Release Day Review ~ Hiding the Moon (Fish Out of Water: Book 4/Racing for the Sun: Book 2) by Amy Lane (Giveaway)

Release Day Review ~ Hiding the Moon (Fish Out of Water: Book 4/Racing for the Sun: Book 2) by Amy Lane

Title: Hiding the Moon
Series: Fish Out of Water: Book 4 (Cross-over)
Secondary Series: Racing for the Sun: Book 2
Author: Amy Lane
Release Date: October 23, 2018
Category: Paranormal
Pages: 206

Dreamspinner  

Can a hitman and a psychic negotiate a relationship while all hell breaks loose?

The world might not know who Lee Burton is, but it needs his black ops division and the work they do to keep it safe. Burton’s spent his life following orders—until he sees a kill jacket on Ernie Caulfield. Ernie isn’t a typical target, and something is very wrong with Burton’s chain of command.

Ernie’s life may seem adrift, but his every action helps to shelter his mind from the psychic storm raging within. When Burton shows up to save him from assassins and club bunnies, Ernie seizes his hand and doesn’t look back. Burton is Ernie’s best bet in a tumultuous world, and after one day together, he’s pretty sure Burton knows Ernie is his destiny as well.

But when Burton refused Ernie’s contract, he kicked an entire piranha tank of bad guys, and Burton can’t rest until he takes down the rogue military unit that would try to kill a spacey psychic. Ernie’s in love with Burton and Burton’s confused as hell by Ernie—but Ernie’s not changing his mind and Burton can’t stay away. Psychics, assassins, and bad guys—throw them into the desert with a forbidden love affair and what could possibly go wrong?

**Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by DreamSpinner Press for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.**

Hiding the Moon by Amy Lane is listed as being book four in the Fish Out of Water series and a second book for the Racing for the Sun series. This is kind of book four, but not really book four in the series. You really need to read the first three books in the Fish Out of Water series before reading this one. But, this book runs concurrent to book three so you’re seeing another side of what happens in book three. I have not read the first book in the Racing the Sun series. If you want to read that book, you should read it before book three of the Fish Out of Water series because once you’re reading book three of the Fish Out of Water, it’s too late. Was all of that confusing enough?

This book introduced us to Burton and Ernie. Yes, the author went there. If you’ve read book three of the Fish Out of Water series, you’ve already met these characters. Honestly, if you haven’t read it, stop reading this and go do so. I think reading this book before that one will really ruin the enjoyment of it. Anyway, back to Burton and Ernie, who I struggled to take seriously throughout the story because of their names. And they were serious characters with serious issues, but it didn’t matter.

Burton and Ernie met because of Burton’s mission, he’s is an assassin for some organization. He saves Ernie, takes him to his friend’s to keep him safe but can’t deny they have a connection. Burton isn’t looking for ties, Ernie is looking for them and he’s found them with Burton and isn’t willing to give them up. He’s psychically linked to Burton so even though the men don’t spend physical time together, they have their mental connection. I liked these characters and many of the characters in the book, who I met previously and liked. It was interesting getting Burton and Ernie’s viewpoint on Jackson and Ellery.

I do not enjoy or read psychic/paranormal books, but no way was I going to pass up the chance of the fourth book in the series. I enjoyed this book, don’t get me wrong, but I went into it thinking that it was book four. Imagine my disappointment when the little bit of Jackson and Ellery included in the story was what happened in book three of their series. And then there were the psychic elements. And there was Burton and Ernie. If you love Jackson and Ellery, but hate psychic elements, this book may not be for you and you won’t be missing anything in their series. But, if you love the Fish Out of Water series, like or don’t mind psychic elements and would love to see another side of everything that happened in book three, definitely grab this book!

Rating: 4 stars

5+ Stars

Hiding the Moon is the 4th installment of the Fish Out of Water series and focuses on two characters introduced in the last book - Burton and Ernie. I don’t know how Ms. Lane managed to improve on a fantastically witty, action-packed 5-star series, but she sure did. Hiding the Moon evokes an emotional tenderness that I didn’t realize was missing in the first three books until reading this one. While I definitely enjoyed reading about Ellery and Jackson seeing they were a well-matched pair and their genuine love, something about Burton and Ernie’s story just felt more connected and deep.

Ernie was just such a disarming and charming foil to Burton’s stone-faced soldier. His ability to see past the facade that was Burton to his true core and heart (that goes for anyone Ernie meets, of course) was just fascinating. I truly became invested in these two finding their happily ever after.

I’m also impressed with the plot timeline. It’s a parallel POV to the events in Fish Out of Water. Somehow, this new POV to already told events was just as engaging, if not more. Ms. Lane was able to add another layer to the events in Fish Out of Water to make an already great story even better.

The storytelling, rich and descriptive setting, and lovable characters made me feel like I was in that garage with Ernie or in the comms room with Burton. Definitely a page-turner and very well done!

*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Dreamspinner Press for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***

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