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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
I was given a free epub copy of the Alchemy of Moonlight in exchange for a honest review.
The beautiful cover art of The Alchemy of Moonlight immediately drew me in. Once I started reading, I loved the gloomy, gothic atmosphere. Once we got to know the characters more, I especially loved the main character Emile, even though he was not the brightest (although I would argue it's not his fault, for not being familiar with the tropes of the gothic horror genre). The lore around the werewolf was especially captivating and felt unique. I will say though, I wish the book was faster paced. A few scenes especially dragged and I found myself skimming to find more action. Despite this hiccup, I really enjoyed! I would definitely recommend this to fans of Kellen Graves.
4 Stars
The beautiful cover art of The Alchemy of Moonlight immediately drew me in. Once I started reading, I loved the gloomy, gothic atmosphere. Once we got to know the characters more, I especially loved the main character Emile, even though he was not the brightest (although I would argue it's not his fault, for not being familiar with the tropes of the gothic horror genre). The lore around the werewolf was especially captivating and felt unique. I will say though, I wish the book was faster paced. A few scenes especially dragged and I found myself skimming to find more action. Despite this hiccup, I really enjoyed! I would definitely recommend this to fans of Kellen Graves.
4 Stars
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
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Honestly, I didn’t particularly enjoy the book in the beginning. Definitely plot-driven, and I would’ve liked to see more character development (wasn’t impressed by MC or his love interests until the end) . However, the author did a good job of incorporating gothic elements into the writing, and this (besides the plot) was the main reason I ended up invested in the story.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
★★★½
getting through this one took a bit of effort — as other reviews have mentioned, there is quite a lot of time spent dawdling on prose and filler before the story truly kicks in.
the style did feel a bit juvenile at times, and i was surprised to find a number of very basic spelling mistakes (ex: “bare” instead of “bear,” “canon” instead of “cannon”) as well as several confusing sentences where i assume a writing error was overlooked (ex: “the victims need more prisoners” when… the victims and the prisoners are the same group of people?).
the back and forth between love interests just wasn’t for me, especially with so little time spent on bram before he disappears for half of the story. i did ultimately end up liking henri, but i can also easily understand why other readers are so put off by his redemption and romance.
final thoughts: bram’s head on a pike was a very devastating & fun surprise — had he stayed dead, i might have had a higher opinion of the end of this story. but that’s just because “everybody lives happily ever after” endings aren’t typically to my personal taste — which is also why i didn’t care for helena’s return. just a bit too cheesy for me.
overall, enjoyable and i do look forward to trying out the next work by this author!
getting through this one took a bit of effort — as other reviews have mentioned, there is quite a lot of time spent dawdling on prose and filler before the story truly kicks in.
the style did feel a bit juvenile at times, and i was surprised to find a number of very basic spelling mistakes (ex: “bare” instead of “bear,” “canon” instead of “cannon”) as well as several confusing sentences where i assume a writing error was overlooked (ex: “the victims need more prisoners” when… the victims and the prisoners are the same group of people?).
the back and forth between love interests just wasn’t for me, especially with so little time spent on bram before he disappears for half of the story. i did ultimately end up liking henri, but i can also easily understand why other readers are so put off by his redemption and romance.
final thoughts: bram’s head on a pike was a very devastating & fun surprise — had he stayed dead, i might have had a higher opinion of the end of this story. but that’s just because “everybody lives happily ever after” endings aren’t typically to my personal taste — which is also why i didn’t care for helena’s return. just a bit too cheesy for me.
overall, enjoyable and i do look forward to trying out the next work by this author!
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was such a wonderful read, the descriptions were vivid-sometimes too vivid, resulting in a scrunched neck and shivers-yet absolutely spellbinding at times. It was paced beautifully and long enough to draw you into the world being built, and to keep you invested in a resolution, yet short enough to not drag the mystery out with unnecessary filler.
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Is it the height of literature? No. But it's a fun time, even though it's a bit corny. I think it's decently well-written. So love to see it
adventurous
funny
mysterious
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
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Forced institutionalization
Minor: Rape, Suicide
I’m sad.
But I will say thank you to Page Street for sending me the gorgeous arc box of this one. I appreciate you!
Anyways….
This was yet another book that lured me with its gorgeous cover and ‘gothic atmosphere’ and GAY.
So to start, the writing was very elementary to me and it felt like an early draft. The dialogue felt very modern for some reason even though the author was obviously trying to achieve the opposite. The whole thing just fell flat, it felt like what I was promised about this book was not given. The romance—for the type of romance it was—needed way more time to develop. One of the love interests literally THROWS themselves at the protagonist in a creepy and I could even say problematic way and then I’m expected to want them to be together? Nah.
Also this book had a lot of moments where I feel like the author just needed to fill in gaps because they didn’t know what to do with that section of the book—there was a lot of filler while Emile worked and at one point he’s just playing with a spider web? Idk, I feel like all of those moments could have been dedicated to the romance’s development or the plot…or something else. Speaking of, the plot was fine, the werewolf lore was okay-it did have some unique elements but not enough to GAG me, just more underdeveloped elements of the book I guess
But I will say thank you to Page Street for sending me the gorgeous arc box of this one. I appreciate you!
Anyways….
This was yet another book that lured me with its gorgeous cover and ‘gothic atmosphere’ and GAY.
So to start, the writing was very elementary to me and it felt like an early draft. The dialogue felt very modern for some reason even though the author was obviously trying to achieve the opposite. The whole thing just fell flat, it felt like what I was promised about this book was not given. The romance—for the type of romance it was—needed way more time to develop. One of the love interests literally THROWS themselves at the protagonist in a creepy and I could even say problematic way and then I’m expected to want them to be together? Nah.
Also this book had a lot of moments where I feel like the author just needed to fill in gaps because they didn’t know what to do with that section of the book—there was a lot of filler while Emile worked and at one point he’s just playing with a spider web? Idk, I feel like all of those moments could have been dedicated to the romance’s development or the plot…or something else. Speaking of, the plot was fine, the werewolf lore was okay-it did have some unique elements but not enough to GAG me, just more underdeveloped elements of the book I guess