The Constellation of Moon

The Familiars Review

Posted on February 10, 2019

The Familiars by Stacey Halls

Young Fleetwood Shuttleworth, a noblewoman, is with child again. None of her previous pregnancies have borne fruit, and her husband, Richard, is anxious for an heir. Then Fleetwood discovers a hidden doctor’s letter that carries a dire prediction: she will not survive another birth. By chance she meets a midwife named Alice Grey, who promises to help her deliver a healthy baby. But Alice soon stands accused of witchcraft.

Is there more to Alice than meets the eye? Fleetwood must risk everything to prove her innocence. As the two women’s lives become intertwined, the Witch Trials of 1612 loom. Time is running out; both their lives are at stake. Only they know the truth. Only they can save each other.

Rich and compelling, set against the frenzy of the real Pendle Hill Witch Trials, this novel explores the rights of 17th-century women and raises the question: Was witch-hunting really women-hunting? Fleetwood Shuttleworth, Alice Grey and the other characters are actual historical figures. King James I was obsessed with asserting power over the lawless countryside (even woodland creatures, or “familiars,” were suspected of dark magic) by capturing “witches”—in reality mostly poor and illiterate women.

Rating:

I attended the launch party for this book, and got a free copy gifted by the publisher in exchange for a review (not that they force me to, the HotKey people are awesome!). I was already excited to get this book so an early copy was a boon.

When I first heard of “The Familiars” it hooked me in. It had a hint at magic, familiars and it was set in 17th Century England. (I know, why is that last part intriguing, right?)

I re-enacted for a few years this period, but focused more on the Civil War happening in England rather than the Witch hunts, however, this meant I had a lot of the background and historical knowledge of the period Fleetwood and Alice are in.

Life in general wasn’t easy, life as a woman wasn’t easy, being rich didn’t exactly exclude you from obligations, and this is well reflected in The Familiars. I couldn’t really find fault on the period characterization and how well it was done in ambient. That part was stunning, however it also meant that because it was doing so well at the historical part and the setting, the plot developed a little bit too slow.

This put me at war, because the historical part kept me thinking, oh yes and then this and that, but the actual story kept me going “come on, have something happen, please!”. It even takes a little bit for Alice to really enter Fleetwood’s life and I was itching for it by the time it happens. (I guess you could say that was well done?)

One of the best things here are the hints of “magic” (is it or isn’t it?), and the relationship/friendship between Fleetwood and Alice. They’re both very strong women in their very own ways, and you can see they are doing the best they can with what they’ve got.

A lot fo the time my heart was breaking for one or the other, or both, but at times it was also singing of happiness alongside them. So it was an interesting read.

So my take is that I enjoyed it greatly but wish it hadn’t been as slow as it was in developing the plot. Still, if you like period novels, a hint of magic and female friendship, this is a good book to go read.

Books, Subscription Boxes

Pirate Thief Litjoy Unboxing

Posted on February 8, 2019

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This was an easy “yes” from me for the theme, pirates, arggg matey! *insert parrot and eye patch* So let’s dive into the contents and see it all. Starting from the top right, with the theme card hidden underneath book and coasters:

I’ve just said theme card and it’s more of a theme booklet, but it is stunning.
Pirate coasters, they are four different fandom pirates with quotes from each. They’re cool and my boyfriend doesn’t find them too feminine, so that’s a bonus.
Pirate bracelet. I like it but it isn’t exactly my cup of tea (I am not the most crazy about jewelry, despite loving my piercings, I don’t really buy it and don’t wear much except crazy earrings, that we never get, there… a good idea, send us really crazy earrings)
A cool Kraken pirate flag about to sink a ship. A friend asked dibs on it, and even though I am not into flag/penchants kind of stuff, I adore the design of the artwork. It is stunning. Give me a blanket or tea towel with it please!
A hunky man print that is meant to match the book but I haven’t read it yet so no idea. It also has the author letter on the back.
The usual litjoy trading cards.
You can’t see it very well because it is a transparent thing, but there’s a shotglass that says yo ho, yo ho the reader’s life for me. It made me laugh!
The main book which I had considered preordering but then decided to wait and see, and here it is. It sounds intriguing and I do love the cover.
A fortune teller, it came flat and with instructions on how to make it to promote a new book.
A second book, Brightly Burning! Funnily enough a friend had recommended it and we talked a bit about it before I received the box, so this was a good coincidence.

All in all it was a fun box, and I can’t complain much about it. I have skipped the February one because I know which book it and I already have a copy on the way plus the theme isn’t driving me crazy but will be back unboxing Litjoy in March 🙂

Book Review, Books

Shadowscent Review

Posted on February 6, 2019

Shadowscent high-res book cover

Shadowscent: The Darkest Bloom by P. M. Freestone

In the empire of Aramtesh, scent has power.

When disaster strikes and the crown prince lies poisoned, long suppressed rivalries threaten to blow the empire apart. It’s up to a poor village girl with a talent for fragrances and the prince’s loyal bodyguard to find an antidote.

To succeed, the pair must uncover secrets – cryptic, ancient tales as well as buried truths from their own pasts – in an adventure that will ignite your senses.

Rating:

When I first heard of this book, I longed to read it and requested a review copy. Lo and behold this proof copy was provided to me in exchange for a review. And it came with the added bonus of a vial of perfume which was a delightful boon that I hadn’t expected (but that made me feel extremely happy, and the perfume is lovely indeed).

I have delayed this review to have it as close to the publishing date as I could and here it is! The finished copy is even lovelier but I am still waiting for that one to arrive. Enough about me, now to the book.

Shadowscent tells us the story of Rakel, who has honed her scent and her perfume making skills so she has a chance at becoming a perfumer to the rich (and she wants this because she loves scent and to give her father a longer chance of survival, a better life as short or long as it may be). From the beginning I enjoyed Rakel’s chapters enormously and just all of her view of the world was something I wanted to read a bit more every time. I was rooting for her at the perfumer trial, and just kept rooting for her throughout the story.

Plus, Rakel is good with horses, and she has a lot of street smarts, but not in an aggressive way but rather an “I learnt this and I know it and I am going to use it, even if I am not rich and can’t compete on fair grounds, but let’s give it a go, I won’t give up”.

We also get Ash chapters, and his point of view. He is a Shield, the bodyguard, defender, “loyal puppy” of the Prince that is chosen to become the next leader. (The politics here were a bit confusing, as there are a lot of concubines/wives that have children and they form the Council and it didn’t really spark my interest except that it was made up of females mostly). I have to admit I didn’t enjoy Ash’s chapters as much and read them as quick as possible. I wasn’t keen on the whole “I am so special but have to hide it and won’t hint but actually I will”. It was a bit overdone for my liking and considering the big “reveal” in the end, I think it could’ve been done better (don’t really want to spoil it, as it was interesting but even though it was a big reveal I was just like “yeah whatever, he’s special, move on”). It makes me sad to have to say this, because I enjoyed Rakel so much.

I liked the whole mystery, loved the concept of the Library, and enjoyed Rakel’s spunk and how she’s trying so hard but life just doesn’t seem to love her that much, or rather, not the way she thinks things should be. And I am quite curious for the next book.

More scentlore please, as it was quite interesting. And more Rakel, a lot more. There was a particular scene when they return to save the Prince and she talks to Barden and it was like “yes, I need to quote that because it is a great thing, so good” (it’s a bit spoilery, so I am holding on it, sorry!).

All in all, I think there was a lot more work in developing Rakel than Ash and it shows in the way it is written. But it is still an enjoyable read, the lore is interesting and I do wish for more of it.

Moon recommends

Preordering this lovely book, or going to your nearest book shop or library and getting it to have a read (preferably get a few candles, or some incense, or put something in the oven because this will make you want to be sniffing around).

Subscription Boxes

Storytellers Book Box Club Unboxing

Posted on February 4, 2019

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The theme for this box was a great start of the year. Storytellers try to tell themselves that they’ll finally write that story this year, or something along those lines (some do write, other procrastinate). And as such it is a great thing to do for the first box of the year. But let’s see what was inside, starting on the top left, with the book:

Monsters by Sharon Dogar. I am a bit undecided about this book. Mostly because I am not sure about books involving the “authors” and their lives fictionalised, but it looks also intriguing and I do love the cover design. So we shall see how it happens…
Storytelling magnet words. This is such a cool idea because I remember always wanting some of these and then I finally had some and was overwhelmed with how to use them (this set isn’t my first). One of the things that I liked is that the words are in different colours so that helps “see” them amongst the others.
A small notebook for all those ideas that may escape if you don’t write them down (maybe like birds). Can’t say no to this lovely notebook and cool design.
A very thick pouch (the insides were very thick and padded which surprised, I am used to having flimsy pouches in boxes and always lov eth slightly more sturdy ones).
A postcard illustration of the story.
A set of postcards about writing. I wasn’t crazy about them because I don’t send that many postcards (even if I do send a lot of books to people). Maybe I need a snail mail friend…
A sampler of Outside, which I love the cover and shall review soonish, I promise 🙂
The theme card which I kidna hid because I was rushign this picture, gotta make the most out of the little daylight we get.

It wasn’t a wow blow me away box, but it definitely was up to theme and I like that, and it had the original word magnet idea which was nice to see.

Book Review, Books

The Clockwork Dragon Review

Posted on February 2, 2019

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The Clockwork Dragon by Jonathan Emmett

The Kingdom of Rodney is being terrorised by Flamethrottle the dragon. Fortunately Max, a young toymaker, and Lizzie, an armourer, are more than a match for this man-eating monster and the two of them come up with a clever plan to drive it away.
llustrated by Elys Dolan, the creator of Weasels!

Rating:

Other than the fact the start of the book made me feel like I had lost a page somewhere (and I genuinely had to look back to the title page and then first page, then back again just to be sure), this is a very cute book. Max likes making mechanical toys which his boxx doesn’t like much, but Max is clever and he finds Lizzie the armourer to help with a crazy plan to defeat the dragon that is eating all the knights and hoarding tresure up the mountain.

The illustrations are really lovely, and just the fact that there’s two dragons in this book was awesome (all the dragons, right?!). The Clockwork dragon is so cool and I wish there was a real one (as in one made of clockwork and all that) that I could have.

I really liked the creativity in the story, and it was a feel good hero/heroine book. With dragons.

Moon recommends

This reminds me a little of The Princess and the Pony, which I reviewed a while back (a long time ago) in the style of knight/princess story with a twist.

Subscription Boxes

Magical Artifacts Owlcrate Unboxing

Posted on January 31, 2019

First Owlcrate of the year. An interesting start I’d say. (Just in case anyone wonders, this isn’t sponsored, I don’t have enough followers to be a box rep) Starting from the top left and going clockwise:

A wall tapestry. This was one of the items that puzzled me the most. Most wall tapestries I have seen are big, kinda like “wrap myself in it” big. So that was my idea of what this may be. But it is the size of a tea towel and looks like one except the fabric is different. And well, I don’t buy it that this is what a wall tapestry is. This is a glorified tea towel that I can’t use as a tea towel because the fabric is all wrong (and that I’d absolutely utterly LOVE to use as a tea towel).
A wooden bookmark/letter opener. Haven’t tried it yet, and I am not sure I will. It is Sting which is cool and I like it.
The theme card.
The Gilded Wolves, which was the book for this month and I am looking forward to reading it.
Master of Death Socks. Remember my whole, they do high quality socks I really like? This pair doesn’t fit there. I mean they’re nice quality but look cheap and I am very tired of the same logo printed in everything. Book Boxes, please be creative! With SO many books out there, and with so many things in a book to choose from, and we keep getting the same logo/quote/thingy over and over. Just please, no!
Owlcrate collector pin. Every box and their mother is doing some kind of monthly collector item to make sure you keep it up. Fairyloot had their bookmarks but those weren’t that awesome (plus the promise of something amazing coming if you collected them all was an empty one). Litjoy has the cards, which I like because they will eventually complete a full playing card set (the biggest problem is the actual deck/card is hard to read, but it is there). Then Fairyloot is now doing Tarot cards. Owlcrate had something going on beforehand that was monthly too, oh yes, a round pin, but now they’ve upgraded it. And I am not really into this whole collect them all if you get all our boxes. I mean, the pin is cool. Just that I don’t buy book boxes for them to try to hook me with a “collector” item to keep my subscription for forever.
ADSOM pouch, which I like and is slightly different than the usual ones so plus points on this one.
You can’t see it well, but a golden branch bracelet. I was so happy to receive it because I have a set of hair pins that match it perfectly (that I got in a different box).
And finally, a luggage tag, which is one of the nicest ones I’ve had in a box, it is discreet enough but also unique, and I love that.

Well, looking back on my huge description, the summary is, I wish things were a little more creative. Not that I dislike it, mostly it is because I buy book boxes to make me smile, and yeah, this made me smile but also it made me go “but why?!” which takes a little away from that smile. Still, it is one of the “semi permanent” boxes I keep at the moment, so not bad.

Book Review, Books

This Splintered Silence Review

Posted on January 29, 2019

This Splintered Silence by Kayla Olson

Lindley Hamilton has been the leader of the space station Lusca since every first-generation crew member on board, including her mother, the commander, were killed by a deadly virus.

Lindley always assumed she’d captain the Lusca one day, but she never thought that day would come so soon. And she never thought it would be like this—struggling to survive every day, learning how to keep the Lusca running, figuring out how to communicate with Earth, making sure they don’t run out of food.

When a member of the surviving second generation dies from symptoms that look just like the deadly virus, though, Lindley feels her world shrinking even smaller. The disease was supposed to be over; the second generation was supposed to be immune. But as more people die, Lindley must face the terrifying reality that either the virus has mutated or something worse is happening: one of their own is a killer.

Rating:

This book came in December’s Book Box Club box, and I wasn’t sure how keen I would be about it. For some reason I kept thinking it might be similar to “The Loneliest Girl in the Universe”, and I wasn’t really up to reading a similar book.

On the good side, it was a buddy read, so it was easier to get going and it was thankfully not the same feel. Instead we meet Lindley and we learn a little about her small world (quite literally, because all she’s known is the station she’s in, so yeah).

They’ve just come out of a terrible epidemic where all the humans that were native to Earth died and were affected by it, whereas the ones born in the station have survived. ut that means that they are not older than 19, which is a bit of a tricky situation as they’ll have to “grow up” a little bit faster. The station still needs to be kept working, they all need food, and oh wait, someone’s dead and it looks almost as if the same virus is back!

Poor Lindley starts investigating it and keeps finding it just doesn’t add up, maybe it mutated? Plus there’s a lot of other issues going on in the station (I found this good, because yes, there would be and it is annoying sometimes when things just go smoothly on the vessel/place that would need people to keep it going).

Slowly, as the deaths pile up and the upkeep of the station gets too high, Lindley realises it isn’t a virus that’s killing them, because what’s killing them isn’t an “it” but rather a who. Someone in the station is killing them, but who? why? how? are very big questions and very difficult to answer when you’re also desperately trying to keep everyone alive (by providing food, water, ensuring they sleep, etc.)

For the mystery part I wasn’t that surprised, as I suspected who it was, but I wasn’t sure of the motive (I had a few theories), but despite guessing the culprit, it was still wuite good at keeping you hooked, and wanting to keep on reading, and it has a good flow so you don’t feel bored about it, or have too slow parts.

My least favourite part was the romance bits, but there were some good details about it that saved it. And it isn’t the main focus of the story, so all good.

Moon recommends

I’d give this a go, or maybe The Loneliest Girl in the Universe (because it isn’t the same but it gives a good similar vibe) or maybe any of the recent thrillers I have reviewed.

Disclaimer: All links either link back to other review posts, or to an Amazon affiliates link. You don’t have to buy it, I just do it because I was still going to try to link it to amazon so you’d know what it looks like, or if you wanted to buy it, so decided to give the Affiliates a go, which yeah, doesn’t bring me anything of revenue, but now it’s a habit.

Book Review, Books

Circle of Shadows Review

Posted on January 27, 2019

Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye

Sora can move as silently as a ghost and hurl throwing stars with lethal accuracy. Her gemina, Daemon, can win any physical fight blindfolded and with an arm tied behind his back. They are apprentice warriors of the Society of Taigas—marked by the gods to be trained in magic and the fighting arts to protect the kingdom of Kichona.

As their graduation approaches, Sora and Daemon look forward to proving themselves worthy of belonging to the elite group—but in a kingdom free of violence since the Blood Rift Rebellion many years ago, it’s been difficult to make their mark. So when Sora and Daemon encounter a strange camp of mysterious soldiers while on a standard scouting mission, they decide the only thing to do to help their kingdom is to infiltrate the group.Taking this risk will change Sora’s life forever—and lead her on a mission of deception that may fool everyone she’s ever loved.

Rating:

A long while ago, in a book box I got The Crown’s Game, and it surprised me because I absolutely loved it. Why am I saying this? Because it is due to that first book by Evelyn Skye that I went into this one without any doubts.

The setting is inspired by feudal Japan (or at least has a definite feel to it), and we follow Sora and Daemon, who are gemina’s and part of the elite warriors that protect Kichona and the Empress.

Sora is crazy reckless despite being naturally gifted with magic, and good at everything. The kind of person that wins at life and they still don’t make the most of it, because they are fine being less. (Not that it is bad, just that it gives those that try hard, a feeling of talent wasted). Great setting for her being underestimated when they witness some dodgy “festival” type of thing during their holiday week.

The main story explores Sora and the fact that her little sister died when the twin of the Empress (Prince Gin) followed a legend. If he sacrificed 200 willing hearts to a God, then expand the Empire/Kingdom he may attain paradise on Earth (or Kichona in this specific story). He devoutly believes this is his destiny, and is willing to sacrifice everything, including his people, to give them this paradise.

However, every record of anyone attempting to do so ha failed and there hasn’t been any paradise earned yet. But still Prince Gin thinks he can do it (because of course, he’s special and all that).

Anyway, we explore several relationships in the story, and something Evelyn does in her books (and probably why I liked that first book) is to explore the inner motivations and reasonings behind the character. Why did they do what they did? What part of them told them this was the correct decision, why?

This is done in a neat way, without over explaining or boring you. And it was wonderful to explore the friendships, relationships, and dynamics of the characters in the book.

There’s a lot more I’d like to include in this review, but that would be adding too many spoilers. However, this was an enjoyable read and I am intrigued about what comes next (because the ending was not exactly what I expected and now I need more).

Moon recommends

The Crown’s Game and Circle of Shadows, because they’re good. And if you’re into Russian inspired books (what? it is part of The Crown’s Game) then I can also recommend the Winternight trilogy, by Katherin Arden, which starts with The Bear and the Nightingale.

Disclaimer: I was gifted this book for free from the publishers in exchange for an honest review. I still preordered before I received it, and you can clearly see this is a proof in the picture (because my shiny new copy hasn’t arrived yet). All Amazon links are affiliate links (but I haven’t yet received even a penny for them so people probably don’t buy with it, nevertheless I still persist on adding a helpful link to the book).

Book Review, Books

This Lie Will Kill You Review

Posted on January 25, 2019

This Lie Will Kill You by Chelsea Pitcher

Tell the truth. Or face the consequences.

Clue meets Riverdale in this page-turning thriller that exposes the lies five teens tell about a deadly night one year ago.

One year ago, there was a party.
At the party, someone died.
Five teens each played a part and up until now, no one has told the truth.

But tonight, the five survivors arrive at an isolated mansion in the hills, expecting to compete in a contest with a $50,000 grand prize. Of course…some things are too good to be true. They were each so desperate for the prize, they didn’t question the odd, rather exclusive invitation until it was too late.

Now, they realize they’ve been lured together by a person bent on revenge, a person who will stop at nothing to uncover what actually happened on that deadly night, one year ago.

Five arrived, but not all can leave. Will the truth set them free?
Or will their lies destroy them all?

Rating:

I picked this book as a nice extra while I was preordering Darkdawn (and falling down a book buying black hole, but shhhh, that never happened). It sounded interesting, plus I had really enjoyed One of Us Is Lying so I was looking forward to it.

The book has several points of view, one per character (though Doll Face doesn’t really have a main point of view). All five of them have a secret and all may have a motive for killing Shane at the party that happened last year. But did they gang up and kill him? Or did one of them do it on their own?

It has a very definite CLUE vibe which made it easy to follow, but it has it’s own modern tint and some other twists. One of the side plots, has an interesting twist, and that one I guessed early on, and I had an idea of where the story was going and who the “killer” was. But that didn’t spoil the book in itself, as I was intrigued to find what had pushed each character to be at the first party and then to come to the second one.

There was also one “twist” that did surprise me, because it added a new layer and I hadn’t expected it at all. But it wasn’t bad.

There are a lot of references to “horror” films, YA books, kind of how we know a Mean Girls reference o a Legally Blonde one, you can find some references hidden here which make it nice, but also, it isn’t too stuck in referencing things by name, so it will age better than other mysteries that stick to “this is in the exact day we’re living and I will name drop all the books, songs, artists, things of the moment”. Having this ultra specific time frame was a nice thing as it meant I wasn’t getting annoyed by it trying to convince me it is legit contemporary in the here and now.

All in all, it was an enjoyable quick read (just a few hours for me) that helped me relax, rather than stress after work.

Moon recommends

You can try this book here, or you can try One of Us is Lying. I will also keep on recommending It Ends With You or Easy Prey which are recent reads.

Subscription Boxes

Holidays at Hogsmeade Village Unboxing

Posted on January 23, 2019

This was a special edition box by SpearCraft Book Box, and it was without a book. I have to be honest, I had forgotten I had ordered it until the email arrived into my inbox saying I had a box coming my way and it had been paid. Then I checked and it was this (comes to show I ordered too many sub boxes last year, right?). It arrived a bit after Christmas so I didn’t take pictures of it in the theme appropriate jigsaw (because I had already packed it by the time this arrived…)

But now let’s check the contents, starting on the top right corner and going clockwise:

Honeydukes cupcake bath bomb. It said “Do not eat” and it does look cute, the scent is meant to be Amortentia potion. It is a pleasant smell.
Three Broomsticks bookmark, the artwork is cute, and as per usual, bookmarks are one of the least offending paper items I get, so this was okay.
Dobby socks, remember how I said I liked the better quality socks I had been getting? Well, sadly this pair isn’t that high quality even if they are cute. (Yes, I may be picky, but I get too many boxes and need to choose better which ones are worth paying for and getting, the ones that make me happy).
Theme card, which is a really cute print too.
Hogs Head Inn cushion cover, this is nice and all, it made me smile and I like the look of it, does make me think of a pub sign however, it is not the kind of thing I would keep as we don’t have that many cushions and I already have a few covers to change them.
Zonko’s frog spawn soap, happy about this one because I like soaps and this made me smile a lot.
Bertie Botts jelly beans, the original ones, which is what I assume was one of the “expensive” items. They’re interesting but I have to admit I tried them and prefer “muggle” jelly beans more.
Zonko’s art print.
Tea from Madam Puddifoots Tea Shop. Haven’t tried it yet, but yeah I do tea and this looks interesting as it is meant to be chocolate frog mint flavour.

So, the verdict? I prefer Accio boxes if it is something Harry Potter themed. However, this was cute and it was a cosy one but it wasn’t worth it for me as it got hit by customs too, making it too expensive to get to this side of the pond.