Mona Lisa Baffling
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This book utterly baffles me. I've read it twice now and I still can't decide if I love it or hate it. I've come to the conclusion that I've developed a sado-masochistic relationship with it, since I just started the second in the series.
Here's the deal: ER nurse Mona Lisa is young, beautiful, intelligent, strong, fast, beloved by children and has speshul powers that let her detect sickness. She can't heal - but she does suspect she might be able to one day. So far, so Mary Sue. Then, one night she mets Gryphon, a mysterious sexy man who turns out to be one of the Monere. The Monere are a race of people who once upon a time lived on the moon. Oh yes they did. And of course, Mona Lisa turns out to be a Monere Queen. But wait! She's a Mixed Blood Queen, being one-quarter human and three-quarters Monere, and the very first Mixed Blood Queen ever at that.
What follows is a strangely detached account of Mona Lisa's introduction to the world of the Monere, in which she befriends rapists (he didn't mean it, guys), makes enemies of all the other (cruel, bitchy, jealous) Monere Queens and makes numerous men want to sleep with her for no apparent reason.
It's silly. I mean, it's really silly. A lot of the writing lacks depth and emotion; descriptions and scene setting is particularly sparse. Fans of Laurell K Hamilton and Anne Bishop will cry foul a lot as hints of Merry Gentry and the Black Jewels abound. Mona Lisa alternates between naive 21-year-old nurse and ball-busting Monere queen faster than you can say WTF? and, for someone completely ignorant of the Monere at the start of the book, handles her new life with remarkable aplomb.
So is it worth reading? Yes, if you don't expect too much. It's entertainment, although not of the cerebral kind. Don't read this book expecting sparkling originality or striking plotting. Approach it light-heartedly and you may find yourself strangely addicted.
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Mona Lisa Awakening
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From the time she was a child, Mona Lisa knew she was different-but she never knew how different until a man of otherworldly beauty appeared during her night shift in the ER. Gryphon is hurting and hunted and he attracts her as no man ever has before. He is a Monère, one of the children of the moon-and what's more, so is she.
Long exiled from the moon, the men of the Monère serve-and mate with-imperious Queens who can channel the rays of their far-off homeland. Gryphon believes that Mona Lisa is a Queen- perhaps the first of Mixed Blood ever known. But her introduction to the nighttime court of the Monère, simmering with intrigue, casual lust, and calculated cruelty, is far from smooth.
Lisa is a nurse who knows she is much different from everyone around her she can sense anothers pain, not a problem until one night in the hospital a pale man draws her like no other. She then goes to help Gryphon who tells her she is different because she is part if the group that is Monere.
This book has been likened to Laurell K Hamilton's books and having not read those I can't compare but, this was a sensational debut from Sunny and I could sense the influence of Anne Bishops Black Jewels Trilogy in this book, the characters are brilliant, I loved the storyline its almost like a vampire story but, not quite.
I will be reading the rest of the series the ending just leaves you hanging on wanting more, the life of the Monere is brilliant any fan of Anne Bishops, like me will just love it!
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The start of something special
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When i bought this book i just couldn't put it down, it is so full of action and romance that i read it all in one day. It focuses on a young woman named Mona Lisa, who has just discovered she is not completely human. She meets an injured man called Gryphon who teaches her about her people and even more about herself. Her life becomes full of danger and new sensations lie around every corner. I can't wait to read the next book entitled Mona Lisa Blossoming, if its as good as this one then it will be fantastic!
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Undecided ...
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A new talent enters the dark fantasy realm with an enjoyable, though hardly demanding read. I hope that in future books Sunny 'fleshes' out her characters, who, apart from Mona Lisa, are rather two dimensional. I shall await the sequel in the hope of future developments / improvements.
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The start of a superb new series
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Four million years ago the Monère (the children of the moon) fled their dying planet and headed for Earth; these supernatural creatures inspiring the legends of werewolves and vampires. Humans remain unaware of their existence on Earth; however Lisa finds herself abruptly thrust into their secret world. Whilst working a hospital night shift she is irresistibly drawn to an injured man named Gryphon and learns from him that she is not only a half-blood Monère, but also the first ever mixed blood Queen, a female able to "bask"; drawing in the moon's energy and dispersing it amongst her people to revitalise and elongate their lives.
Discovering who she is, Lisa (aka Mona Lisa) accepts Gryphon as her guard and her lover; however he was abused and stabbed with a silver dagger by his previous Queen and with no known cure, it's only a matter of time before he dies. After learning that possibly another Queen may hold an antidote, Lisa is happy to stand before the Monère High Court and seek out other Queens in the hopes they may be able to save Gryphon's life.
No one can deny that even as a half-blood, Mona Lisa holds incredible power and is even able to walk in the sunlight (unlike the full blood Monère) a gift she passes on to both her lovers, Gryphon and another strong warrior named Amber. Yet danger threatens from many sides whilst Lisa faces the High Court, despite the presence of her warrior guards. She finds herself confronting her own hidden darkness, casual sexual liaisons (not always consensual), the equally casual cruelty of the Queens, the intrigue of the Monère court and the fact she is perceived as a threat to many of these Queens; a threat some quickly strive to eliminate before more full blood warriors and weaker half-bloods are drawn to a new and compassionate Queen.
"Mona Lisa Awakening" reminded me heavily of Anne Bishop's wonderful "Black Jewels" trilogy (one of the best series I have ever read) and I found this book an equally fascinating and compelling read. Like AB's trilogy, Sunny has created a society ruled by women of great power who fear the strong men they rule. Basking and mating with a Queen will increase a males strength to such a degree that eventually he will no longer require his Queen to re-energise him, so many warriors are either killed or abandoned when a Queen begins to fear their strength. Ok so the other Queens are a little stereotypical; cold, ruthless and determined to remain in power at all costs; at odds with the far more "human" and caring Mona Lisa who respects the strength of her own men and values their protection.
All I can say is that Sunny has a new die hard fan! I have just ordered this book's sequel "Mona Lisa Blossoming", which follows Mona Lisa's move to her newly appointed territory of New Orleans and pre-ordered "Lucinda, Darkly", book one of the "Demon Princess Chronicles". This is due for pub Aug 07 and is the tale of a demon dead Monère Queen.
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