This was an enjoyable read. I liked the characters and the sense of mystery throughout the book. I wish the potential romances were a little more fleshed out, and I felt like the ending was very rushed. I wanted more details about Jess’ history, Lorenzo’s story, what might happen with Matteo, who Rune really is, etc. It just felt a little abrupt. I thought the world building could have used a little more detail, although overall this was well thought out. Overall this is a good read, I definitely enjoyed it and would recommend this to others looking for a good fae/vamp/mage/shifter story with a little bit of romance too.

Luna by Rae Else

📓Genre: YA Fantasy
Star: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 (3.7 stars rounded to 4 stars)

🔖 Luna by Rae Else is the first book of the The Dark Between fantasy series.
🔖The story follows a young girl named, Jess, who discovers that she in fact, isn't exactly 'ordinary'. But that knowledge comes to her at a time when she finds herself being convicted of a murder she doesn't remember committing.
🔖The book has some very common elements of YA fantasy including wolves, magic etc. But the writing style is engaging and that helps in keeping the story interesting.
🔖Being a series starter, the story does focus on introducing characters and setting the scene. For readers who are new to this genre, it can be a bit of work to keep up with all the new elements of the fantastical world created by the author. But if you love fantasy novels like I do – then it should be easy to follow and quite fascinating.
🔖Jess is a strong and likable character who shows enough determination and spirit to pull off her role as the protagonist of the tale.
🔖Although this is a complete story on its own, there are of course, many questions left unanswered, as is normal with books that belong to a series. But that's what will keep the readers eagerly waiting for the next one!
🔖Overall, this was an enjoyable read and I would definitely look forward to the next in the series.

🔸Final Verdict: Good
🔸Book Cover: I personally loved the cover, specially the theme hue.
🔸Writing Style: Lucid
🔸Character Development: Good

✨Many thanks to Anchorite Publishing (Publisher) and Netgalley for sending me the ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

.
.
#Luna #NetGalley #arc #bookreview


****This review has also been posted on Facebook, Instagram & Goodreads.****

Prone to rage blackouts Jess has been moved from foster home to foster home her entire life. After settling in a good home she’s shocked when she wakes to find herself covered in her murdered sister blood. Soon she is arrested and sent to a prison for magical creatures and has to question who killed her sister - was it her or someone else?

I really liked all of the characters in the book; all were very unique and had their own voices which I think is quite hard to find in some books these days. The plot was really interesting, with the majority of it being set in a prison. However, I wish we’d had more of Matteo’s POV’s just because it showed the world building that we were being told in Jess’ POV’s.

The writing style wasn’t my fave. I got a bit confused at the start with who was who because there was a lot of she/her’s being used, but I don’t know if that’s just because I’d just read a book in first person. There was also a lot of info dumps at times, which I got bored of and skimmed through. The plot is very unique and kept me interested throughout, but I felt everything progressed a bit too slowly for my liking.

That being said, I did enjoy the book and the concept. It was all very unique and the overall series could go in any direction. Nothing about this book was predictable, which I loved. Personally, would market it for fans of TOG over ACOTAR - but if you love paranormal/fantasy books you’ll probably enjoy this one.

Rated ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you so much to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for a chance to have an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Luna
book one in The Dark Between Series
By Rae Else
I really liked this book.
The main character is named Jess,
Jess has had a hard life going in and out of foster care her whole life after being found in a forest as a baby, Pus her mental break downs when she goes wild and hurts people, after which she can't remember a thing about or what she had done.
Things get worse when one night her foster sister is killed and the blame is put on her, her world is turn upside down.
She's told that she's a (Rem) a shifters who can turn into a white wolf, but would she really kill her sister even as a wolf.
She's giving a counselor name (Matto) who is a Rom, he can turn into a black wolf and is in a way her enemy, he says he's going to try and find a way to hlep her, but can she really trust him?
There is alot more to the story then meets the eye.
Jess finds her self in a new world where she's a Rem she makes friends with (Theo) an Enodians who can control ghosts, (Rune) who is a Vampire and (Astra) a Fae,
Together they plan to excape their prison and find her sisters killer.

Just look at the gorgeous cover on this book! This is a YA, pnr, slightly dark fantasy about seventeen-year-old Jess. She’s been passed through foster home after foster since she was a baby. Jess believes she is human, loves creating huge works of art, and jogging 20 plus miles at a time…in the woods. Her entire life she’s had “rage blackouts,” where she becomes incredibly angry, people get hurt but she blacks out and doesn’t remember what happened.

The majority of this story takes place in a sort of paranormal juvenile hall facility. It was Breakfast Club but with paranormal creatures. The reader learns about this new world along with Jess. There are huge info dumps, but they don’t feel too cumbersome as the author sprinkles in relationships with the other “guests”. This is where we meet other faes, witches, vamps, and shifters. There are quite a few mysteries going around. Jess needs to not only survive her fellow inmates, but solve some of those mysteries. What is she? Why is she in jail when she knows she didn’t commit the crime she’s accused of? Who can she really trust?

Growing up in foster care helps her to navigate the myriad of political intrigues that have put her in jail. There are a couple of love interests (super tame, no romance) and a few enemies to figure out. For the most part, everyone is a suspect.

As the synopsis states this story is “Perfect for fans of Laini Taylor and Sarah J. Maas.” This story has an ending, but it still leaves a ton of questions on the table for the next in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rae Else for this ARC to review.