Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The Alchemy of Moonlight by David Ferraro is a great homage to the gothic horror genre that includes some m/m romance in a love triangle and a genuinely creepy atmosphere.
Emile is a young man about to come of age and receive his substantial inheritance when his aunt discovers that he is gay. She threatens to institutionalize him if he does not marry a woman and produce an heir, something Emile cannot reconcile himself or the potential bride to.
Emile flees his home and seeks to remain hidden from society until he comes of age and can claim his inheritance on his own terms. He is quickly embroiled in a love triangle with two older, dashing men. As he tries to sort out his heart, Emile stumbles across hints of some truly creepy goings-on around his new home. The plot gets thicker and thicker as he investigates.
The Alchemy of Moonlight creates a great atmosphere with plenty of creepy moments. There is a genuine feeling of dread and, though many of the tropes are familiar and predictable, they are enjoyable just the same. The writing and pacing are good and I found myself looking forward to coming back for the next instalment. I was also impressed with how Ferraro manages to convey the depth of tension and feeling in the love triangle in ways that keep the book firmly in YA-acceptable territory.
The audiobook narration is well done and makes for a pleasant listen.
The book isn't perfect, however. The characters felt a bit flat. Emile exercised very little agency until the last pages of the book, disappointing for a main character with a good setup. There were a few plot points that felt too convenient and the ending of the book was more seamless than I thought realistic, given everything else going on.
Overall, this was a good read and a nice nod to the gothic horror genre.
Emile is a young man about to come of age and receive his substantial inheritance when his aunt discovers that he is gay. She threatens to institutionalize him if he does not marry a woman and produce an heir, something Emile cannot reconcile himself or the potential bride to.
Emile flees his home and seeks to remain hidden from society until he comes of age and can claim his inheritance on his own terms. He is quickly embroiled in a love triangle with two older, dashing men. As he tries to sort out his heart, Emile stumbles across hints of some truly creepy goings-on around his new home. The plot gets thicker and thicker as he investigates.
The Alchemy of Moonlight creates a great atmosphere with plenty of creepy moments. There is a genuine feeling of dread and, though many of the tropes are familiar and predictable, they are enjoyable just the same. The writing and pacing are good and I found myself looking forward to coming back for the next instalment. I was also impressed with how Ferraro manages to convey the depth of tension and feeling in the love triangle in ways that keep the book firmly in YA-acceptable territory.
The audiobook narration is well done and makes for a pleasant listen.
The book isn't perfect, however. The characters felt a bit flat. Emile exercised very little agency until the last pages of the book, disappointing for a main character with a good setup. There were a few plot points that felt too convenient and the ending of the book was more seamless than I thought realistic, given everything else going on.
Overall, this was a good read and a nice nod to the gothic horror genre.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore
Moderate: Homophobia, Violence
Minor: Vomit
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Bored. Didn't want to bother. 🤷🏻♀️
Reading the early reviews, this story sounded like it had issues that might hinder my enjoyment, but I decided to give the book a try because a friend of mine enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I could tell this book wasn't for me by a quarter of the way in, so I didn't finish it.
I can enjoy flawed and unlikeable characters, but it was just not fun to be in Emile's head. He's very fickle and honestly just classist, with an entitled view of the world. Maybe he grows throughout the story, but I wasn't invested enough to find out.
I was going to try and read further, but then Henri started being pushy and manipulative, which gave me the major ick. If he's supposed to be a love interest, I don't think I could ever root for him, even if he has a redemption arc.
I think this story might be enjoyable if you like the characters, but I personally didn't and so I decided to DNF.
A big thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I can enjoy flawed and unlikeable characters, but it was just not fun to be in Emile's head. He's very fickle and honestly just classist, with an entitled view of the world. Maybe he grows throughout the story, but I wasn't invested enough to find out.
I was going to try and read further, but then Henri started being pushy and manipulative, which gave me the major ick. If he's supposed to be a love interest, I don't think I could ever root for him, even if he has a redemption arc.
I think this story might be enjoyable if you like the characters, but I personally didn't and so I decided to DNF.
A big thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
9th & up
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
The Alchemy of Moonlight by David Ferraro is One of my favorite stories of the year. It has spooky dark aesthetics, gay werewolves, a gothic castle, and so much subterfuge and intrigue! I absolutely loved the characters and although Emile, Henri, and Bram are all sexy and mysterious, my heart was stolen by Henri's sister, Blanche. I truly hope there is a sequel with more of her story. But back to Emile! He is a sweet character if not a bit naive and he definitely compliments the grumpy hard-headed Henri and the curious strong Bram. I love how they are. Story begins with a love triangle but seems to move towards polyamory at the end. The supernatural aspects of the story are well done with lots of intrigue and mystery. I liked the werewolf aspect even though it was pretty obvious but it is definitely a fun element. The villainous Count and Emile's aunt were both perfectly terrible and I was so happy with how their stories ended. If you like supernatural gothic romances with queer characters and slightly sexy scenes this is a great read for you!
dark
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:
N/A
dark
funny
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:
No
I'll admit: I was nervous. This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and I wanted this book to meet my high expectations! It had the cover, it had the premise, it had everything I wanted. And it for sure lived up to what I wanted!! (and more?) This story centers on Emile St. Aubert, a marquis who is hiding his identity and status to get away from his aunt while he waits for his inheritance. To hide his identity and high status, he becomes a Second Man for a family. Of course, nothing is ever simple and my poor, dumb Emile accidentally ends up working for a family of werewolves.
Emile is such a funny character to be with for this story. He's so painfully oblivious to so much around him, never quite putting the pieces of something together in time. I loved him for it though and I loved that he wasn't your typical main character. He got really scared, he ran away, he gave up sometimes. But he still felt very much like a true main character and fought to save his friends (turned family) until the end. I loved the side characters so much. Bram is AMAZING. I loved him and everything he brought to this story. Henri took some time for me to love, but when he finally convinced me, I couldn't look back and ended up loving him too. The more secondary side characters (Blanche, Annette, and Ludovico) were also really great additions to this story as well, all helping out in some way and bringing their own pieces of joy to this story.
The story/plot itself: It is very much a gothic story. Like most gothic stories, it ihas a slow burn. The romance itself isn't very slow, but the plot is very much slowly brimming with tension until the ladder half of the story. Some reviews say the pacing feels slow at points and fast at others, I'd agree with this, but that didn't really bother me? It kinda made reading this interesting to me bc I ended up never really knowing how something would play out, if that makes sense? So I didn't mind it, but I can definitely see some people not liking it! A couple small things that are keeping me from giving it a full 5 is: 1) I wanted more Bram! He's a stellar character and a great love interest and I know *why* we got less of him at one point, but I still missed him and would've enjoyed more of him before that happened or some other way to incorporate him more hahaha; 2) I would've liked more easing into Henri's feelings for Emile. That happened a bit quickly for my liking? But these are small issues and didn't really hinder my enjoyment for the book that much!
I also want to praise that this was a lot more of a horror than I expected! The horror doesn't really start horroring in full form until the last part, but the early glimpses of it and the last part more than made up for it! There is one scene in particular that is so grotesque and perfect, I had to reread it twice because I was so enthralled in what was happening. This book is so atmospheric and the gothic aesthetic and setting really pulled me in right away.
Overall, this was a really amazing YA gothic horror. The mystery is felt throughout and I loved the slow burn of it all. The tension was brimming as we got closer to the climax and it was all so well done. I was hoping to love this book, but I'm surprised by how much I loved it! Thanks so much to Page Street for offering me a copy in exchange for an honest review!
Emile is such a funny character to be with for this story. He's so painfully oblivious to so much around him, never quite putting the pieces of something together in time. I loved him for it though and I loved that he wasn't your typical main character. He got really scared, he ran away, he gave up sometimes. But he still felt very much like a true main character and fought to save his friends (turned family) until the end. I loved the side characters so much. Bram is AMAZING. I loved him and everything he brought to this story. Henri took some time for me to love, but when he finally convinced me, I couldn't look back and ended up loving him too. The more secondary side characters (Blanche, Annette, and Ludovico) were also really great additions to this story as well, all helping out in some way and bringing their own pieces of joy to this story.
The story/plot itself: It is very much a gothic story. Like most gothic stories, it ihas a slow burn. The romance itself isn't very slow, but the plot is very much slowly brimming with tension until the ladder half of the story. Some reviews say the pacing feels slow at points and fast at others, I'd agree with this, but that didn't really bother me? It kinda made reading this interesting to me bc I ended up never really knowing how something would play out, if that makes sense? So I didn't mind it, but I can definitely see some people not liking it! A couple small things that are keeping me from giving it a full 5 is: 1) I wanted more Bram! He's a stellar character and a great love interest and I know *why* we got less of him at one point, but I still missed him and would've enjoyed more of him before that happened or some other way to incorporate him more hahaha; 2) I would've liked more easing into Henri's feelings for Emile. That happened a bit quickly for my liking? But these are small issues and didn't really hinder my enjoyment for the book that much!
I also want to praise that this was a lot more of a horror than I expected! The horror doesn't really start horroring in full form until the last part, but the early glimpses of it and the last part more than made up for it! There is one scene in particular that is so grotesque and perfect, I had to reread it twice because I was so enthralled in what was happening. This book is so atmospheric and the gothic aesthetic and setting really pulled me in right away.
Overall, this was a really amazing YA gothic horror. The mystery is felt throughout and I loved the slow burn of it all. The tension was brimming as we got closer to the climax and it was all so well done. I was hoping to love this book, but I'm surprised by how much I loved it! Thanks so much to Page Street for offering me a copy in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Suicide, Death of parent, Murder
dark
mysterious
slow-paced