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fearoflung 's review for:
The Alchemy of Moonlight
by David Ferraro
I seem to be somehow picking all of the retellings of classic books I’ve never read! I was surprised to discover that this was a retelling, but I am a sucker for supernatural and gothic literature and this did not disappoint.
In the words of Stefon from SNL, this book has everything. “Gay romance, haunted castles in the middle of dark woods, foggy nights filled with the sounds of screams, severed hands, and references to other classic gothic and horror literature for those paying close attention.” Don’t think any of those subtle references got past me! I see you, Bram.
I adored everything about this book. There is a lively cast of characters– and some not so lively, haha, get it? I’ll stop now. Maybe. This story had everything I loved about gothic romances and classic monster horror. The atmosphere was astounding. All of the dark corners of the old castles and the twists and turns of the misty hedge labyrinth– it was all just dripping with mystery and spoopyness. The settings are almost characters in their own rights, just like with any good gothic story. But back to the actual characters. I fell in love with Bram and Henri right along with our dashing main character. (Especially Henri, who am I kidding. My goodness that man.)
I think my only complaint with the book might be that some of the main character’s internal dialogue gets a bit repetitive by the end, as it is mostly a revolving door of will I forgive this darkly charismatic guy for the questionable things he is getting up to or will I run off with the tall dark and handsome doctor. To be fair though, there is good reason for the whole “who will I choose?” plot point, so it doesn’t bother me as much as it normally would. I do wish we could have gotten more scenes of the monsters being monsters and doing their monster-y things as most of the book is trying to keep the secret of what is actually going on when the description of the book is pretty clear what is going on with the family.
Those small complaints aside, I spent most of the book swooning with Emile over our two leading men (and Blanche, too, let’s be real) and being excited by all the monsters and gothic atmosphere. There was even one scene in particular that actually creeped me out a bit, and I am a huge horror buff that does not get scared very easily. (Actually there are two scenes that creeped me out, but the first scene is because it would creep out anyone. That suit of armor oh. my. god. If you know you know. SHUDDERS.)
Cheers to this book and “To living in sin in full view of everyone.”
Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!
In the words of Stefon from SNL, this book has everything. “Gay romance, haunted castles in the middle of dark woods, foggy nights filled with the sounds of screams, severed hands, and references to other classic gothic and horror literature for those paying close attention.” Don’t think any of those subtle references got past me! I see you, Bram.
I adored everything about this book. There is a lively cast of characters– and some not so lively, haha, get it? I’ll stop now. Maybe. This story had everything I loved about gothic romances and classic monster horror. The atmosphere was astounding. All of the dark corners of the old castles and the twists and turns of the misty hedge labyrinth– it was all just dripping with mystery and spoopyness. The settings are almost characters in their own rights, just like with any good gothic story. But back to the actual characters. I fell in love with Bram and Henri right along with our dashing main character. (Especially Henri, who am I kidding. My goodness that man.)
I think my only complaint with the book might be that some of the main character’s internal dialogue gets a bit repetitive by the end, as it is mostly a revolving door of will I forgive this darkly charismatic guy for the questionable things he is getting up to or will I run off with the tall dark and handsome doctor. To be fair though, there is good reason for the whole “who will I choose?” plot point, so it doesn’t bother me as much as it normally would. I do wish we could have gotten more scenes of the monsters being monsters and doing their monster-y things as most of the book is trying to keep the secret of what is actually going on when the description of the book is pretty clear what is going on with the family.
Those small complaints aside, I spent most of the book swooning with Emile over our two leading men (and Blanche, too, let’s be real) and being excited by all the monsters and gothic atmosphere. There was even one scene in particular that actually creeped me out a bit, and I am a huge horror buff that does not get scared very easily. (Actually there are two scenes that creeped me out, but the first scene is because it would creep out anyone. That suit of armor oh. my. god. If you know you know. SHUDDERS.)
Cheers to this book and “To living in sin in full view of everyone.”
Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!