Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez {review}

Woven in Moonlight
by Isabel Ibañez
♦publisher: Page Street Books
♦release date: January 7th, 2020
♦hardcover, 384 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦series: Woven in Moonlight, book 1

A lush tapestry of magic, romance, and revolución, drawing inspiration from Bolivian politics and history.

Ximena is the decoy Condesa, a stand-in for the last remaining Illustrian royal. Her people lost everything when the usurper, Atoc, used an ancient relic to summon ghosts and drive the Illustrians from La Ciudad. Now Ximena’s motivated by her insatiable thirst for revenge, and her rare ability to spin thread from moonlight.

When Atoc demands the real Condesa’s hand in marriage, it’s Ximena’s duty to go in her stead. She relishes the chance, as Illustrian spies have reported that Atoc’s no longer carrying his deadly relic. If Ximena can find it, she can return the true aristócrata to their rightful place.

She hunts for the relic, using her weaving ability to hide messages in tapestries for the resistance. But when a masked vigilante, a warm-hearted princess, and a thoughtful healer challenge Ximena, her mission becomes more complicated. There could be a way to overthrow the usurper without starting another war, but only if Ximena turns her back on revenge—and her Condesa.

{Review}

Step into Ximena's world of two warring lands, two peoples willing to fight for their convictions, where her role as the Condesa's decoy will challenger her to her limits. I so enjoyed this story. So action-packed and full of emotion, danger, magic, romance, mystery, and most memorably, culture and food. Ooooh, the descriptions of the food,(seriously Page Street---we need a Woven in Moonlight cookbook immediately) the bright colors and textures of the clothing, the sights and sounds of a bustling and lively city. The story itself was really beautifully written, but I found myself absolutely enchanted with the south american-inspired worldbuilding.

Ximena is immediately a character to root for. While there is much love and loyalty to the true Condesa that she serves to protect, she is clearly a frustrated girl feeling stuck in the life of pretending to be someone else.  When she is wisked far from her familiar life, her loneliness and lost sense of self is palpable.  Still, she fights, putting up a determined and fierce front.  The story takes off in a shot, settles into a bit of a lull, and then picks up again as things get more and more complicated for Ximena. Her feisty will, strong beliefs, and grounding in the Illustrian history are all tested as she discovers the truth behind the people she has always known as the enemy. The magic, while intriguing and original, was lacking a little in explanation. I felt a need to know more about why this magic existed, why it was forbidden, and why different people had different abilities, and why her magic suddenly changed the way it did.  The change was fun and added an quirky twist to parts of the story, but I still felt the need to know more details.

There's no shortage of thrilling fight scenes,  the mystery and romantic tension between the masked vigilante is swoon-worthy without taking over the story, and there's a hearty lesson intertwined in the adventure that there is always more than one side to any struggle. The ending leaves you with a perfect blend of heartbreak and triumph.  A great debut, and I'll definitely be looking forward to more from this author!

{About The Author}

Isabel Ibañez was born in Boca Raton, Florida, and is the proud daughter of two Bolivian immigrants. A true word nerd, she received her degree in creative writing and has been a Pitch Wars mentor for three years. Isabel is an avid movie goer and loves hosting family and friends around the dinner table. She currently lives in Winter Park, Florida, with her husband, their adorable dog, and a serious collection of books. 

WEBSITE   •   TWITTER  •   INSTAGRAM

Purchase the book:  Indiebound  •  BookDepository  •  Amazon

source: book provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer {review}

Echo North
by Joanna Ruth Meyer
♦publisher: Page Street Kids
♦release date: January 15th, 2019
♦hardcover, 389 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦stand-alone

Echo Alkaev’s safe and carefully structured world falls apart after her father leaves for the city and mysteriously disappears. Believing he is lost forever, Echo is shocked to find him half-frozen in the winter forest six months later, guarded by a strange talking wolf—the same creature who attacked her as a child. The wolf presents Echo with an offer: for her to come and live with him for a year. But there is more to the wolf than Echo realizes.

In his enchanted house beneath a mountain, Echo discovers centuries-old secrets, a magical library full of books-turned-mirrors, and a young man named Hal who is trapped inside of them. As the year ticks by, Echo must solve the mystery of the wolf’s enchantment before her time is up—otherwise Echo, the wolf, and Hal will be lost forever.

{My Thoughts}

Beautiful.  Absolutely gorgeous writing and storytelling. From the moment I started this, I was lured in and completely enchanted until the final page. Echo North definitely exuded the feel of fairy tales of old. Grimm, Anderson,...you'll expect to find this one tucked in among these collections. The language, the atmosphere, the determination of the heroine. It all melds together to unfold this special story of redemption and love. 

In this retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon, Echo Alkaev finds herself fleeing her home and tricked into living with the mysterious wolf who seems to have followed her through life since he scarred her as a child. What she finds is an enchanted house containing dangerous rooms that must be bound by a magical thread. Toward the middle the story ambles a bit, but I never felt bored. Echo's bond with the wolf is in constant flux as she works to both uncover his secrets and save him from his own imprisonment in the house. each door reveals a new secret, and her world opens up even wider with the discovery of the mysterious library of mirrors. The second part takes on a wildly unexpected turn---the whole feel and direction of the story shoots off in an expected direction. It was a little jarring but surprising and exciting as well! 

Such a great story and I definitely plan on reaching for more from this author in the future, and possible checking out her debut, Beneath the Haunting Sea, as well! 

{About The Author}

Joanna Ruth Meyer hails from Mesa, Arizona, where she lives with her dear family, a rascally feline, and an enormous grand piano. When she’s not writing, she’s trying to convince her students that Bach is actually awesome, or plotting her escape from the desert. She loves good music, thick books, looseleaf tea, rainstorms, and staring out of windows. One day, she aspires to own an old Victorian house with creaky wooden floors and a tower (for writing in, of course!).

WEBSITE   •   TWITTER  •   INSTAGRAM

Purchase the book:  Indiebound  •  BookDepository  •  Amazon

source: book provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review