Moonlands by Steven Savile
Genre: Young Adult/Urban Fantasy
Goodreads Summary:
Ashley Hawthorne thinks of herself as the Cuckoo Girl. No matter where she is it feels like she doesn’t quite belong.
Everything changes when her eccentric aunt, Elspeth Grimm, leaves her the key to a safety deposit box in a bank that was destroyed during the Blitz. That box contains the first part of her true inheritance: an umbrella, a battered old notebook, a pair of aviator’s goggles and a locket. Each of these gifts is a unique part of who she really is.
Elspeth is a Grimm, a descendent of the brothers who purged this world of monsters by trapping them within the Concord. She is the Oracle. A keeper of all the knowledge we have amassed about the creatures of the Fae and other worlds. And someone intent on destroying the Concord has murdered her!
**Spoiler Free Review**
Publication Date: 15th April 2015
I was sent a copy of this book from BadPress, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. This is another book which I had heard nothing about and I was very interested in the premise, particularly as it was an urban fantasy book set in London, which I haven't really seen much of before.
Just because I only gave this book three and half stars does not mean I didn't enjoy it. I did, I really liked it and found it a fun read. However, I think I was at the wrong age to read this and nothing really leaped out to me to make me want to read more.
The story follows young Ashley Hawthorne who discovers that there are whole other worlds beyond that of ours and that she is actually a huge part of it. I felt like so much happened in one book and I often wanted it to slow down a bit to maybe flesh out the more two-dimensional characters and to explore more about what was going on. I'm not one hundred per cent sure if this is a stand alone novel but it kind of felt like one and I don't think I'll be picking up the rest if there are any more. That's not to say it was a bad book though.
Many of the characters were interesting and if you enjoy urban fantasy, werewolves and magic then you will definitely enjoy picking up this book. It was fast-paced, interesting and it did keep me turning the page to find out more. I especially loved the incredibly creepy creature that destroyed a person's senses (which, in description, reminded me of The Gentlemen from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and I found it very eerie and sinister.
One thing that did make me a bit less enthused about the book was the Moonlands themselves, as they felt pretty flat and I couldn't imagine so much of it. There was very little description about the world which is also why I feel another book would be useful to explore that. I was so interested in this new place but there was so little about it that I feel like some of the book was missing.
I think if you're in your early-mid teens and enjoyed The Mortal Instruments then you would probably enjoy this book too. I know many people will enjoy the romance that develops in the book and the action towards the end was extremely well written. The author is incredibly talented but I just wish the world was a bit more fleshed out. Overall it was a very solid book but it just wasn't for me!
Ashley Hawthorne thinks of herself as the Cuckoo Girl. No matter where she is it feels like she doesn’t quite belong.
Everything changes when her eccentric aunt, Elspeth Grimm, leaves her the key to a safety deposit box in a bank that was destroyed during the Blitz. That box contains the first part of her true inheritance: an umbrella, a battered old notebook, a pair of aviator’s goggles and a locket. Each of these gifts is a unique part of who she really is.
Elspeth is a Grimm, a descendent of the brothers who purged this world of monsters by trapping them within the Concord. She is the Oracle. A keeper of all the knowledge we have amassed about the creatures of the Fae and other worlds. And someone intent on destroying the Concord has murdered her!
**Spoiler Free Review**
Publication Date: 15th April 2015
I was sent a copy of this book from BadPress, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. This is another book which I had heard nothing about and I was very interested in the premise, particularly as it was an urban fantasy book set in London, which I haven't really seen much of before.
Just because I only gave this book three and half stars does not mean I didn't enjoy it. I did, I really liked it and found it a fun read. However, I think I was at the wrong age to read this and nothing really leaped out to me to make me want to read more.
The story follows young Ashley Hawthorne who discovers that there are whole other worlds beyond that of ours and that she is actually a huge part of it. I felt like so much happened in one book and I often wanted it to slow down a bit to maybe flesh out the more two-dimensional characters and to explore more about what was going on. I'm not one hundred per cent sure if this is a stand alone novel but it kind of felt like one and I don't think I'll be picking up the rest if there are any more. That's not to say it was a bad book though.
Many of the characters were interesting and if you enjoy urban fantasy, werewolves and magic then you will definitely enjoy picking up this book. It was fast-paced, interesting and it did keep me turning the page to find out more. I especially loved the incredibly creepy creature that destroyed a person's senses (which, in description, reminded me of The Gentlemen from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and I found it very eerie and sinister.
One thing that did make me a bit less enthused about the book was the Moonlands themselves, as they felt pretty flat and I couldn't imagine so much of it. There was very little description about the world which is also why I feel another book would be useful to explore that. I was so interested in this new place but there was so little about it that I feel like some of the book was missing.
I think if you're in your early-mid teens and enjoyed The Mortal Instruments then you would probably enjoy this book too. I know many people will enjoy the romance that develops in the book and the action towards the end was extremely well written. The author is incredibly talented but I just wish the world was a bit more fleshed out. Overall it was a very solid book but it just wasn't for me!
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