this was a great start to the systema paradoxa series, I enjoyed that each book is written by other people. It was a well done read and I thought it was great for the start of a series.

thanks to netgalley for this e-arc.

this book has a lot of potential to be something great. the backdrop and setting is interesting. i liked reading about the creatures in this book but needed more descriptive writing. which lacked a little. it needs a lot more detail and patience and planning out.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book.
When the Moon Shines was a very interesting read and possesses great potential if polished a little. There are a few places that need clarification and more insight otherwise it was a good weekend read.

This was such a unique read for me, maybe its just me not having read other such books but the perspective of the creatures were just mwah, chef’s kiss. The writing style was REALLY good with their perspectives. It felt atmospheric and i felt really gravitated by the way it was written. The story was overall okay, i didn’t particularly enjoy the human interactions and i think some of the human characters could have been more fleshed out (sean in particular was very intriguing)
One other nitpick would be that the “main character” we get introduced at the beginning leaves the setting of the story halfway so i felt it kind of takes away from getting attached to a certain character. I understand the buildup it created for sean but I personally would have loved it if it were told by Sean’s pov.
Anyway this was a light read and i enjoyed it!!

Systema Paradoxa is a collection of stories regarding cryptids, these presumed creatures that are living parts of the folklore of many areas.
“When the Moon Shines” is the first one and talks about two species of creatures named Dwayyo and Snallygaster; they are two cryptids from Maryland, the area where the author comes from.
The total focus of the book is on these two but I really liked to see quoted other creatures that are believed to exist in the zone where I live, like the Tatzelwurm… probably because some of the characters are Italian.

The creatures are presented right from the beginning with them as protagonist of the first actions and, as interesting as it is to get some of the part from their perspective, I think this removes part of the suspense and the mystery of discovering little by little what these creatures are.

I was totally hoping for a unique story about cryptids but you could have completely removed them and added people to substitute them, having gangs instead of packs and you would still have the same story.
The presence of cryptids was superfluous and seemed there only to assist the classic morale of “humans are the real monsters”.

The writing style is average but the book failed to give me any kind of emotion. It seems a failed fusion between a hard boiled novel and a horror one but without the thrill parts of the first one and the suspense of the second one.

The best part of the book is after the ending of the story where there are some informative paragraphs about the two cryptids… that was really interesting.

An interesting tale, to tell a story of two warring cryptids that have been reported since the 1920's-30's up to as recently as 2007! A tale of two warring liquor smugglers who both want the town for themselves. Fighting tooth and nail, staging delivery robberies, shootouts, to even battling with and against these cryptic beasts, this story is a quick action packed read that is sure to have you turning page after page.

A great well written story overall, I am extremely interested to read more books in this series by the different authors recounting various cryptic tales. Upon looking them up though, having slight OCD, the numbering of the series goes #1, #2, #3, then for some odd reason #7. This alone makes me not want to pick up the other books as it would drive me crazy seeing the series go from 3 to 7.

Other than that though, if you enjoy books with monsters or strange beasts, rather those monsters be man himself or cryptic creatures of myth, this book is definitely for you. I also thoroughly enjoyed at the end of the book, the brief history the author included of the Dwayyo and Snallygasters, and about their respective sightings and what little is known about their life cycles.

This book was unique and unlike anything else I have ever read. The story had great potential but it was rather difficult to get into. It felt rushed and hard to follow at times. This book may be geared more towards someone who is already familiar with the topic. The descriptions of the cryptids was a bit vague and could have been better described so the reader can visualize them.

I really enjoyed the parts focused on the creatures but the human interactions is where it really lost my interest.

Overall it was a good read, just not for me. Others may enjoy it more. If you find it easier to visualize with little details then this would be the book for you.