Witching Moon is a combination of historical fiction and fantasy that was medium paced and easy to read. While geared towards the young adult audience, as an adult, I found the story to be interesting and entertaining.

I was immediately captivated by Ann’s life on Cusco and could not wait to discover her journey.

Bonner’s vivid prose easily painted a familiar landscape and brought me to a place where I could almost smell the pluff mud and salt air.

From the opening sentence, I was sucked into the story of Ann and Phillip.

I’m impressed that this is Bonner’s debut novel and look forward to a continuation of Ann’s story or the next venture from this promising author.

Thank you to NetGalley & Belle Isle Books for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

When I first saw this novel, I was very intrigued by the premise. Past soul lives coming back via reincarnation due to a celestial event is not an idea that I read often in fantasy, but I was really intrigued to find it here! However, I found that the execution of the premise and idea of the story fell flat for me - I wanted more from this story than I got.

The magical system and the idea of reincarnation and past lives as the plot was so intriguing to me that I was expecting to read more about the lore of this magic within the story. But it seemed like this was only a small portion to the struggle and adventure that this story really turned out to be. For me, this seemed to be oversimplified so it didn’t need to be explained more in depth, which was disappointing. In addition to the adventure of the story, there was a light aspect of romance as well. 

The writing is not a style that I prefer to read or enjoy, it certainly read at a lower reading level than young adult, though there were some themes that were of an older age range in the novel.

Anne and Philip had some nice light character arcs but they also felt rushed in order to move the plot along quickly. I would have appreciated more rounding out of their arcs and their relationship within the story.

The atmosphere was a nice touch to the novel, but I was taken out of it quite a bit by the language and the writing. I didn’t love the setting because it was set in the “real world” with what seemed like lore that was new that wasn’t as well explained as it needed to be. I would have loved to see a high fantasy setting with this type of celestial lore and something that would tie into the story!

Overall, I enjoyed certain aspects of this novel, but the plot, lore and writing fell really flat for me. The premise is so interesting, I would love to see a story like this further developed!

DNF

I received this book from NetGalley I’m exchange for an honest review.

This book blurb sounded promising and the cover is nice, but unfortunately the writing just wasn’t there for me. Everything moved so slowly and I never could figure out what time period this book even takes place in. I liked the main characters well enough… but again, the pacing was soooo slow. Also, the ARC formatting was super wonky which also pulled me out of the story, but honestly, that was the least of it.

I think there was a lot of potential, but it wasn’t there for me and I couldn’t bring myself to keep going.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really liked this book. It was very well written and thoroughly immersive. I loved how the author set in at the end of the Civil War era, but it didn’t play a huge part either. Such amazing world building and detailed just enough to let you imagine what was happening. The story follows a young girl, Anne, as she discovers her magic and that she is an immortal with a sister, she takes this all in stride. She is compassionate, and matures through her journey. I especially liked when the author introduced Phillip, Rory, and Rowan, and that they each have a role in Anne’s growth. The pacing and writing were well done. The was a lot of darkness in the book, that I wasn’t necessarily expecting. This book is marketed towards the middle grade ages but I believe it should be more towards the teen ages (like 14-16). There were a lot of aspects that a young middle grader might not understand or comprehend well. Overall, it was greatly enjoyed and would definitely recommend it to others.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I liked a lot this book, I have found in it a great, immersive fantasy reading.
The characters were good, and I liked them.
The things that carried the entire book, in my opinion, were Anne - the main character - and the plot, absolutely. The plot is addictive and it makes you want to read more and more.
I highly recommend you this book!

Not a bad read. I think kids 6th to maybe 9th grade will enjoy it and find it a fine adventure with the usual magic and supernatural cast. Fans of the Angie Sage books, Harry Potter, or Rick Riorden books may well like this one.

Anne was adopted by Mama Jane when she was born. Her mother died giving her life. Mama Jane knows some things about Anne has not told her. When Anne and Ruth save a man from dying, they didn’t know it would change Anne’s life. Anne heals the almost drowned man. Ruth goes to tell Mama Jane and get the brothers to help take him to Mama Jane. Anne finds out information about her origin, purpose and future. She has a sister in a faraway land. Anne goes to France to find her to bring together a prophecy and her healing gifts. She finds a bond with her unexpected sister. She makes an unlikely friendship while sailing the high seas.

The author has written a fantasy novel that shows the struggles she goes through. This is a novel that has not only fantastical elements but also historical settings making it a great experience to read. I like the idea presented of what a family truly is. It is an excellent novel.

Thank you to #NetGalley K.E. Bonner, and the publisher for the early copy.

I love a fun mystical adventure book and "Witching Moon" did not disappoint! It was set in 1865, which made for a time period that I typically do not read and am sure many young readers do not as well.

This book was marked as middle grade, but it should definitely should be marked as YA. I am all for kids reading what they want, but there are somethings in the story that should be targeted more towards YA readers.

Unfortunately this book wasn’t for me. I DNF’d it at 45% after multiple times of trying to push through.

The narration was juvenile, written maybe for middle schoolers. But on the flip side, the actually sorry would not be appropriate for kids with the death and violence, threatened rape, and sensual moments.

The premise of this story was very intriguing. Anne is an orphan and this with her adopted family on an island, oh and she can heal things. Soon she finds out she immortal and has had previous lives. I wanted to like this story so much but even though I got to 45% not much of anything had happened to keep me intrigued past this premise. The characters backstories were neat. So even though I didn’t finish this one, I’m giving it 2 stars instead of 1 like I normally do DNF’d books.

Even though I didn’t enjoy this book, it might resonate with a more YA audience.

The premise and the first couple chapters were interesting, but when they got into the journey, I feel it's a bit difficult for me to enjoy, because they escaped from one problem to another. The writing, the world building and the setting are interesting and great! I think it's for young adult, since there are violence, killing, and death here. The blurb mentioned about her power to manifest along the story, but I feel it didn't give enough spotlight on her power development, maybe it's because I expected more discovery about herself in the journey that made her able to heal other people and herself at the same time.

The originality of this story and its creatures made for a fascinating read.
Truth be told I would say again this is for a younger audience as I thought the plot made for a pretty great book overall.

Thank you to netgalley for an advance copy.

A good book, looks like a lot with the chapter count but does go at a decent pace. Didn't feel like it really lagged anywhere. Her journey was nice to follow.

Ann begins to discover her powers after saving Phillip from a shipwreck. They must travel to Amaranth together as her powers start to come in to see what await her with her aim isn’t family. This feels like a historical read but with a mix of fantasy. It’s fast enough paced to keep me interested but doesn’t skip the good stuff. It’s well written and has all the emotion. It’s a very good set up for future books that I am looking forward to reading!

I liked that this book was packed but also not overly dense. I blitzed through this book and really did enjoy it. It wasn't a favourite read of mine, but I really do think the author did an incredible job with this book.

Witching Moon
K.E. Bonner

Set at the tail end of the Civil War and beginning on the SC barrier island of Cusabo K.E. Bonner presents readers with, Witching Moon, an enticing tale with a unique blend of history, mystery, fantasy and a touch of romance. While on their epic journey from the US to an enchanted island off the coast of France Bonner has her protagonists Anne and Phillip contend with some of the societal issues of the time like native American injustices, slavery, the Underground Railroad and the unfortunate ravages of war, and as she develops their relationship she also introduces her audience to some really cool secondary characters both friend and foe. The book is fast paced and has some really creative world building mixing real and imagined and although the book is targeted for a YA audience, adult readers will also find this very enjoyable.
Growing up on Cusabo Island Anne always knew she wasn’t born into Mama Jane’s family and even though knew she was loved like she was, she knew she was different, for one thing she was born with the healing touch and from a young child had strange dreams that somehow felt familiar and always left her feeling like part of her was missing. Then one day she rescues Phillip a shipwreck victim from drowning and when he wakes up tells her fantastic tales about witching moons and a place called Amaranth, a place where immortals live, a place where she belongs. Anne wants to call it nonsense but in her heart she knows he’s telling the truth. So she says goodbye to the family and only life she’s ever known to meet her destiny. But the journey won’t be easy, there are other immortals who want Anne for themselves and will stop at nothing to get her.

This story was woven so beautifully, the idea, the theme, the concept completely original and impressive, the words of the main character Anne deeply impacting.
So the starting was a bit slow and somewhat confusing to a point, but as the story goes on it touches your heart many a times.
The thrill when you are reading your favorite book, your heart-beating at some points, I felt it all in this book, and the ending was so happy!!!
I’m so glad Anne and Philipp and Anne felt whole again when she met Rowan!!!!!!! (That has to be the best part of the book).
Now for the criticism, so yes I did love this book, but there were a lot of unnecessary things I guess?
And like I said there is a lot of confusion in the starting and the ending just seems a bit aloft and a bit too happy, like the main points are left, we never get to know of her conversation with her old husband AND EVEN AFTER READING 300 PAGES WE STILL DON’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO HER SIBLINGS AND FOSTER MOM!!

So yeah well still it is a fun read once you get to the interesting parts there is NO WAY you can put it down (believe me I tried).

My Rating 4.5 out of 5 stars

This book was such a great read! The story line was gripping and truly sucked you in to this world and you felt like you were there. Absolutely love the book and that amazing beautiful cover!

Witching Moon is a strange book, the writing style is very simple and easy to read, it definitely seems to aim for very young adults (15 and under) with the language and descriptions it uses. While I personally don’t like the simplified language, it did make the book an easy, fast read. However, even though the language is targeted towards a younger audience, there were a few mentions of implied rape, and sex that I though shouldn’t have been put in a book written for younger people. On top of this, I often felt that the pacing was off. Sometimes a lot of events would be happening all at once and the writing would become very sloppy, while other times the book would be in a quieter setting and yet it felt that the author was trying to keep the fast pace up. This for me took me out of the book, so much was going on all at once and I was hoping for a breather in between big events, yet horrible situation after horrible situation kept on assaulting our main character.


Moving on to characters, the relationship between Phillip and Anne didn’t seem right to me, Anne has only been alive for 15 years, whereas Phillip is nearly 300. On top of this, they only knew each other for a couple of weeks, and already decided to be ‘bonded’. I don’t enjoy this older man, younger woman trope, and I would have like this book to be without romance as the main character is a child.

I did think that the book had strong female characters, which I love to see in books for children. Phillip was a good main character, he was a nice, caring man, and I think that that is needed in books too. I liked that Anne and Phillip made sure to help out anyone they came across, I believe that sent a good message. The main villains were interesting, Rex was your typical scary, big male villain, and he definitely was a high risk threat to Anne, however besides marrying Anne to Vallen we never actually find out why he doesn’t want Anne to travel to France. It mentions that anyone who has Anne on their side flourishes but the author made it seem like the French Sept was going to use Anne for conquering, or other nefarious purposes. While the Samurai were also villains in this book I thought they were very much in the background and didn’t have a big impact on the story. I would have liked their motives and characters to be further explored.

Finally, I really enjoyed the atmosphere. The book was based in the American Civil War, and I liked how it didn’t shy away from the use of slaves and slave trading. I think this is a good think when the book is for children as it helps them to learn history. I also enjoyed the talk about Native Americans, however I wish their history was more researched and delved into as I felt that they were so important to this story and yet had such a small aspect. This book had an awesome atmosphere, and I loved that it travelled through many countries, showing both the good and the bad of people. I believe that this book would be alright for younger readers, as long as they have someone to talk to about some of the harsher subjects that are mentioned. Overall I did enjoy reading this, and think that the author did a good job.

I believe this book was not put in the correct genre. Lackluster. Unable to connect with the narration or the characters. It fell incredibly flat for me. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Unfortunately while the premise sounded interesting and it was interesting in the first few pages, this book was very difficult to connect with. The characters weren't very well rounded and it just seemed very fiddle, with many holes in the story and characters. The main character didn't feel as if they were the intended reading audience age which is middle grade, about 11+, because she is an immortal and time is very different in terms of aging with immortals. Interesting premise but unfortunately, not for me.
**Thank you to NetGalley for providing an e-ARC in exchange of an honest review**