Reviews

The Alchemy of Moonlight by David Ferraro

emcaine's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

disabledbookdragon's review

adventurous dark emotional 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

3.0

randomdyslexicreaderer342's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

The book was good!
Just wish we would have seen more of Bram and Henri interacting..
I loved Bram and hated Henri, I would have loved more of Bram altogether 
The plot was good but towards the end it felt very rushed a lot of reveals happened at once.
Overall it’s good and great for a debut novel..!

annetaylor5942's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

jocelyn_marie's review

4.0

This book was surprisingly good. I mostly got it because the cover looked nice and I was in the mood for a creepy castle mystery, but I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. I did think the climax came a bit late in the book, which I didn't like. I think it was a good idea though, because then you have a better connection with the characters, and you grow to love them and their relationships. So when something sad or dramatic or scary happens, you have this bond that makes you really feel something for the characters. I didn't love it because there was a lot of waiting, but I can see how it was also a good thing.
I definitely was not expecting the ending either.

Spoiler

I was rooting for a Henri endgame but the little like, thruple that Emile wanted to have?? Very uncalled for. I kind of want a sequel or a little novella online or something just so I can know how that relationship went for them. I didn't like Emile and how he's probably going to end up being the, center of attention in the relationship. Both Bram and Henri are going to want to spend time with him, and I think that would end in Emile having a bigger ego than he does now.
Moving on. So the tension??!! It was so thick throughout the whole story and I was anticipating something that never came. Small kisses happened that only increased the tension, but you just have to infer what happens after. It's more of an open-ended ending. I also felt that the fact that basically everyone is a werewolf at the end was kind of tacky. And the idea of werewolves I feel I always associate with Twilight or something, which kind of gives this cheesy image, so I think just the topic of werewolves took off a star for me. But without werewolves the story could not go on.

I also felt the plotline was very predictable for 2 reasons: 1, the blurb on the cover of the story basically gave away everything, and 2, the "subtle" signs the author tried to give just gave everything away, as did the small symbols on the cover.
I also felt Emile was one of those characters who makes the stupidest decisions or says the dumbest most self-absorbed things and you can still love him for some reason. And Bram I didn't like because he was almost too caring and the tension between him and Emile kind of dried out towards the middle. And he was always making sure Emile was looking out for himself too, which made it seem like Emile only ever thought about others, which was not true. I'm team Henri all the way.
Speaking of Bram, I felt there were some plot holes involving him towards the end.

Spoiler

When Count Montoni scratched him, they only found out it was with his teeth turning Bram into a werewolf later. They said Count Montoni must not have noticed that the curse could have set into Bram but that doesn't really make sense because they also said he was extremely careful. And I feel like Count Montoni would have used a silver pike just as a precaution, and of his intents to kill all these werewolves I would think he would have more silver weapons. Very clever though, keeping Bram alive after he turned into a werewolf.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading the book, and I loved the characters. I actually like the love triangle, which those are usually hit-or-miss, and the open ending. This was so close to being a fav, but there were just some small things I didn't enjoy. I do recommend it, though.

manrod809's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I didn’t find Count Montoni intriguing as a villain, I wished his monstrous actions were more prominently featured in the story. I just thought he was very predictable with his actions. Which is fine but I wanted to explore him more and his reasonings even if they made no sense. Additionally, I felt that Emile's romantic struggles between, Bram and Henri, could have been portrayed more deeply, with clearer emotional resonance. I want a true love triangle where all sides touch. love triangle romance felt somewhat underdeveloped. Maybe it would have turn into a much bigger more but I need to explore all the MMM relationships for me to be more  engaged and satisfied. I had hoped to see and feel the depth of emotions experienced by all three characters - Emile, Bram, and Henri - with  angst and yearning to truly believe in the complexities of their relationships. But that is just me. 

kayelina's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

bekybear's review

4.0

I listened to the audiobook for this one exclusively and quite enjoyed it.

Read on for heavy reviewer introspection:

I can see why people would give it 3 stars, but I have to give it 4 because I found myself picking it up over other books I started.
Pros: tries to conquer really complex emotions that I think those who have experienced it, can relate to.
Cons: if you’re less familiar with these emotions, it’s likely not going to land and the odd pacing and sometimes dull dialogue will probably catch up with you in a bad way.
I think I am also happier with this book than I could have been because I went in with no knowledge and 0 expectations aside from I bought the audio book on a sale because I liked the cover art. And it just so happened to have a lot of things that I like about a story. Had any of these parts been spoiled for me or I saw coming, I may have been less enthusiastic about the book overall.

vamps's review

adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

oa_'s review against another edition

adventurous emotional relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75