Scan barcode
moonlitreading_'s reviews
411 reviews
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi (Novel) Vol. 2 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Child death
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi (Novel) Vol. 1 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
“I think that nothing lasts forever. Not the good things, not the bad. So just find what makes you happy, and do it for as long as you can.”
The Seven Year Slip is a love story between two people living seven years apart. Clementine lives in her deceased aunt’s apartment as she now tries to navigate life without the latter. One day, Clementine wakes up to a stranger in the apartment only to realize he is from seven years in the past. Clementine’s aunt used to claim the apartment was magical and now it was time for Clementine to experience that same magic.
This book was an enjoyable read. I read it in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down. Clementine and Iwan were just *chef’s kiss* (see what I did there? lol). I feel like things went a little fast between them but it didn’t bother me too much. The random switch between timelines was crazy because one thing was going on with past Iwan and then another with present Iwan. It’s like the apartment doesn’t want to give Clementine a break. The concept was very interesting and fun to read. Maybe it even stressed me out a little, but still, I had fun reading this book.
The Seven Year Slip is a love story between two people living seven years apart. Clementine lives in her deceased aunt’s apartment as she now tries to navigate life without the latter. One day, Clementine wakes up to a stranger in the apartment only to realize he is from seven years in the past. Clementine’s aunt used to claim the apartment was magical and now it was time for Clementine to experience that same magic.
This book was an enjoyable read. I read it in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down. Clementine and Iwan were just *chef’s kiss* (see what I did there? lol). I feel like things went a little fast between them but it didn’t bother me too much. The random switch between timelines was crazy because one thing was going on with past Iwan and then another with present Iwan. It’s like the apartment doesn’t want to give Clementine a break. The concept was very interesting and fun to read. Maybe it even stressed me out a little, but still, I had fun reading this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Grief
Moderate: Death
Forget Me Not by Julie Soto
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I enjoyed the writing but I wasn’t a big fan of the romance. Wish Ama and Elliot had lives outside their work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
The Ninth Rain by Jen Williams
adventurous
funny
hopeful
relaxing
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
“There is, it seems to me, a certain type of man who is terrified of the idea of a woman wielding power, of any sort; the type of man who is willing to dress up his terror in any sort of trappings to legitimise it.”
The Ninth Rain is told in multiple POVs, both of main and minor characters. It mainly follows Tor, an Eboran who left his kingdom because he can’t bear to see his kinsmen die one by one because of the death of their tree-god. He is then employed by Lady Vincenza “Vintage” de Grazon, a forty-something scholar who is obsessed with researching the Jure’lia. The Jure’lia are these beings that attack the world and Eborans like Tor are the only ones who could fight them off. Tor and Vintage bump into Noon, a fell-witch who escaped the Winnowry. Together, the three of them discover things that could probably save the world or doom it.
The Ninth Rain was so good!!! Williams took her time with world-building so it was kind of slow but I enjoyed every bit of it. I’m almost always confused when starting a new fantasy book/series but that wasn’t the case here. The multiple POVs really helped with understanding how their world worked. One of the things I liked about this was that the Jure’lia were basically aliens and it’s very interesting that there were aliens in a fantasy book. There was a little romance in this book and I loved that it didn’t take the focus away from the story.
I really really recommend this book and I hope it one day gets the hype it deserves.
The Ninth Rain is told in multiple POVs, both of main and minor characters. It mainly follows Tor, an Eboran who left his kingdom because he can’t bear to see his kinsmen die one by one because of the death of their tree-god. He is then employed by Lady Vincenza “Vintage” de Grazon, a forty-something scholar who is obsessed with researching the Jure’lia. The Jure’lia are these beings that attack the world and Eborans like Tor are the only ones who could fight them off. Tor and Vintage bump into Noon, a fell-witch who escaped the Winnowry. Together, the three of them discover things that could probably save the world or doom it.
The Ninth Rain was so good!!! Williams took her time with world-building so it was kind of slow but I enjoyed every bit of it. I’m almost always confused when starting a new fantasy book/series but that wasn’t the case here. The multiple POVs really helped with understanding how their world worked. One of the things I liked about this was that the Jure’lia were basically aliens and it’s very interesting that there were aliens in a fantasy book. There was a little romance in this book and I loved that it didn’t take the focus away from the story.
I really really recommend this book and I hope it one day gets the hype it deserves.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Hearts That Cut by Kika Hatzopoulou
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“But perhaps, these hearts were supposed to be broken. Perhaps this faith was undeserved. Perhaps what came after heartbreak was just as important: when you rose on one knee, then the other, and stood. When you realized that you could piece yourself back together, little by little, slowly and painfully. You might not be whole ever again, but you would survive, and that was—that was salvation, in its true form.”
Hearts That Cut follows Io a few weeks after the last events of Threads That Bind where she is traveling in search of whichever god was at the end of the golden thread. People are still missing in every city-nation and this time they’re siblings. Her investigation leads her to the golden city of Nanzy where everything about the world as they knew it starts to unravel.
This book was a little slow at first but once Io and Bianca got to Nanzy it picked up the pace from there. Their travel had let me take a quick peek into other city-nations. When it comes to fantasy books I always love it when the world and its lore expands but I found myself wanting for more here. I still enjoyed it especially when the many questions started to get their answers. Plus, Io’s complicated relationship with her sisters was interesting to me because I only have brothers.
There wasn’t really a lot of romance here, not that I’m complaining because too much romance can ruin a book for me sometimes (well depends on my mood tbh). I just wish I had more Io and Edei interactions. But the few that they had, I really cherished. I don’t know, I’m just a sucker for soulmates.
The Threads That Bind duology got me out of my reading slump which I’ve been in on and off this year. This duology was a super fun read. I recommend it for those who like Greek mythology, politics, sisterhood, and a little romance in their fiction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Kidnapping and Classism
Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“To assume they let it happen was to make them responsible for a system that was rotten long before they ever came along.”
Threads That Bind is a Greek mythology based story where descendants of the gods inherit their powers. Io Ora and her two sisters are descendants of the Fates which means they could see and manipulate the threads that connect humans to everything they love. Io, who has the ability to cut these threads, works as a private investigator and her latest job leads her to a discovery where women’s life-threads are being cut and these women are being used as weapons. Io is forced to work with Edei Runa, who works with the mob queen, to find the culprit to these murders. But that’s not an easy task, not when Edei himself is at the end of Io’s fate-thread.
I’ve always wanted to read this because the cover is gorgeous! This being Greek mythology inspired was also a bonus. I decided now was the time for me to pick it up because the last book of this duology was finally out.
Threads That Bind was easy to read but there were a lot of confusing parts for me like the terms and what powers which descendants had. This one was fast paced and, if I remember correctly, everything in here happened within a span of a few days only. I could’ve finished this in one sitting if I didn’t have anything else to do. I liked that the romance didn’t overshadow the investigation because I was invested in the story. This one ends on a cliffhanger and I am so glad the next one is available for me to read.
Threads That Bind is a Greek mythology based story where descendants of the gods inherit their powers. Io Ora and her two sisters are descendants of the Fates which means they could see and manipulate the threads that connect humans to everything they love. Io, who has the ability to cut these threads, works as a private investigator and her latest job leads her to a discovery where women’s life-threads are being cut and these women are being used as weapons. Io is forced to work with Edei Runa, who works with the mob queen, to find the culprit to these murders. But that’s not an easy task, not when Edei himself is at the end of Io’s fate-thread.
I’ve always wanted to read this because the cover is gorgeous! This being Greek mythology inspired was also a bonus. I decided now was the time for me to pick it up because the last book of this duology was finally out.
Threads That Bind was easy to read but there were a lot of confusing parts for me like the terms and what powers which descendants had. This one was fast paced and, if I remember correctly, everything in here happened within a span of a few days only. I could’ve finished this in one sitting if I didn’t have anything else to do. I liked that the romance didn’t overshadow the investigation because I was invested in the story. This one ends on a cliffhanger and I am so glad the next one is available for me to read.
Crier's War by Nina Varela
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
“Humanity is how you act, my lady. Not how you were Made.”
Crier’s War is the first book in a sapphic duology about a human and an Automa. Automae were made for humans until the War of Kinds where humans lost against the Automae. Humans now suffer under Automae rule and one girl, Ayla, craves to avenge her family’s death. Ayla works at the Sovereign’s House and suddenly becomes handmaiden to Lady Crier, the Sovereign’s Daughter. Ayla is now closer than ever to getting her revenge and Crier discovers secrets that might change her, and Ayla’s, life forever.
Crier’s war had everything I wanted in a book: sapphics, enemies to lovers, and political intrigue. This was a pretty decent first book but I think I expected too much from it, though, because it had the elements that would make me enjoy a book. Unfortunately, this book felt a little weak to me in terms of execution. It was around the second half where I started to enjoy the book. There was very little humor and that saddens me so much. I expected no humor from the Automae but not from the humans. I did like the slow burn romance between Crier and Ayla, I just hope there’s more spark between them in the next one.
I will still read the next book because this one ended in a cliffhanger!!!! I need to know what happens next, not just between Ayla and Crier, but for the fate of humanity and Automae.
Crier’s War is the first book in a sapphic duology about a human and an Automa. Automae were made for humans until the War of Kinds where humans lost against the Automae. Humans now suffer under Automae rule and one girl, Ayla, craves to avenge her family’s death. Ayla works at the Sovereign’s House and suddenly becomes handmaiden to Lady Crier, the Sovereign’s Daughter. Ayla is now closer than ever to getting her revenge and Crier discovers secrets that might change her, and Ayla’s, life forever.
Crier’s war had everything I wanted in a book: sapphics, enemies to lovers, and political intrigue. This was a pretty decent first book but I think I expected too much from it, though, because it had the elements that would make me enjoy a book. Unfortunately, this book felt a little weak to me in terms of execution. It was around the second half where I started to enjoy the book. There was very little humor and that saddens me so much. I expected no humor from the Automae but not from the humans. I did like the slow burn romance between Crier and Ayla, I just hope there’s more spark between them in the next one.
I will still read the next book because this one ended in a cliffhanger!!!! I need to know what happens next, not just between Ayla and Crier, but for the fate of humanity and Automae.