This book was very enjoyable. I recommend this for anyone looking for an easy read, space adventure with young adult protagonists.

I usually enjoy stories like these, but this one just didn't grab my attention. I took so long in getting back to it, I see there is a pt 2 for it. It has an audience, for sure. Just not me.

It’s been 12 years since a massive solar flare destroyed communications with the American base on the far side of the Moon, killing the platinum mining workers and leaving just 3 adults to raise 37 orphans. Isolated, the base has carried on, and the orphans-now teenagers-have taken up the mining. It’s all they’ve ever known. Katlin, the daughter of the base leader, finds her loyalties torn between her father and Van, the capable teenage leader who is ready to break the yoke of servitude and face the wonders available in the wide universe.


My thoughts...

This little story is clearly coming from a master of sci-fi! The premise was quite clearly laid out with complex ideas shared in an organic way that any reader can understand. I was quite taken with our three characters representing the next gen kids on the base... Van, Burl and Tyna! They really make you care about how they've been treated by the four adults who are trying to maintain order and keep things running. There is this great tension between the clearly dirty ways the next gen kids have been having their education limited and their day to day life manipulated and the fact that these kids could have taken over and overrun the adults if they hadn't taken control.

The plot though gets really fun when its the events that happen elsewhere or the moon that brings all the changes to the American base! It has to do with the Chinese and Iranians and some conflict with a Vietnamese mother... I just adored the rep and the events surrounding these characters. It's smart and each of our characters, including Kaitlin have a great role in these events. There wasn't took little characterization and not too much for it to be bogged down with characters. This was certainly character driven but with some great sci-fi and humanistic plot!


Cover & Title grade -> C-

I understand this cover... its not that bad for an indie book... BUT it obscures all that is good about the story! This isn't some dry sci-fi posing as an adventure. It's quite a good little YA dystopian story with a great premise... I'd prefer a graphic of the ship... art with characters suited up... something of the moon's surface, anything that is more dynamic and showcases the strengths in the story. I know where the moon is... the cover doesn't need to show us.


While I enjoyed the way Kaitlin started rocking the boat... or rather the base, I did think it was a touch contrived her waiting 12 years to do so! why hadn’t she ever reached out to the other kids before or thought of their situation until now?! It isn't like she didn't know about them or was cut off from access to them. This wasn't ever addressed to my satisfaction and eventually I had to just let it go. I found Kaitlin a great part of the story as she added tension with the leader of the base... and she also provided a look behind the "scenes" with the adults.

Motivation and showing us the why behind a character's actions, especially when they are the inciting incident, is essential to making a story feel alive. Doing this in an organic way that isn't info dumping or contrived is even better.

Moonstroke is a great little sci-fi dystopian adventure set on the Moon! The premise is strong and the action backs it up, you won't go wrong reading this gem. It reminded me of my favorite sci-fi books growing up in line with Higher Education by Charles Sheffield and Jerry Pournelle, The Billion Dollar Boy by Charles Sheffield and Outward Bound by James P. Hogan! It really took me back... Kaitlin and Van made a great non-romantic duo. And I can't wait to meet the Iranian again!

I requested this book a long time ago because I was really into space books and wanted to read more of them.

I had not heard about this one but the synopsis seemed great so I requested it. I finally took the time to read it this month and I did not particularly enjoy it.

I was confused about the world the characters evolve in, I like it when books begin in a universe you know nothing about and you learn it bit by bit, but I did not understand anything of what was happening for the first half of the book. I think it was lacking world building. Maybe it was a bit too complex or I was not focused enough but I really was confused and I did not enjoy that.

The characters were not bad at all; I just feel they were not developed enough for me to recognize them. There were a couple of characters with different nicknames and I did not always notice they were the same person.

The idea behind the book was great, I love the fact that these people live on the Moon without knowing what happened on Earth, they have no contact with it and are alone up there. It was interesting to see how they managed to create a new society and how challenging it could be.

In the end, I enjoyed the concept of this book but it was too confusing for me. I think if it was handled differently I could have enjoyed it more. It was not a bad book, but just not really easy to follow.

Another lunar adventure is now under my belt. Though there is plenty of action and the plot coasts along at a good pace, it is devoid of much background for any of the characters. I don't really care for any of them, even when they are in danger and that always saddens me.

The science behind the moon wasn't as in depth as I was expecting from a science fiction novel--even if it is a young adult science fiction.

And frankly, it may be a disservice to this novel that I've already read Artemis by Andy Weir. Compared to that one, this is just a nice little soft science, easy story ride. Artemis did it better by far, but that doesn't mean that this one won't grab younger readers from the very first opening line: "He's dead."

For a moon-full of teenagers and only a handful of adults, they survive impressively well for twelve years completely on their own. I'm not sure if this is meant to be a stand alone or a first of many, but it concludes well with no cliff hangers.

If you are in the mood for a fast, easy, soft-science read this could very well be your current cup of tea. But don't take my word for it! It's just under $3 on Amazon Kindle right now. Try it on for size.

Thank you to NetGalley, Blaine C. Readler, and Full Arc Press for the free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

For lovers of science fiction, you will enjoy this book. The characters were relatable and the book made you want to find out what happened.

I was given this book for a free review.

Unfortunately this was not a book that I particularly enjoyed mostly because it was too one dimensional and written for what seemed a much younger audience. It was too young adultish for my tastes. It gets marks because I could see younger people really enjoying it. It is an easy straightforward read that is set in space (interesting premise). It deals with the long term effects of isolation but in a simplistic and somewhat predictable way. It reminded me of an after school movie special - easy to get into but lacking the wow factor.

This is good Sci-Fi. It's not too far fetched, and it works so well for this book. It covers being isolated, even in a larger setting. Solar flares wrecked the communications and now, things are getting real for those who are unable to operate as they did before. Abandonment on the moon is anything but dull.

My copy came from Net Galley. My thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is left of my own free volition.

I wanted to LOVE this book but I couldn't get past the first few chapters and promptly gave up. I will not be reviewing this book on my blog since I wasn't able to finish reading it.

I received this free from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.
A story of isolation and repression on the dark side of the moon and how both are overcome. Thought-provoking and interesting read.

If you have read my blog for any length of time, you know that I am a huge fan of science fiction, fantasy, young adult, romance and any combination of those. When Moonstroke showed up on my Titles in My Categories section on NetGalley, I clicked on it to see what it was about. What I read caught my attention and made me click on the read now button. I think that I can’t remember if I have ever read a book that took place solely on the moon. I know I have read books where the moon was a stopping point but never the sole area where the story takes place. Also, factoring into my decision was that the entire book took place on the dark side of the moon. Which fascinated me and I couldn’t wait to see how it was the storyline went.

Speaking of the storyline, I liked that the author chose to have almost all the base’s adults die in a solar flare and leave their toddler children in the hands of 3 men. I do wish, though, that there was some sort of preface about the solar flare that happened. It would have given a lot more insight into why the toddlers, now teenagers, are called nextgen and why they continued mining.

I do think that the storyline started really slow in the beginning. Like super-duper slow to the point where I honestly thought nothing would happen, even though it said on the blurb that it would. What also bothered me was that the nextgens were being kept in the dark about Earth and their heritage. Almost everything that they know about Earth came from movies that they were allowed to watch. The only one exempt from this was Katlin, the daughter of the base leader. And even she was exempt from some things. But the book did pick up towards the middle of the book and I was able to enjoy it.

The main characters were teenagers and I thought that the author did a great job portraying how they would act if they lived in a community with no access to Earth. I do think that they acted pretty normal for kids who had no contact with anyone but the people on their base. I mean, they acted like typical teenagers and rebelled like typical teenagers. I loved reading the parts with Van in them because he was very forward thinking for being in seclusion for his whole life.

The last half of the book was very surprising to me and I didn’t expect certain events to happen or certain truths to be revealed. It kinda blew my mind when those truths were revealed and made my heart hurt for those involved.

How many stars will I give Moonstroke: 3.5

Why: I did like this book but I do think that it could have used a bit more backstory than what was given (just my opinion). The beginning of the book was very slow and to be honest, I almost DNF’d it. But, it did pick up speed towards the end of the book and I did enjoy the read from that point on.

Will I reread: Maybe

Will I recommend to family and friends: Maybe

Age range: Young Teen

Why: mild violence

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

Very enjoyable. I liked the setting and how the author moves the story along while still giving information on the setting.

It is 12 years since a massive solar storm stopped all Earth-Moon communication, and a small American industrial base on the far side of the moon limps along, still hoping for rescue. Only four adults survived the storm; the rest were caught out on the surface during a normal work day. The deceased left numerous children, and they have been trained to continue working the platinum mining operation. A decision was made at the time to teach them very little about Earth, in order to avoid disruption and hope, and the two managers and two scientists who survived keep a tight reign on activities and knowledge. The station's manager also has a daughter, who was five years old and visiting from Earth at the time of the incident, and for a large part she has been kept separate from the other children and educated thoroughly in the belief that one day she will assume her father's mantel or, if possible, return to Earth, which she remembers. At the time of this story, the surviving children range in age from about 14 through the early twenties. The adults work hard to keep them fed and motivated and the remaining equipment from failing entirely.

Although meagerly educated, these teenagers are nothing if not curious, and one day they break into the communications room and hear voices on the radio. When few of them get suited up and go outside they find a battered rover from a distant Chinese installation broken down near the base - with bodies inside. Soon thereafter some sort of ship comes over the horizon.

This was a well-written and exciting story. The adults and teens alike are interesting characters, and their predicament raises all sort of questions about how a small and powerless group of adults could organize the survivors to stay alive and hopeful with such an open-ended future. There is a too-convenient problem with one of the adults which leads to much of drama as the book progresses, but the story still had me rooting for a good ending and more-than-willing to stay up late to find out what happens.