I absolutely loved this book! I found it hard to put down. I highly recommend reading it! You won’t be disappointed.

This is a PERFECT YA contemporary romance. Truly this book is a must read. Filled with engaging storyline, hilarious moments, but also so much emotion and deep rooted feelings.

The hype is real for this one! How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe is just as fascinating as it sounds. It's really a story about Moon's heartbreaking journey towards self love and self acceptance as she is often in the shadow of her famous and more traditionally beautiful twin sister. You will laugh, you will cry, you will likely relate to Moon and you will most certainly love her and this book. Go grab yourself a copy and be prepared to fall in love with it.

TW: Child neglect/abuse, favourite child, self-esteem, homophobia, rape culture, slut shaming, discrimination, religious trauma and suicide (mentioned).

Moon Fuentez, you became such a friend to me in this book and god, I connected to you with that religious trauma so much. In the beginning, I wasn't sure I would like Moon, just the way she spoke until I realized I did love her and that her way of thinking had some parts too similar to me -and the parts I don't like about myself, aka that's why I didn't like her in the beginning.

I adored the relationship between Moon and Santiago, and then Chapter 35 happened, AND they were my favourite!! Even though I hated some, the relationships in this book were so well-rounded and human, really captured my heart.

While I really REALLY hate how Star treated Moon, I know and understand why she was terrified to come out and how the purity and religious aspect can twist the good parts of you. Yes, it can help and heal you sometimes, but everything and religion are good and evil. Also, their mom is a bitch, and I will not like her no matter what. #idonotforgive

I don't have the words to describe how much I love this book. It was incredible and so beautiful. As I get older, I make myself a little category of "books that would have meant a lot to me when I was a teenager" and this is definitely one of them (although, I think its definitely older YA or even NA)

Where to start with How Moon Fuentez Fell In Love With the Universe? Let's start with: I was selfish with this one. I loved this book so much that I am only writing a review for it over a month after I read it. I just didn't want to ruin it by being forced to write words about this book that could never really do it justice. Because it is magic, and not just any kind of magic, fat girl magic. More specifically a fat,  Mexican-American girl who has never felt enough in the shadows that her thin, influencer sister, Star, casts. But all things change when she gets dragged along for the summer on her sister's influencer tour and Moon meets a handsome yet grumpy man who also happens to be the brother of the tour manager, aka the man who invented the platform her sister is famous on, aka Moon's celebrity crush. While on the tour, Moon begins to realize that she isn't just Star's personal photgrapher, that her art matters and this tour might just mean she'll be able to afford to make it a reality. Intermixed with Moon's journey of self worth, romance, some magical realism, and just a sprinkle of angst with the same vibes as the song Brutal by Olivia Rodriguez, this book is truely magic. Read it.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The main character wasn't my favorite ever, but I liked how real and interesting she was. I liked how diverse the cast was and I can see why some people see this new release as a new favorite.

3.5*

I really enjoyed Raquel Vasquez Gilliland's book. The main character, Moon, was funny and feisty, loved the banter with Santiago. It was beautifully written with a heavy theme of earth and flowers. The reason for my lower rate is because after the downfall, the book got really slow and I feel like some things could've been cut or edited more.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the free ebook copy in exchange of a honest review.

Net Galley ARC- this was such a well thought out, beautiful story. Heartwarming and relatable this book really touched my heart and bright me back to my own roots. I could connect with Moon in a deeper level, being a brown girl with a perfectly imperfect older sister myself. Regardless of petty fights both irl and in the book I'm just so touched by the story and its resolution. I'm in love with Gilliland's writing and definitely read her other book as well 🌻💓

This book is such a good coming-of-age story about self-love and learning to accept who you are. This was fun to read but yet heartwarming at the same time.

5 reasons why you should read this book:
- A curvy protagonist! The characters feel so relatable especially as someone who has a similar body type.
- I'm not a fan of first-person writing. But not for this book. The writing style could make us feel more connected and understand Moon's feelings.
- This is such an important story about self-love and body positivity.
- Love the romance! Not only because it was an Enemies to Lovers, but also because of how their relationship grew.
- It has a little touch of magic. It wasn't heavy but enough to make this story feels more magical.

Raquel has such approachable writing. I found it flowed naturally and Raquel knew when to have her readers laughing, crying, or serious. I found it to be impactful in relaying its messages. At no point did I feel like Raquel was pandering or simply just using words. I found everything had a point – either to connect actions later or to give the character depth. Raquel also wrote dynamic, realistic characters with thoughts and feelings that we could connect and relate to.

I absolutely loved (or loved to hate) all the characters! I loved the dynamic between Moon and Santiago – but I still loved them on their own (difficult to get right). Moon was smart, caring and funny. The humour in this book is right up my alley (quick and sarcastic). Santiago is your perfect misunderstood, brooding, hot male lead. At no point did I want to write off a character – even the ones I truly loved to hate. In fact, the characters I hated, I wanted them back so they could learn their lesson lol. The supporting characters were fully fleshed out (there was never a point where I was like “wait, who?”). I loved Tia and Belle – I would love more of them!

Raquel has humour trickled in throughout the book, so that you are either smiling or laughing through many points. The chapter titles were beyond funny and adorable

The overall atmospheric tone was perfect for magical elements. They felt realistic, to the point where it felt real. And I think that may be the point Raquel was trying to make. There is magic in nature, we just need to take the time to appreciate its beauty. There are many natural, spiritual, and physical beauty that is explored – we are forced to evaluate our idea of beauty and what makes a person ugly. Those who preach certain points, but do not follow that on their own. There are characters with physical beauty, but ugly personalities – and I loved that Raquel included those contrasting characters.

This isn’t all love and happiness though. There are very traumatic and emotional points in this book. There is talks of suicide and loss; grief; physical and emotional abuse; bullying and self-hate; and racism, disablism, and lgbt-phobia. These are not easy topics on their own, but Raquel tackled all of them brilliantly. There was a perfect balance between the romance elements and hard-hitting elements.

I would 100% recommend How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe! I have a feeling this will be one of my favourites of the month and will likely end up in my favourites of 2021! If you like romances to have a little something more to them, then this is for you!

This book was so well written! It was so descriptive and it really painted a picture for you making it feel like you were there. Also I loved Moon! She was so relatable and felt so real. She was also funny! This is a book based on relationships and I loved reading about each one and seeing how they progressed throughout.

☆☆☆☆☆ /5
(english review below)

Ce roman a été un vrai bonbon ! Rempli de douceurs et de piquant, cette lecture fut un véritable coup de cœur !
¤
Lorsque sa sœur jumelle atteint la célébrité des médias sociaux, Moon Fuentez accepte son sort en tant que sœur laide et indésirable cachée en arrière-plan, destinée à n'être rien de plus que la caméra-woman de sa sœur. Mais cet été, Moon prend également un travail de « merch girl » dans un bus de tournée, rempli de belles influenceuses. Alors, son destin commence à changer de la meilleure des manières possibles.
Le changement le plus notable est son colocataire et nouvel ennemi, Santiago Phillips, qui est grincheux, combatif, et aussi le gars le plus sexy que Moon n’ait jamais vu.
Moon est certaine qu'elle déteste Santiago et qu'il la déteste en retour. Mais alors que le hasard et le destin (et peut-être, probablement, la proximité étroite) les rapprochent l'un de l'autre, Moon commence à douter de ses certitudes. Elle commence même à remettre en question son destin en tant que giroflée inaperçue et mal-aimée qu'elle a toujours pensé être.
Cet été pourrait-il changer la vie de Moon telle qu'elle la connaît ?
¤
C’est une histoire qui m’a fait l’effet d’un vent de fraîcheur, tant l’autrice y a ajouté de la légèreté et de l’humour. Dans ce roman, on est plus que sur une simple romance, sur une relation amoureuse. C’est un condensé de relations humaines qu’il y a là. Et toutes ses relations, aussi bonnes que toxiques, m’ont énormément touchée.
D’un côté, Moon n’entretient pas de bonnes relations avec sa sœur et surtout sa mère. À travers cette famille, l’autrice va aborder le thème des violences familiales et de la dynamique familiale dysfonctionnelle. C’était difficile à lire et je ressentais de l’empathie pour le personnage de Moon, qui malheureusement s’est construit sur cet environnement compliqué et qui ne s’estime que très peu. Mais pourtant, alors que j’aurais dû détester le personnage de Star, cette sœur qui sait se mettre en avant et qui rabaisse Moon, j’ai également ressenti de l’empathie pour elle car malgré ses défauts, son côté manipulatif et hypocrite, elle aussi a ses propres démons et ses propres secrets…
Puis d’un autre côté, la relation qui va se développer entre Santiago et Moon a vraiment fait du baume au cœur. En apprenant à se connaître, ils vont apprendre à aimer l’autre mais surtout, ils vont apprendre à s’aimer eux-mêmes. C’était si mignon et attendrissant de voir à quel point l’un pouvait apporter à l’autre, à quel point ils étaient là pour se rassurer et maturer ensemble. J’ai beaucoup aimé les voir évoluer… Comme les autres personnages aussi.
Par ailleurs, ce que j’ai beaucoup apprécié dans la construction des personnages, c’est que l’autrice ne nous offre pas des personnages à aimer ou à détester. Elle leur donne leur propre voix, leur propre personnalité et les laisse vivre des expériences et s’adapter comme ils le peuvent. Peu importe ce qu’on peut reprocher ou valoriser chez les personnages, au fil de la lecture, on finit par comprendre que personne n’est tout blanc ou tout noir. Les personnages sont diversifiés, nuancés et à travers eux, l’autrice nous affirme qu’il n’y a pas de mal d’être qui on voudrait être et qu’avant de vouloir plaire aux autres, il faut savoir plaire à soi-même.
En plus de cela, l’autrice transmet plusieurs autres messages à travers son histoire. Des messages sur l’espoir, l’optimisme, les choix que l’on peut faire dans la vie, l’importance de savoir se détacher de ce qui peut nous faire du mal, etc… Ces messages et le style d’écriture de l’autrice m’ont conquise.
Cette histoire fut touchante, douce et je l’ai dévoré en à peine quelques heures. Cette lecture m’a procuré énormément de bien-être.

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ENGLISH REVIEW:

This book was absolutely amazing! I regret to only give 5 stars to my reading… I loved it so much.
¤
When her twin sister reaches social media stardom, Moon Fuentez accepts her fate as the ugly, unwanted sister hidden in the background, destined to be nothing more than her sister’s camerawoman. But this summer, Moon also takes a job as the “merch girl” on a tour bus full of beautiful influencers and her fate begins to shift in the best way possible.
Most notable is her bunkmate and new nemesis, Santiago Phillips, who is grumpy, combative, and also the hottest guy Moon has ever seen.
Moon is certain she hates Santiago and that he hates her back. But as chance and destiny (and maybe, probably, close proximity) bring the two of them in each other’s perpetual paths, Moon starts to wonder if that’s really true. She even starts to question her destiny as the unnoticed, unloved wallflower she always thought she was.
Could this summer change Moon’s life as she knows it?
¤
It was a story that struck me with a breath of fresh air, so much lightness and humor were added to it. In this book, there’s more than a simple romance, a romantic relationship. It’s a compendium of human relationships there. And all of her relationships, both good and toxic, touched me immensely.
On one hand, Moon doesn’t have a good relationship with his sister and especially his mother. Through this family, the author will address the theme of domestic violence and dysfunctional family dynamics. It was hard to read, and I felt a sense of empathy for the character of Moon, who unfortunately built on this complicated environment and who does not hold himself in high esteem. But yet, while I should have hated the character of Star, this sister who knows how to put herself forward and who demeans Moon, I also felt empathy for her because despite her faults, her manipulative and hypocritical side, she also has her own demons and her own secrets…
Then on the other hand, the relationship that is going to develop between Santiago and Moon has really made the heart balm. By getting to know each other, they will learn to love others, but above all, they will learn to love themselves. It was so cute and heartwarming to see how much one could bring to the other, how much they were there to reassure and mature together. I really enjoyed watching them evolve ... Like the other characters too.
What I really liked about character construction is that the author doesn't offer us characters to like or dislike. She gives them their own voice, their own personality and lets them experience and adapt as they can. No matter what you criticize or value in the characters, as you read, you come to understand that no one is all white or all black. The characters are diverse, nuanced and through them, the author assures us that there‘s nothing wrong with being who you would like to be and that before wanting to please others, you have to know how to please yourself.
Moreover, the author conveys several other messages throughout her story. Messages on hope, optimism, the choices we can make in life, the importance of knowing how to detach ourselves from what can hurt us, etc... These messages and the writing style of the author conquered me.
This story was touching, sweet and I devoured it in just a few hours. This reading has given me a great deal of well-being.

It’s been so long since I’ve tried to read a book in one sitting, I almost forgot how good that felt. This is the kind of book you devour all at once and decide to reread as soon as your finished. It’s beautifully written and beautifully paced and it’s probably one of the best books I’ve ever read.

This follows Moon Fuentez who has always been her twin sisters shadow. Never the pretty one, never the talented one, never the special one. Until she comes on tour with her sister, Star, and realizes that there may be a whole world out their for her if she’s willing to stop being just “the photographer” and take the leap to become who she wants to be.

First off, I hate magic in books. I never understand it, my imagination doesn’t go that far. But this was done so well! It was incorporated so effortlessly and developed in such a beautiful and simple way. And the imagery surrounding it makes it feel so real. Moon has a love for tarot cards and alongside that, there’s a family curse that makes itself known throughout the book. All of it just works so well and ebbs and flows with the rest of the universe so well.

Next, the relationships. While it was hard to read about Moon and her mom and even Moon and Star at times, it brought out so many important conversations. The topic of both physical and verbal abuse is really strongly emphasized in this book so if that is one of your triggers, I recommend you skip this read. Their relationships are complicated and I appreciated that it does delve into the “why” and I like that her history builds her character instead of dragging her down. I thought she was incredibly strong and the kind moments between these members of her family are very touching. And as for the romance, I love a slow burn and I love how it didn’t overtake the story. Like, this is very much a young adult romance but it’s also so much more and it goes so much deeper than that.

Also, all the side characters are so well developed, like fully 3-dimentional. They have their own personalities and quirks and you don’t realize how rarely that’s done well until it’s right in front of you. I loved Santiago and Belle and even the more antagonistic characters, they just all brought so much to the story.

I just really loved my time with this novel y’all. It’s such a beautiful read and all I want to say is be aware of your triggers before jumping into this one and don’t read too much about this book before because I went into it expecting light fluffiness and what I got instead was so, so, so much more. This review is a little wonky but I really don’t want to spoil any of it for y’all and with a book as good as this, that’s really quite difficult to do. Highly recommend y’all go and check this one out!

Moon Fuentez has convinced me to fall in love with the universe too! This book is absolutely stunning filled with gorgeous descriptors and well thought out characters. I loved how well Moon grew as a character throughout the book and she overcame all the obstacles that life had thrown at her. I also absolutely loved Santiago, big grumpy men who are softies and protective of who they like are my favourites. I can't wait to read more of Raquel Vasquez Gilliland's work.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc.

On this episode of Everything is Canon, Steve talks to Raquel Vasquez Gilliland all about her brand-new book, How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe, which is described as, “The Hating Game meets I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter in this irresistible romance starring a Mexican American teen who discovers love and profound truths about the universe when she spends her summer on a road trip across the country.”

Drawing heavily from her own Mexican American heritage and family, Raquel explore issues that will certainly feel universal. Self-image, sex positivity, identity, it’s all there and it’s wonderful. Using a mixed-media approach and a bit of magic, How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe is perfect for today’s social media frenzied world and for those looking to take a step back and find some self-love, and maybe other kinds of love too!

Steve and Raquel about her love of both poetry and prose, how this book started out as a robot-and-cyborg travelling circus story set in historic Mexico, the importance of Latinx/Hispanic representation in YA romance, the book of course, and much, much more.

To hear the full interview with the author, click the link below...

https://www.cinelinx.com/off-beat/shows/everything-is-canon-how-moon-fuentez-fell-in-love-with-the-universe/

★★★★★

Officially my favourite book. You should be surprised when I say that because my expectations for romance books are HIGH. Especially since I find most of them too cheesy. But this was perfect. It was the right amount of cheese and drama and love and EVERYTHING.

Moon and Star are twins. Except the only thing they have in common is blood. When Star becomes a Fotogram internet sensation, Moon accepts her fate as the ugly sister that no one wants. Moon becomes her sister’s camerawoman and when her sister is invited to the influencers tour, Moon finds herself being dragged along.
As she works as the “merch girl”, on a tour bus full of beautiful influencers, she catches the eye of her new grumpy nemesis, Santiago Phillips, who happens to be the “merch boy”.
Even as Santiago is the hottest guy she’s seen, Moon hates him. And she is sure he hates her back.
But as their fates have collided together, they learn that there is more than what meets the eye in this never-ending universe.

“Who knows what makes us fall in love with the universe?”


The Plot was everything engaging and hilarious. Every damned thing that happened, every damned event or scene or even dialogue was filled with so much emotion and action. Not the kind of action that you see in books where the main character is running from a band of murders. But the kind that fills you with joy, the kind that makes up for all the tiny errors of the world. GODS was this book full of it. So yeah, this book was full of action to the point where every sentence is written kept us engaged and kept us busy. And although this book was character-driven, the plot was still perfect.

The Writing was beautiful. I LOVED the authors writing style. Raquel added little bits of humour everywhere and everything was so orderly and fixed. The writing grabbed my attention from the very first page and NEVER threw it away. Even when Santiago was explaining the roots of salt, Raquel managed to make it sound way more interesting than it ought to be.

“Don’t let anyone feel like they’re supposed to save you. You can only save yourself, this doesn’t mean others can’t help you. But if you’re looking for them to give you your worth, they will always fail you.”


There were so many diverse and interactive characters and they were all amazing. Apart from the “bad guys” of this book, I loved the diverse mind-compelling characters. Moon was a perfect main character. Having her as the main character was the highlight of the book. Everything about her character was absolute. She is definitely my new comfort character because I will totally be like “What would Moon Do?” in times of trouble distress?”. And her having flaws made everything even better! I can finally have a character that I can relate to, a character that makes me feel OK to be me because she went through all she did and is still alive and happy (not a spoiler). Santiago was a miracle in on himself. I’m not straight and don’t feel anything for men, but- he would be my number one fictional crus if I did. After everything he has gone through, he’s still an amazingly strong and brave person that loves Moon for who she is. Their relationship made me feel like I don’t have to be in one but it has to be special if I do end up in one. Santiago wasn’t perfect too, he had his flaws and made a lot of mistakes but Moon saw the real him and not just the grumpy “merch boy” that happened to be working with her. Star was the sister I don’t think I would want. But even though she put Moon through a lot, she herself has some dark secrets that are hurting her. As awful and manipulative Star was, she was also hurting and I truly felt for her. Now that I think about it… maybe I do want a sister like her. Tía was the old wise guy in this book. She was the aunt that sounded amazing and came through at the end. I wish I got to see more of her in this book though because she was amazing when she came in for the last 15%. It was like everything she said was a quote.

“I can choose who I surround myself with and make sure they deserve me. Because maybe that’s thicker than blood, you know? Maybe love is thicker than blood.”


The messages this book conveyed were on spot. The sex-positive attitude of this book was refreshing. Especially after seeing so much hate and shame in the religious society when it comes to sex. Throughout the book, Moon discusses and discovers that there is nothing wrong with having sex. This book also did an amazing job with the message of self-love. Most YA authors I’ve read from discuss body image as something to do for someone else (like men) and not yourself. But this book turns the tides and shows us that you don’t have to do anything for men, not even dress to impress them. Because no matter how much you don’t feel comfortable in it, it’s your body and you could own it instead of giving it off to someone else on a platter. You could dress for yourself. You could do things that a lot of people do for men, for yourself.
The relationships in this book were done expertly. This book discusses the common misconceptions of families. Not all are happy. And not all aren’t. Sure, all families have problems but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is a toxic relationship. But it also doesn’t mean that some families couldn’t be toxic. Sometimes it’s OK to leave something behind. Especially if it’s a toxic relationship. Moon had to deal with a lot while living with her mom and is constantly thinking of leaving the unhealthy relationship but she’s also afraid that she might lose Star if she does that. Later on, she discovers that not all people are who they seem and that some people just are who they seem.
The grieving side of all this was also done perfectly. After we learn that Moon lost her father, the signs of her grieving are more obvious and she has a breakdown in which she shares the specifics. The way the author handles grief is beautiful, showing us that the hole inside may never go away but they are ways to deal with it so it doesn’t become harmful.

“I am at the center of the universe. And that’s okay. Better than okay. It’s miraculous.”


Overall, messages combined, I’ll give you this message- GO. READ. THIS. BOOK. Because if you end up loving it as much as I do, you won’t regret it.


|Triggers- ableism, abuse, anger issues, bullying, cyberbullying, car accident, death, depression, homelessness, homophobia, loss of a loved one, toxic relationship, racism, slut-shaming, body-shaming, suicide|

I really enjoyed this book! It was as a great summer read full of self acceptance, romance and summer adventure. There were a lot of topics covered in this book that could be triggering, so please keep in mind that topics surrounding slut shaming, suicide, mental illness, abuse (physical and mental), grief, and death of a loved one are included.

The author did a great job at discussing these important topics in the book. The book as a whole is very sex positive and has a lot of great points about how sex isn’t bad and shameful which Moon often experiences. There are also many characters who deal or have dealt with mental illness and the various ways it can affect someone. As well, Moon and other characters deal with grief and how losing someone can impact someone’s life. All of these conversations are done really well in the book and the fact that so much of this was included in the book, really made me like it and enjoy it as much as I did. I also haven’t really read a book that talks about purity and the impact of religion on a character and I really did enjoy reading it and learning a bit from it.

I also enjoyed the overall plot and subplots of the book. Seeing Moon’s journey as she went on this summer long trip with Star was a really great vehicle to drive the story onwards and helped provide a setting for all of the various subplots that happen along the way. Through Moon and Star we were able to see how various people can handle fame and their motivations for trying to achieve fame in the first place which was a really interesting concept as these characters were famous from a Instagram inspired app. It also brought about the romance this book. I wasn’t really expecting romance when I first started this book, but it soon became clear that it would happen and I enjoyed it. This relationship was really important for Moon to experience and helped bring her character develop even further which I loved to see. I also loved the importance that nature played in this book for Moon. There was a lot of great descriptions and realness to it. You can really tell how important nature is to Moon and there were so many good quotes and analogies about nature I found!

Moon as a character is enjoyable. At times she could be a little whinny and annoying but she felt real. It was clear that her past has really impacted who she is now in the book and that helped her really feel vivid and likable. She is a bit of a smart ass at times but this just helped make me like her and add some humour into the book as well. It is clear she is a super strong person and a great role model in the book and for readers.

3.75/5
I actually really loved this! At first, what intrigued me was the premise, especially the main character– and I saw so much of myself in her, so I really appreciated that!
I think the only thing I had an issue with– was that I didn't naturally gravitate towards the book when I wasn't reading it, but I adored it when I was reading it! But I think that's moreso on me, as I was busy with uni stuff.

I adored the writing style, which along with the main character, is my favourite thing about this! And the romance! AAAAAAA it was so sweet!!!
I definitely recommend this!! :-) a wonderful contemporary read that feels magical and brings you comfort, with a wonderful writing style, romance, and main character. Definitely a stand out from the other YA contemporaries I read this year!

4.5/5 stars

This book is a Young Adult Contemporary Romance with a bit of Magical Realism. It is my first book by this author.

This book was such a pleasant surprise. It is a beautiful coming of age story. It's full of heart and some pain. But it was magical and beautiful. And I really loved it.

It's the summer after they've graduated high school and twins Moon and Star (17 almost 18 years old) get an amazing opportunity.

Moon is the narrator (1st person POV). She is an incredible photographer and earth artist. Her twin sister is a religious social media influencer.

Moon has always felt like the bigger uglier sister. But honestly she was such a unique voice. I loved her so much. The book has tarot cards. Photography. Art. Social media. Cooking. Family struggles. Curses. Mental illness. There is a lot going on in this story.

Andro is the founder of the Fotogram social media app. He invites Star and other social media influencers to tour the country. His brother Santiago is also there. And I was fascinated by them both and thought that they both added a lot to the story.

The romance was slow, but I really liked it a lot. I was also fascinated by the relationship between Moon and her sister. And between Moon and her mother.

Overall this book was amazing. I was expecting a cute YA romance. But I got so much more. I would highly recommend this book!