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its_vendetta's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Mixed feelings throughout the book, but I decided to round up to 4 bc I truly did enjoy it!
I think the thing that threw me off was the amount of plot twists in the book. Like kept me on the edge of my seat for sure, but by the end, I was just expecting another "BUT WAIT-" I just didn't trust anything by the end, which could be a good or bad thing depending on what you like.
I think it was overall a pretty cool book. Loved the romance and tension and the resolution was satisfying for me. The characters had faults which I enjoyed. The plot was tense and horrific at times, but the book had enough lighthearted dialogue and romance to balance it out.
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Kidnapping, Suicide, Homophobia, Confinement, Death of parent, and Medical content
Minor: Classism, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Emotional abuse
lanid's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Death, Gore, and Murder
Minor: Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, and Physical abuse
q_bert13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Death, Animal death, Body horror, Homophobia, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny, Death of parent, Medical content, Sexism, Outing, and Medical trauma
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture
20sidedbi's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The last couple chapters of this book bumped it up from a 2 to a 3⭐ for me. It's really cool to see an ending with
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Gore, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Violence, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
Horrorbookishpriest's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
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.
Graphic: Gore and Body horror
Moderate: Violence and Homophobia
Minor: Vomit
bookstarbri's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
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!
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Murder, Death of parent, and Suicide
jilljemmett's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Death of parent and Homophobia
Minor: Suicide
rampant_reading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Homophobia and Body horror
utopiastateofmind's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
The Alchemy of Moonlight is a perfect combination of regency gothic setting with fantasy. Ferraro details a rich setting of inheritances and dangerous gardens. In order to gain his inheritance and be free of his aunt's homophobia, Emile goes undercover as a servant hoping to wait out the six months until his birthday. The foundation of the story is Emile's desire to be seen and loved for who he is. To live a life where he's free to choose and not forced to marry in name only.
From the beginning, I loved Emile's character as he struggles to be a proficient servant all while fighting for the hope for love. Emile's situation is incredibly precarious and dangerous risking losing his fortune, but also institutionalization. My heart was in my chest for Emile. The Alchemy of Moonlight is a story which creeps up on you. Ferraro sprinkles in elements of the supernatural, clues, and disbelief. With love triangle vibes - albeit with some pretty complicated mistakes - Emile's story forces him to find people who can see him.
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Domestic abuse