampire suffragette, actually. From Brooklyn to Midtown to Battery Park to the LES, she and her bicycle are near-ubiquitous as she runs from protest to meeting to night school, where she teaches. One night, before class, she comes across a young boy, victim of an Other attack, and tries to save him. She’s helped by Amir, a mysterious Other who attends her classes, who in turn offers her a deal: if she will help him track down Rinaldo, t...

Loaned to me by a friend as a bonus (in addition to the book I'd asked for). Now vampire books are following me home!Overall, I enjoyed this book. While the plot felt a little bit wobbly to me in a few places, the story kept me interested. The end is obviously a set-up for a sequel, and I'm interested in reading it. The story stands out among the recent flood of stories featuring vampires because of some unique qualities. The author does a good job making a case for vampires (and other non-human...

I made it to page 20 when I realized that this book didn't captivate me, which surprised me as I usually love reading about prohibition era. But with kids being vampires changed against their will turned me off. This one just wasn't for me.

Aside from some nitpicky things, I loved this to death - but the ending. The ending! :( IS THERE GOING TO BE A SEQUEL? Please tell me there's going to be a sequel!

The only other work I’ve read by this author before is a short story in the Zombies vs. Unicorns anthology, but their story was my favorite out of all of them, so I was hoping to really like this book. However I just could not get into it at all. It was well-written and the concept was cool - vampires and supernatural creatures in a late 1920’s era, set in a magical realism world where vampires and “Others” are recognized and accepted as a normal part of society. But there was a lack of world bu...

You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/04/...How did I possibly miss Moonshine! Zephyr Hollis, former vamp hunter and current crusader for social causes, teaches night classes to immigrants and the underprivileged, but by day, takes part in all manner of protests and marches. The only problem is, these endeavors are not going to make her rich, and when she’s approached by one of her students to find and help take down a vicious vampire mob boss, she takes the job. Li...