My Fiction Nook: ARC Review: Hiding the Moon by Amy Lane

Sunday, October 28, 2018

ARC Review: Hiding the Moon by Amy Lane

From The Blurb:

A Fish Out of Water/Racing for the Sun Crossover

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. Lee’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 Lee 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 Lee 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?

Karen's rating:

This may be Burt and Ernie but it's not the children's version...

If you haven't read 'Racing for the Sun' or the first 3 books in Ms Lane's 'Fish Out of Water' series...specifically 'A Few Good Fish' I strongly recommend reading them because for me while there's a lot of overlap between those two books and this one. 'Hiding the Moon' does more than retell events from 'Racing the Sun' or 'Fish Out of Water' it's the link that solidifies the connection between these books.

We first met Lee Burton (Burt) in 'Racing for the Sun' when he came to the aid of Sonny and Ace finding not only men in need of his help but friends who would offer him a safe place to go when he needed it for himself or for a rather unusual young man with a talent for knowing things that he shouldn't and for being a diversion that Lee finds he can't live without.

It's not until 'A Few Good Fish' that we meet Ernie. When Burt is given the task of 'taking out' Ernie. He sees someone who is not a threat to national security or a terrorist of any kind but a young man who makes him want and distracts him but Burt tries to convince himself that he needs to walk away from Ernie but the heart wants what the heart wants and for Burt his heart wants Ernie.

While much of 'Hiding the Moon' takes place during the the same time frame as events from 'A Few Good Fish'. It's not Jackson and Ellery's lives or perspective that we're following and it's not until later in the story that Jackson and Ellery become a more direct part of events but even then for me Ernie and Burt were still the main focus of what was happening.

I have to admit I'm not a huge fan of stories that are retold from a different perspective quite honestly I find them to be boring and repetitive more often than not. That was not the case for me with this story and I think that one of the main reasons for this is that 'Hiding the Moon' isn't about retracing the actions of Jackson and Ellery but finding out what others were doing at that time...specifically Burt and Ernie with a bit of Sonny and Ace thrown in since they also play a role in both of the books that I've mentioned.

I liked Burt in 'Racing for the Sun' and was pleasantly surprised to see him resurface in 'A Few Good Fish' but here in 'Hiding the Moon' seeing Burt and Ernie's relationship as it evolves has been absolutely delightful. I loved having a closer look at how these two met and their lives came to be tangled together.

Ernie may seem like someone who's partying their way through life with drugs and too much sex but he's so much more. Ernie's what some people would call gifted and when his gift gets noticed by the wrong people...his life is no longer his own. And it's only through a streak of luck that Burt is the one who is given the assignment to terminate Ernie.

While I enjoyed the additional perspective into the events from 'A Few Good Fish' for me the best part was seeing Burt and Ernie's relationship grow from their first meeting and their interactions. On one hand we have Lee Burton by the book, black ops, military man, solid, dependable, a good man who's job is something bigger and then we have Ernie gifted with psychic abilities, so much more self sufficient than he seems, strong in ways that are less obvious than Burt's strength but someone who's lonely and wants nothing more than to have a family to call his own.

From start to finish this book was a total pleasure to read and I loved Burt and Ernie as individuals and as a couple they were delightful. My one niggle here is that I want more Burt and Ernie (yes, I do love that it's Burt and Ernie). I'd love a story that gave us more about their life maybe picking up where this story leaves off...it's just a wish I have.

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An ARC of 'Hiding the Moon' was graciously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.