*Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for an audio arc in exchange for an honest review*

Werewolves? Historical setting? AND it’s gay? SIGN ME UP OH MY GOD

I’m always on the hunt for queer historical fantasies, and when I saw this one? I was immediately hooked and this audiobook was PHENOMENAL! I only took off a star because I feel like the first 10% were a little confusing, but after that, I was HOOKED and could not put it down.

The characters? Amazing. The villain? Oh my god yes. The romance? LOVED IT. The ending? Screaming into a pillow because it’s perfect. And the ending has an unexpected relationship dynamic that I don’t want to spoil but it is perfect for all the characters involved.

If you want a historical fantasy that is queer and has werewolves, look no further than The Alchemy of Moonlight by David Ferraro!

The Alchemy of Moonlight is a queer retelling of The Mysteries of Udolpho. Emile is our main character in this book, and he ends up running away to hide as a servant due to his aunt telling him he must marry, or he will be disowned. With the family he is working for, he starts to notice strange things happening on full moons. Also, he ends up finding a body on the estate and because of this he catches the eye of a handsome doctor and the counts nephew, Henri. As he is trying to sort out the mystery at the Manor he works at and sort out his feelings, his identity is uncovered, and his aunt ends up coming to get him. However, once his aunt shows up, the Count forces everyone to depart to the remote Udolpho Castle. The Udolpho Castle is a place where no one can witness anything and where no one can escape.

Let's take a few seconds and admire the cover. The cover art is so gorgeous and very eye catching, which is the main reason on why I requested this book in the first place.

David Ferraro does a great job with setting up the world in this book and makes you, the reader feel like you are there. This book does an amazing job of having that dark, gothic feel to it.

The werewolves were super cool in this book, and I always like seeing what lore authors use with paranormal creatures (ie. vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, etc).

The characters were greatly developed, but I wish the interactions between them were flushed out better with more in depth interactions instead of it just scraping the surface of basic interactions.

The pacing was a hit or miss, but I think that could be due to the narration of this audiobook.

The biggest issue with this book I had was the love triangle. When I was 12 and discovered Twilight back in 2007, love triangles were the biggest trope you would find, and I was a sucker for them. Now, at 27, I am just not the biggest fan of love triangles. An author has to pull off the execution very well for me to enjoy the love triangle trope, but most of the time I feel like it cannot be pulled off well and just makes it feel annoying because you have a character being super indecisive on who they truly want, which just makes me want to yell at the character to pick someone.

Other than all that, I thought this book was pretty good, which is why I rated it 3.5/5 stars and I think a lot of people will enjoy this book still.

SO DAMN CUTE and the narration is SUPERB. lovely lgbtq+ representation and characters with amazing depth.

I am torn about this book.

The writing was good. The plot was really interesting, and I never really knew what was going to happen or how it would all turn out. There were some things that took me by surprise, and I liked the ending a lot. The supernatural elements were really interesting too. There were moments where it even felt more like horror to me, which really added to the mysterious, gothic vibes.

Also, this felt like quintessential YA where there are hot guys popping up everywhere, and of course they’re into the main character, and also rich and/or successful, and also maybe paranormal, except this time it was queer, and you know what? That was fun!

…Which made it all the more unfortunate that the romances (love triangle) lacked depth. It was just Emile thinking, “I have feelings for him! But I have feelings for him too! But I miss him! But I love him!” except I didn’t actually feel any of it. I didn’t even know what he was feeling for either of them in between these occasional mental updates. Henri and Bram both seemed interesting, and Emile’s relationship with each was so different, and Henri and Bram had their own history of friendship and animosity, so there was so much that could’ve been explored and shown. It could’ve been so great.

Another thing, lots of characters did a lot of flip flopping of emotions and reasons and actions, in ways that didn’t feel natural. They also did a lot of things that didn’t make sense and seemed to be just for the sake of setting up certain situations in the story.

I have no complaints about the audiobook narration though. Will Watt was great! He sounded so natural and suited the character perfectly. He did different enough voices and accents for each character. He brought the story to life so well.

Overall, I did enjoy this, just not as much as I would’ve had the romance elements been more fleshed out and had certain things seemed a little less forced. But this was a queer, fun, occasionally horrifying, mysterious, gothic, paranormal story.

This audiobook was really fun to listen to. The narrator spoke with a lot of emotion and the characters feelings were conveyed through the tone really well. I loved it how distinct each character felt and I never had to double check who was speaking because it would always be clear through the way the narrator gave the characters each their own voice. The pace of the book was at a good level for me and I rarely lost attention because the voices captured me so well.

The story was quite entertaining, albeit being slightly predictable. But I will honestly admit, I like predictable stories. Nonetheless it was a fun mystery to see Emlle figure out what illness the family were struggling with and make his own conclusions with time.

At the same time that Emlle is trying to figure out what is happening in the Montoni mansion he's hiding from his aunt because of him being gay. While a homophobic aunt was the catalyst of this story starting, it was nice that the book didn't make it full of homophobia. There were secret feelings and the likes, but there were no internal monologues where Emile was having homophobic feelings and that made it a lot better to listen to. I liked it as well that there were people in his surroundings that fully supported him (and maybe more :P ) to all together not make it a negative book. On the contrary I loved how open and free the characters were and enjoyed one another's company.

This book is full of romance that I really enjoyed. However I do have to say that one relationship started off a bit problematic, and it took me way longer to get over that than that Emile did. The character in question quite redeemed himself, but it sat wrong in my stomach for a while. The other love interest was lovely and sweet all the way through and I was way more drawn to him than to the other. Their interactions were fun and they cared for one another well. The kissing scenes I really enjoyed as well and were written in a way that was really capturing and then told through the narrator very immersing pulling me right into the whirlwind of emotions.

In conclusion I think this is a great book that gives a lovely polyam story with high mystery and horror vibes.

I never knew where this book was leading. it was so good. The mystery. The romance. The magic. I loved every second of it. Its a slow burn, but its worth the build. SO GOOD!

I decided to request this audiobook because I read so many good reviews on Goodreads during May, and because of this, my expectation was pretty high. Unfortunately, I didn't really enjoy this book.

I like Ferraro's writing style and the premise of this book. Also, the audiobook is produced wonderfully. What went wrong, for me, is the plot and the logic behind it, I guess my 12-year-old self would have enjoyed this, but, at 23 I could see every next move, every twist and I had no interest in going on reading (it took me a month to read this! A MONTH!). Every character fell flat to me, the main character felt extremely childish and quite insufferable to me, the villains were evil just for the sake of it, they gave off classic-cartoonish villain vibes, I didn't understand the choice of two love interests, and the love triangle, since it ends in polyamory of sorts, I wish the poly aspect would've explained more and explored further, I would've set precedence in young adult fantasy for this kind of love story.
The fantasy aspect was very secondary, and I wish it would've been more central to the story.

This was an interesting read. I was a little hesitant as this idea has been done several times before but this was a really cool take on the idea. I loved the characters and the horror aspect of this book. I don't think this book is for everyone but it was still great.

This was a fun easy shifter romance/mystery. I'll admit that the pacing was a little off BUT I love some character driven plot and that is ultimately what we got. I'm intrigued to see what the author writes next and will hope for some general improvements

A bit of a slow start. A lot of character and world building in the first half of the book.Which wasn't a bad thing, it just wasn't very interesting to me. It did make me almost dnf because I really wanted to get to the supernatural stuff and danger. Finally in the second half things pick up, and by the end I was hooked. It is a standalone book, but I would love a sequel.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ALC copy of this book.

This was a very exciting read and while it did not feel like anything new, it was very enjoyable and entertaining.
I did like Emile, but his actions often made me roll my eyes at him.
Henri is another story. It was hard to like him, especially at first, but he did go through some great character development, arguably much more than the MC and by the end, I actually cared for him.
The plot felt a bit repetitive toward the end ( <spoiler>How many times can you flee and be stopped by the same person?</spoiler> ), but I enjoyed the ending itself very much. <spoiler> Finally a love triangle that ends in polyamory! </spoiler> I did wish for the characters to come to their conclusions more naturally though, it often felt like too big a leap with not enough groundwork.
Even though the story was predictable most of the time, I found myself very emotional at every twist and turn right alongside the characters.
The Fantasy aspects of the book were played up a lot in the first half for them to not be as big of a plot device in the second half. Overall, this was more of a love story than anything else.
The audio book narrator did a great job and I really liked listening to the book.
So, all in all, an enjoyable read, but nothing groundbreaking.

This was great and magical and amazing, and about 100 pages too long. I would've loved it had we trimmed the edges just a little bit more.

I seem to be somehow picking all of the retellings of classic books I’ve never read! I was surprised to discover that this was a retelling, but I am a sucker for supernatural and gothic literature and this did not disappoint.

In the words of Stefon from SNL, this book has everything. “Gay romance, haunted castles in the middle of dark woods, foggy nights filled with the sounds of screams, severed hands, and references to other classic gothic and horror literature for those paying close attention.” Don’t think any of those subtle references got past me! I see you, Bram.

I adored everything about this book. There is a lively cast of characters– and some not so lively, haha, get it? I’ll stop now. Maybe. This story had everything I loved about gothic romances and classic monster horror. The atmosphere was astounding. All of the dark corners of the old castles and the twists and turns of the misty hedge labyrinth– it was all just dripping with mystery and spoopyness. The settings are almost characters in their own rights, just like with any good gothic story. But back to the actual characters. I fell in love with Bram and Henri right along with our dashing main character. (Especially Henri, who am I kidding. My goodness that man.)

I think my only complaint with the book might be that some of the main character’s internal dialogue gets a bit repetitive by the end, as it is mostly a revolving door of will I forgive this darkly charismatic guy for the questionable things he is getting up to or will I run off with the tall dark and handsome doctor. To be fair though, there is good reason for the whole “who will I choose?” plot point, so it doesn’t bother me as much as it normally would. I do wish we could have gotten more scenes of the monsters being monsters and doing their monster-y things as most of the book is trying to keep the secret of what is actually going on when the description of the book is pretty clear what is going on with the family.

Those small complaints aside, I spent most of the book swooning with Emile over our two leading men (and Blanche, too, let’s be real) and being excited by all the monsters and gothic atmosphere. There was even one scene in particular that actually creeped me out a bit, and I am a huge horror buff that does not get scared very easily. (Actually there are two scenes that creeped me out, but the first scene is because it would creep out anyone. That suit of armor oh. my. god. If you know you know. SHUDDERS.)

Cheers to this book and “To living in sin in full view of everyone.”

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

The Alchemy of Moonlight was such an incredibly atmospheric audiobook! 

You're introduced to Emile, the main character, who has the challenge of navigating being a servant despite the fact that he is secretly a marquis. This presented so many funny opportunities between characters and instantly had me hooked and wanting more. He's faced with challenges of mysterious lights at night and strange limbs around the family estate he's serving. Throughout all this, he also finds himself developing friendships and, in some cases, more. I absolutely loved the representation of a gay character in a time period where it was not considered socially acceptable, and I really thought the author did well to show the social stigma of sexuality.

The plot was fun, and I really enjoyed the dark gothic elements as well as the romance. I also thought the use of different locations in the story kept things exciting and worked well, especially in the later stages of the plot line. I also particularly enjoyed the narrator, and I think he was definitely well suited to the characters and made the whole thing feel more engaging and helped build suspense. 

This would be a great pick if you're interested in LGBTQ representation in books and also love a great gothic atmosphere! Overall, I enjoyed it and thought the audiobook was well worth a listen.

Thank you to the authors and publishers for giving me an audio copy of The Alchemy of Moonlight in exchange for an honest review.

Welcome to my stop on TBR & Beyond Book Tours' release celebration tour for The Alchemy of Moonlight by David Ferraro! For my stop I will be sharing my review of the book, but be sure to head over to the tour schedule (link in bio) or more content from the other hosts!

QOTD: Have you listened to any audiobooks recently?

While reading my physical copy, I also listened to the audiobook version of The Alchemy of Moonlight, which I strongly recommend if you’re an audiobook person! The story is made even spookier by this format! The suspense was heightened for me, and I really couldn’t stop listening!

The story itself was a very unique blend of queer historical fiction and horror, which was unlike anything I’ve read in a long time! The gothic castle setting and the “monster terrorizing the woods” elements were both fantastic, and convinced me that I need to read more books with gothic settings!

My Recommendation:
If you love a good spooky novel, and are pining away for Halloween even in June, you should grab a copy of The Alchemy of Moonlight!

Content warnings: Mentions of dead bodies, gore, homophobia

Disclaimer: I received an audiobook ARC from NetGalley

Some mild spoilers in my review but I'll try not to spoil anything major. The first chapter hooked me instantly and I was immediately interested in the cast of characters, not to mention, finding a disembodied limb is a great way to generate the atmosphere and tone of the rest of the book. There were a few times where the breaks between tension felt a bit too long but overall that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story. The overall ending was very satisfying. Loose threads were all tied up. This was a nice gruesome gothic horror.

*some spoilers below*

I'm not a big fan of love triangles; I'm more of a poly person. I worried that I was going to be disappointed by the inevitable choice because I loved both love interests but I was pleasantly surprised at the end. I'm very happy that was the route chosen because it seems to fit those characters. When one of them seemed to be removed permanently, I was ready to quit and I'm so glad I didn't.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting take on werewolves, but it did take a bit for the narrative to get to the core of the mythology around the wolves. There were some very spooky moments, especially those with all the spiders. In all this was a decent fantasy and I enjoyed how werewolves were contained within one family as their family curse instead of werewolves being make through biting people.

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me the audiobook!

2.5/5 Stars

The beginning started off very strong for myself, the author does a good job of getting you invested in the characters very early on. Although I found *spoiler* the plot of werewolves came in very late in the story. Which left the middle in this lull where I lost interest, and have a hard time recalling what happened during this period. As a person who loves higher fantasy this was not the book for me but if you like lower fantasy which are character drive I would give this a chance!

I enjoyed this one. I thought the premise and setting were unique and well done. I was not sure where the romance was going to go and flipped between both of the love interests throughout the book. I thought the mystery around the murders happening was intriguing and overall thought this was a great fantasy.

I listened to the audiobook and thought the narration was done well. The production and narration really portrayed the atmosphere of the setting. I would recommend!

I received an ARC of the audiobook through Netgalley. The book comes out May 30.

Fun paranormal romance that is (and I mean this literally) The Mysteries of Udolpho, but gay and with werewolves. It is literally a gay werewolf adaptation of Udolpho. The beginning and end are looser adaptations, but the middle is almost beat for beat, and most of the characters are straightforwardly adapted (Emily becomes Emile, but Montoni is Montoni, and Annette and Ludovico are identical to their originals). There is a love triangle (not the same one in Udolpho, actually), that I was skeptical of at first but did not play out in the tired pattern I expected.

PNR is not a favorite subgenre of mine, but I thought this was a lot of fun, with lots of little Easter Egg name drops of characters from other 19th C. literature. Low heat-- multiple sensual kissing scenes and cuddling.

ETA: the dialogue is vaguely period but with frequent modern slips, which was one of the few things about the book I did not like (I prefer consist period dialogue in histrom, but if you're going modern, just embrace it completely).