Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by bunhime
The Alchemy of Moonlight by David Ferraro
3.0
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an audiobook arc!
True rating- 3.5 stars
The Alchemy of Moonlight by David Ferraro is a retelling of The Mysteries of Udolpho, with a queer twist on the story that immediately interested me. Unfortunately, I thought this book fell slightly short of my expectations and hopes.
Emile being queer and threatened by his aunt to be forced into a marriage or an asylum added layers of nuance to the story that I quite enjoyed. The gothic atmosphere is strong in this book and well written, bringing to life the castle of Udolpho and its dark, twisting secrets.
Unfortunately I did not love the pacing of this book. The family's big secret is not revealed until the very end of the book, when the reader has realized that secret long ago. Of course, the reader is able to see things that the characters in the story might not, however it can still be frustrating to get through the story and just wishing for the characters to get with the program.
I enjoyed the conclusion of this book, particularly the romance, however I wish that the romance had been better developed from the beginning. It was hard to feel like the characters truly cared for one another beyond lust or attraction from being forced into stressful, traumatic situations together. But, I will always be thrilled to find a polyamorous relationship in media.
I enjoyed the narrator of the audiobook quite a bit, particularly how he performed the voices of the different characters and the emotion he put in to the narrative.
True rating- 3.5 stars
The Alchemy of Moonlight by David Ferraro is a retelling of The Mysteries of Udolpho, with a queer twist on the story that immediately interested me. Unfortunately, I thought this book fell slightly short of my expectations and hopes.
Emile being queer and threatened by his aunt to be forced into a marriage or an asylum added layers of nuance to the story that I quite enjoyed. The gothic atmosphere is strong in this book and well written, bringing to life the castle of Udolpho and its dark, twisting secrets.
Unfortunately I did not love the pacing of this book. The family's big secret is not revealed until the very end of the book, when the reader has realized that secret long ago. Of course, the reader is able to see things that the characters in the story might not, however it can still be frustrating to get through the story and just wishing for the characters to get with the program.
I enjoyed the conclusion of this book, particularly the romance, however I wish that the romance had been better developed from the beginning. It was hard to feel like the characters truly cared for one another beyond lust or attraction from being forced into stressful, traumatic situations together. But, I will always be thrilled to find a polyamorous relationship in media.
I enjoyed the narrator of the audiobook quite a bit, particularly how he performed the voices of the different characters and the emotion he put in to the narrative.