Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Young Listeners, P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast, Marie Smith (audio narrator), and Jordan Barton (audio narrator) for the opportunity to read and listen to the audiobook of Draw Down the Moon in exchange for an honest review.

Draw Dawn the Moon is the first book in a duology, and it is a fast-paced, magick-filled romance taking place at an academy for elemental witches. The pacing is brilliant, the conflicts are dark and intriguing, and the overall impact makes for an excellent start to a two-part series. Being a long time fan of House of Night, I was excited to explore another academy-type of novel in the real of paranormal from the mother-daughter writing duo. I am certainly not disappointed, and I think this duology will be one of their best works to date!

Wren's parents are both magickal, harboring elemental powers, but she was not born under one of the astrological moons, meaning she is fated to be a Mundane (basically a regular human being).  On her eighteenth birthday, some semblance of power makes its presence known to her, and instead of saying goodbye to her best friend, Lee, she is abruptly going with him to the Academia de la Luna, a special school for elemental witches.

With alternating first person perspectives, not only does the reader see Wren's first-hand experiences, but Lee's as well. Unlike his best friend, Lee has always known he would be attending the Academy (think of it as kind of like a college, as students attending have already graduated high school). Lee is from a more prestigious magick family and aims to pass the school's trials for a shot at upholding the family name. 

While Lee fight's the attraction he has had for his best friend since, well, forever, Wren is working on navigating just how her magick works. As the female main character, she follows the chosen-one arc in a way that keeps the reader wondering about her powers and just what makes her different, and why. With her newfound friend, Sam, she embarks on a journey to discover her magick, learning that there are darker pieces at play at the academy, and Wren might be on the verge of discovering them.

I greatly enjoyed this novel as a first in a duology. Even though I love House of Night, I do still find the writing style to be a bit immature at times, though this is a young adult novel. Technically. The characters being eighteen and just out of high school makes it lean a bit more in the new adult direction, and there is some more mature ideas being explored, though not crossing the line of the safety that generally comes with a young adult novel. Some of the dialogue is a bit off-putting, yet there are other conversations that truly make the book impossible to put down.

I truly love the characters, I love the conflicts, and I love the incredible end that makes me want to read the next one. I generally don't get too into "witch" type novels, but this one really sucked me in and blew me away! Draw Down the Moon is perfect for lovers of paranormal, magic schools, and dark events. An excellent first book.

I didn't enjoy this book. It is not a bad book. It is just not for me as much. It is the start of a series and for me it is a bad sign when the book ends with a cliffhanger and I just don't care to continue. This is a great book for early HS students who still have that love or fascination with Harry Potter and Twilight. For me, it has already been done. This books isn't bad, but I just didn't like it.

I saw another reviewer share that young adult books like DRAW DOWN THE MOON highlight the disparity within the genre, and I couldn't agree more. It's intended for ages 12-18, which is challenging due to the mental, emotional, and physical growth that occurs during those years. I try to avoid labeling books within the genre because every young adult matures at a different rate. That said, DRAW DOWN THE MOON features characters that have graduated high school, but they present much younger. Their actions, thoughts, and manner of speaking would have made a lot more sense had they been starting their first year of high school.

I struggled while reading due to inconsistencies throughout the book. I always ask myself, "would a young adult notice?", and in this case, I believe that they would. There were several times when I would have to stop reading, go back, and verify that I wasn't crazy for thinking that what I just read didn't match earlier pages. I felt that there were several blatant parallels to a popular young adult series which isn't necessarily something new, but the execution didn't work for me. Additionally, I loved Jordan Barton's performance of Lee, but I didn't really understand the need for Lee's POV throughout the novel. I didn't feel that the book provided enough of a dive into the characters' psyche to warrant chapters narrated through his gaze.

I did appreciate the magic (or in this case, magick) system, and I think that the series has the potential to be a hit with its intended audience.

Is it fair to compare this to books like DIVINE RIVALS and LEGENDBORN? To be honest, I'm not sure. I feel that my rating is appropriate given the aforementioned inconsistencies and parallels to other novels, but a young adult book isn't inherently bad simply based upon the maturity of the characters. Normally, I don't end my reviews with a question, but I am truly curious to know what you think. Please drop a comment below with your thoughts!

Many thanks to Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary copies in exchange for an honest review! PS, I loved Ina Marie Smith's performance as well.

I really tried hard to give this YA fantasy a chance but I just couldn't get into it. I lasted until about the 40% mark but when I wasn't connecting with any of the characters I decided to give up for now. Totally a me thing, I think I'm just not a PC Cast person even though they are super popular with many. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest thoughts!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an arc of the audiobook. All opinions are my own.

I'll be honest, this book wasn't for me. That is not to say that it was a bad book, it just had too many elements that I personally didn't like. So to say that was disappointed would be an understatement.
I was so excited when I found this book. The cover is stunning and the synopsis sounded awesome (awakening powers and a magic school? Sign me up). I thought this was going to be something I would enjoy.
Unfortunately, it took only a few chapters for me to realize I wasn't going to love this and the rest of the book continued to be a struggle. I tried thinking of things I did like about this book but honestly can't come up with any other than that the idea of the story is a fun and unique one. I just wish the execution had been more mature. There were too many things that made me cringe and gave me the irks that I'ls discuss below.

The many, MANY pop-culture references. Gosh, I hate those in fantasy books. They make me cringe every time and draw me out of the fantasy and back to the real world and that's the last thing I want when I read a fantasy book. Before I started this book, I didn't realize this was going to be urban fantasy. And I have nothing against fantasy (I love the Shadowhunters books after all). But here, I didn't like it. It took away the shine of the magical school and all its magical aspects and threw off the balance between magic and reality. I didn't think they blended well together. I understand why the real world had to exist because Wren is supposed to be an ordinary human but I wish it hadn't drawn so much of the story's attention to it.

The friends-to-lovers. This one hurt. A lot. I don't know why I didn't make the connection when I first read the synopsis but I really thought there would at least be some rivalrous tension going on. But there was nothing. No tension, no build-up, nothing. It was so terribly bland I wanted to crY. Because of this, I was not invested in the romance at all and never rooted for the main characters to be together. While Wren may be oblivious to her feelings at first, Lee is a broken record and keeps repeating how into Wren is and how great and wonderful and amazing she is and how she can take care of herself and bla bla... ugh. too lovey-dovey for me. It made me roll my eyes.

I got annoyed by all the characters pretty quickly because of their immaturity. They're all supposed to be eighteen-year-olds yet they act like twelve-year-olds and it just made me cringe more. The way they talked and acted felt very much like an adult trying to recreate teenage personas and dialogues but failing miserably because they don't understand what adolescents are truly like. Because of this, I never really connected with the characters and didn't really care about any of them. My lack of caring for the characters made that I found the trials to be very underwhelming. The stakes weren't high enough for me and the scenes weren't dramatic enough. It all fell rather flat.

Overall this really wasn't for me because I think I was just too old to read such juvenile fiction. That said I do believe this would be a great read for younger teenagers. The writing is very mild and the story lacks anything explicit from cursing or smutty scenes. Overall it's very vanilla and suitable for a younger audience. So if you're a parent looking for a suitable read for your kid, I'd say give this a chance.

That being said, you will probably enjoy this book if you like:
- friends to lovers
- magical school
- pop culture references (many Regency romance and Pride and Prejudice refs)
- close friendships
- cliffhanger
- mystery and secrets

Maybe I would’ve liked this in the written format, but in the audiobook that I received (thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books), I wasn’t able to overcome the compounding little personal irritants from the start.

I didn’t love how many modern-day references were shoved into the first 2 minutes. Seventh Generation dish washer detergent, “Insta”, TikTok, FaceTime, Vans shoes, “epic”, all mentioned in the same breath. We get it, the story is set in current times. One of those references would’ve clued us in on that. But is this book about to be one long sponsorship blurb?

This narrator is endlessly (audibly) smiling, only to be broken up by a heavily exaggerated sad/whimsical tone; it unfortunately just sounded overdone and inauthentic the entire time I was able to keep listening.

Overall, this was entirely too childish for the main characters to have been legal adults. Perhaps the problem doesn’t lie with the writing (voice actor still needs some more experience), but with the lack of genres to properly categorize books. Because this is written for 12 year olds I fear. I would’ve eaten this up pre-puberty. And I’m a fan of YA fantasy, truly! But this was too elementary in tone for me to stomach through. I’m sorry, but thank you so so much for accepting my arc request. I really hope the book industry expands its genre realm in the near future so that this may be properly advertised.

I absolutely adored this YA fantasy book,
I love powers from the moon!
Looking forward to book two!

Publisher's summary
A mystical school. A mysterious death. A magickal romance.
Wren Nightingale isn’t supposed to have any elemental powers. Born of magickal parents but not under one of the four fated astrological full moons, she is destined for life as a Mundane—right up until she starts glowing on her eighteenth birthday. In a heartbeat, Wren’s life is turned upside down, and she’s suddenly leaving her home for the mystical Academia de la Luna—a secret magickal school on a hidden island off the Seattle coast.
Lee Young has always known about his future at the academy. He has three goals: pass the trials, impress the Moon Council, and uphold his family’s reputation. But he wasn’t expecting to be attending alongside the girl he’s been secretly in love with for as long as he can remember.
As Wren and Lee are thrown into the academy’s grueling trials, they quickly learn there’s something different—and dangerous—about the school this year. Wren will have to navigate a web of secrets, prophecies . . . and murder. And Lee will have to decide what to protect: his family’s legacy, or the girl he loves.

Thanks to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for the ALC of this book!

Draw Down the Moon
By: P. C. Cast, Kristin Cast
Narrated by: Ina Marie Smith, Jordan Barton
Series: Moonstruck, Book 1
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Release date: 04-02-24

🪲 Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review. 🪲

I was originally was so excited for this book. I was intrigued in the unique magic system and the cover art caught my eye. I looooove the representation in this book! You have the girls, gays, and theys! As well as POC reps, resulting in a very colorful cast of characters, which we love.

As I listened to the story, I started noticing some errors/plot holes straight away. You have characters saying one thing, then magically forgetting they said that at all the next second. A lot of things were not adding up if you looked into it too much. This irked me like no other. My main ick about this book was the relationship between Wren and Lee. The lack of communication with each other really ruined the story for me. A lot of the story conflict could have been resolved if they had just sat down and had a honest conversation. So if you hate the miscommunication trope, I would steer clear of this book.

So would I recommend this story to others? Even though I don’t think this story was for me, I would recommend it to a younger crowd. Even though our characters are 18-20 years old, I would emphasize the “young” in young adult. I believe high schoolers would enjoy this story and if you don’t care about the story being juvenile or a few bits and pieces of plot not lining up, then give it a try.

*side note: I appreciate the attempt of trying to include ethnic foods into the story, but if you are going to do that, please for the love of jeebuz, have the narrator pronounce it right. Pho is pronounced like beginning of the F word but with a question mark. (Ex. “Fuuu???” Not “Fo”)

This was a fun book! I wish we'd gotten to see Lee get in trouble for being so disloyal to his friends. I understand where he's coming from but that boy is foul for how quickly he abandoned his friends.

2.5 stars rounded up
In general, this one was a miss for me. I didn't realize until 80% into the book that it is meant to be the first in a series, mostly because it wasn't structured as one at all. I felt like there was a lot of hurry up and wait. The pacing was off and unfortunately that was enough of an issue that, even though I liked the world the authors built and the magic system, I'm not compelled to continue the series.

Fast-paced, interesting characters, good narration. Story about friendship, coming of age, and shifting perceptions.

If you are anything like me, you cut your teeth on the House of Night series by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast.....many moons ago! I was thrilled to be given the opportunity (thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press!) to review an ARC audiobook of Draw Down the Moon.

From the very first few chapters of this novel, readers are transported to Moon Isle and the Academia De La Luna, where "moonstruck" young adults are taught to focus their powers as well as given trials to prove their strength. This world of dark academia that Cast does so well is enchanting and very easy to love.

Read this book to see main character Wren Nightingale discover that she is not 'mundane' at all, and that her powers just might be the key to unlocking the secrets of Moon Isle!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this arc in exchange for my review! (The audiobook voices were spot on 💕) -> Some quotes may be different!

✨ Female MC: Wren 🌙
Wren Nightingale isn't supposed to have any powers. Born of magickal parents but not under a moon sign, she was destined for life as a Mundane—right up until she starts glowing on her eighteenth birthday. In a heartbeat, Wren's life is turned upside down, and she's suddenly leaving her home for the mystical Academia de la Luna—a secret magickal school on a hidden island off the Seattle coast.

Wren is such a relatable girl boss that I just want to give a big hug to. She is so scared of change even if it’s what she wants and thinks if she hides her emotions, the feelings will go away. Wren is such a well written character who I immediately fell in love with.

“Wishing for something you can never have is a waste of time”


✨ Male MC: Lee 🌙
Lee Young has always known about his future at the Academia. He has one goal: pass the trials, impress the Moon Council, and uphold his family's reputation. But he wasn't expecting to be attending alongside the girl he's been secretly in love with for as long as he can remember.

Boy do I have a lot to say about Lee…
First off, he fell so hard. Like he even admitted it. He writes POETRY about her. Two words, GREEN FLAG. Where can I find a man like this? I love his snarky retorts, he’s so supportive and JUST SO CUTE… ahem
Lee is torn between a make belief dream of making his parents proud by acting like his sister and saving and helping Wren. The way his emotions are written is so authentic and relatable. You really feel for him, trying to be the perfect child and impress his parents. How he cares about his appearance even when he doesn’t want to. How he tries to be something he’s not.

“If she’s not magical, I don’t know who is”
-> Lee is also Aquarius too!! I’d also be a healer, but I wasn’t born on a full moon (yes, I checked hehe)


✨ Plot 🌙
As Wren and Lee are thrown into the Academie's gruelling trials, they quickly learn there's something different--and dangerous--about the school this year. Wren will have to navigate a web of secrets, prophecies--and murder. And Lee will have to decide who to protect--his family's legacy, or the girl he loves.

I love books that set in (magical) schools and learning about the way things are and I really enjoyed entering this magical world, especially because its set in present times with magical elements, which I wasn’t expecting, but absolutely love. You can relate more and you aren’t overloaded with a completely new world. There was even a ruPaul reference 😭😂
"Shall I remind you of the time you thought Ryan Gosling was cute?"
"No. Never i will never go back."

I love multiple perspectives, although sometimes I got confused and I loved how we got straight into the action. Sometimes the dialogue was confusing and I couldn’t always picture how some of the characters looked. Sometimes I felt like information was missing. (This is mainly why I gave it 4 stars).
I was honestly expecting full on fantasy, but I loved how there was also a hint mystery and adventure.


✨ Wren + Lee 🌙
YALL THIS RELATIONSHIP>>>
Them liking each other is so cute and the way they describe each other AHHHH the whole time your like "JUST TELL EACH OTHER ALREADY!"
"Lee belongs with you, I’ve been waiting for you two to realize you’re more than friends for years"

spoiler: "Lee, I want you, I want us. I’ve missed you so much. I should have trusted you, I should’ve talk to you even if that meant i was gonna hear something that was gonna break my heart”
…
“We could never be nothing wren, never. I love you Wren”
“I love you Lee Young”

I love the way you get both perspectives of how they feel about each other.
“Wren you’re my best friend I could never think you were useless”

“I’m always ok, as long as I’m with you”

The way they weren’t telling each other and thinking the other didn’t like them like that AHHHHHH THE STRESS I FELT 😭 (spoiler) I was so happy that Lily didn’t turn out to be one of those mean girls trying to steal wren from Lee. She saw that they were meant to be and accepted it
"We’re just friends, the sooner I see that, the better"
NO LEE 😭😭

Their friendship is so cute. They have their own inside jokes and you feel like you’re intruding on something and the way Lee lets his walls fall around Wren is so cute and sad and I love them so much 😭
“Lee you scared the crap out of me"
“lies I see no poo”


✨ Overall 🌙
This book was truly magical. The characters were spot on, the plot was enticing and adventurous and this is defiantly one of my new favorites.
Read this for a cute, fun and easy fantasy with a touch of mystery and lots of adventure
Also… THE COVER IS GORGEOUS 💗
✨ 4 golden stars ✨
-> this will be posted to my goodreads acc, if you are planning on writing another book in the series, I will definitely be reading it!

**Review ⭐⭐⭐/5 (3-3.5)**
A fantasy-filled book for younger readers, *Draw Down the Moon* is full of mystery and intrigue. The dual point-of-view story follows Wren Nightingale—a girl born of magikal parents with no powers of her own—and Lee Young—a magikal boy with an powerful family legacy to uphold, who has long been in love with his best friend, Wren. On the night of her 18th birthday, Wren’s life is changed forever when she suddenly manifests magikal powers and is sent with Lee to a secret magik school to learn more about her powers. It’s not long before a murder rocks the school, leaving Wren determined to figure out what happens and Lee to decide whether or not to trust the girl he loves or the world he has grown up in.

>>What I loved: There was a lot of potential in this book with the imagined world and storyline. I like a dual POV, and think this added a positive layer to build out where the series will likely go. I appreciate the attempts to create an inclusive world in terms of the identities and relationships presented throughout the story. I listened to the audiobook version, and enjoyed the great narration for the characters provided by Ina Marie Smith and Jordan Barton.

>>What I didn’t love: If I think about this book in context with other recent YA books I’ve read, I wanted more from almost everything in this book—more depth in world-building, more character development, more relationship development. While the dual POV is probably good for the long term, I felt like I needed more information This is going to be a bit of a rant, but *Draw Down the Moon* underscores a cornerstone frustration for me about the Young Adult genre. There is a ridiculous amount of variety of what we consider “Young Adult” because of the increased marketability of the genre and it has become so challenging to determine what actually belongs within this genre. Usually, my gripe is that we are seeing a lot of books that were clearly written for adults and then they, usually unconvincingly, age down the characters to fit into the YA genre. For me, *Draw Down the Moon* does a different version of this and actually ages up characters that did not need to be older. The characters age of 18 feels completely disconnected from both the way this book is written and the storyline itself, and I’m not sure what was trying to be accomplished by aging the up other than to jump on the romantasy train. The way this book is written reminds me a lot more of a Middle Grade book in terms of the writing style and plot, but with (much) older characters, it sets up expectations that fall flat in terms of the maturity and nuance one might expect in a YA novel. I could see this book actually being great for many middle school aged kids—those transitioning between the Middle Grade and YA genres—but as there isn’t a clear way to market or situate a book like this (even though, many would argue that this is exactly what should be in the YA genre). Ultimately the book feels like it under-delivers on what one might expect with it being marketed as a YA book today, and so I think it may find a hard time finding it’s real audience.

Unfortunately, this book was a little bit of a miss for me. However, I can see a variety of my school students who are aging out of Middle Grade enjoying this book as it is an accessible fantasy romance that will feel more adult to them.

**Acknowledgments & Disclaimers**
✨ Thank you to NetGalley, P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast, and Macmillan Audio/Macmillan Young Listeners, for providing an ARC and the opportunity to share an honest review of this book.
✨ All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
✨ My reviews and ratings strive to evaluate books within their own age-demographic and genre.

I came across this book a few times and was tempted to read it so I was happy when I spotted this on NetGalley. I usually enjoy YA books (a huge plus if they're based on magic), however this one just didn't do it for me. It's a very young adult book, and although the main characters are 18, I feel like this is catered towards a much younger crowd. The premise was a good and interesting one, however it just didnt do it for me.

I did not particularly care for the male narrator of this book, however I was really drawn in to the story. I think I'd like to try this as an eBook before I give a full review as I think my opinion is a little skewed based on the narration.

🌙 Draw Down the Moon 🌙

I’ve been searching for a book that I could recommend to younger teens and even tweens that would still be just as entertaining for adults and this book perfectly fills that role.

It has all of the elements that I love: a magical school, a unique magic system, and an especially sweet best friends to lovers with dual POV so you can see his epic pining. The use of two narrators added so much to this and they both did a phenomenal job being these characters to life.

I also have to praise that fact that Wren’s magical evolution was done so well and not what would be expected. I’m avoiding spoilers, but honestly THANK YOU for not going the typical way.

Side note, I thought this was a standalone and was pleasantly surprised that I get to spend more time with these characters BUT after that cliffhanger I so hope the next book arrives swiftly 🙏🏼🙏🏼

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for this ALC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC in exchange for my honest review.

The premise of this book is super interesting - the moon magic, the trials, the elementals, something dark and mysterious happening at this academy - but the voice was just way too young. I’ve read plenty of YA books as an adult and have not read one that felt way too young for me until now. The characters were 18 years old so I felt like the voice should have felt older, but I would dare say this should be classified more middle grade. While I enjoyed Wren’s POV, Lee’s POV was rather annoying and did not really seem to add much to the story. I likely will not continue this series.

I was drawn into this story right away and constantly curious about what would happen next! Definitely entertaining. I’m a bit of a beginner when it comes to the fantasy genre but I found this generally pretty easy to understand.
Wren grew up knowing about moon magic but had settled into her circumstances of being a mundane despite two magical parents. Until her 18th birthday that is. We get a good ole “yer a wizard Harry” scene before she is whisked off to a magic school with her two best friends. Chaos ensues.
This book reminded me of a deadly education with the school for magic kids where students die (not quite as often) and there are monsters lurking around (elementals) and a mystery about the school to solve. Even a magical book! If you liked a deadly education, this is maybe a younger version of that.
Speaking of young, a lot of this did come off pretty juvenile, especially the drama with the main couple Wren and Lee. However this is clearly marketed as YA so can’t be mad at that.
I did feel like a lot of questions were left unanswered but this will be a series so I expect to hopefully get more background in the next books.
Entertaining, but overall felt a little too young to me. 3.5 stars.

I think the best visual representation I can give of my feelings about this book would be a person slowly realizing they are suffering from one of the worst headaches of their life while sitting at an extraordinarily messy desk. First they put their fingers to their temple, lean their head in. Slowly those fingers weave into their hair, palm to forehead. There’s a hint of disbelief in their expression slowly giving way to a grimace. That grimace disappears for about half a second but comes back full force as they suddenly have to have both palms on their forehead, elbows on the desk, head down. Light begins to fade and now their face is hiding in crossed arms because we really just can’t have anything more to do with that mess right now.

Whew. That was…something.

I recognize that I may have been a little harsh with that description there because the truth that I do absolutely need to recognize is that this is a young adult book for…young teens. It is exceedingly clear in the writing and characterization of <i>literally everyone</i> that I am not a good target audience for this. And as someone who does quite often read these sort of books with the goal of having a huge repertoire of book recommendations for her students, I can see some merit.

But my goodness was this an eye-roll inducing, aghast cringing, and shaking your head in disgust and disappointment read for me.

If I’d read this when I was 10, I probably would have <i>loved</i> every second of it. And in that regard, because there’s nothing inherently problematic or bad—though the miscommunication “I like her but she doesn’t like me” coupled with “I like him but he doesn’t like me” nonsense comes close—about the book as a whole, I think 3-stars and a recommendation for fantasy minded 9-12 year olds fits pretty well.

As far as my criticisms go, I’ll just include the list below and let everyone else decide for themselves:

- main male character is cheesy corny for a good section of the book and mopey misery, but determined to prove himself for the rest
— I liked him better when he was mopey misery determined; cheesy corny made me want to cry
- main female character was…annoying and very chosen one cookie cutter
- best female friend was so incredibly annoying that the end of book plot twist had zero emotional impact for me
- the plot was very chosen one + corrupt chosen one wannabe cookie cutter (you also saw it coming a MILE away)

It’s not the worst. It’ll get your fantasy loving kids really interested in continuing their reading journey into other areas. The character development is very surface-level and poorly done, but it’s okay for an introduction. I’m sure it will be a nostalgic favorite for a lot of kids. Don’t get me wrong, I have some of those and I love them despite knowing how bad they are.

So, take from that what you will.

The narrators were good. I have zero complaints about them and I quite enjoyed the fact that it was in alternating points of view.