Ximena can weave moonlight into lush tapestries of wool, and sometimes they come to life. When her people need her to infiltrate the enemy's kingdom to take down the false king, Ximena doesn't hesitate—she's ready to fight. But what happens when the cause you've been fighting for becomes more gray than black and white?

World: ★★★★★
Characters: ★★★★
Dialogue: ★★
Pacing: ★★★

Ximena's job is to be the decoy Condesa, who is the true heir to the Illustrian throne. The Illustrians were recently overpowered by Atoc, the leader of the Ilyacans, in a bloody battle that decimated the current ruling powers and made way for a new regime. But all is not well in this new rule, and the Illustrians desperately want their kingdom back.

When Atoc demands the hand of the Condesa in marriage, Ximena knows she must go in the princess' stead. Entering into the belly of the beast, all Ximena has to rely on are her wits, her family's culture, and her magical moonlight weaving—which she plans to use to send secret messages to her people.

But Ximena soon realizes that the playing field isn't all that it seems, and it will take an interesting cast of characters—including a masked vigilante, a trapped princess, and a broody healer—to change her black and white beliefs on an entire community of people. Sometimes the "enemy" isn't evil....

This was such a fun story. I liked the world building and the descriptions—this world is described as "lush" in the blurb, and that's so accurate—and I really enjoyed Ximena's character growth throughout the story. Also, even though the plot felt extremely predictable, it did surprise me a few times!

The only real negative for me was the stilted dialogue. Woven in Moonlight really struggles for the first 50% with what feels like extremely scripted, surface level dialogue interactions. Real people don't talk like they're regurgitating rehearsed lines...and sometimes Ximena's interactions felt like B-list theater plays, where none of the conversations feel organic. This does improve throughout the novel (or maybe I got used to it, let's be real) but it was still something that kept me from getting fully invested into the plot from the get-go.

Thank you to Page Street Books via NetGalley for an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. What a stunning debut.

Ibañez weaves a beautiful, luscious world. There were so many aspects of this novel that I loved. There are strong influences from Aztec and Mayan history. The author doesn’t shy away from writing about the brutality of oppression and mistreatment of indigenous people. It’s also refreshing to find a book that I can see myself represented in. Woven in Moonlight is the story of a brown, Latinx girl. Ibañez creates a strong debut with amazing worldbuilding. She establishes a complex magic system and creates a story about a sprawling civilization struggling under the rule of a conqueror. Ibañez’s use of imagery, in my opinion, was one of her best strengths in this novel. I felt as if I could taste each food; La Ciudad was described with such vibrancy that I felt as if I had been there and seen it for myself.

The one issue I had with this novel was the writing style. The first-person present tense made the story, at times, read like a contemporary. However, this problem was only present in the first few chapters. Afterwards, the author seemed to have gotten over that particular obstacle.

Overall, I gave Woven in Moonlight ⅘ stars. I hope the author goes back to the world of Inkasisa as there is plenty of that world left to explore.

Sadly, this book was just an “okay” read for me.
First of all I should probably mention that - despite the cutesy cover - the book was much darker than I had expected, which I actually really liked.
It was also very political since the world is inspired by Bolivia and its current political climate.
Now on to the parts that I didn’t like...
First of all: the characters.
The main character, Ximena, was way too careless. She’d meet a character a few short times and decide to just trust them. Based on how important her mission was, that seemed rather, uhm, risky to me.
The side characters were bland and lacking depth.
Next up: the romance.
The romance felt sudden, forced and not set up very well in general. Frankly, I would’ve preferred if it had been left out completely.
The magical system:
The magical system was interesting, but overall not really impressive.
Last but not least: the ending.
Going more in-depth would lead to spoilery territory, so let’s just say that I didn’t like it.
Overall this book was a quick and fun read, but not very memorable.

Ximenia Rojas has been the decoy for Condesa Catalina ever since the usurper Atoc overthrow the Illustrarians a decade ago. Ximenia's family, along with the Condesa's, perished during the civil war, and Ximenia and her fellow Illustrians want revenge. When Atoc summons the Condesa to the palace to be his bride, Ximenia goes in Catalina's place and uses her weaving magic to send messages to the Illustrians via tapestry. With only eight weeks before the wedding, Ximenia must find intel about a magical gem that is the Illustrian's only hope.

My literary 2020 is off to a great start with this gem of a historical fantasy YA novel! I went in with fairly low expectations as 2019 was, on the whole, not a great year for YA fantasy. This was very good and felt like something of a course correction. The "historical" aspect covers Bolivian politics and the introduction of cocaine, at least somewhat (I know nothing about Bolivia and the eARC didn't have an author's note at the end, but the author does reference her two Bolivian parents) and deftly weaves a story of magic, moonlight and betrayal. The moon magic is subtle, but well utilized. Ximenia's ability is, for lack of a better phrase, quite cool. The author took a familiar story of rebellion and a headstrong girl and combined those seemingly stale tropes with magical realism and Bolivian flavor to create a book that felt like something new. The romance was earned. The main character grows a lot throughout the course of the book. Ximenia's story is tied up by the end, but there's an intriguing jungle based thread that's left dangling (not a spoiler!) that I'd be willing to bet will be a second book. I'll read it.

Also, I dare you to read this book and not want some tasty Bolivian treats. The food sounds amaaaaaaaaaaazing and it's mentioned a lot.

TLDR: Woven in Moonlight takes a familiar tale of revolution and spices it up with excellent character development and creative magical realism. I'm having trouble thinking of something to compare it to, because I like it better than most books that I've read that are similar (The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson for example - this is in the same zone, but I enjoyed it a lot more). Recommended for readers who like their fantasies to be revolutionary (ha) with a strong female lead and a touch of magic. 4 stars - I really liked it.

What a way to start off the year! YA Fantasy has a high bar to follow after reading this Bolivian-inspired, #ownvoices fantasy.

WOVEN IN MOONLIGHT by Isabel Ibañez follows the princess’ decoy as they attempt to get the imposter king off the throne and reclaim a country continually in revolution. Our main character, Ximena, has known nothing except pretending to be someone else. When she’s forced into a marriage with the imposter king, the rebels begin a plot to overthrow him before the marriage—but Ximena is faced with the fact that nothing in war is black or white.

Not only were the politics of war handled well, but the descriptions of food and the setting were so immersive and wonderful. The magic system was unique and unfolded as the story did, becoming one of the most unique magical talents I’ve read. I loved having to guess who our resident vigilante was as the book continued and Ximena was thrown further into the complicated world of politics and revolution. She’s forced to make hard decisions when it comes to friends and family versus what she thinks is right. Nothing ever comes easy to her, and as her beliefs are challenged Ximena only grows more believably as a character.

I eagerly look forward to Ibañez’ next release.

WOVEN IN MOONLIGHT takes place in the aftermath of war, our heroine begins on the side that has lost. You see the devastation that displacement, and having to care and feed your people when you've no resources. Woven also deals with the varied shades grey in morality, when you have to take a hard look at the politics and the morals that you have been following, are you on the right side of history? The parallels between the political and cultural violence of the Spanish colonizers toward the native Incan people, and the opposing parties of the Condesa and the Atoc in this book were not lost on this reader.

Isabel Ibanez brings a knock out punch to the fantasy world with a totally original magic system, WOVEN IN MOONLIGHT, mixes politics, magic, romance, and mythology in such a beautiful way. Although WOVEN is a standalone, I am looking forward to stories written in this lush and wondrous world. An excellent debut novel from Isabel Ibanez!

<i>Arc provided via Netgalley.</i>

TW: graphic violence, gore, swearing

This is a Bolivian-inspired YA fantasy, set in a world were certain people have varied magical abilities, about two warring races: the Illustrians who used to rule and the Llacsan who were once oppressed but have risen to power after a revolution. The story follows Ximena, who is a decoy for the real Illustrian Condesa and is being forced to go to the dictator King in order to be his wife. But Ximena uses this as an opportunity to spy for her people and recover a magical artefact that might help them win the war. In the picture there is also a mysterious masked vigilante, who seems to be against the king, but Ximena isn't quite sure whose side he is on...

There are some intriguing aspects of the story and I enjoyed how the author used this fantasy world to tell a story of dictatorship after a revolution, which is something very real, not only in Bolivia, but many other countries in South American and the rest of the world as well; and I also like how a recurring theme of this book is how there are always two sides to every story and you might not always be sure who is right or wrong, especially if you are too close to one side.

It was, however very predictable: if you have read any YA fantasy ever, you can see where some things were going to go from a mile away - at least, I could. I felt like the magical world and the explanation for things were glossed over and the overall political arc of the story was rushed and contrived.

I personally couldn't really connect with the characters (and much less to the romance, which wasn't exactly insta-love, but made very little sense and had very little build up) nor to the writing style, and I get the characters switching to Spanish is realistic for bilingual people in the real world, but it kind of drove me out of the story a little bit. I guess the writing overall just didn't feel very immersive to me.

I enjoyed learning about some aspects of Bolivian culture, and mainly the food, that were included in the story and I appreciate that the author added a glossary explaining what things were.

Despite my reservations, I would still recommend this book for someone who likes plot-driven stories and is maybe looking for a fun YA-fantasy that is based on Latinx culture. This is a standalone but there will be another book set in the same world, so maybe there will be some more depth to the world building...

What a dreamy debut! Set in a magical Bolivia-inspired country divided by war and politics, Woven in Moonlight follows Ximena, a teen who is a decoy for the last royal Illustrian, or aristocrat, in the land. The Illustrians were once in power but lost everything when the working class fought back. The story follows Ximena's attempts to return the throne its ~rightful~ heir. But she soon realizes that her country's situation might be more complicated than it seems...

My favorite thing about this book is its setting. Ibañez does a fantastic job describing her country's rich culture--from its delicious food, to its bright and colorful clothing and buildings. I especially loved what happened in the nighttime--how Ximena was able to literally weave moonlight. The whole idea is so unique and exciting to me and will no doubt attract teen readers.

I also liked that this book did not follow the typical YA fantasy/romance plot line when it comes to overthrowing a ruler. The book was pretty bloody and Ximena was an impulsive heroine who didn't always have her act together or know what to do. I found it refreshing that she was able to recognize that she maybe wasn't always right, while also remaining true to herself. There was also a little mystery with the masked vigilante, which was fun.

I loved how the book is unapologetically bilingual and refrains from italicizing or even explaining Spanish words and phrases. It made me feel seen as a proud English/Spanish bilingual (especially when Ximena used my fave Spanish curse word, carajo). It's normal for people to translanguage... and non-Spanish speakers can refer to the glossary at the end of the book.

The only part I would have liked to see more fleshed out was the ending. Other than that, this was a fabulous debut that I will highly recommend to my teen students.

*I received a free digital advanced readers' copy from Netgalley in return for an honest review.*

*4.5 stars rounded up*

As soon as I started reading this book I was captivated by its atmosphere. The setting is so rich and tangible that even before I was grounded in the story I felt like I was with these characters

We follow Ximena, the decoy condesa (countess) of the downtrodden Illustrian people. As part of a plot overthrow the Llacsan prince, Ximena is sent into the palace under the guise of promising to marry the false prince and unite their people once more

The plot was so beautifully woven, just like Ximena's tapestries of moonlight. The feud between the Llacsans and the Illustrians was palpable, their animosity and the history behind it so rich. This was based on real events in Bolivian history, but this richness is primarily a testament to the writing

The characters were interesting and flawed. Even the protagonist, who I was supposed to be rooting for, has serious flaws that make it difficult to trust and like her completely. The story weaves together so beautifully that I was captured to the very end

I received a complimentary copy of Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez from Page Street Kids through Netgalley. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Woven in Moonlight will be released on January 7th!
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Ximena is the condesa's decoy and now that the usurper Llacsan king Atoc has demanded the Illustrian condesa marry him, Ximena will go in her place. Years ago, Atoc used the Estrella, a powerful magical relic, to wield a ghost army that overthrew the Illustrians and allowed him to take power. Now Ximena is determined to spend her time in Atoc's court searching for the relic so the condesa can reclaim her throne. A vigilante known as El Lobo is wreaking havoc on Atoc's court and Ximena accidentally runs into him during a late night scouting mission. As Ximena learns more about El Lobo, the Llacsans, and Atoc's family, she begins to question whether the condesa should be queen. Atoc is cruel and must be stopped, but won't the condesa just oppress the Llacsans the way her family did? Ximena must decide if her loyalty to her longtime friend outweighs equality and freedom for both Illustrians and Llacsans.
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Woven in Moonlight was such a fantastic book! It started out a tiny bit slow for me, but I was still fascinated by the world and the story. At about the halfway point everything really clicked into place and I inhaled the last half in one sitting! The Bolivian influence in this novel creates a truly lovely and captivating world. Also, our heroine Ximena can turn moonlight into thread and weaves magical tapestries. I don't want to ruin this book for anyone, but her gift goes in an unexpected and mesmerizing direction! Overall, this was a fun adventure full of magic and food descriptions that will make your mouth water. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a fantasy novel with a unique setting!

Bolivian-American artist and author Isabel Ibañez has served up an excellent debut novel, first in what appears to be a duology (the second novel, Written in Starlight should release next year), though the world and magic system are such that she could continue for a longer series. Woven in Moonlight tells the story of Ximena, a young woman whose sole purpose is to serve as a double for Catalina, La Condesa (the Contessa), leader of a community of refugees on the losing side of a war between the aristocracy and an indigenous group. Based in La Ciudad Blanca (The White City), the story takes place in a land called Inkasisa inspired by Ibañez's parents' home country of Bolivia. In Quechua, Inkasisa means "royal flower," and La Ciudad Blanca is modeled after the Bolivian city of Sucre, the city in which Bolivia's Declaration of Independence was signed. In Latinx tradition, this is a novel of magical realism. In addition to being trained as a fighter to protect Catalina, Ximena is also a weaver and her magic allows her to weave moonlight into her weavings. She also has the power of using moondust to make someone sleep.

As the novel opens, the Condesa, who in public, even with her own people, uses Ximena as her decoy, is not dealing very wisely with the fact that her people are on the verge of starvation. Instead of rationing, she wants them all to believe everything will be fine as she waits for one of her generals to return with supplies. Only she doesn't return and Ximena and Catalina grow increasingly worried. Things take a turn for the worse when a messenger arrives from the usurper king Atoc demanding the Condesa's hand in marriage and saying it's the only way to save her captured general. Catalina sends Ximena in her stead, of course, but only after Ximena makes the mistake of killing the messenger in a fit of fury. Everything in Ximena's life plunges off a cliff at that point. She is to marry a brutal man she despises, and one who is angry that she (the Condesa) killed his messenger, who was a cousin of his. He wants to subjugate the remnant aristocracy and plans to marry the Condesa during the annual Carnaval celebration that is only weeks away. Held under close watch and often locked up, Ximena is searching as much as she's able for a magical relic that is giving Atoc his power. She is watched by his cousin Rumi, who is also a healer, and Juan Carlos, who is one of the heads of the palace guard. Over the course of several weeks, Ximena begins to question what she knows about the war between the Llacsan people of Atoc and the Condesa's family. She's been raised, possibly even indoctrinated, hearing only half of the story. While Atoc seems to be a brutal person, his rise to power seems to have been because of the abuse of a Llacsan working class that may no longer give Atoc their support. A masked vigilante, El Lobo (the Wolf), has been actively working against Atoc. But is he on the side of the Condesa's people? Ximena is isolated in La Ciudad but feels increasingly drawn to some of the Llacsans she's been told to revile. When her weavings begin to come to life, whose cause will they fight for? The Condesa's? The Llacsans's? The mysterious Princesa Tamaya, who is Atoc's very popular but likely doomed sister? Or is Ximena just on the side of all the people of Inkasisa? Perhaps the best cause is the cause of peace.

While I wasn't always thrilled with the pacing and some aspects of the plot, Ibañez's world is rich and creative. She's put so much creativity into the physical book itself, too. Also an artist by day, Ibañez designed the cover of the book, as well as the interior page designs. It is such a labor of her love. And the message of this book, that of questioning ideas you've been raised with, is an incredibly important one for young readers.

I am looking forward to Written in Starlight as I'm intrigued to see if she can make me like Catalina.


I received a Digital Review Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I finished my first 2020 book! It was a good start for my bookish year, I absolutely loved Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez. This YA fantasy novel was orinal in both its setting and its setting, which made for a nice change. I enjoyed the Bolivian influences, and the moon magic was just...magical.
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Synopsis:
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Ximena is the decoy Condesa, a stand-in for the last remaining Illustrian royal. Her people lost everything when the usurper, Atoc, used an ancient relic to summon ghosts and drive the Illustrians from La Ciudad. Now Ximena’s motivated by her insatiable thirst for revenge, and her rare ability to spin thread from moonlight.
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When Atoc demands the real Condesa’s hand in marriage, it’s Ximena’s duty to go in her stead. She relishes the chance, as Illustrian spies have reported that Atoc’s no longer carrying his deadly relic. If Ximena can find it, she can return the true aristócrata to their rightful place.
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She hunts for the relic, using her weaving ability to hide messages in tapestries for the resistance. But when a masked vigilante, a warm-hearted princesa, and a thoughtful healer challenge Ximena, her mission becomes more complicated. There could be a way to overthrow the usurper without starting another war, but only if Ximena turns her back on revenge—and her Condesa.
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Thank you @netgalley, @isabelwriter09 and @pagestreetpublishing / @pagestreetkids for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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Title: Woven in Moonlight
Author: Isabel Ibañez
Publisher: Page Street Publishing / Page Street Kids
Publication date: 07 January 2020

Woven in Moonlight was an absolutely fantastic way to start off the year! It had incredible magic, a wonderful romance (but seriously, the development of the relationship and the romantic tension are both A+), and a revolution.

Ximena’s character development was amazing. I loved that she questioned her own beliefs and perception. And that she was willing to listen when other characters pointed out some of her one-sided or problematic beliefs. Plus her magic is just cool (I dare you to read this book and not want to try out weaving).

I also loved that this book was based on Bolivian politics and history! I’ve definitely spent some time researching the history behind this book because the author made me so curious.

If you’re looking for a fresh and vibrant YA fantasy book, pick this one up. This was Ibañez’s debut novel but she’s already landed on my auto-buy author list.

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This book was Isabel Ibañez debut novel and I though I think it was a great start I definitely think there is room for improvement. This is a ya fantasy book that draws inspiration from Bolivian politics and history which sounds very interesting if you ask me. However, since I don’t know anything about Bolivia I can’t speak of the representation but I do know that the author has Bolivian parents so I think the rep should be good. The overall plot of the book was quite intriguing but I would have liked a lot more world-building and detail throughout the book. It felt like it was a little rushed and that the book could have been 200 pages longer. The love interest was also quite obvious and the book had some typical ya tropes, which is fine but maybe just not my favorite and when you've read something a hundred times before it just isn't that interesting anymore. But still a good debut and I’m still interested in seeing what Isabel Ibañez writes in the future.
Arc received by Netgalley

I finished reading this one almost a month ago and I’m still sorting through my feelings about it. I honestly think I need to reread it to fully absorb the story. It took me 3 weeks to finish, which isn’t long but also quite a while for me.

I thought that Isabel did an amazing job setting up the story, weaving in new (to me) folklore and I definitely didn’t foresee some of the twists towards the end. I found the magic system very unique and intriguing. The last third/quarter of the book had me completely entranced. I couldn’t put it down.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the book and plan to reread it, as well as continue with the series. This is a fantasy debut that I think will capture the heats of many.

Three and a half
This author takes political unrest and dire intrigue in South America and attempts to give it a fantasy twist which will perhaps have a wider appeal. It’s actually not a bad idea to get people’s attention in what is an imaginative and entertaining way but sadly for this reader at times I just didn’t totally believe everything these characters were up to. I enjoyed the concept of Ximena pretending to be the Contessa and felt her loyalty felt realistic although she was terribly naive when it came to the viciously power hungry Atoc.
There is more than just a nod to the legendary Zorro here which certainly added to the fun but alas his identity was just so laughably obvious in spite of the author trying to muddy the literary waters with more than one possibility. There’s a rather tame romance which wasn’t terribly convincing but then again this is aimed I imagine at readers younger than I am so I won’t hold that against the author. I absolutely loved the magical ideas in play here ( that cover makes sense when you read this ) but actually wanted much more as it wasn’t really explained just how or why certain characters had particular abilities. However I note the author intends to revisit this world and from the anticipated title Written in Starlight it looks like the Contessa herself is stepping forward and hopefully there will be a lot more about the magic system.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

Every once in a while, I feel like I've read an entirely different book than everyone else who has given an early review. I see comments about gorgeous, lush settings, whimsical fantasy elements, intricate political machinations, and I'm over here wondering where the heck those things are. While it does offer up a lively Bolivian-inspired setting, Woven in Moonlight ultimately didn't deliver on the magic or political machinations that were promised. I felt like I was reading a book about colorful paper dolls set against a flat background - there was no depth to any element of the story. The magic system - if it can even be called that - was so loosely defined and haphazardly used that it could have been entirely removed from the story and not been missed. The plot was predicable, characters were one-dimensional, and it lacked the wonder one hopes to get from a fantasy world. I struggled to buy into the romance and I found myself rolling my eyes more than once. The characters often acted out of character or did complete 180s in service to the plot. I really couldn't tell you what anyone's personality was because they always acted to move the very linear plot forward another step - not in line with their established character arc or motivations. Despite my frustrations with the lack of magic or complex characters, the writing is clear and easily understandable; paired with a simpler plot that more experienced fantasy readers will have read several times over, it may appeal more to younger tween readers than older teens.

What a journey! This book felt like it had a slow start and built itself up and for that reason for the first couple chapters I wasn’t sure I was even enjoying the story, but slowly the characters gained a place in my heart and I was completely invested.

One thing to note is that there is quite a bit of spanish in this book which is so cool (and for anyone who doesn’t understand spanish, don’t worry there’s a glossary in the back!)

As for the plot and the characters, I love everything! This book is SO BEAUTIFUL and I want there to be a movie!! (please!) The characters start out somewhat two dimensional and grow into complex roles and people as you begin to read more about them.

THE ROMANCE OK. It’s definitely a slow burning, tension-filled kind of romance and it was just so cute and I won’t say who ends up together but I love them.

If somehow none of that impresses you let me just add one more thing. While reading this book my family went to Disney World, and I legitimately read in every spare moment I could. Yes, that’s right, this had me flipping pages even when I could have been enjoying the sights and sounds of Disney World for the first time, but I have no regrets!​

This was a whimsical, lovely book. I loved the unique magic connected to weaving and to moonlight. The turn that the magic took in the second half of the book was utterly enchanting. I felt that the tone of the magic wasn't always fitting some of the grittier, darker moments that are typical with a fantasy story in this style. I wished alternative choices could have been found to keep the feel of the book more in line with the magic that was revealed. I also, personally, figured out what was going to happen pretty early on, but I don't know if that means the book was predictable or simply that I have an annoying habit of predicting how stories are going to play out. I loved the world building and all the beautiful details inspired by Bolivian life. I do worry that some readers may be bothered by how often there were phrases in Spanish only, dispersed throughout the book. I studied Spanish in high school and college and understood the phrases, but there were times I wasn't sure others would know enough from context to fully understand what was being said unless they knew at least some basic Spanish. For example, there's a super crucial moment where someone says "Te amo" and the reply is "Yo también." It would be quite unfortunate if the reader didn't realize the characters were saying they loved each other. I appreciated that the violence wasn't tooooo graphic (though there are some disturbing deaths and injuries), and romance didn't escalate beyond a bit of passionate kissing, so my twelve-year-old can enjoy this one, too, if she wants. I'd recommend this to fans of The Girl of Fire and Thorns series, and YA fantasy set in non-European worlds.
Thank you Page Street Publishing and NetGalley for the chance to read a free ebook of Woven In Moonlight in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Considering this is the author’s debut I saw from reviews it was good, but I really didn’t I would love it as much as I did. Such a unique and impressive story that is woven throughout with stunning details and the story itself is just amazing. I loved the main characters, especially the “Condesa”, who has to go into enemy territory and marry the fake king Atoc. Watching her character development and grow was intriguing, because she always saw things as black and white never with any grey areas. Once she gets to meet the so called enemy people, she sees how what her people know and have been taught are wrong.

While I did find the plot itself to be pretty predictable, it was such a unique storyline that I never got bored. I loved the way magic worked and how descriptive everything was. How the main character has magical abilities to weave animals and how others can look at the stars and see what is going to happen. I did see the ending coming, but a couple things did shock me throughout the book.

Another thing I absolutely loved was the very slow burn romance. I won’t give away anything, but the person Ximena (the fake Condesa) is slowly but surely falling for is just such a great person and learning about his life and what brought him to who he is today, made it such an exceptional and intricate storyline. “I think it’s time we have a chat, little wolf.” I loved their silly banter, and how it went from complete and utter disgust of each other, and only seeing how they could be good or evil, but coming to realize each other’s stories.

Like I said before I really enjoyed the descriptions, but also how we got to know so many of the characters as well! Some of the side characters played such important parts, and it was nice to actually know about them and come to care for not only the main characters but them as well. This was a very satisfying read for me and had the perfect ending. I highly recommend adding this to your tbr shelf, it comes out in January!