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courtofbooklove 's review for:
Woven in Moonlight
by Isabel Ibañez
There are a couple of things that really made Woven in Moonlight stand out for me, one was the descriptions of the world and the locations, which were done incredibly well, the other was the politics. I’ll start off with the descriptions. Ibañez managed to create a rich fantasy world in such a way that I had no trouble imagining the sceneries that were described. I could easily picture the castillo, la Ciuadad, and all the other locations, and the clothes and characters were described elaborately as well. All the characters were given depth, so I could empathise with them easily.
Then for the politics: they were certainly the highlight of the whole book for me. Because despite the fact that this book is fiction, it was very thought-provoking for me. It was enlightening to see Ximena’s mental journey and see how she slowly started realising the truth about the Llacsans. The book showed perfectly how perspectives matter, how when you lack full information, your prejudices based on some cases may cloud your judgment. It was refreshing to see how the Illustrians were oppressed and shut off from the world they knew at the moment, but that the Llacsans were the ones to which this happened first. That the Llacsans were oppressed for years, that they were forced to assimilate, and when they refused, they were cast out of society. All these events cast an interesting light on modern politics, as well as themes as colonialism. Ximena’s character development was amazing to see, as it showed how when someone is given all the available information, they can realise what is right for everyone. It was also intriguing to see Ximena’s internal struggles with the new information presented to her and that which she was taught to believe, as well as her loyalty to her friend and Condesa.
Even though this book was very interesting to read, it lacked the thrill that made it a page-turner for me. I enjoyed it a lot when I sat down to read the book, but I missed the feeling of having to continue to know what was going to happen next. Kitty, my buddy read buddy, also commented on how the magic system lacked for her, but to be honest, that was not really a problem for me. I liked the simple magic system and it was still quite unique on its own. I think a more complex magic system would have distracted from some of the other themes in the book. What did prevent me from giving it 5 stars however, was that some parts of the plot were a little predictable, but they were still enjoyable and the underlying topics that were woven into the story (pun definitely intended) were what truly made the book so great.
Then for the politics: they were certainly the highlight of the whole book for me. Because despite the fact that this book is fiction, it was very thought-provoking for me. It was enlightening to see Ximena’s mental journey and see how she slowly started realising the truth about the Llacsans. The book showed perfectly how perspectives matter, how when you lack full information, your prejudices based on some cases may cloud your judgment. It was refreshing to see how the Illustrians were oppressed and shut off from the world they knew at the moment, but that the Llacsans were the ones to which this happened first. That the Llacsans were oppressed for years, that they were forced to assimilate, and when they refused, they were cast out of society. All these events cast an interesting light on modern politics, as well as themes as colonialism. Ximena’s character development was amazing to see, as it showed how when someone is given all the available information, they can realise what is right for everyone. It was also intriguing to see Ximena’s internal struggles with the new information presented to her and that which she was taught to believe, as well as her loyalty to her friend and Condesa.
Even though this book was very interesting to read, it lacked the thrill that made it a page-turner for me. I enjoyed it a lot when I sat down to read the book, but I missed the feeling of having to continue to know what was going to happen next. Kitty, my buddy read buddy, also commented on how the magic system lacked for her, but to be honest, that was not really a problem for me. I liked the simple magic system and it was still quite unique on its own. I think a more complex magic system would have distracted from some of the other themes in the book. What did prevent me from giving it 5 stars however, was that some parts of the plot were a little predictable, but they were still enjoyable and the underlying topics that were woven into the story (pun definitely intended) were what truly made the book so great.