Cover Image: Serious Moonlight

Serious Moonlight

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Member Reviews

Thank you so much to Simon and Schuster Canada and to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book!

I was excited about this book but also a bit hesitant before starting it. I loved Alex, Approximately but was disappointed with the Anatomical Shape of a Heart and Starry Eyes. I ended up enjoying this novel and would rate it 3.5-ish/5.

There were definitely moments in this novel that were more dramatic than they needed to be and I felt like there was so much going on that at times that the book read and felt long and a bit scattered.

There is a diverse cast of characters and I enjoyed that this novel was set in Seattle! I’ve visited the city a few times so it was fun to picture the different locations through the novel. I wasn’t sure how I felt about Birdie for most of the novel. Most of the time I didn’t agree with her decisions or was confused by her thought process, but, there was enough history given that I found kind of see where she was coming from.

Where this novel shines is in Birdie’s character development and growth. I loved the character growth of Birdie! Some of the things that were annoying me through the novel were addressed, called out, acknowledged and worked on. I thought this was so important for Birdie and really important for readers to see.
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Serious Moonlight comes out April 16, 2019
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Content warning: some discussion about suicide

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Thank you so much Netgally and Simon and Schuster Canada/Simon Pulse for the opportunity to read this book early in an exchange for an honest review.

The main character Birdie, is sheltered, homeschooled and obsessed with mystery novels. She lives in a fantasy world, where she's a heroic detective like Nancy Drew and everyone is suspects. She gets her first job before college, working the graveyard shift at a hotel in Settle. This hotel is a historical landmark and has a gruesome unsolved murder that happened in the hotel, I mean don't all historical landmarks have this?

Enter Daniel, the van driver at the hotel. He shows her friendship, love and shows her around. She begins to let him in and grow closer. Daniel tells her about a reclusive writer who meets someone at the hotel, and the two investigate who the author is visiting.

I think this book was cute. I liked Birdie a lot, she had the right amount of innocence and awkwardness without it being overwhelming and tropey. I liked Daniel to as a love interest and his character, his development and characterization was well done. I loved the positive consensual sex message! It also talked about condoms and birth control. There was less common topics explored, such as, single parents, raised by grandparents, disabilities and mental health issues in a real way. The atmosphere buildup of Seattle was great and the hotel seemed beautiful. The quotes from famous mysteries (movies, tv shows and books) is a nice touch!

I have never read a Jenn Bennett novel before but I'd love to read more. The writing was well done, characterization good and the plot moved at the right page. Bennett is great at fleshing out the characters (even side characters) and I think she's ahead of a lot of YA writers in this regard. My one complaint was pacing, at times it was too slow. But as someone who doesn't typically read contemporary, I loved it.

I recommend this to anyone who likes contemporary romances, is a sucker for first love and wants a good character driven story. I do think this is definitely a YA book, which is great it's who it's intended for. The sex positivity is great, and I think good for young teens to read.

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I've read and really enjoyed Jenn Bennett's previous releases so I was super excited to receive an arc of Serious Moonlight. I thought the characters and the setting were really well done, there was just something I can't quite name missing which I think would have allowed me to enjoy the story more. I'm not sure if its because I've been in more of a fantasy mood lately or what. That being said I do plan to pick this one up again and do a reread when its released and give it another shot when I'm in the mood for a contemporary.

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I've enjoyed all of Jenn Bennett's YA books. Serious Moonlight has a really well developed setting, in a vintage hotel in Seattle. I enjoyed the main characters and felt they had interesting backstories. I'd recommend Bennett's books, but I have enjoyed some of her previous titles more.

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Ahhh, Jenn Bennett. That gal knows her way around a GD contemporary romance. I admit I stayed up too late devouring this one, which I have definitely done with previous Bennett books too.

This book is frustrating, but in the best way. You know the “somebody wanted... but... so... then” story structure? The buts in this one were plentiful, with Birdie and Daniel getting it, then not getting it, then finally telling the truth, then lying to each other again. I think many young readers will be able to relate to Birdie’s anxiety and feeling of not knowing what the heck she’s doing. And when love triumphs in the end (not a spoiler - you know it will; it’s just that kind of book), they’ll cheer Birdie on.

Though the basic plot isn’t terribly original, the subplots and story details are, with detective work, narcolepsy, magic, communal living, and long haired Asian boys complementing the girl-meets-boy storyline.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for sending me an eARC of this title in the exchange for an honest review.

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It breaks my heart to rate this so low (why I always feel more guilty over three stars vs two I don't know..) but I just didn't love this the way I've loved Bennett's books in the past.

There's a lot of brilliant diversity and representation in SERIOUS MOONLIGHT and this author is always including such fabulous dialogue surrounding safe & consensual sex-positivity content but.. I didn't really love the plot (mystery surrounding the identity of a crime writer) and I kind of saw a few things coming that the MC, a sorta <I>Veronica Mars</I>-esque character didn't, and additionally I'm not sure I liked any of the characters?

I loved the idea of our love interest, I felt for some of Birdie's struggles and adjustments and emotional hang-ups, but.. I never lost myself in this one. It wasn't as funny, not hardly as swoony, and unfortunately the ending felt kind of rushed. There were definitely sweet moments and I was never bored or annoyed or anything. It was just.. fine.

The best part of this read, however, is that it's made me want to reread ALEX, APPROXIMATELY <b>and</b> STARRY EYES. And kinda makes me want to award extra stars to the latter. And maybe I will!

My feelings about this upcoming release aside, however, don't change the fact that I will a) be forever excited about whatever this author puts out and b) read all aforementioned things this author puts out. I love her quirky characters and her banter. This one just didn't quite stick the landing the way the others have.

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Birdie s a girl on a mission. Start a new job at a fancy hotel, look for some interesting mystery to solve and try to block out the disastrous one-night-stand that happened a couple of weeks ago. Of course no plan survives contact with the enemy and on her very first shift she encounters Daniel - the other half of the one-night-stand, working at the same hotel and on the same shift. Before Birdie can figure out what do do, Daniel has drawn her into a mystery with a proposal to investigate a reclusive author who has been rendezvousing at the hotel. As Birdie and Daniel work together to solve the case, they will learn more about each other than they ever thought possible.

I really enjoyed this book. Even as you read about Birdie's struggle with her health issues, her family issues and her relationship with Daniel, you can't help but root for her. Daniel is an equally believable character - flawed yet sweet with secrets of his own. This isn't a fluffy teen romance - though there are some romantic elements of course - it's a story about figuring out who you are and who you want to be. As Mona would say - be a gusty gal.

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