Book Review

Moon Reads: Yuzu the Pet Vet (Vol 1 & 2)

Posted on

Yuzu the Pet Vet Volumes 1 and 2 by Mingo Ito

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Read before: No

Series: Yuzu the Pet Vet

Ownership: Bought it on a shopping trip to London because they looked cute.

Yuzu the Pet Vet starts quite slow, with Yuzu having to move to live with her uncle since her mum is sick and in hospital, but her uncle is a vet and she has to help a little with the animals. But the catch si that she is afraid of animals. However, as you read, the little adventures mean that Yuzu starts paying more attention to the animals and gains confidence.

Each volume was a bunch of short stories, each focused on a visitor to the vet and how Yuzu helps, but it also overall includes more plot like her adapting to her new life, a new school, and dealing with her feelings of how to cope with having her mum being sick in the hospital and not being able to see her much, or feeling it is difficult to see her and not wanting to. They also encourage taking good care of animals and loving your pets, alongside learning from each interaction between the owners of the specific pet and the pet, and it is very cute.

The art style is adorable and the animals are always very cute, and the stories are soft and very child-friendly while at the same time dealing with hard topics at times like illness, death and other challenges but also fear and nicer things like making friends or gaining confidence.

Overall, a nice manga to read with children or to give to children to enjoy on their own. Very soft and lovely, but may cause people to want a pet and to want to be involved more with animals.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Diary of an Accidental Witch – Flying High

Posted on

Diary of an Accidental Witch – Flying High by Perdita and Honor Cargill

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Read before: No

Series: Diary of an Accidental Witch, book 2.

Ownership: Review copy provided by the publisher upon request, this does not affect my review and honestly I had this on my wishlist anyway because I enjoyed the first one a lot.

As per above, I really enjoyed the very first book don’t he series, which you can find a review for it here. Flying high picks up more or less after the end of the first book. We find Bea starting a new diary to tell us all about Winter solstice, a special task for her and relating to magical creatures, and some fun events for the Winter Solstice.

There is a lot of flying to be made and competitions and then suddenly things take an odd turn kinda because of her but also not entirely her fault.

The story is quite funny, with a lot of pointers to the previous book, however, it also explains again the rules of games like Go or other magical things you may not have picked up from the first book if you somehow missed it. And the story is once again focused on values and learning to treat others well, and you know, Bea adapting to being a witch secretly, or how to balance her friendships between magical and non-magical friends.

There are some very good moments of considering that not everyone approaches things the same way and that maybe we all do it a little differently and still manage it and how easy it is to forget your privilege or that your view may be quite narrow. And obviously, there is a good party at the end because apparently, witches love parties.

Oh and I read this for #Februwitchy which I forget to say I have been doing because I am a distracted being, but yeah.

Anyway, I recommend you buy this one and the prequel because you’ll have a good laugh with adorable illustrations and it reads just like a diary, good for young readers and slightly older readers, or maybe an adult like me who loves to read and sometimes needs fun soft stories with low stakes and a lot of childhood bliss.

Subscription Boxes

Moon Hauls: Revenge is Sweeter Illumicrate

Posted on

Subscription box: Illumicrate

Theme/Month: Revenge is Sweeter, October 2021

Ownership: Subscribed on their 6 boxes option. If you are interested in purchasing an Illumicrate subscription, you can do it on their website.

Illumicrate is a book subscription box, it usually features fantasy and sci-fi but not exclusively young adult, sometimes it features adult too. It usually contains a new release, a pin and several bookish goodies.

A highly expected read, and a bang of a box for October. Starting with the bottom item and going clockwise:

  • A book carrying bag, not even sure how to describe it, but it is almost like a fabric foldable basket and it is ideal for a catch-all. This is the second one and I love it alongside the first, please send more of these.
  • Measuring cups, which at the time, the day before got the box I had been looking at buying some and then like it read my mind, I had new measuring cups.
  • The Convergence candle, I am slowly trying to burn through my collection but I am glad to still be getting candles.
  • Collectable pin
  • Theme leaflet that describes content and shops and fandom
  • Iron widow, as the main book, and what a book to choose
  • A print, which is, as usual, I am not bothered about, I like the art but that is it.
  • Collectable mug, can’t remember the exact fandom but love it.

Overall it was a good box with items I had been looking forward to and a great book, so I liked it. Probably the only downside was having a print because those always feel like fillers but I get that people collect them, so it is all good for me. Not bad at all!

Book Review

Moon Reads: Every Heart a Doorway

Posted on

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Read Before: No

Ownership: Gifted by a friend from my wishlist

Do you ever wonder what happens to the children that went through the looking glass, or down a rabbit hole, and came back? If you had gone into some kind of Wonderland and then came back to your regular life, how would you cope? Could you manage real life, or maybe have odd powers and be too changed to have a normal life again?

This series of the Wayward Children asks those questions and poses a place for them with the School for Wayward Children, which is sold as a way to rehabilitate children that disappeared and came back with odd stories, but in truth is in a way a refuge for them and to learn to harness their powers.

Every Heart a Doorway was my first book by Seanan McGuire and I enjoyed it a lot. It follows a set of friends such wayward children as a newbie joins and suddenly a lot of deaths start happening in the school and things get a little hairy and difficult. It is easy to blame the new arrival, but is it really her fault or is there more to it?

One thing that this definitely is that this is a chaotic book that relies in a way of the reader perception on what going to a wonderland is. It is not a book that will hold your hand but rather it will entice you to come and stab you in the back, then whisper sweet nothings at you while still holding a knife carefully concealed. And yet, it is a wonderful read that I couldn’t put down and had to finish in a night.

I think for me, it felt like the kind of ideas I want to explore and like to explore in media about what happens to the dreamers when they come back. It falls right there with my love for Alice Madness Returns and American McGee’s Alice, that push the limits of what is a well behaved returning child from a Wonderland and how they adjust. It asks some interesting questions, like what if the child still wants to return and prefers Wonderland?

An absolute delight to read and now I need to read the rest!

Book Review

Moon Reads: Nevermoor

Posted on

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Read before: No

Ownership: Part of my library and had been there for ages

I read this in January because it was part of the bookclub from Wonder and honestly, I felt it was long overdue to read.

The story follows Morrigan as she expects to die on her birthday because she is a cursed child that brings bad luck. This is definitely an interesting premise but turns out she gets offered an opportunity to participate in some trials and show her magic, but she is sure her only magic is to curse people and bring bad luck, and that is definitely not special enough magic to pass trials. Unless the plan is to curse everyone with bad luck so she wins?

I enjoyed the humour of it, which is slightly dark but also quite funny and touches on harder topics. [Why is it that children’s books sometimes can touch on topics of death, bad luck and bad stuff in such a way that it leaves a mark and yet it feels light and not too bad?] And the place of Nevermoor is awesome, and her sponsor who is trying to get her to win the trials, and honestly, it is a cute interesting story, I think the main key thing is that it is about trusting yourself, and seeing yourself how others see you.

Morrigan was on top of it all,a good character to go along with, she isn’t perfect but then she isn’t obnoxious or trying too hard. she had accepted her fate in life and was doing her best and suddenly everything changes, and I understood in some level that,it was a fresh opportunity, like a breath of fresh air for her and it takes her a while to figure out what to do with this opportunity and change.

Overall, a recommended book about magic, friendship, self confidence, and making the most of life. You could give this you middle grade readers, read it aloud with your little ones or en joy it yourself as a teen or adult and it is basically a book that hopefully becomes a classic.

Subscription Boxes

Moon Hauls: Very Nice Villains Tales by Mail

Posted on

Subscription box: Tales by Mail

Theme/Month: Very Nice Villains, October 2021

Ownership: Subscribed on their 6 boxes option. If you are interested in purchasing a Tales by Mail subscription, you can do it on their website.

Tales by Mail is a bi-monthly middle-grade book box that comes with two books, some activity pages you can collect, or copy or use in various ways, a pin and one or two items.

Again, still behind with the unboxing but I want to talk about them and the contents so here we go with one from back in October! Starting from the left and going clockwise as usual:

  • His Royal Hopeless bookmark
  • Hi Royal Hopeless by Chloe Perrin, this book looks hilarious and fits the title quite nicely.
  • Theme card and set of activity pages, I love collecting these in the little ring binder.
  • Rules for Vampires by Sara Ogilvie, also an interesting funny read to fit the theme.
  • Very Nice Notes mini notebook, which is utterly cute
  • A little card/postcard
  • The collectible monthly pin
  • A Very Nice Villain patch with a cute bat
  • And finally a promotional bookmark for Rules for Vampires

Overall, as usual, one of the best things about Tales by Mail is that there isn’t a lot of items and therefore it is more about the books with a tiny treat and I love that. Alongside the fact that it sticks to the theme and provides me with some interesting middle grade book choices!

Book Review

Moon Reads: Star

Posted on

Star by Holly Webb

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Read Before: No

Ownership: Review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for a review. This does not affect my opinion of the book nor do I receive any other compensation for reviewing it beyond the book.

As I mentioned in the Frost review, Star was my first Holly Webb book, which I read in December and honestly, I loved it. It was the right kind of cute and gentle but also had a little adventure, a little bit of moving in space to another area or in a way living someone else’s experiences.

The story follows Anna, who wishes for snow and borrows a little wooden tiger from her Russian grandmother while she hears stories of her cousins back in Russia. But as she goes for a walk, she wonders about a loose tiger cub in Russia near the village where her cousin lives. As such, we suddenly are now in that village and being the cousin Anna.

The story follows Anna as she tries to save the tiger cub but also not be in danger, and it is very cute, very intriguing and cares about the little animal and just shows how things can affect life, but also to be safe. I really liked some of the measures Anna took to be sensible before leaving her house and a few of the things she cautiously does before approaching the tiger cub.

Overall, the story was enjoyable, made me want to have a few wood-carved animals to display somewhere and just to think about animals and the roles they have and what can happen when we disrupt them.

Recommended for readers that can read on their own or a family read to slightly younger readers with some guidance on topics and explanations on the content, nothing untoward or anything like that but it does deal with hunters and animals and other little things. The illustrations are absolutely stunning and it is so worth reading.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Frost

Posted on

Frost by Holly Webb

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Read before: No

Ownership: Gifted by a friend since I love books about foxes.

I had never read a Holly Webb book before I read Star, review to come, and then I was organising my middle grade shelves and realised I had this one by her too, so it felt right to read it and review it.

Frost is a story about a young girl who starts feeding the fox cubs that live near their apartment complex, but she has to do so secretly because you know, urban foxes = bad. The story focuses a little on the present and our main character interacting with eh foxes but also interacting with her family and one of the neighbours in the complex. This part was at first a bit generic but got more particular and showed a lot of character and growth for our little girl.

On the other hand we have the “fox” story, which focuses on a slight time travelling, like being in another body after she listens to a story and decides to feed the fox on a cold snowy night. This somehow means she is in a much older age, 1600s if I remember correctly, and her fox friend is still around but there is also a historical and cultural lesson on snow fairs and the roles of children and life in general.

I really enjoyed the story, and obviously because it has a fox, it was nice to read and just be part fo the fox love shared here.

This book is probably for readers that have a good comprehension level as the story is cute and meant for probably 7+ but it also has a little of historical value and it has illustrations which I loved.

Subscription Boxes

Moon Hauls: Mermaids and Myths Book Box Club

Posted on

Subscription box: Book Box Club

Theme/Month:Mermaids and Myths, October 2021

Ownership: Subscribed on their 12 boxes option. If you are interested in purchasing a Book Box Club subscription, you can do it on their website.

Book Box Club is a young adult subscription box, the unique thing is the Clubhouse where you can chat to the author a month (or so) after the box was shipped and ask questions and just chat around. It also includes several goodies and usually, the choice of book is one that is unique and not in other book boxes so very few chances of duplicate books and a lot of new reads discovery power.

A little old but a good box nonetheless which I loved how in tune with the theme it was, so here we go on contents starting with the book on the left and going clockwise:

  • Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen, an interesting read indeed and obviously all about mermaids and myths.
  • Theme card, which matches the book and the colour scheme of the box items overall. I like when the card matches well the rest of the box.
  • Mermaid tail iridiscent pen which is just adorable and shiny!
  • A coffee travel mug, which honestly has become my favourite one, the artwork is GORGEOUS.
  • Mermaid socks, nekkid mermaids which apparently I missed entirely and focused on the Lemons until my friends pointed it out.
  • Mermaid wooden pin with a tiny mermaid in a bottle. Adorable size.
  • Mermaid bath fizzer, which I haven’t used because I forget I have a bath tub and to take a bath since I shower instead, but it smells amazing.

Loved this box, it was on point with everything, very lovely on the whole sticking to the theme and everything, so all good. And I still recommend getting a subscription to their box. Good interesting book choices that arent the one everyone else is doing.

Announcements, Discussion

A Constellation of Moon is back

Posted on

Hi everyone, after a short hiatus due to life happening and a few health issues, I am back with a lot of books to talk about, a few book boxes to share, more books to talk about, some art, maybe some mentions of streaming and being on Twitch and what that experience means because honestly, it is a whole wild ride)!

Let’s talk a tiny bit about health, in December I had an incident with my hypermobility combined with my hip dysplasia and spinal issues, which meant I couldn’t walk for a few days or bear weight for a while. And then my source of keeping my muscles and joints moving and working, aerial/circus arts, took a break which meant for two weeks a was struggling a little to catch up with moving and being well. And then January has come and gone and I am slowly building up my strength, hosting a party with piñatas as I do every year, and then just trying to live and catch a breath which now I have done.

I could have come back earlier, but the hiatus meant I had the space to return to playing the piano and drawing. I was able to pursue at leisure things that bring me joy without the pressure of having to do them to keep viewers or stats or anything. And don’t get me wrong I love blogging and raving about things, but some days it feels like a grind and pressure and honestly I want to keep filling my life with joy, so a hiatus felt like a good thing to do and to spend some time just recharging. Oh and obviously reading. I finished my Goodreads challenge of 140 books for 2021, with 141 books read. So I challenged myself to 150, which I doubt I will achieve but hey, one has got to try, right?

Also, I may be bringing some aerial/circus content to the blog because I love it and it is a huge part of my life as I mentioned above, so as longas I get my ducks in a row, this should also become part fo the content and I will talk about doing moves, going to see Cirque du Soleil, etc.