reading – Page 5 – The Constellation of Moon

Everless (Proof) Review

Posted on October 30, 2017

During YALC (Young Adult Literature Convention), I managed to get a proof copy of Everless (not the fancy one they are recently sending out and which I wish I had a copy of) by Sara Holland.

Everless
Picture by the delightful Nikki, idea by me.

Everless by Sara Holland

In the land of Sempera, time is extracted from blood and used as payment. Jules Ember and her father were once servants at Everless, the wealthy Gerling family’s estate, but were cast out after of a fateful accident a decade ago. Now, Jules’s father is reaching his last hour, and she will do anything to save him. Desperate to earn time, she arrives at the palace as it prepares for a royal wedding, ready to begin her search into childhood secrets that she once believed to be no more than myths. As she uncovers lost truths, Jules spirals deeper into a past she hardly recognizes, and faces an ancient and dangerous foe who threatens her future and the future of time itself.

Rating:

I should’ve posted this review sooner, but after I finished reading Everless, I was in a slump. I couldn’t make myself read another fantasy book that had anything similar to it because I’d compare it, and it was a struggle tofind a book to read.

When I got the copy of Everless, I wasn’t sure what to expect from it, it sounded fun but light and I didn’t expect it to be a wow book. As seems to be the case, books I underestimate, blow me away.

The first few chapters introduce you to the world of Sempera, the Gerlings, blood iron, the myth of the Sorceress and the Alchemist, and of course Jules and her own world. It is a slightly slow introduction but it doesn’t feel too much like an info dump and I was glad for that.

Without spoiling anyone, I was quite pleased with all the sudden plot twists (the only one I could see miles away was the one regarding Liam) since they weren’t that predictable but they also weren’t illogical. I didn’t feel like the plot had been useless now that the twist was revealed. Instead it slowly fit like a good puzzle.

One other thing I really loved about this is that there is no insta romance, no crazy love triangles and any hints of romance are just that, hints. Romance doesn’t take main stage and it doesn’t fill in plot gaps (and if you take it away you don’t really loose anything plot wise).

So all in all, a good fantasy, with interesting concepts, refreshing story and ideas, no insta romance and love triangles, good plot twists. Worth the read. (The sad part is that the book hasn’t even come out yet and then add to that that I already want to read the next one!).

Moon recommends

You read this book then curl up in bed until the next one comes out because you need to know what happens next. Go watch In Time film with Justin Timberlake, it’s like it but also totally not like it, but somehow my mind linked them and it is a fun link. Read some high fantasy, or something unrelated. I started Warcross to cure my book hangover, but you can also read some Trudi Canavan (like Thief’s Magic) or Robin Hobb (like Assasin’s Apprentice)and you’d be in great magical territory.

If you’d like to pre-order/buy Everless, you can find it here.

Disclaimer: There is an Amazon Associates link, but if you choose to use them and buy from them, know that you’re just helping me buy more books and feed my reading needs. Book synopsis is from Good Reads.

Subscription Boxes

October’s Fantasy & Sci-fi Leafer Box

Posted on October 24, 2017

As you may know, Leafer Box is one of my “permanent” boxes. There are a lot of good reasons why I love it:

It’s cheap, each box costs £12.99 plus shipping (UK is £2.99) and you can use code KESTREL10 for 10% off so even cheaper!
It doesn’t have a crazy hype and there’s like zero chance you’ll get a repeat with another book box.
You can buy the box of the month any day of the month! No missing out because it sold out in a few hours and you couldn’t connect at the time, no problems if you only get paid until the end of the month. As long as you order during the month, you get that box.

My list could go on but I’d rather just show you my bundled Fantasy & Sci-Fi box.

Starting from the chocolate bar because chocolate and going clockwise:

A Galaxy chocolate bar, this is one of the big ones and that makes me so happy, they don’t go small on chocolate and yummy goodies.
Sci-Fi book, Champion of Mars by Guy Haley. I don’t know why but it makes me think of mythology despite knowing it isn’t exactly that…
Botanical bookmarks (they are not part of the box but rather a thank you gift from them because I rave so much about them)
Glow in the dark constellations! I always wanted glow in the dark stars on my ceiling but never got my parents to get some for me, and as an adult forgot, but now I do!
A space/Mars pen (usually their pens are fine point and have beautiful ink and write lovely)
An Alien necklace that made me laugh when I saw it, it is cool.
Now for the Fantasy box contents, a summer wax melt tart thing that definitely smells like summers and picnics and just good!
A thunder and lighting necklace, also quite lovely and cool.
A golde twig/branch hair pin which looks amazing on my hair and people have been complimenting when I wear it.
And the book, The Fifth Season which was already on my “I’d like to read that book” list so I was very happy to get it in this box.

As you can see, the box(es) was packed full of goodies and it is a great bang for your buck. Absolutely recommend it and there are several other genres you can try.

Book Review

Everything, Everything Review

Posted on October 18, 2017

I borrowed this book from a friend because the film was coming out and I had to have read the book before, but then didn’t give it much thought. I grabbed it because I felt I should read it and that was that.

Want to guess who finished it in one sitting?

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

Rating:

At first glance and after finishing this, I was pretty happy with the book. It is an easy read with a lot of space and is basically a love story. It also filled me because I had just been mentioning a day before reading it that I wished there was a book that talked about living with photophobia/light sensitivity (which is not the same as being allergic to the world). So I was in a good point to read this at the time.

However, I saw the plot twist early on and part of me feels bad about how the illness was handled. I admit I struggled to understand why the mother had to be a doctor, and how they managed to have the airlock, and then why they had a nurse coming and going, all those comings and goings, and all the food Maddie was having.

Either way, I’d say that it could’ve done better representing illness but as a light read it was good and a little bit different than usual.

Moon recommends

This book is the light and fluffy version of Lies like Love by Louisa Reid. Somehow I managed to read Lies Like Love first which is why I probably guessed pretty much all the plot here (the one in Lies Like Love is a bit more dark and slightly different). If you are in it for the romance then stick to Everything, Everything.

Subscription Boxes

Fantasy PageHabit

Posted on October 10, 2017

I don’t remember how I found out about PageHabit but I love the idea of an annotated book so I jumped into the bandwagon with this.

After purchasing it, I started hearing bad reviews about the service and applying codes and discounts and worried a little, but I have to say, their customer service was top notch and really helpful. My tracking email got lost and they quickly gave me the tracking link and helped me cancel my subscriptions (I wanted to receive the box before it renewed so I could make up my mind about it).

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Starting from the book and going clockwise: (one of these days I am going to do it counterclockwise, just to play with your heads)

Magicians Impossible by Brad Abraham. It also included a letter from the author, where he explains that the title came from a blunder, instead of saying Mission Impossible, it came out as Magicians Impossible. This made me laugh but also made me curious. There are sticky notes on the pages with annotations from Brad inside the book which makes it even more interesting!
A short story specifically commissioned for Page Habit, Wild Things.
A cute fox/cat coaster (I think it is a coaster but it could also be a mug cover, to keep your drink warm, I am unsure).
A comic book pin, very colourful, cute and I was pleased to see a pin there (yes, I like pins, very much).
A Time Traveler iron on patch, I don’t really have anything I iron patches on (I rarely ever use an iron, I refuse to iron, so I have a permanently crinkled look on all my clothes or buy clothes that don’t require ironing, I’d rather be reading!) but I still like the patch, maybe I will stick it to my drawing clipboard…
A quote bookmark which I kept showing upside down during the unboxing because it is tricky to unbox and film and talk, and my coordination is limited but it is a gorgeous bookmark.

As you can see, it is isn’t a bulging book box but the value is there and I loved all items so I was very pleased to receive this box and now I want another. What do you think?

Book Review

Franklin’s Flying Bookshop Review

Posted on October 6, 2017

As soon as I saw this book I knew I had to buy it.

Franklin’s Flying Bookshop by Jen Campbell and Katie Harnett

Franklin the dragon loves stories and loves reading stories to people too, but everyone is too scared to even talk to him. One day, he meets a girl named Luna who, rather than being afraid, is fascinated to meet Franklin, having recently read all about dragons in one of her books. They instantly become friends and talk nonstop about what they’ve read: books about roller-skating, King Arthur, spiders, and how to do kung fu. Together they hatch a plan to share their love of books with others by opening a bookshop―a flying bookshop, that is―right on Franklin’s back!

Franklin, a well-read and peace-loving dragon, and Luna, a young girl with an independent spirit and an insatiable love of reading, make fantastic role models for young children. Franklin’s Flying Bookshop brings the magic of classic fairy tales into the twenty-first century through exquisite illustrations, and will enchant children as well as anyone who loves books.

Rating:

Reasons I loved this book:

This book has a lovely green dragon, Franklin.
Franklin loves reading. So many books to read.
Franklin wants to read to people.
Luna listens to Franklin.
They both love to read.
There’s books in it and fun things like a mice band.
Franklin makes his dream come true with help from Luna.

It is a really cute book with gorgeous illustrations (it is also a BIG book) and the wording is perfect for read out loud storytime. It made me laugh and it made me want to go to Franklin’s town and fly in the bookshop (how cool is that?).

Moon recommends

You try this book out, it is utterly gorgeous. I’m not that good at recommending children’s books but I can recommend the Dragonology book which is about the same size and makes a great companion. Any extra dragon books are a good idea. But do get this one, it is ever so lovely, and the illustrations.

(Moon showed this book to one of her friends and she ended up recommending to book to one of her friends and now we are a chain of “hey, go buy it, it is awesome, even if we are adults”).

If you’d like to buy a copy for yourself, you can find it here.

Books

The Guilty Reader Tag

Posted on October 2, 2017

So I wasn’t tagged to do this at all but I found it fun so decided to do it anyway. I am curious to see how “guilty” I am.

Question Number 1: Have you ever regifted a book?
Yes. I have had to move a lot and strip down to basics in the last 5 years, so I would gift away books I had finished reading that I thought would find a good home. Some of those were gifted books, some weren’t. Of course, none of them had deep meaning in having received the book, the ones that are a special gift I have kept.

Question Number 2: A book you’ve said that you read but you haven’t.
This one is tricky, because I don’t usually say I have read a book I haven’t. What may happen is I think I have read it and I actually haven’t and I am thinking about a different book. Usually this is because a) another book has the same/similar title or b) the plot is so much the same that I think it is that book.

Question Number 3: Have you ever borrowed a book and not returned it?
No. If I have kept a book it is because it has been gifted/given to me. I wouldn’t want someone to lose their book because of me.

Question Number 4: Have you ever read a series out of order?
Kind of. Some series I have started with the core books (like for Anne McCaffrey’s Pern series, the core is the Dragonflight trilogy but they are not the first chronological books to be read) and gone from them and grabbed here and there. I would read them as I got hold of them. I sometimes just want to read a certain book in the series and that is that.

Question Number 5: Have you ever spoiled a book for someone?
Not sure. I don’t think so. Most of my life there weren’t many people to discuss books with so there was no one to spoil. And nowadays I usually ask before dropping spoilers. Maybe I have without realising it?

Question Number 6: Have you every dog-eared a page?
Yes. For as long as I can remember I wouldn’t write notes or do anything to books, then a friend lent me Carlos Castañeda’s books and asked me to make notes on the margin, dog-ear the pages and all that since he wanted to find those notes when he re-read it. There were also his notes there so it was very interesting to see what had sparked his interest and some of the thoughts he had while reading it. After that experience I am more lenient, but it will depend on the book. Non-fiction, poetry and things like that are more prone to get marked than usual YA fiction.

Question Number 7: Have you ever told someone that you own a book but you actually don’t?
Probably. Mostly because as I mentioned before, my books were doing a quick turnaround and moving forward at some point in my life, so I may have had it then given it away and forgotten. But this is rare and I can’t remember a time this happened.

Question Number 8; Have you ever said that you haven’t read a book but you have?
No. I have read odd books and books that spark reactions like Twilight series or Flowers in the Attic (if you do not know what I am talking about, one word: incest) and don’t deny it at all. Don’t see why I should. My tastes have refined and some books I read genuinely because I was trying to find what the hype was (nowadays I mostly keep away from some rather than make myself go through reading it so I don’t DNF).

Question Number 9: Have you ever skipped chapters or pages in a book?
Yes. The most recent one was Daughter of the Burning City. As early as she has breakfast with her “father” I had suspicions and skipped a few pages and realised that I was right so my suspicious took better shape and I kept skipping until I had half read the book and half skipped it (and my suspicions were so point on that it was sad and annoying and I spoiled myself for it). I sometimes skip parts if I am considering DNFing the book and want to read forward to see if it is worth reading and it’ll get better. Usually, if I decide to keep going I will read what I skipped. Also when I was younger, my mum would only let me read adult fiction if I skipped the sex pages, so I would.

Question Number 10: Have you ever bad-mouthed a book?
So what exactly does this mean? Said bad things about it? I try not to but if the book is bad, it is bad. Can’t change that.

This is all my guilty reader tag, and I tag Maja and Nikki (once you read this, try doing it on your blog).

I guess I am a not too guilty about guilty things.

Wrap-ups and Tags

Moon’s September Round-up

Posted on October 1, 2017

This is my first round-up but it is not the kind to summarise what I posted, but rather what didn’t make it into a post of their own but is still worth mentioning.

Thank you gift

Someone posted on Facebook about her mug being broken (a mug that had a Sarah J. Maas quote, exclusive to FairyLoot) and I said she could have mine. Thankfully for all her fans I am not a fan. I asked if she could pay shipping but gave the mug away for free. I am a weirdo that likes sending care packages to people so I ended up adding another exclusive Feyre mug and a book and I can’t remember what else. The box took a detour to Canada and finally arrived.

I did this without expecting anything in return so it was a lovely surprise to get this lovely gift. (Also, those Chocolade Kanjers are awesome).

Ninja Book Box giveaway

I don’t usually win things, but somehow I managed to win a set of bookmarks from Ninja Book Box. They are gorgeous.

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Booklepuff giveaway

Since I became so lucky I also won a small instagram giveaway done by Booklepuff.

Twitter giveaways

I ended opening a Twitter account to join #BooksBindUs (it’s Maja’s fault, entirely) and ended up winning a copy of Warcross from one of the giveaways. The funny bit is I also got that in a book box and then Marie Lu asked to donate to Puerto Rico and she was sending signed books to donators so I also got one of those. I wonder if the universe is trying to tell me something about Warcross… (it helps I am a gamer and a programmer/engineer).

I also started my own giveaway for a copy of After The Fire by Will Hill (what else would I giveaway, right?). I loved doing this so will probably do more giveaways soon enough.

Book Buddle

Book sleeves are awesome, but I had been quite unlucky in snagging the prints from the shops I wanted and always missed out. So I decided to find all possible ones, see prices and shipping and choose one. Book Buddle had a fox print I wanted so I asked if she (Jules) could make me one in the right size, and ended up being unable to choose between two fabrics and ordering 3 book sleeves.

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Of course, they are so gorgeous and perfect (those moons glow in the dark) that I checked if she could make a ‘book’ sleeve for Petunia. [Caveat: Petunia is my Wacom Bamboo Fun tablet I use for digital artwork, she is a bit petulant so the name came from that and she gives me heart attacks by deciding not to work, or the drivers aren’t right even if they actually are.] The sleeve for Petunia is also delightful and it has a little button to stop her from trying to escape. I cannot recommend Book Buddle enough.

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Other things to note

Merake Candles resupply, because Heather makes some of the best candles I know about.

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I managed to find a fox mug that was a cuteness overload and I had to buy it.

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I also got my hair dyed by Nikki and a different day she helped me learn how to make Yorkshire puddings and a good gravy. Being non British I am slowly mastering the art of a Sunday Roast. I can carve a chicken easily and my veggies are to die for, same as good roast potatoes, but I still forget to make gravy and had never made Yorkies. This was a huge success.

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Clipboard have been a part of my drawing life for quite long. I used to have a very battered very decorated one that had been with me since 2004-2005 but it got lost in one of my many moves. Finally I decided to find a replacement and decorate it. It has been loads of fun, experimenting around and I found out temporary tattoos work well on wood… who knew?

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Last but not least, if you have been following me before this blog was born, you will know who Knit Anele is (if you haven’t, just keep an eye out for the next edition of Meet the Character).

Anyway, when I created her, I always intended to make her superhero dress something in real life to be worn by myself. This had been put in the back burner for ages until this month when I got in contact with a dressmaker (I tried several but only one worked out). It was a lot of fun and we have chosen fabrics so I am very excited about this.

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Subscription Box Tally

So this month I got:

Book Box Club
FairyLoot
LeaferBox x2 in one box
Page Habit YA
Page Habit Fantasy
Spearcraft
LitCube
YumeTwins

I think this is all for the month of September. I am looking forward to October starting and the lovely things to come.

How was your month?

Book Review, Books

Nyxia Review (Proof Version)

Posted on September 22, 2017

Today I am reviewing Nyxia. I received this proof copy on my Illumicrate box (August 2017). I was not sure what to expect to be fair. Also, be warned that this review may include spoilers.

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Nyxia by Scott Reintgen

Emmett Atwater isn’t just leaving Detroit; he’s leaving Earth. Why the Babel Corporation recruited him is a mystery, but the number of zeroes on their contract has him boarding their lightship and hoping to return to Earth with enough money to take care of his family.

Forever.

Before long, Emmett discovers that he is one of ten recruits, all of whom have troubled pasts and are a long way from home. Now each recruit must earn the right to travel down to the planet of Eden—a planet that Babel has kept hidden—where they will mine a substance called Nyxia that has quietly become the most valuable material in the universe.

But Babel’s ship is full of secrets. And Emmett will face the ultimate choice: win the fortune at any cost, or find a way to fight that won’t forever compromise what it means to be human.

Rating:

I debated a lot between 3.5 and 4 fox rating. In the end I stood it up against my other 4 fox books and it wasn’t just there (maybe a 3.75? 3.80 but I don’t have enough foxes for that).

I will mention the things that bugged me the most first, and then load you up with those that I really liked. On the thing that jumped to me the most is Emmet’s mental file system. From what the book explains, this is for when you are angry and you file it away under a letter. But through the whole book, Emmet files SO many things away and a few that I would not have considered “anger” (they were things that would have made me suspicious or curious or bothered me or even that I would consider useful). Either Emmet has serious anger issues (so that almost everything makes him angry) or the file system isn’t explained as well as it should (I am seriously hoping for the latter). Also, it bugs me a lot that Nyxia is this unexplainable substance that can protect you from being harmed by itself but also when it pleases it, lets you get injured by more nyxia. Yet there is a lot of mind control. And everything is solved by Nyxia. Maybe it just needs to be better explained or something, but I am not pleased with how Nyxia is (but that can be just that I like science to back my sci-fi).

On the good things is the diversity, both in gender, colour, race, country, etc. but also in personality. The characters were mostly unique though I admit with so many of them, at times I wasn’t sure who responded to which name (I could remember that the character doing X had done Y before, but what was the name was beyond me).

It was interesting to see all the interactions between them. Also, this has an Ender’s Game feel (much more than a Hunger Games one) but thankfully it is not the same.

One of my favourite things was how mercy, compassion, teamwork, relationships and competition were explored throughout the book. Kaya, Morning and Vandemeer are my favourite characters.

This may not make my utter favourites but I am really looking forward to the next book and to learn what Eden looks like. I don’t think that they are actually prepared at all for what is to come but we shall see.

And Babel is horrid, but this is just a part of making a good villain (not in a villain that is good but rather making one well), with lots of layers and secrets.

Moon recommends

To read this is you like sci-fi and challenges. Maybe a competiton is interesting or corporations with hidden agendas. You may also be interested in Ender’s Game or maybe one of Anne McCaffrey’s books, a) if you’d like to explore how we deal with a planet that has another race in it and we want to keep it, then try Donna’s series starting with Decision at Donna, b) or if you prefer to wonder about strange substances and mining them I’d recommend the Crystal Singer series, starting with Crystal Singer, or c) if you’d like to explore what happens when humans are slaves of another race and part of an experiment on freedom try the Freedom series starting with Freedom’s Landing.

If you’d like to grab a copy of Nyxia, you can get one from amazon here.

Book Review, Books

Ronaldo: The Reindeer Flying Academy Review

Posted on September 16, 2017

Today I am going to review the complete opposite of my last book review, a children’s book.

Cover RFA

Ronaldo: The Reindeer Flying Academy by Maxine Sylvester

Ronaldo is the top flying cadet at the prestigious Reindeer Flying Academy. He dreams of getting his flying license, just like his hero, Vixen.
In this first exciting chapter in the ‘Ronaldo’ series, our hero is faced with his toughest flying test ever – The Endurance Challenge!
Can Ronaldo triumph over mean bully, Dasher, and win the ‘Golden Wings’ medal? Spurred on by Rudi, his quirky, loyal best friend and with a belly full of his favourite carrot pancakes, Ronaldo takes on the challenge of his life!

Rating:

When I first saw this I hoped it wouldn’t be too much of a Christmas read, but decided to put that notion aside and give it a go. Oh boy was I wrong! This was a really cute read and my only complaints are a) there is no physical copy of this book available and b) I wish it was longer.

Of course, neither is actually a bad thing. The story is the right length for young readers (if I am not mistaken the target reader is 5-10 years old) and it is nicely broken up into little digestible chunks by illustratons of what you are reading. This brought a smile to my face as I was reading and made it even better. I think as a younger reader, the pictures in the book will encourage them to read it and not feel like it is a ‘boring book’.

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This is most certainly not a boring book and now I am curious what other adventures Ronaldo and his friends get into (also, I am ever so grateful I don’t have a knitting reindeer granpa).

As an extra thing that made me very happy, all the references to actual flight academies and flight training were good and my aicraft crazy self was like “look, this is the right term to use, oh that one is a good use for this situation, I like this”.

Moon recommends

I recommend this book for anyone young at heart (or in actual age). It is also a good read aloud book, with a lot of room for “voices” and fun sounds. It has a Christmas vibe but in truth can be read anytime (it did make me wish it was winter and I had a fire next to me and some hot chocolate).

If you are interested in reading this, it is currently available for Kindle on Amazon here.

Disclaimer: This book was provided for free by the author in exchange for an honest review, which I have done. There is an Amazon Associates link, but if you choose to use them and buy from them, know that you’re just helping me buy more books and feed my reading needs. Book synopsis is from Good Reads.

Books

The Love Letters Review

Posted on September 10, 2017

The Love Letters featured in my favourite book(s) post, and it probably the hardest one to review properly, mostly because it is not YA and it is so much more an adult book than the rest of them.

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The Love Letters, by Madeleine L’Engle

Charlotte Napier has much to learn about herself, her faith, and her marriage. She flees to Portugal, desperately looking for comfort after the death of her son and, she thinks, her marriage. There she finds solace in the letters of a 17th century nun who struggled with temptation and sin. As Charlotte achieves a clearer focus on her own pain, she gains a powerful sense of the rigorous and demanding nature of real love.

Rating:

I have to say the GoodReads synopsis doesn’t really make it justice. This was the first adult book I read from Madeleine L’Engle (she writes YA and adult fiction and also non-fiction), and it soon became a favourite.

This is not a everything is well and will be well book. It is almost three parallel stories (though two of them are technically the same story). The first is the main story, where Charlotte has flown to Portugal to try to meet with her mother-in-law and in a way with herself to figure out if her marriage is worth keeping, if it ever was worth it and unknowingly, to grieve the grief she hasn’t been allowed to feel over the loss of her son. Where she ends up staying, has the book of the letter of a nun (which actually exist) and she starts reading it to pass the time and distract herself.

The letters are followed by the second storyline, which follows the nun (Sister Mariana) as she moves from a ‘perfect nun life’ to falling in love with a soldier.

The third storyline is Charlotte’s again, but this time as she looks at her past and what made her be who she is and choose Patrick as her husband.

At first the stories don’t seem very related (young Charlotte goes on about her father, Christmas, life at boarding school, etc at first), but slowly the stories become one and there is beauty in all of them.

As young Charlotte struggles to define herself amongst all the changes and constant moves, the lack of stability and even her father’s moods; adult Charlotte reflects on her decisions and her marriage. Parallel to all of this is Mariana, falling helplessly in love (in a way an act of rebellion, showing that she is untouchable, and trying to justify her actions in so many ways) and then dealing with the aftermath. Poor Mariana never really thought it through, and asked herself what a soldier would want with a nun when he has a family waiting back home (or any woman, to be fair).

The Love Letters tackles exactly what the title says, love. It tackles love from a father, love from caretakers, love from a mother to her son, love between a husband and wife, love between sisters, all the different ways love can exist (and no, it is not only romantic love, but rather family, friends, others, romantic, lust, etc).

Moon recommends

If you are up for a read that will leave you feeling like love doesn’t have to fit the Hollywood script and it is a beautiful but messy thing, then please read this book. I’d just note that it is an adult book and as such tackles topics that a little hard to understand and even relate with as a teenager/young adult.If you’d rather read a Young Adult book that has a similar flavour, I’d recommend And Both Were Young by Madeleine L’Engle, or any other of her books. She has such a marvellous way of writing.

If you’d like to buy the book, it is being reprinted as a paperback and released on the 19th of September here. [I have my mother’s 1980’s copy, I pleaded with her to gift it to me when I moved to the UK, since the book was out of print at the time, so it makes my heart skip a tiny beat to see it is being reprinted.]