Cast in Moonlight

This novella could serve as an excellent taste of the Elantra series if a reader didn't want to commit to something as long as one of the novels, as it occurs before the series begins, when Kaylin is a teen, It is the tale of her first days with the Hawks, and it is wonderful. I really enjoyed it.

I am not going to bother reviewing this on my blog. It was a free exclusive on Audible and no longer available. You can get it in a short story collection, but not as a stand alone.

It is a prequel to the Chronicle of Elantra series. This was put out by Harlequin's Luna (their fantasy imprint) and if I had known that I probably wouldn't have listened to it. But it doesn't have any romance in it. It is a simple and decent novella about a 13 year old that gets adopted into the police force in a fantasy world. She has some special, but unknown powers and together with the others they are see that there are a series of child murders.

The description suggests that she is set up as part of a sting operation in a child prostitution ring. But that is not accurate. There were children, they were sold into slavery and then murdered, but no sex involved.

I am mixed about whether I want to read more. Honestly the imprint scares me a bit. I don't mind a bit of romance (I read all of the twilight books), but harlequin is not known for high quality writing. And the fact that this is a prequel with absolutely no romance, and the first book starts 7 years later when she is all grown up makes me a bit wary. If I find it cheap or in the library I might try the first.