Review: Moonstruck by Aleksandr Voinov & L.A. Witt

Anthony Rawson is screwed. Fans, producers, and his agent are all chomping at the bit for the next book in his wildly popular Triple Moon series, but he’s got epic writer’s block and is way behind deadline. Then he reads Axis Mundi, a fanfic novel by his online friend “SirMarrok.” It isn’t just a great story—it’s exactly what the series needs.

Samir Daoud is thrilled when “Ulfhedinn” wants to meet up after reading Axis Mundi. When Ulfhedinn turns out to be Anthony Rawson himself, Samir is starstruck. When Anthony tells him he wants to add Axis Mundi to the Triple Moon series, Samir is sure he’s being pranked. And when their online chemistry carries over—big-time—into real life, Samir is convinced it’s all too good to be true.

The problem is … it might be. The book deal, the sex, the money—everything is amazing. But fame isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and Samir is left wondering if Anthony really loves him, or just loves his book.

This 95,000-word novel has been previously published under a different title.

Moonstruck (if I’m not mistaken) is a revamped version of Lone Wolf. I didn’t read the original, but ‘Moonstruck’ works as a standalone removed from the series.

The book tells the love story of two authors - Anthony Rawson, author of a massively popular paranormal series with writer’s block, and Samir Daoud, a fanfic author and one of Anthony’s biggest fans.

When Anthony’s at his wits’ end trying to get the next book out, he comes up with an idea - to include Samir’s brilliant fanfic piece as the next book.

Of course, Samir wasn’t aware that his online friend was Anthony Rawson himself. But with a little persuasion, he’s down for the ride.

From the moment they meet in person, keeping their relationship strictly professional isn’t easy.

Their online friendship easily moves to IRL. I could appreciate this. I have some awesome online friends that I imagine I’d have a blast with IRL too!

But underneath that new in-person friendship, there’s also an undeniable tension between Samir and Anthony.

When they give in to it, it’s hot. Just a bit dirty, and sometimes a bit sweet.

The romance builds gradually as Samir and Anthony iron out the details of their professional partnership, and get freaky in the meantime.

This is where things didn’t really pan out for me - the romance and the professional stuff.

The romance isn’t exactly insta-love, but it’s quick and a lot of it rests on Anthony and Samir’s online friendship. Which is fine, but readers just have to take the two men at their word that their online friendship meant as much to them as it did.

I just didn’t really see the grand romance on-page, so it seemed rushed and luke-warm to me.

And the professional stuff. First, I had trouble believing that an author and his team/publisher would so easily integrate a fanfic author into a wildly popular series.

But more importantly - that whole side of the book bored me. The ironing out of details, the back and forth on the books, the fans, etc. It all took up a huge chunk of the book, and I just didn’t find it interesting.

Overall, this was an okay read. I liked the beginning of Samir and Anthony’s relationship, but by the end the lukewarm romance and all of the writing industry stuff just didn’t keep me interested.

A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.