Title: Natural Order
Author Name & Publisher: Moondancer Drake (P.D. Publishing, Inc)
Publication Date & Length: October 2015 – 274 pgs
An evening at the movies turns into a living nightmare for Elizabeth Crew as her lover Dusty battles for their lives and the unborn baby Elizabeth is carrying. Dusty’s dying request is that Elizabeth go live with Dusty’s family, where she and the baby will be safe. Dusty’s family takes Elizabeth into their home with open arms and a bit of concern. What will happen if Elizabeth learns that her new family includes shape-shifters? For Elizabeth, the family secrets are not all that awaits her in the darkness.
This book was fascinating and frustrating to me in turns. First was frustrating. I had a hard time getting in to the book in the beginning. It took me a while to figure out why, and I finally decided that the beginning of the book depressed me. Beth, our pregnant main character, watches her wife, Dusty, die in a brutal attack. The love they shared made Beth’s grief overwhelming. One of the last things Beth ever promised Dusty is that if anything happened, Beth would go stay with Dusty’s family in Wisconsin. The love and support Beth found in this community was wonderful. Every community should be like this. The culture of the Oneida people was fascinating, and I hope very much that the author was accurate in her portrayal, because I loved all the detail. Such a great loss at the beginning made it harder for me to continue the story. Because I agreed to review the book, I persevered and ran smack dab into my second problem. Isha is drawn to Beth, and Beth responds to Isha. I’m a little gray on the exact timing of their meeting but it’s within 2 to 4 months of Beth’s wife’s death. That’s hard for me to swallow. The author makes a point of saying that there are problems with the timing here, for everybody. But as much as I believe they’re feeling what they’re feeling, even with the guilt and shame and other negative feelings involved, it makes me wonder what they’d have felt if Dusty were still alive. But my basic feeling is that it was way too soon. The good part? The story ends with the two not exactly together, but with the understanding that they’re moving that way.
I am glad I finished this book. The richness of the culture, the terror and hardship of the war against them, and the suspense of what is going to happen next makes the story riveting in the end, and makes me look forward to the next installment in the series. I’d definitely keep reading.
~AmyP
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When Moondancer Drake was growing up near the Alleghany Mountains of West Virginia she had no idea of the journey that lay ahead of her. She spent years learning about her Cherokee heritage and the spirituality of her ancestors; often struggling with her image as a woman who walked with two spirits. In secret she wrote, and although no one would ever see those early writings, they were her sword and shield.
Moondancer found the Dianic faith a few years ago. She never knew then how the concept of feminine spirituality would affect her or how well the Dianic tradition would mesh with the spiritual path she’d traveled all the years before. She blossomed in her new awareness, as a woman, as a Cherokee, and as a writer.
She now lives in Wisconsin with her family and is an active member of the Temple of Diana. She has been studying with teachers at the temple for the past few years and is working her way towards ordination as a Dianic priestess. Moondancer draws much of her inspiration from her spirituality as well as experiences as a Cherokee woman and a mother.
Moondancer Drake is an author of environmental and spiritually driven fiction, especially paranormal lesbian romance. She is also a vocal advocate for civil rights and the responsibility of all people to take better care of Mother Earth. (from the publisher’s website)
