Mainly by Moonlight

Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Book 1

By: Josh Lanyon

Narrated by: Kale Williams

Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

A gay high-society wedding. A stolen book of spells. A love-threatening lie.

Can a witch avoid a murder rap without revealing the supernatural truth? Cosmo Saville guiltily hides a paranormal secret from his soon-to-be husband. And if he can’t undo a powerful love spell, uncertainty threatens his nuptial magic. But when he’s arrested for allegedly killing a longtime rival, he could spend his honeymoon behind bars.

Police Commissioner John Joseph Galbraith never believed in love until Cosmo came along. Falling head over heels for the elegant antiques dealer is an enchantment he never wants to break. So, when all fingers point to Cosmo’s guilt, John races to prove his fiancée’s innocence before they take their vows.

As Cosmo searches for the real killer among the arcane aristocracy, John warns him to leave it to the police. But with an unseen enemy threatening to expose Cosmo’s true nature, the couple’s blissful future could shatter like a broken charm. Can Cosmo find the lost grimoire, clear his name, and keep John’s love alive, or will black magic “rune” their wedding bells?

Mainly by Moonlight is the first book in the sexy Bedknobs and Broomsticks romantic gay mystery series. If you like spellbinding suspense, steamy star-crossed fun, and a dash of paranormal, then you’ll love Josh Lanyon’s charming tale.

Buy Mainly by Moonlight to fall under love’s spell today!

©2019 Josh Lanyon (P)2019 Josh Lanyon

Witch

Story: 9
Writing: 9
First MC: 9
Second MC: 7
Secondary characters: 5
Mystery: 6
Sexual tension: 5
Humor: 5
Hotness: 4
Product placement: 4
Ridiculousness: 3
Annoying: 3
Audio: 10 (6h 13min)
To re-read: 10

-Was that a cliffhanger? seems like one. The book ended on me while I was waiting for more answers. I'm in doubt because to my knowledge non of Josh's books ended unresolved. hmmm
-The narrator was good, but I wish we had a different one. I associate him with the The Mermaid Murders series.
-I want more explanation on that spell. And why getting married after only 2 weeks?
-Where are the missing people? The group?

I like Josh Lanyon!

but not all of us have a wonderful word to say and being forced to do so to get on Beyond this point is very irritating Josh Lanyon I appreciate you but this review crap is too much I give you five stars it's all done so there I'm done done done

Kale Williams is a tresure!

I had the pleasure of reading this while chapters where teased out on Patreon and enjoyed it even more the second time by listening to it. XD
Kale is a great performer/narrator and really compliments Lanyon's work easily going from wholesome to snarky and gruff while never missing a beat.

great books

it's an amazing story would make a great movie should we listen and Marvel 2

Interesting world.

I found myself a little lost occasionally. For all the hours in the book, it seemed like I didn’t learn as much as I wanted. But!the narrator was lovely and overall I did rather enjoy the story. It remains to be seen if I will continue to enjoy it as the series progresses, I think I have high hopes!

Here for Kale!

Seriously, one of the biggest reasons I listened to the entirety of this book is because Kale Williams is one heck of a narrator. He’s becoming one of my top favorites. And in this book, he speaks French and some Latin!

I had high hopes when I started listening to this one. It’s highly recommended and other readers seemed to love it. It seemed like a fun paranormal mystery read from somebody whose previous books I enjoyed.

The book starts with the main conflict of the story, which is really good opening scene. While all this is happening, Cosmo and John are in the middle of wedding preparations, a conclusion to ttheir whirlwind romance. But I feel the disconnect between the characters who were supposedly in love with each other. Okay, well, one at least is truly in love. But I struggled with the concept and ease in which Cosmo accepted that he’s okay with decepting John. Granted there are numerous hints of John’s perhaps magical lineage and maybe in the future books, it’ll all be explained.

I also had issues with the mystery. Not one bit has really been resolved. If anything, it felt like the book had to end, they had to get married so it’ll have to be wrapped up in a convenient bow, for now.

I have the next book so I’ll listen to that one too, hoping maybe it’ll be better and there will be more depth in the MCs relationship.

enjoyed it !

Would I listen to it again: yes
Did the story keep me engaged: yes
Was I invested in the characters: yes

Story comment: nice pace, easy listen, characters were likeable and there is enough going on to keep me entertained.
As serious as it tries to be, this isn't the sort of story to really be taken seriously - the magic element kind of pokes fun at itself in a very "Bewitching" sort of way.

Narrator comment: I enjoyed Kale William's narration and think he's done a good job narrating Mainly by Moonlight. I had no problem distinguishing characters and the rhythm, inflections and intonations all worked to bring the book to life.

Brilliant tale of romance, magic, & mystery

Original Audiobook Review October 2020:
I couldn't think of a better time then October, when all things magical and spooky are not only expected but encouraged, to give one of my Best Reads of 2019 a listen. I wasn't disappointed, Kale Williams does a superb job of bringing Cosmo and John's magical journey to life. I won't say more to the plot because I still don't want to give anything away but even remembering what happens didn't take away any of the edge-of-my-seat need-to-know emotions in me. Still brilliant and Mainly by Moonlight will definitely be a re-read/re-listener for years to come.

Original ebook Review August 2019:
Another absolutely brilliant bit of storytelling from Josh Lanyon, and yes, it really is storytelling not just writing. I'll start off by saying that this is a series that continues on, not just with the same people but the story as well so don't expect everything to be answered, everything to be revealed, everything to have closure. I am on pins and needles waiting for book two.

Now, let's talk Mainly by Moonlight. I loved how it made me nostalgic for the endearing comedy of Bewitched, the magical drama of Charmed, and the spell-driven romance of I Married a Witch. Magic, romance, murder, spells, mystery, these are all there. We quickly learn that John is under a love spell and as much as Cosmo wants to do the right thing and break off the engagement when he learns it, he doesn't but continually searches for signs that the love John feels for him is real once he demands the spell be removed. Throw in Cosmo being a likely candidate for murder suspect and you have plenty of room for romance, hi-jinks, and drama. Sure there are times I want to kick both characters in the backside and whack them upside the head to make them see sense but there is just as many times I want to wrap them up and say its going to be okay. It's this contradicting hit-and-hug scale that kept me going, that fueled the need-to-know-now speed with which I read Moonlight and had me equally kicking myself for not savoring the story once I reached the final page. That push and pull feeling of needing to know versus savoring is how I know this is a great read for the win-win column.

I have theories percolating for book two(and beyond perhaps) but I won't divulge them as I don't want to spoil anything from Moonlight. It's these theories that make a few things in John and Cosmo's(mostly John) behaviors and actions acceptable. Does that mean if my theories don't pan out I'll rethink how much I loved this book? Not at all because I know the author will further the story in an equally entertaining way.

Now for those who aren't fans of insta-love and question the believe-abilty behind how fast the boys get everything ready in just two weeks time, even throwing out the magic bit that John knows nothing about, I still found it reasonable how he could believe it gets done in just 14 days. Both families seem to be in-the-know when it comes to getting things pushed through fast so magic or not, 2 weeks to set it all up is definitely acceptable. I'll admit, insta-love isn't always well written in the fiction world but when its as well done as Josh Lanyon has with Cosmo and John, it's not only acceptable(even with the magical element) its entertaining and fun.

Josh Lanyon definitely has another winner here in Mainly by Moonlight but as I said above not everything is revealed, not what I would label a full-fledged cliffhanger ending but there are questions yet to be answered. I mention this because not everyone is a cliffie-lover so if you don't like the waiting-for-answers bit, you might want to put this one on hold but if you love well written world-building magical romantic mysteries than you'll definitely want to put her new Bedknobs and Broomsticks series at the top of your TBR list, its not to be missed.

I Don't Know What Happened...

I have read and/or listened to almost all of Josh Lanyon's books. When something new comes out, I grab it as quick as I can - and this is the first time where I have to admit I was disappointed enough that I'm returning the title to Audible. It wasn't the narrator - Kale Williams did a wonderful job! There were really just a lot of little things...

1) I love urban fantasy, and I get that creating a 'hidden world' of magic and immediately trying to immerse your reader into the ins and outs of it is daunting, but I feel like that part wasn't executed well. I consistently felt like glimpses were being offered to me only as they became necessary for the plot instead of in a more natural and cohesive way, which made my grasp of the world Cosmo came from difficult to connect with or understand. Thus, making Cosmo himself difficult to connect with, as well.

2) For someone who seems to be truly anxious about the fact he's been accused of murder, the main character makes some truly terrible choices which lead to very foreseeable results. More than once.

3) While I get that this is probably supposed to be the beginning of a series, there were far too many loose ends that didn't get tied up - the witch's ghost, the seeming disappearance of one of the minor characters, the mystery behind why another minor character was attacked, etc. Even the murder that starts things off doesn't wrap up satisfactorily.

4) (This was the big deal breaker for me, though it probably won't be for others.) I was not a fan of the main character's choice to willingly hide such a HUGE part of his life from the man he planned to marry. I also really didn't like it when he used the forgetfulness spells on John. And the fact that Cosmo seemingly would've kept doing it every time he felt like he needed a 'get out of jail free' card (if John's 'natural resistance' hadn't kicked in) really bothered me. Those actions felt very manipulative and were a bit of a turn off where their relationship was concerned.

All of that said - as with all of Josh Lanyon's other books. I really enjoyed the characterization. Major and minor, all of the characters felt very real. When they weren't on the page playing their 'parts', it was easy to envision them off doing other things. That's not easy to do, and it's something I love to experience in fiction. So, kudos!

In the end, I'm sad that this book wasn't for me, but Josh Lanyon is such a prolific author, I have no doubt that there will be many other good novels I can look forward to in the future. :)

Great story. Great narration.

My favorite genre will always be urban fantasy because I am physically stuck in the real world, but my head is wandering around in the one where I can magic the cookie jar on to the coffee table without moving. Josh Lanyon and Kale Williams shared that magic world with me for a few hours.

Cosmo is a quirky soul who seems to need a bit of focus, and John seems to need a bit of...fun his life. The two are an improbable pair that have a few challenges ahead of them. I liked the idea of starting with the main characters as a couple, and watching them work through their incompatibility.

The witch world was an interesting place to meander through. I always enjoy the visuals that Josh Lanyon can create with a bit of poetry. The mystery was more of a puzzle than a full fledged murder mystery, and I think that matched the characters and setting very well.

The resolution felt like the beginning. So yeah, I started on the next book immediately.