Product Description

While enjoying the cool Yokohama night air, Viscount Akihiro Sanders Tomoe met a wild man, whose eyes burned like fire. Intrigued, he invited the young man back to his home.

Nearly a hundred years ago, a spurned lover ended Tomoe's life. Madame had given him new life, but this gift was not without its limitations. Living again in Japan after an extended time abroad, Tomoe was on the prowl for a new lover. But he may have gotten more than he hoped for in young Taichi Yamagami. A young man with abnormal strength and eyes like fire, he awakened sensations within Tomoe that he had never felt before. But this young man was hiding a secret of his own. Influenced by the ebb and flow of the moon, he could be a sweet, naive intellectual, or a rough, demanding lover. Tomoe has never had a lover quite like this... what kind of man is Taichi?

Gou Shiira's intriguing Juné story of two young otherworldy lovers entices the imagination. Two unusual yet beautiful young men, this is what fantasy is made of.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #667194 in Books
• Published on: 2008-12-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 250 pages

Customer Reviews

Not your typical vampire love story...
Most of the story in Secret Moon takes place in present day Japan but bits and pieces of the story refer back to other times in other places due to the fact that Akihiro is a sort of vampire and has been living for over 100 years. He's not a true vampire, though, which I think makes this story different from a typical vampire tale. He doesn't have fangs and he won't attack humans but he does have to drink blood on a daily basis to survive and can't be out in the day light. One night while taking a stroll through the "bad" part of town, he spots Taichi Yamagami, who has gotten himself into a bit of trouble. Akihiro helps him out and that is the beginning of their time together. What is meant to be a one night stand quickly turns into something more as Akihiro realizes Taichi isn't your typical human. Quiet and reserved by day, arrogant and wild by night, Akihiro feels like he's dating two different people and takes on the task of merging these two very separate personalities, but doing so means battling the powers of the moon.

I really liked this novel and at 206 pages, it's a pretty good bargain. The story has a real mysterious feel to it as you are reading through it trying to figure out just what secrets these two guys hold. I love the contrast of the characters as well. Akihiro is half Japanese and half British, but really comes off as a British aristocrat who is easily insulted by bad manners. Taichi is a boy from the mountains and doesn't know the first thing about city life or proper manners and his nighttime manners get even worse. This sets up some funny scenes with Akihiro as well as with Akihiro's butler Anthony, who you can't help but like and is truly his own character.

Overall, I liked the plot. Like I said, it isn't your typical vampire tale and I like that it is done in a way to show how a real vampire would live day-to-day if one existed. No coffins or black capes (ok, there is a black cape but only to cover his tux) :-) This does fall into the "I've fallen in love with you five minutes after I have met you" scenario but the author does it in a way to show Akihiro's desire to be loved and to be able to share his secret with someone who can truly understand his situation. Although Akihiro is the uke, the author makes him a little bit devious throughout the story and able to hold his own so that is a nice change from being angsty or weak. The sex scenes are good although not detailed enough for my hard yaoi taste but still satisfying nonetheless. I do like that the author set up the first sex scene in a more realistic manner for two people who have just met. It doesn't go quite as planned for Akihiro and I did actually chuckle a little as to how he has to deal with it.

The book has eleven black and white illustrations and one rather steamy color illustration in the beginning of the book. The illustrations are nice but I think if you're illustrating a novel, they should be much more detailed since there are less of them than a manga but that is pretty typical with boys' love novels from Japan. I'm not a fan of the cover either as I feel they could have used a better illustration. I don't think it does the characters justice as to how attractive they really are and it makes Taichi look younger and less manly that he really is (unless you happen to notice just how beefy his arm is). The translation was pretty good, just the occasional typo. Overall, I definitely recommend this title.

Characters = A
Plot = A-
Book Design/Illustrations = B+
Sex = B+
Translation = A

Overall Grade = A-

Vampire and Werewolf
This borders between a fantasy story and a modern-day yaoi love story. But I don't think it really succeeded in either genre. I didn't get a good feel for the characters...who were they really? This story basically brings two misfits (a partial vampire and a possible werewolf) together in the present day. We don't get enough back story to really figure out what's going on. The sex is a bit odd as well and not steamy enough for my tastes. I won't be re-reading this anytime soon.

I'm being a little nice
Secret Moon falls somewhere between a three and a four star rating for me. I love vampires. A lot. I've read just about every vampire book I can find. So Secret Moon has a lot to live up to. It was cute. And there was definitely a vampire and a (sort of) werewolf. Parts of it were really funny, interesting, or hot. But I actually found myself losing interest about two thirds of the way through. Just a little. I put it down for a while and came back to finish it later.
Now I've read a lot of yaoi and a lot of novels but not a lot of yaoi novels so maybe it's just the difference in medium getting to me. The illustrations for Secret Moon were nice. The art style wasn't a problem. It was the storytelling that was plain and lacked personality. That's where my dissatisfaction lies. Was it the writing or the translating? There was Tomoe, Taichi, and Anthony the world's best butler. But they never felt totally real to me. Of course, maybe I'm just being too critical. This is a yaoi novel and not a regular novel. No one ever asked yaoi to live up to the highest literary standard. But I have read some yaoi with really memorable characters and great storylines. Either way Secret Moon was still a fun, light read. And I will say that I've read the first "love scene" between Tomoe and Taichi at least a half dozen times already. That was probably worth buying the book all by itself. It was definitely unique and entertaining. I just wish there were more parts like that to go around.