As a result of my various committee appointments and commitments I am unable to disclose my personal thoughts on this title at this time. Please see my star rating for a general overview of how I felt about this title. Additionally, you may check my GoodReads for additional information on what thoughts I’m able to share publicly. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this and any other titles you are in charge of.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Witching Moon in exchange for an honest review.

I got Witching Moon off of the YA section of Netgalley and immediately when I started it I knew that wasn't where it should have been shelved. Sure enough, this was also put under middle grade, but I honestly think the narration style would only really work in kidlit. The narration is very, very, heavy handed and it left me bored and unable to connect to anything here.

The story is good, but it was a little slow. The plot took longer to kick in than I would hope, but it is interesting and engaging once it gets going. The workd building was also beautiful.

2.5 stars

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for an ARC.

The synopsis of this book is what drew me in to request it. While it sounds amazing, it just didn't hit that mark for me. It was well below the hopes I had for it.

I really struggled with the first half of this book. I almost DNF it but I told myself I needed to finish it. The reason I struggled with this book is mostly the main character, Anne. I didn't feel like I had any connection with her and I felt like there was hardly any character development. I also had issues trying to figure out what Era it took place. There is mention of towns in the USA and slaves but no cars but there was a train at some point. I didn't think the world building was that great so I also struggled with that.

I believe this book had a lot of potential and could be so much more. The story line was great, but a bunch of the other stuff fell flat for me.

I don't think at this time I would recommend it.

I think the book is more for a yonger audience i had a hard time conecting to it. I also would have liked to see more show me instead of telling me in the writing.

I found myself completely immersed in this fantasy, eagerly following Anne's journey.

This was very well written. Set in the time of the Civil War, the author deftly weaves in the issue of slavery without moralizing.

The writing us clean, the characters well written. I look forward to the author's next book.

I received a free copy and am leaving my honest review.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I’ve been looking for some fantasy books that I could enjoy that were less dense than something like game of thrones. This book definitely delivered. The main character Anne is thrown head first into a world she didn’t even know existed a day ago and finds out the truth about who she is. It has a nice blend of magic in the world we already know and understand. I was left feeling like I needed to know what happened after the end of the book. If you liked The Starless Sea I think you will enjoy this book

Unfortunately I could not get engaged into this book. I know it's middle grade and therefore aimed at children, but the writing itself felt young. One of my biggest reading pet peeves is telling, and this book was full of it. I wish this author nothing but success, this book was just not for me.

*This eARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I was initially intrigued by the idea behind this book but sadly upon completion I found that I felt disappointed. The idea is a good one but finally we learn very little about Anne, her people and their powers which left me curious for more details. She has strange dreams and healing abilities, feels drawn to Phillip without really understanding why and memories of a sister. They head for Amaranth (clearly St. Michael's Mount in Normandy) yet we are given very little detail about this place, its origins or about its role. Equally, little is made clear about the various groups of immortels throughout the world.

Their journey to Amaranth is fraught with setbacks but it still feels as if the journey is meandering along and getting nowhere. I feel this book needs work to make it more exciting and perhaps open up opportunities for more details about the immortels which could in turn provide opportunities for more narratives in subsequent novels. But for the moment there is not sufficient suspense to make me want to read a second volume.

More work would certainly produce a book with great potential.

The characterizations were well done. The plot was intriguing and maintained my attention. The pacing was well done, and held my attention. I really thought of story structure when I was reading this book. I truly believe the author did a really good job.

I wasn't able to finish this book as I found the format of the text hard to read, also I didn't connect to the story. I will try rereading closer to publication and see if I can review it then as it may be a case of this not being the right time for me to connect with the book.