Oracle’s Moon by Thea Harrison

Paranormal Romance

Oh My Goodness!!  This series just keeps getting better and better.  Oracle's Moon is the fourth book in The Elder Races series.  Before I go any further here is what Goodreads has to say about Oracle’s Moon:

When Grace Andreas's sister, Petra, and her husband are both killed, Grace inherits the Power and responsibilities of the Oracle of Louisville, as well as her sister's two young children--neither of which she is prepared for. Then Khalil, Demonkind and Djinn Prince of House Marid, decides to make himself a part of the household both as guardian and counterpoint to Grace's impudence towards the Elder Races.

Characters:  Most of the characters from previous book are back.  We briefly meet Khalid and Grace at the end of the last book.  I liked Khalid in the last book, got really aggravated with him in first of this book and got back to liking him in the end.  He is a really fascinating character.  Composed of energy he does not have to have a body which could be a problem in a romance but Harrison makes it work and work beautifully.

Grace on the other hand is doing her best in a really rotten situation.  She has money problems, physical problems left over from the wreck that killed her sister, two young children to take care of and if that is not enough she has inherited the position and all the power of the Oracle.

Both Grace and Khalid grow and change as the book progresses.

Conflict:  At first it looks like the conflict between Grace and Khalid is the main focus of the story.  While much of that conflict is internal it is portrayed as dialog between the two.  That leads to some really funny and amusing moments between the two.  The external conflict is hinted at as the story moves but still caught me by surprise and gave a new twist to the story.

Plot:  The plot in the book built smoothly and slowly driven by the internal and external conflict.  Much of it is character driven and revealed by dialog.

Writing:  Thea Harrison wrote 16 romances under another name before stopping to get several graduate degrees and raise a child.  You can tell she knows her craft.  She adds just the right amount of humor to the story to keep the action from getting too intense.  I started reading and did not want to put the book down.  For me that is the mark of a very good writer.

Lord’s Fall is the next book in The Elder Races series.  In each previous book a very mismatched pair were introduced and set up for a book where they would find they were made for each other.  Didn’t happen in Oracle’s Moon so I wonder what Thea Harrison has up her sleeve.  Will it even be a romance?   I guess I will just have to wait and see.

Berkley Sensation published Oracle’s Moon by Thea Harrison in 2012.