Moonlight in the Morning (Edilean)

Lavender Morning (Edilean)Again a good read by the same author . Storyline was an unraveling mystery. Could not wait to finish to find out the mtystery. This is for Lavender Morning (Edilean). Author. Jude Deveraux.

This is a light read, a romance, yet another trilogy Book 1 of 3 about college mates. It has a strong female character, at home with a tool belt around her waist yet brimming with an artist’s creative sensitivity. The ‘getting to know each other in the dark,’ disturbed me instead of keeping me in the intended masterful lusty suspense.
Plot is rather weak with characters moving homes in the snap of a thought as the well-to-do are wont to do. Jecca’s Dad gives up his store and moves to Edilean to open a new one; Tristan gives up his practice in Edilean and moves to Park Avenue just like that and Jecca swears Edilean will stifle her artistic dreams and needs to be in New York. In the end, its not the painting that we’re made to believe is Jecca’s soul, but designing clothes for children and a fat contract that convinces her that Edilean is not so bad after all.
Lucy is one person with a secret and I will have to read Book 2 if I want to know more about that. But will pass, alas.

Jecca Layton needed a break from her gallery job and a revitalization of her artistic talents, so she eagerly took her friend up on her invite to Edilean for the summer. Jecca is thinking the small town may just be the place to help her regenerate and possibly come to terms with what life has in store for her. It doesn't hurt that her friend's brother, Reede, whom she has crushed upon over the years, may be coming home as well. However, Jecca never counted on Dr. Tristan Aldredge falling over her in the dark and upsetting more than she could have ever dreamed.

Dr. Tristan Aldredge is tired of being hampered by his looks and good manners. He just wants to settle down, but he can't find a woman who is willing to look past the surface to his inner self. Tris knew Jecca was coming to town, and he eagerly looked forward to seeing her again. He was intrigued by her from years ago, but he never dreamed that she could be his destiny even though he retained a photo of her over the years. Now Tristan needs to try and convince Jecca, the big city girl, that her life would be better off in Edilean with him, rather than chasing after the dreams that she has set for herself. Only this could prove to be more difficult that Tris thought because Jecca isn't open to going with the flow and letting things direct and pick her. She prefers to force things, to be in control of her destiny.

Moonlight in the Morning is like coming home after being out on your own lost in the cold, dark night, and finding the lights there waiting for you with the loving embrace of a loved one to make you feel all warm inside.

At first I was a little reluctant to read Moonlight in the Morning, because I thought it wouldn't be full of angst, anguish, heartache and pain . . . I was right! Moonlight in the Morning was full of gentle, kind, caring, love, and compassion with lots of tender moments. Nothing was way over the top in Moonlight in the Morning, but instead rang with embers of realism throughout.

I completely adored Moonlight in the Morning. It had me in tears in a few parts and warmed me up in others, and I thoroughly enjoyed the flirting that went on between Tristan and Jecca. I especially loved the part where Tristan went out on a limb, risking everything he knew for Jecca and she had to realize that what she thought she wanted, she didn't really want at all. She learned to go with the flow, that she would be placed where she was most needed in the end. I especially liked that Tris compromised to obtain his goal in Moonlight in the Morning. He did something that he didn't really want to do, but the ends justified the means . . . again!

I eagerly await the second offering in the Edilean trilogy so that I can find out what secrets some secondary characters had in Moonlight in the Morning, and to see how Jecca's friend gets her HEA.

Reviewed by Vanessa
For Joyfully Reviewed

Male Romantic Lead is a Stalker!

Spoilers ahead!

The idea that any sane woman wouldn't run for her life after finding out that the town doctor has been obsessed with her for years... driving to her home town? or her gallery in NYC just in case he might run into her? Even going so far as to print a picture he got of her from his cousin and pin it to his mirror - is laughable! Not only does she not run to the local police - she falls for him - even after he refuses to let her see his face for days!?!? Totally round the bend crazy plot line. I found myself calling my sister to describe the plot of this travesty of a novel for a good laugh at the main charaters expense.

Also - Jecca was flighty and obnoxious. Oh "I’m here to paint, oh I’m doing the painting for my best friend’s jewelry line (a real job) oh I’m renovating a child’s play house and NOT doing the work my best friend is depending on me to do, oh I’m designing children’s clothing and putting on a fashion show". There is nothing likeable about her. Finally she relatively young and knows how to do everything (botanical painting to rebuilding chain saws -suuuure!) Ugh – there’s nothing even remotely relatable about her. Too bad as I have liked the other books in this series, even with the over the top none stop sex-capades that would put most people in the hospital with a vicious UTI.

Skip this one - and spare yourselve the eye pain from having to roll them every other chapter.

I thought I really loved Heartwishes, but clearly, I liked Tristan Aldredge, because it is his romance that seems to make me sigh the most! I enjoy a watching people fall in love, and I feel like I saw that here. I smiled and oohed and ahhed, and wanted to hug my husband. As it should be in a good romance!

Of course, if you need clever,organized, and crafty writing, you won't want to read any of the Edilean series. The story is intriguing, but the development is nearly sloppy.

But I don't care about perfectly crafted plots. I just want to read about Tris romancing Jecca by moonlight . . . Do what you have to do to make the plot come together!

I didn't like this book. It was extremely predictable and left a lot of unanswered questions. If you need to make people buy books in a series of 7 books, try originality instead of a bunch of mini cliffhangers. Jecca seemed like a spoiled brat to me, and what kind of a name is Jecca anyway? And oh yeah, the man I've been searching for since I was eight? He showed up and he's staying with me. Really? What a waste of time reading this.

Jude Deveraux is my favorite writer and I have read everything she has ever written. I used to read only historical romances but I loved when she took the leap to modern day stories. Each book has it's own humor and plucky characters and I often find myself laughing out loud at something the characters say or do. There are always some very tender and/or soul baring moments that touch on something I can relate to. My absolute favorite stories from Jude are the ones that involve some kind of magic and or time travel, Love that spans time and beats all odds. A Knight in Shining Armour, Wishes, The Summerhouse, Heartwishes...I will admit that I wasn't crazy about the Edilean Series jumping from present day in the first book, Lavender Morning, to historical in Days of Gold and Scarlet Nights because I've come to enjoy more modern stories over the historical ones, but I understand the need to create that ancestry link to explain the creation of the beautiful town and how the Seven are connected. I enjoyed Heartwishes and this book, Moonlight in the Morning, and hated to see them end as the characters felt like old friends. I look forward to the next book in the series and hope to learn more about Lucy, Kim, Travis and Sophie. I also look forward to seeing some of the other characters as their stories continue to expand: Sara and Mike, Joce and Luke, Rams and Tess, Colin and Gemma, Dr. Tris and Jecca, etc. Thanks again Jude for another great read!!

Who could not fall in love with Tristan's character? The scenes of their clandestine meetings were some of the best scenes I have ever read. Even after finishing this book I still go back and think of my favorite parts of this book. I have passed this book onto others and they loved this one as well. For a romantic this is a must read.

This book was great! I miss Jecca and Tristan already, along with quirky Nell! I have enjoyed the Edilean series cept for scent of jasmine.. but This was a great turn around. I can not wait to read stranger in the moonlight and masquerade when it comes out next year. Moonlight in the morning was a refreshingly sweet romance.. This one I will hold on to and read again in the future.

I loved watching their romance build and the clever way that Jude put them together. I loved her Knight in Shining Armor and felt this was up there with that book. Can't wait for the rest of the series!

This was one of my favorite of the Edilean series. I loved Dr. Tris in Heartwishes and was glad he got a story of his own...and the girl. Can't wait to read Kim's story and to find out where Sophie has been.
I was sorry to hear the Edilean series is coming to a end, I love them. Keep up the good work Jude...your books are awesome.

I've enjoyed the Edilean series, as they're simple, quick reads and a nice escape from heavier topics. This one was a huge disappointment. Throughout the book, we're reminded of the strong bond between Kim and Jecca. Kim has a plan for Jecca, but when Jecca goes a different way, there's no mention of how Kim feels other than a quick "she's great." There should have been more discussion between them considering the warning Kim gave Jecca.

Also, did I miss a book that introduces Lucy and her backstory? I hope so because that was the most idiotic story line in this book. Several times it was mentioned how she disappeared in large crowds, especially when Kim arrives. And people ask about it, but no one finds out anything. Whether I missed a book, or Jude Deveraux plans to continue the series with Lucy's story, it still wasn't developed enough in this book. You can't assume people have read every single book in a series, and some sort of explanation should have occurred there.

Same with Kim and Jecca's roommate Sophie. There was so much talk about her I was expecting her to show up in the end. But all we got was, "whatever happened to her?" Sorry, really lame in my opinion.

Lastly, even though this is a common theme in Deveraux's novels, I have a hard time reading about overly emotional women who don't think before they act. Jecca was completely immature to just run off on Tris, and while Deveraux's novels always have a hopeless romantic ending, this one was quite unrealistic.

Bring back Jasmine and Days of Gold, at least those had more adventure.

I've read numerous Jude Deveraux novels before (mainly historical)and have found them to be interesting. I bought this based on the reviews and what I read in the sneak-peeks. Unfortunately, I discovered that the book wasn't as interesting as I thought. It's actually poorly written and illogical. There were several things that I couldn't get over - (1) Tris having the hots for Jecca when he was 27 and she was 19; (2) Jecca sounded a lot more mature than 26 years old - it would have been better if she was 30; (3)how quickly Tris "fell in love" with Jecca (I'm all about love at first sight, but this wasn't it.). Anyways, Jecca was too multi-talented for anyone to identify with. She was good at everything. I groaned each time where I read that she was able to solve issues, such as the fashion show.

In addition to the aforementioned, Jude Deveraux failed to explain the relationship/history between Tris and Gemma when Tris first mentioned it in the beginning. She mentions it later on, but by that time it was pointless. Maybe I missed it, but I didn't even know he was in love with her. She also focused quite a bit on Reede's break-up with Laura C. but failed to do much with it. To help Reede get over Laura (it has been like 8 years and he has yet to get over it), Jecca and Kim, created a situation for Reede to see her. When he saw her, he automatically got over it. Seriously? Last but not least, we never learned about Lucy's background!

If you gloss over these details, then the book is a good read. Nothing exciting, but is still readable.

This book was really bad. Very boring. A devoted Jude Deveraux fan of 20 years, I've read them all, but this one is one of the worse ones. It's never entertaining, it's been done, and the charachter and sub-plots are never really developed. It seems like the writer just gives up on a story sometimes, and it's just as tedious for her to write it as it is for us to read it!

I wish Jude Deveraux would go back to writing historical romance, she was great at that. I keep coming back hoping it is going to be good one, but lately, I'm pretty disappointed.