Books – Page 2 – The Constellation of Moon

Moon Reads: Paladin’s Grace

Posted on April 3, 2026

Paladin’s Grace by T. Kingfisher

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection.

I will start this review with two clarifications, this was not my first T. Kingfisher book (Nettle & Bone was and I enjoyed it very much), and that I did not read this on paperback but rather listened to the audiobook narrated by Joel Richards, who did an amazing job narrating the book.

The first thing we learn is that Stephen is a paladin, but of a dead god, one that died all of a sudden (and apparently the only one that has). And Paladin’s for different god’s do different things, and Stephen’s Saint of Steel was all about fighting and giving his Paladin’s the gift of basically becoming berserkers that do their holy duty and then leave a trail of blood and death once the job is done. Normally their job is to defend and collaborate with others. But now that their god is dead, the few leftover paladin’s are left broken since the majority died when their god died, consumed by grief and the berserker gift.

Stephen’s doing his best to cope by helping the Temple of the Rat (another god who doesn’t have paladins but that welcomed them and makes use of them to help everyone), and it is while finishing one of his duties for them that he finds Grace in an alley and they witness an assassination attempt go wrong. And somehow, the chance encounter becomes a repeated meeting due to circumstances.

Now they need to navigate a web of politics, treachery and a killer who seems to love separating bodies from their heads.

The novel is delightful, Grace is a perfumer trying to make a life for herself, and Stephen is a sweet man trying to do his duty and be kind, and he’s slowly falling in love with her while they try to investigate the assassination and the murders that keep happening in the city.

I don’t even know how to describe the story, but I loved all the bits, including Stephen knitting socks to pass the time, and the introspective of trying to find a purpose after his god died (how do you live and make a life when your purpose died suddenly. It is a lovely romance but it is also a murder mystery and there’s politics and intrigue, everything to make a good book.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Sad Girl Hours

Posted on March 31, 2026

Sad Girl Hours by Anna Zoe Quirke

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

I can’t remember the exact reason I bought this one, but it felt like it’d be my kind of book. A good dose of cuteness, some sadness and lots of emotions. And I was right, this was a delight to read (despite dealing with heavy topics) and it felt like a warm hug or eating a nice apple pie fresh from the oven (not at burn your mouth temperature but at good temperature).

The story has two points of view, one from Saffron who suffers from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) who is dreading autumn and winter coming. She had to take time off the previous year from uni and can’t afford to do it again or it will make becoming an astrophysicist difficult or impossible. And also she’s somehow managed to keep it secret from all her friends and the people online that follow her for her short bubbly videos on astrophysics in a way that is easy to understand. She’s scared that if people know, they’ll dismiss it like her family does or they’ll stop liking her. And then she meets Nell.

Nell is our other point of view, who is proudly autistic, studying to become a poet, and a lover of autumn and winter and all the coziness they can provide. So she becomes determined to show Saffron that they’re not bad seasons with a bucket list of things to do to showcase how good it is to have the seasons come.

Of course as they start doing things like jumping on piles of leaves or lighting candles and having a cosy day in, Saffron and Nell both slowly start to develop feelings for each other but neither is sure of what exactly is going. And they both are trying to balance their own personal issues with having a fun time, becoming better friends and university.

There is a lot of fun but also some seriousness on caring for yourself and also how others care for you. I think this was a lovely little book to read and I’d recommend it as a nice autumn read. Do be mindful that it discusses SAD, family not taking this into account and being mean and not helpful, and obviously the spirals that can happen in your head about it.

Book Review

Moon Reads: The Trident and The Pearl

Posted on March 24, 2026

The Trident and the Pearl by Sarah K. L. Wilson

Rating:

Disclaimer: Receiving a review copy from the publisher does not affect my opinion of the book. If you think I review it highly it is due to me knowing my taste well and therefore not requesting books I won’t enjoy. And I am not obligated to review the book if I do not like it, so you may not see bad reviews due to me preferring not to hype down a particular book. I only do reviews of books I disagreed with if I think it is worth bringing a topic or warning to light.

I am not a big follower of romantasy, mostly because I do like my romance and my fantasy but I don’t always want romance to take over the fantasy part. However, this sounded pretty interesting and made me curious.

I will start by saying that the actual rating is 3.75 not 3.5 but I do not have a way to make it that number via fox rating. The reason it gets this rating is more or less because of how the book declined the closer it got to the end.

Our story starts strong. Queen Coralys says goodbye to her husband who is going to try and save people during a hurricane/storm that is about to end their island and reign. She then goes to make a deal with her god, which according to her she doesn’t actually believe in, and gets an interesting bargain. Her people will be saved, but she will have to marry the first person to touch harbor and become their profession and life, so more or less it is a “sacrifice your Crown for your people” and she’s willing to do this. Now, we find out that her husband dies during the storm and she’s grieving, which odd request from the god, but oh well. And then we learn about her customs of her island etc. Which to be fair, end up being pretty irrelevant to the story, which was a bit sad.

Somehow the first person to arrive is a fisher man who has a horrible wound, god given, that won’t close. Coralys is still grieving but she gives the impression of being a superb queen and not spoiled and not your regular main character for a fairy tale or a romantasy. Sadly this lasts about a third of the book and then we get the trope of they can’t communicate.

Her new husband is a fisher man indeed who says he is the Fisher King, and Coralys is thick as bricks and has no imagination so she doesn’t figure out who her husband really is until extremely late, after every single piece of evidence has slapped her repeatedly in the face. And this is part of the reasons the book didn’t get a high rating.

The world building is incredible, how gods work, what makes a god a god, what causes gods to war against each other, and how the people can communicate with them and all that interaction, fascinating. Oke, the fisher king and Coralys’ new husban, also incredibly awesome. He is trying to allow her to grieve, give her space so that being husband and wife is not a responsibility and a burden for Coralys. Like he is a cinnamon roll who is sparing Coralys from a lot of things. And Coralys is anything but the Queen she supposedly was. The Coralys we get has convenient grief for the plot (always incredibly convinient and never comes around if the plot doesn’t require it, and yes I know grief is funky and so forth but in this case, it is too noticeable to just accept it as grief is a beast), is thick as bricks, has no idea what communication is (despite being a Queen and having been married before and had counselors, etc), and mostly lets the plot happen to her, which felt a waste of Oke and the actual plot.

The plot is interesting if Coralys wasn’t such a puppet of it. The romance is not really there at all. Well, we can see Oke being nice to her, trying to give her space while doing his many responsibilities, making sure to make time for her too amongst everything else, etc. And then Coralys is adamant on revenge for her dead husband, but you also can’t believe she is blinded by it, because she only cares when it is needed for the plot.

Still, plot was cool. I think the book needed another pass or two on edits to make Coralys actually be more fleshed out as she’s pretty much a blank puppet who says she is something but doesn’t really make sense at all with her actions or motivations or anything. She genuinely is just there to let the plot happen.

Would I read the second book? Yes probably, since I do like the world and I am curious to see what will happen. Would I say everyone should read this book? No, but if you enjoy romantasy and want a cool world with gods and chaos, and a nice male main character, this is a good one to have.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Eat The Ones You Love

Posted on March 20, 2026

Eat The Ones You Love by Sarah Maria Griffin

Rating:

I think Griff (Sarah Maria Griffin) is one of the few authors that can get me to enjoy horror. I don’t read a lot of it and it is not a genre I pick, but for me, her books remind me in some ways of Latinamerican authors (I know, I know she’s Irish) with that magical realism, but with an added dollop of creepy (and thankfully without the misogyny).

Eat The Ones You Love is about malls that are dying, and about plants and loving others. I remember when I was a teenager there weren’t enough malls initially, the only one to hang out was an old one made for more “adults” with shops that were more utilitarian, like camera equipment, and haberdashery and so forth. And then they opened a new mall with a cinema and all fancy shops including a Sears and a Liverpool which were like fancy department stores. It was the place to hang out during your weekends or Friday’s after school. All the cool ones did. And then there came a third mall, that was in the rich part of the city, which meant a majority of the shops were high end so as a teen you would go and dream of being rich in them. But, many years later, I’ve back to all 3 malls and they’re not as busy, shops closed and it feels more like ghost town.

Why am I telling you all about my teenage mall adventures? Because I remembered them while I read this book. It was a piece of nostalgia, it was going to the cinema and coming out late once everything had closed and wandering the mall half lit and so quiet to get to the entrance. And maybe some readers will have no idea what that feels like, but then please read this book because that feeling was captured here incredibly well.

Now, I have never been a florist and I am not that good at keeping plants alive, but a family member was, and I have seen her make bouquets, so I cna also say that the flower shop was wonderful to read about.

So, now that the nostalgia revival has gone through, what is the story about? We have Shell who has “failed” at life and has to start again and so the possibility to work in the mall and the flower shop open her to knowing Neve, whom she finds very attractive. But she also finds the flowers and the life in the mall to be a good change for her. But there is something else lurking in the mall and the flower shop. Baby. Baby is an orchid with a taste for human flesh and also their feelings. It almost feels like hungry to be loved, hungry to feel and to feed on those feelings.

The story is creepy and intoxicating and it is interesting to read. If you’ve read previous works of Griff then you will know the type fo emotion heavy writing that makes you feel things intensely and so be prepared for it.

Book Review

Moon Reads: The Book of Fallen Leaves

Posted on March 17, 2026

The Book of Fallen Leaves by A. S. Tamaki

Rating:

When Orbit announced this book I was in a Ghost of Tsushima mindset preparing for Ghost of Yotei, so of course I had to read it and review it. The description of it felt like it suited my gamer mind and would fit anyone else who enjoyed the games (yes, it is not actually anything to do with them, but I feel like they are a good match in how they approach Japan and Samurai with some mysticism and magic).

I haven’t written a review for Ghost of Tsushima or Ghost of Yotei, which are both games on Playstation. I mostly don’t have a review because I don’t have screenshots to share, but I loved the first game and also the second one. So if you as a gamer, enjoyed them, then the quickest review I can give you is, that this is a similar feeling to playing through the Ghost games but as a book and you have more character points of view.

If you are not a gamer and your eyes are glazing over why I would recommend this book, I am sorry, I will now review it as a book lover. The Book of Fallen Leaves follows Rui, who is a commoner, a no’in, and Sen who is the surviving son of a clan lord that tried to rebel against the Emperor and was caught. Both of them in their own ways feel a little bit at a loss on their purpose and life, and there’s something tugging at them that “there’s more than this provincial life” for them. Circumstances put them into the path of a civil war and various schemes that are political and some that involve the gods too.

Overall I did enjoy the book a lot, however I will say that the introduction or prologue is superb and then it just doesn’t measure up for the first third of the book. That first third is slow, it is doing a lot of trying to set up the politics and in some ways it over explains things while trying to keep a sense of mystery (which fell a bit flat for me after the start, maybe if the start hadn’t been such a punch, this wouldn’t have been such a contrast).

You are also introduced to a bazillion characters and each of their points of view, which again, felt slightly a bit too much without giving enough significant story, just a lot of backstory and setting each side character into their position for the real story to start. I do understand we needed a view into the Empire, the Capital and the factions brewing, but I feel like this could’ve happened in a different way and maybe be a little bit better. It ended up feeling slgihtly repetitive or dragging out certain chapters.

But, once the pieces are in the right places and we introduce Jobo, we go at better speed and then it is a chaotic adventure and I enjoyed the ride a lot. My favourite characters where Jobo, Rui and Sen’s sister (Sen to me was actually pretty boring over all, sorry!), because you get a delightful balance of politics, intrigue, mystery, magic and samurai life.

Overall, it was a fun read and I am curious to see what the next book will bring since the ending left a lot to ponder. And I recommend this if you like politics, Japan and samurai inspired books, and obviously magic martial arts (I would even say it gave me the vibes of Drunken Master Jackie Chan even if that’s not exactly what is going on here, but it was that type of fun chaos).

Book Review

Moon Reads – The Bakery Dragon

Posted on March 6, 2026

The Bakery Dragon by Devin Elle Kurtz

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Apparently we are on a theme of reviews being quite cosy. I think partly this is because the world is being a little bit too much and we need reassurance, a safety blanket and cosy books are perfect for this.

The Bakery Dragon was actually initially an illustration Devin Elle made and then this inspired her to write a little book story about a dragon who longs for a different kind of treasure.

I think the overall story is super cute with our little dragon, Ember, finding that a hoard of gold and treasure isn’t really motivating and then while wandering around the town they see a little bakery window and find it so enticing. I honestly fully understand the dragon, I find the bakery windows and looking at bread and pastries super tasty and exciting and I just always end up wanting to go in and buy something and taste it (specially if you add the nice smell of the bread, yum!).

Anyway, bread turns out to be the perfect hoard and treasure for Ember, who is curious and wants to learn how bread is made. The baker then shows Ember how to make bread and Ember learns that sharing bread and making bread and having others enjoy it is very rewarding and a treasure in itself.

I am a fan of Devin Elle’s artwork so it is not a surprise that I loved a book about a little dragon that loves bread and that expands on her illustration work and dedicates itself to bread and cute little dragons. This book is like a bread version of The Tea Dragon Society hitting all the stops in cuteness, food appreciation and dragons.

Book Review

Moon Rads – The Baker and the Bard

Posted on March 3, 2026

The Baker and the Bard by Fern Haught

Rating:

Felt like this fit nicely into the same vibes as our last book. The Baker and the Bard follows two friends, Juniper who is an apprentice at the local bakery, and Hadley who is a bard that performs at the local inn. The little adventure had in this book is sparked by a stranger requesting a specific pastry that requires magical mushrooms that need to be foraged since the baker doesn’t have them in stock easily.

Our two friends will then set off on a soft gentle adventure to the forest where they will also realise there’s a little mystery of something eating local crops and leaving a glowy goo behind. Might as well find magicla mushroom and solve the mystery, right?

The story is just cute with finding new creatures, a caretaker and a bit of understanding coexisting environments. I admit the story felt a bit shoe horned to just cover certain topics and at times it was a little weak but the art came into save it and honestly the art is the best part of this cosy adventure. It is still a very cute and cosy book which left me wanting some pastries and a nice cup of tea.

Book Review

Moon Reads – Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter

Posted on February 27, 2026

Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

This book was the perfect excuse to pull some cute cat plushies because why not, I have my own brand of “stray” cats.

I loved this book, probably even more the Emily Wilde’s series (and I enjoyed those a lot). And I am so so thankful to Orbit for the review copy because I was able to read the book before it came out and then I raved about it to other people (I do circus arts and I have an informal “book club” where we all read different things but weekly we talk about what we each read and recommend books to each other and this book has been one I’ve recommended a few times).

Anyway, to the actual review of this book. The short version of the review would be that this felt like I was reading a mix of the film and book versions of Howl’s Moving Castle (book version including the other two which rarely ever get included, but are so good), with Agnes being a little like Sophie and Havelock being like Howl. There is also like in the books, a much more involved sister and it is just very satisfying and wholesome and worth reading. Very cosy, very cute, you will want to visit a cat cafe and maybe watch Howl’s Moving Castle or read it afterwards.

Now the longer version, we start our story with Agnes trying to find a place to move into after a mage battle destroyed her previous shop front and the landlady she had cannot afford to fix the damage. Winter is coming and she needs a warm space for the cats and herself as she runs a cat charity to pick up strays. But most places she sees aren’t accepting her because she has cats. Until she finds the perfect shop, but she thinks she can’t afford it, despite being drawn to it over and over. Finally she decides to give in and just check it out, and somehow things work out in a way that is scary but feels meant to be. She’s quickly moving in and everything is pretty smooth, but then she starts getting weird visitors that go through her charity and into the basement of the shop.

To no one’s surprise, turns out she is a front for the most known mage ever Havelock, who is super famous and sought after. And well, as you would expect chaos ensues, with a magical battle between Havelock and another mage and our poor Agnes who loves keeping track of things and organisation struggles. But she’s practical and despite the fact she doesn’t agree with magic and mages, she will make the most of this chaos thank you very much.

She then goes on a mission (if you’ve seen Howl’s Moving there’s a scene that’s very similar to Sophie cleaning Howl’s Castle and it was so satisfying to read) to make things work out for this weird arrangement. But in some ways, she seems to be adopting Havelock as one of her strays and maybe, just maybe falling in lvoe with him despite her misgivings on magic and mages and the fact she thought she couldn’t love someone other than her husband who passed away two years before.

There’s a whole plot that I don’t want to spoil, but I definitely can say that this was adorable, very satisfying to read and honestly 100% worth it. I’d recommend it for the cosy factor, the magic, the Howl vibes, the pastries, the cats and the romance.

Book Review

Moon Reads – Control Alter Delete

Posted on February 6, 2026

Control Alter Delete by K. L. Kettle

Rating:

Control Alter Delete follows Halcyon (Hal) who more or less lives in a perfect virtual world called World 2.0 created by Hal’s hero, Francis Knox. This world is better than real life because she can be whatever she wants and she’s popular there. And it makes up for not knowing what happened to her dad when he disappeared.

But then she gets into the Knox Cup which is a fancy competition and suddenly everything becomes super dangerous and convoluted.

The reason this one gets a low score is mostly that it’s a little too incongruent with itself and trips over a lot of things between the first part fo the book and the second one. If you are reading this, be aware that I will be including potential spoilers here because otherwise I can’t properly explain why I struggled with the plot of the book. Read at your own risk.

We start with Hal somehow being pretty cool in this virtual world but not as cool as her ex boyfriend who won the previous cup and then they split up. But we have Hal super immersed in this World 2.0 and somehow the plot slowly tells us this is a fake virtual world and she basically lives in like a capsule and has to keep her body sorted with a fake programmed virtual mum made up her mum’s memories. And Hal is somehow “poor” and can’t afford anythign (but has a house, is always fed and never actually wants for anything except enough money to buy her entry into the cup and that gets resolved by rich guardian telling her to get her shit together).

So we have a “Hal is poor” but no real evidence of this. This was one of the first ones I struggled, she’s also not that into school, but somehow a genius, which again, there was a lot of telling and so little showing to prove this.

Once the cup starts and we start seeing the layers and the real story, it does get super interesting in to how the World 2.0 and 3.0 are created. And then we discover Hal’s parents (one disappeared, one sick and held at a hospital that Hal somehow never visits, again, what? why? this makes no sense) are 2 out of 5 original founders of the virtual worlds and all the cool things. And then we get back to how does Hal not know any of this or even question ANYTHING at all considering that as we go through the story, we discover her parents tried to protect her from evil things and were trying to make her like the “hero” or someone who could fix things. And we really only find her being able to do the things thanks to her imaginary friend who doesn’t seem that imaginary, Go.

So, overall in continuity and actually setting up the plot, this book has an incredibly low rating. The reason it isn’t a bad book is because once the Cup starts and we get to start figuring some of the plot and the weirdness, that there is corruption and that there seems something more sinister is going on (including the fact that her mum fell ill and was whisked away to a hospital and never heard of, very convenient disappearance of parent figures), and how the worlds work and then as Hal actually starts having a personality or at least starts acting (I feel like the plot happens to Hal and she kinda ends up becoming what the plot needs her to become) like she has one and starts trying to make a difference, then it becomes super interesting.

The idea behind how the virtual world was created and how it was sustained, what it meant and the good and bad implications of it was a really cool thing which reminded me of many books including Marie Lu’s Warcross, The Upper World, The Maze Runner and other similar books.

So I think it is an interesting read, but it could be better for sure.

Book Review

Moon Reads: How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days

Posted on February 3, 2026

How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days by Jessie Sylva

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

I have typed this review a few times trying to find the best way to tell you “hey, this was really fun to read, and I wish everyone else would read, please go read it. I want more fun cosy chaos books like this one”, and I don’t think I know how else to say it.

How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days is a cute chaos hug to a fantasy nerd. You have Pansy, a halfling in search of a little adventure and that feels a little out of place in her village because of being a little odd and not wanting pure comfort. And you have Ren a goblin who is trying their best to support their clan and also they have a green thumb like nobody else.

Now have Pansy inherit her grandma’s cottage and she feels like this is her chance to make her own life without feeling a bit out of place, she has found her place. But surprise, when she goes to claim her inheritance, Ren is already living there and growing all manners of things (including lots of moss inside the house, apparently moss inside the cottage is not a halfling thing but I think is a pretty cool idea).

To the surprise of both, they somehow end up making a deal on who gets to keep the house, whomever doesn’t leave and stays in it. There’s a few ground rules like not being destructive to each other’s things and stuff, and that you can’t “remove” but only add things (you can already see this backfiring, right?). And so it starts, a little back and forth between them trying to find ways to annoy each other of the home.

It is not to the reader’s surprise of course, that these all backfire in very amusing and funny ways, but also in making the home cosy for both of them. I will say, this was a proper cosy read, with lots of plants and cooking, and questions about belonging and family (or clan) and what it means to be part of them.

But there’s also a lot of little elements reminding you of other worlds, other stories, other classics and some newer works, and it was this also that was fun to read. It felt like a good hug and was about as complex a read as I could muster at a time when I had no voice and a fever. I still enjoyed it a lot and it made me laugh, then cough then regret my life choices, but 10/10 worth it for the story.