Embracing the Moon by Jeannie Levig is a contemporary, friends-to-lovers romance.
Going to EJ and Jinx’s wedding has stirred up all kinds of emotions for Gwen Jamison. Emotions that are making it harder and harder to suppress her attraction to her coworker and longtime friend, Taylor Matthews. Realizing she can’t put the djinn back in the bottle, she decides the only thing she can do is give in and finally experience what being with Taylor is like. But she has no illusions: Taylor isn’t interested in happy ever afters. All Gwen can do is remember the lessons she learned when she was young – she can’t trust love to last. So, she’ll hold on to her heart as best she can and hope that she and Taylor can keep their friendship when things end.
Taylor Matthews doesn’t believe in love for herself. Oh, she’s had it before, and it led to the biggest mistake of her life. She won’t ever put herself in the position to lose herself in someone else again. When she learns that Gwen wants to finally explore the attraction between them, she can’t help but agree. But what happens when she becomes intimate with someone she already loves? Ignoring the warning bells can only work for so long.
Yet before Gwen and Taylor can decide exactly where their new relationship is going, life takes a tragic turn, bringing Gwen face to face with the only other woman she’s ever loved. The one who never came back for her. And Taylor is helpless to do anything but look on and support Gwen as best she can while wondering if their relationship has ended before it ever really began.
Characters
Victoria: Gwen and Taylor are thoughtfully developed. They are multifaceted, and we get a front row seat to see who they were and who they become due to the unexpected chain of events that change their lives. The Gwen and Taylor we meet at the beginning of the book are forced to adapt to a new reality that’s beyond their control. I think those types of scenarios are fascinating. When unusual circumstances force characters to reevaluate how they’ve lived their lives, I’m captivated. Levig handles this with a light touch, trusting her readers to invest in Gwen and Taylor’s journey.
Amy: Jeannie Levig is impressive at creating characters with depth and nuance, and who make us want to know more about them and what happens to them next. I remember loving Gwen and Taylor from Embracing the Dawn so much. The witty banter between them, the friendship between the three of them (including EJ in there), all made me want more about them. I wanted to know what would happen if the banter became a reality. This book brings that desire to fruition. But in typical Levig fashion, the journey isn’t as simple as we might have thought. Here for the first time, we see what’s behind the looks, the banter, and the flirting. Both Gwen and Taylor have baggage from the past, experiences that have made both wary of falling in love. And we get to see both women as they try to reconcile the past and navigate through their fears in order to possibly find something incredible with each other. And once again, Levig makes the ride layered and nuanced, and gives us so much to think about along the way. Of course, she also brings back beloved characters from the first book, as well as introducing another one that I’d love to see more about. Learning about Krista makes me wonder if Levig has a third time of day we can embrace.
Writing
Victoria: Levig is one of my automatic, one-click authors. Her writing is strong and direct while also packing a strong emotional punch. Embracing the Moon has a couple of plot twists I didn’t see coming – at all. We are treated to heartbreaking backstories and unshakeable longings for the future. One of the things I loved about Embracing the Moon is the depiction of the ease, support, and safety found in platonic relationships between women. That’s central to the plot, showing how the group can carry an individual through life’s most difficult circumstances. Slumber parties aren’t just for tweens!
Amy: I have to agree. I love the way Levig writes in a manner that makes her books so easy to read, yet she packs an emotional wallop in there just as easily, making her words resonate deeply within and touch our innermost being. And the way she writes the various relationships between these characters is something that makes me long for friendships of the same depth and caliber.
Pros And My Favourite Parts
Victoria: While it’s not necessary to read Embracing the Dawn to enjoy this book, it makes the reading experience even more rewarding. All the side characters, except one, figure prominently in Embracing the Dawn so it’s much like a family reunion. I hope Levig is considering adding a third book to this series.
Amy: I loved seeing the characters from the first book, and I absolutely love the big family that everyone has become. I have to say that the scenes of Gwen and Taylor giving in to their desires are some of the hottest I’ve read in a while. Those two together are S P I C Y! At the same time, I loved getting to know these two characters better, and the adversity they go through in order to get back to each other in the end made that ending so much sweeter.
Victoria: Holy cow, Amy. How did I not comment on the spice? Levig writes some steamy, steamy scenes that shouldn’t be read outside the safety of your own home. The sex scenes truly highlight the passion that’s been simmering between Gwen and Taylor for a decade.
Cons And Heads Up
Victoria: Nothing from me.
Amy: She made me cry, damnit! Several times. This was an emotional read for me, probably a result of a personal experience over the last two years that made parts of this story hit hard.
Victoria: *hands Amy a tissue*
The Conclusion
Victoria: I was so happy when I got my hands on Embracing the Moon. I’d been anticipating it’s release for quite some time, and it lived up to my expectations. There’s much more to this romance than just the standard will-they-won’t-they plot. Levig invites the reader to contemplate some of the grander questions about life, love, and the nature of our paths in this world. I ended up reading Embracing the Moon twice because on the first read I got so wrapped up in the story I forgot to read it with my reviewer hat on. I’m certain it will take its place among my permanent rereads list. I can’t wait for the next offering from this author.
Amy: I can’t recommend this book enough. For all the emotional overload it gave me, it was surprisingly low angst, even with the addition of the new character to the scene, a character from Gwen’s past that might have made her ending with Taylor impossible to get to. But even then Levig handles things in a way that invites the reader to think about the big questions in life, the what-ifs that if they’d come true would have changed the course of everyone’s lives. I also really liked actually seeing Namastacey in real life, so to speak, working her magic wisdom to help people on their journeys through life. Hell, I have to admit that the love story I expected after twisting Levig’s arm into writing about these two was so much more than I thought it would be. I know Embracing the Dawn is permanently on my reread shelf, Embracing the Moon just joined it there.
Excerpt from Embracing the Moon by Jeannie Levig
Gwen stood on the bridge, watching the sunset, two flutes of champagne on the railing in front of her.
“Really?” Taylor asked.
Gwen glanced at her.
Taylor gestured to the glasses.
“I had food,” Gwen said, then flashed a smile. “Besides, I didn’t want to have to walk all the way back to the reception for the second one.”
Taylor studied her. “What’s going on with you? Why are you deliberately getting drunk? You don’t drink this way.”
Gwen rolled her eyes. “Can’t I let loose once in a while?”
“Yes, but that isn’t what you’re doing.”
Gwen turned back to the setting sun.
“When you let loose, you have a good time,” Taylor said gently. “You dance. You laugh.” She remembered their celebration of EJ’s, and therefore Gwen’s, last promotion with a smile. “You put straws on your teeth and talk like a walrus.”
Gwen’s lips twitched. “And you wonder why I don’t do it very often.”
“But that’s not what you’re doing today. Is it?” Taylor brushed the sweep of Gwen’s hair from her cheek and curled it behind her ear, then trailed her fingertips across Gwen’s nape.
Gwen sighed and tilted her head back, the tautness in her neck loosening under Taylor’s touch. A whisper of a smile shaped her mouth. “That’s nice.”
Taylor slid her hand under Gwen’s hair and began a gentle massage.
Gwen leaned closer and rested her head in the hollow of Taylor’s shoulder. She let out a quiet moan that stirred deep in Taylor’s belly. “I understand why women will do anything for you.”
Gwen’s statement came out in such a soft whisper, Taylor was sure she hadn’t heard correctly. “What?”
Gwen shifted, lifting her gaze to Taylor’s face. She said something, but Taylor missed it, her focus claimed by the warmth of Gwen’s breath on her skin and the caress of her fingers toying with the pendant just below the hollow of Taylor’s throat.
“Gwen.” Taylor’s voice was hoarse. She forced herself to still her hand on the back of Gwen’s neck.
Gwen turned in the curve of her arm. “Don’t stop.” Then her lips were on Taylor’s. Soft. Warm. Supple. It was a kiss. Not one like they’d shared before, not a hello or good-bye peck, or a quick “Happy birthday” or “Merry Christmas” brush. All Taylor would have to do to bring this kiss fully to life was move her mouth against Gwen’s, slip the tip of her tongue inside. She could sense it, feel it in the press of Gwen’s body against hers, in the thrum of desire in her own. This was Gwen, the woman she’d wanted for years but could never have. Then again, this was Gwen.
She couldn’t. Not like this. Not with her drunk. Not without finding out what the hell was going on. She gripped Gwen’s shoulders and started to ease her back.
Gwen threaded her arms around Taylor’s neck, drove her fingers into her hair. She moved against her, her mouth covering Taylor’s.
Taylor groaned, fighting her natural tendencies. No. No, she couldn’t. But Gwen wanted it too. Right?
So why couldn’t she?
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Series
Embracing the Moon
Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 9781635554624
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
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