In Moonlight and Memories Trilogy
Author: Julie Ann Walker
Reviewer: Jennifer
Rating: B
What I’m Talking About:
In Moonlight and Memories is a story about three best friends over the span of 12 years. Maggie and Luc meet first and become best friends when Maggie really needs someone like Luc in her life. She lost her parents in Katrina. Then comes Cash and the group of two becomes a group of three with Maggie and Cash dating. The three were stuck to each other like glue until one night Cash leaves Maggie high and dry on prom night. Luc steps up and helps Maggie in more ways than one that night. Maggie is left all alone when both Cash and then Luc leave for the army. They break off all contact with Maggie. Ten years later they are both back in her life. In Moonlight and Memories follows the threesome through the present and past. We get flashbacks of their teenage years together. In Volume Two we get more details on Maggie’s life after the boys leave through letters she wrote to them both while they were gone.
In Moonlight and Memories is one standalone story broken into three volumes. As all three volumes are about the same three main characters, I was confused at first why Julie Ann Walker (or publisher) choose to break up the story in this manner since they are all being released together. But as I finished reading all three I think I know the reason. All good stories have three stages: the beginning, the middle, and the end. Some endings are the beginning of another story. (See, I have to be a little vague because I don’t want to spoil the whole story for you. Just know that sometimes the most important lines in a book can be the beginning lines, and remember them when reading the book.)
I was ready to give In Moonlight and Memories a C- rating as I was reading Volume One. Why? As a Southerner, I am tuned into over the top stereotypes and the overuse of Southernisms. The story is set in NOLA, and while I’m not from New Orleans, the overuse of references to ALL things New Orleans kind of got on my nerves. I skimmed some of the dialogue text because of this. Again, this my reading pet peeve, and it may not bother other readers.
After I finished reading In Moonlight and Memories I was ready to give it an A+ rating for the characters, story, and the feelings their story brought out in me as I was reading. I’m not a crier; I have no soul, so when a book makes me ugly cry and has my husband worried about me, then it’s a dang fine book because the author did a fantastic job of making me fall for the characters and put myself in their lives so much that I feel everything they are feeling.
In the end, I had to do some rating math and take want I didn’t like about In Moonlight and Memories and what I loved about it to come up with an honest B rating. Many of you will give it a higher or lower rating. But just know that just because In Moonlight and Memories didn’t get that A+ rating, it’s still a dang fine read, and you will want to read all three volumes back to back. Well if you’re like me you might need a breather towards the end. I had to step away to finish my ugly crying before I could continue.
If you are looking to be emotionally pulled into a beautiful story full of love, life, happiness, and sadness grab a copy of In Moonlight and Memories and a box of tissues and settle in for a great love story.
My Rating: B, Liked It
Jennifer
About the Book:
Maggie: Ten years ago, Cash Armstrong stole my heart. Then he promptly joined the army—dragging my best friend with him—and left me crying on the front porch in a red sequined prom dress. Now he’s back. They’re both back. Cash, the one who still has my heart. And Luc, the one who saved my life.
Cash: How do you know if you’re at the end of the beginning or the beginning of the end? That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out since a traumatic brain injury made me “unfit to serve.” I’m back in New Orleans, and picking up the shattered pieces of my past means I must confront where my life’s journey began… and where it all might end.
Luc: Long ago, Maggie May was mine. Not mine in the way you might think. She was mine because she was my only friend. Then Cash came along and we became brothers by something stronger than blood. We became brothers by choice. When tragedy struck, I was forced to make a decision that changed all our lives. I thought, after ten years, it was safe to come back home. I was wrong…
Release Date: July 1, 2019 (all three volumes)
Publisher: Limerence Publications LLC
Series: Moonlight and Memories Trilogy
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format(s): paperback, e-book
Book Source: Author
Purchase Info:
Amazon