A great twist on the classic Romeo and Juliet story. I enjoyed this book and throught that it was well written. I enjoyed meeting the characters

An Arrow To The Moon is a tragically beautiful match made in heaven between mythology and romance.

I loved the way this book really blends fantasy and romance in a way that feels effortless and natural. From the very first page, Pan begins with a romantic note but it still has a fantastical edge to it. I initially was drawn to this book because of how deeply I loved The Astonishing Colour of After. In particular, I fell in love with her fantastic characterization and the way Pan manipulated language to create these beautiful images that were just sublime and so entrancing. Here, Pan proves that love was no fluke. The prose is once more effortlessly gorgeous, in a way that you just get lost inside. It felt like a cocoon of beauty and danger was being created around me and utterly swept me off into another world.

This is actually quite a dark and tricksy tale, with a heart-wrenching element to it. The way Pan discusses family and the complex relationship between expectations and reality was devastating. Both Hunter and Luna are enmeshed in these complicated situations, with fraught and fractured relationships to those around them. Their characterisation was excellent as they felt so three-dimensional and real. I loved the way Pan used multiple narratives to fully immerse you in the wider concept of this world, fragmenting your reading experience in a way that forces you to reconsider what has gone before and disrupting every last one of your expectations. Similarly, I really enjoyed the way Pan interwove romance, fantasy and mythology in a way that felt exciting and new, while paying deep homage and respect to the original tales.

An Arrow To The Moon felt like a love letter to those star-crossed lovers, while also presenting a complex tale about legacy, family and loss.

Thank you to Netgalley and publishers for the eARC of An Arrow To The Moon.

This novel is discribed as a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, with the folklore of Houyi and Chang'e. However when I was reading it I wasn't reminded of Romeo and Juliet.
OK so the main characters are from different backgrounds and families, they're not supposed to be friends let alone lovers. - that there is the only similarity for me.

I loved this novel so much, I just love the story of Houyi and Chang'e. This story deepened my knowledge of the folklore and it just makes the novel more magical whilst not being overly supernatural.
The set up of An Arrow To The Moon is set under each character, each "chapter" focuses from the character's point of view. The writing flowed really well and the pacing pulled the story along nicely. Though some parts of the story's reasonings aren't revealed until closer to the end, which I found my attention waning abit.
I loved the characters Luna and Hunter and I found myself turning page after page with their narratives, but the other character's narratives didn't draw my attention as much, though I was intrigued by Cody and Jadey.

I would really recommend this novel based on retelling of Houyi and Chang'e not on a retelling of Romeo and Juliet

This was such a lovely read! A cute modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet infused with Chinese mythology that creates the perfect romantic YA read. As you’re accustomed with Romeo and Juliet, this story is filled with romance, warring families with secrets that could tear them all apart all centred around two young star crossed lovers. The plot was nicely paced and the multiple POV chapters were a great size so you keep your interest in the story, but can be a little confusing at the start as you need to get used to all the different characters coming at you with a chapter, but stick with it because it’s incredibly worth it. Luna and Hunter were incredibly sweet together and made this one more than worth a read, or 100 re-reads after the first one.

Thank you so much to Orion for sending me a proof.

This book was a beautiful combination of Chinese Mythology and Romeo and Juliet but it felt fresh and exciting. Pan has a way of creating worlds in which anything seems possible and her landscapes and characters are vivid and beautiful.

Cody and his rabbit totally stole the show!

Thank you to the publisher, netgalley and the author for allowing me to read this eARC, I feel so blessed to be able to have critical conversations about great books and recommend books to my book club.

This is a teen YA novel, the cover is beautiful but the writing style is also great overall this pulled me in kept me engaged and I felt like this book just flew by. I read this book all in one sitting and it was a great relaxing and intelligent read.

This was such a sweet retelling. I really loved the Chinese influenced within the storyline and how it was more of a slow burn rather than rushing through everything.
The characters were well written and the multiple povs helped to shape the story, we usually only see the 2 main characters povs but the fact that we get the family and others as well was nice. It opened up the whole plot line.

I'd definitely recommend this book and I'll definitely be bagging myself a copy when it's released!

An Arrow to the Moon is a mashup of Chinese mythology and Romeo and Juliet. I didn't know the Chinese myth that it was based on, but after finishing the book I had to go and research it because it was such a beautiful story!

I quite enjoyed the story itself, but the characters were a bit flat and I struggled with the writing style. Just a personal preference though - and I'd advise people to still check the book out for the plot alone!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

An Arrow to the Moon follows teen protagonists, Hunter and Luna, who are forced to go against their rival parents’ wishes as fate and a series of unbelievable events draw them together. Luna is struggling with family pressure and just wants to experience life for a while, and Hunter is haunted by a mistake his father made that has been trapping their family for half of his life so, when they find solace in one another, they take every risk and opportunity to share this comfort.

This story had a really interesting premise, and a Chinese-mythology-inspired Romeo and Juliet retelling is so far into my favourite genre that I went into this book with incredibly high expectations. The starcrossed lovers elements definitely delivered and I really loved the instant chemistry and the ways that the two came to rely on each other. Although their struggles and some parts of their relationship did feel quite mature, the characters and the story overall read very young, so it felt quite sweet and innocent for a lot of the book.

The fantasy elements were also really interesting, but they unfortunately didn’t feel especially well developed in parts, so I found myself a little confused and not entirely connected to what was happening. Hunter and Luna’s gifts, as well as the magic that was affecting the town, didn’t made total sense at times and this sadly pulled me out of the story more often than I would’ve liked. That aside, though, I did love the idea, and the mystery surrounding what was happening to Hunter, Luna and the town did keep pulling me back in.

Overall, I found this to be a really quick, easy, sweet romance read. I would definitely have liked the fantasy elements to be explored more, but the wonderfully written ending made up for a lot of my qualms, and the characters were really lovely and easy to root for.

3/5 stars

TROPES & THEMES: starcrossed lovers, chinese mythology

I have no doubt that this is going to be a book that lots of people love since Romeo and Juliet retellings, if done well, are good and I do personally enjoy them. I did give this book three stars, which may seem like a low rating for some, but I still enjoyed it.

Emily X. R. Pan's writing style is very lyrical, almost adding its own layer of magic to the story. I love a good flowery writing style, it always makes for an enhanced reading experience for me, and I raced through this story, along with the short chapters to help me along. The atmosphere of this setting was wonderful, and I liked the weaving in of Chinese mythology.

However, something about the plot and the feuds between the two families felt somewhat underdeveloped. Luna and Hunter are told to stay away from each other, but there's not a particularly compelling story about why that is, that whole storyline and reveal of what the problems between the two families are felt a little...anticlimactic. Also, I struggled to care about the characters and their developing romance, which is a large part of the plot, as I didn't really understand what sort of people the characters were beyond their initial archetypes.

So overall, while this wasn't 100% my cup of tea, I know loads of people will enjoy this when it comes out, and I am interesting in reading another book by this author because of Emily X.R. Pan's wonderful writing.

I really enjoyed this book. Within the first couple chapters I was intrigued and liked the characters. The plot was really interesting, a bit star crossed lovers, a bit mythological and then some coming if age drama. The chapters are short, which for me is a bonus, and the pace was constant. There's quite a bit going on, but it's really easy to follow.

The characters were well rounded. I liked how Luna developed and became stronger whilst Hunters insecurities were explored. His father felt so real, when he hurt Hunter it wasn't graphic but it felt real and I could picture this angry man. Luna's mum was another character I could really picture.

I'm not sure what's going on with the rabbit though?

I've added the author to my follow list and I'm definitely going to try another.

Some books you can just tell are going to leave a mark. They are going to be poignant, and heartbreaking and just leave you with this deep feeling you can't name or shake. And I can tell that this book is all of those things...just not for me.

This book is told in a way that is both lyrical but (unusually) not pretentious about it. Though I won't lie I felt like it was a bit condescending to put how each character perspective related to the MC's at the start of ALL of their chapters. I am sure most readers of capable of remembering that characters with the same last name are related. Though I did love the adult POV in a YA book, and Hunter has my heart!

I won't lie-this book is SAPPY. Again, not going to lie, I ate it up with a spoon. Hunter needs Luna to breathe! AWWWW! Maybe it's overdone, but I'll always be a sucker for soulmates. I'm usually not a fan of slow, less action based books, but this one was just sweet and I was here for that.

What I was not here for was being inside character's POV's and them being vague. Yeah, I get we cannot know everything about the fantasy elements and what not, but I LOATH when the character we are following does. NOT ONCE has ANYBODY thought about...the incident... in their brain! No-you think about the time you peed your pants at an age you aren't quite ready to admit (as you can tell, I'm over it)
Let us learn with the character! You cannot be as shocked when the character obviously isn't.

One thing unrelated to the actual writing is that whoever made the first line of each chapter bold needs FIRED. A chapter stars with this line, all in bold:
NO ONE TOLD HER HUNTER YEE WAS TRANS
Thats it, the entire bold first line. And I was shocked af, but I was ready for the twist no one thought we were getting.I was gonna be there for it! And then underneath:
-ferring to her school
*deflated balloon sounds*
Like someone had to see how that would be taken!!!
I'm sure this book is going to be special to a lot of people, just sad that it wasn't for me.

I was extremely excited for Emily X. R. Pan's An Arrow to the Moon. I fell in love with the writing in her debut which charmed me with its haunting and lyrical ways despite being quite a bit outside my usual taste, so having more of that in a contemporary fantasy retelling of Chinese myth sounded like a dream come true. An Arrow to the Moon reimagines the story of Chang'e and Houyi in 1990s US - which I didn't realise from the blurb. I assumed it was set in the present day, and it read like it was, except for the lack of communication devices. And I get how the existence of the internet would have messed up some of the plot points, but also, the setting felt rather clumsy and like an afterthought. I guess that is how I feel about most of this book - there are some great ideas and concepts, but ultimately in execution a lot doesn't seem to be quite thought through enough, or shown to the reader to the extent that demonstrates why they should care. Apart from many small gripes I had with this book throughout, it felt unfinished - like a draft that doesn't actually tie up the loose ends, but rather serves to get the story down and then to identify those. It made me really sad because I was so hyped for the book and I realised quite early on that I was only continuing to read on because I hoped that it would get better. So sadly this one is a miss for me too.

An Arrow to the Moon is a reimagining of the Chinese tale of Chang'e and the archer Houyi, and a premise of 'Romeo and Juliette meet Chinese Mythology', so I was excited going in, and it didn't disappoint, although was not as I had expected.

The start was slow; it took a while to get into the book, with many POV's which were confusing toward the start, although the relation to each character was helpful! I found the story was jumpy, with some unnecessary chapters and lots of jumping around in the time-frames, in addition to an extremely well developed back story of both Hunter and Luna's parents rivalry and earlier life, yet I felt this made their account less structured and slightly lacking. Despite these potential plot holes, it creates a mysterious and vaguely whimsical tone, fitting for the theme.

The relationship between Luna and Hunter was somewhat rushed, yet takes a good proportion of the book to develop, which was confusing. It was genuinely sweet and their developing feelings was endearing, attaching me to the characters. Moreover, Cody was adorable, and he deserved so much.

The ending was bittersweet yet fitting, and I really enjoyed this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Children's Group for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Disclaimer: Although I feel like I don't need to say this, my opinion of this book has nothing to do with the author herself. Emily X.R. Pan has said that this book is the story of her experience as an Asian-American, and as an Asian-American myself, I do relate to Luna's story in a lot of ways even though the book is not it for me. My opinion is solely based on my enjoyment of the reading experience.

What a ridiculously boring piece of writing this book is. Pitched as "Romeo and Juliet meets Chinese mythology", I went into the copy expecting a new all-time favorite, but all I did was waste my time.

Luna Chang is a model, straight-As daughter who is expected to attend the Ivies simply because her parents want to. She struggles with the prospect of not being able to claim her future herself, and when she meets Hunter Yee, the disappointment of his family and enigmatic new student, Luna begins to explore the possibility of her own future.

I desperately wanted to love this book. I read the author's debut The Astonishing Color of After last year and adored it, so of course, I had expected this one to be as excellent, especially when it promises to deliver an Asian-inspired Romeo and Juliet. However, while reading, I was so irritated by everything.

The plot:

The idea of Romeo and Juliet with Asian mythology in itself is very compelling, but a good idea is nothing without good execution, but here it failed regrettably. For a 400-pages book, An Arrow to the Moon feels like random fragments clumsily juxtaposed into a book. The book is inconsistent, as the pacing and the time jumps don't always make sense (sometimes it takes three chapters from three different POVs to cover a 20-minute-scene, while in other places there are several weeks jump from one chapter to another.) I did not enjoy the ending either, as I find that the events can be tied up nicely within the actions on Earth and not with the weirdly poetic final chapters that didn't go with the book.

The characters:

Personal preference aside, I find that most of the characters felt flat. Both Luna and Hunter don't have any particular personality traits besides the ones listed in the synopsis. Besides from being high schoolers who (sometimes) see some weird stuff, they don't really add much spice to the story. Additionally, while their parents' rivalry is so stupid, I find that their backstories are much more developed than Hunter's and Luna's, which is not a good thing to do. Meanwhile, it is really interesting to be able to see other side characters' POVs other than the protagonists' since it's quite engaging to see their perspectives in a story where the events are not controlled by the main characters.

The romance:

The biggest issue I have with this book is probably the romance From the Romeo and Juliet pitch I expected to read an epic star-crossed lover trope with a lot of angst that would make me FEEL. I am bitterly disappointed. From the first 20% the instant attraction kinda threw me off, then for some time it went steadily, and right when I started to like it, somehow Luna and Hunter who started off as lunch and bus partners for 50 pages suddenly turned into lovers out of nowhere (and let's not talk about the sex.) With that underwhelming ending, I can't help but think that, maybe, Luna and Hunter could have been developed better, because they had so much potential.

Final thoughts:

I am leaving with bitter disappointment, although I wish I could give this book more than a 1/5. I will continue supporting Emily X.R. Pan because I still have faith, and although this book didn't work for me, I truly hope that other readers can love it more than I did.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of An Arrow to the Moon by Emily XR Pan.

An Arrow to the Moon is a reimagining of the Chinese tale of Chang'e and the archer Houyi. I really love the original story, so I was excited to read a more modern retelling of it.

The book tells the story of Luna Chang and Hunter Yee, born into rival families but each with their own mysterious abilities and secrets. Luna's family seems perfect from the outside, but the further the book progresses the more it shows how far someone will go to keep that shiny image. Especially in a community where appearances matter.

Hunter's family are almost the opposite. Very early on you realise that they are trying to hide from someone and the entire family fears that they will be discovered. Their story shows how fear can lead to irrational decisions.

Between this, Hunter is transferred to a new school, where Luna ends up befriending him. They soon realise that they share some elements that make them different. I really loved watching them open up and grow into each other.

The story is told from multiple points of view and it was interesting to see all the people involved giving their own opinions about the events. Especially that of Hunter's younger sibling.

There are fantasy elements to the story, especially regarding artifacts that their parents are studying, but they aren't big enough to fully call this a fantasy book.

Overall, I liked the book, but it wasn't as impactful as I would have liked.

Wow, this book! So beautiful! It tug my heartstrings from the get go (crying emoji)

More in depth review coming soon once i gather my thoughts

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Hunter Yee has had a perfect aim for as long as he can remember but literally everything in his life has gone off-course. Luna Chang feels stifled by her parents' expectations and wants to bend the rules in the card game she's been dealt. When the two teenagers' paths meet, romance blossoms and strange truths are upended.

Spoilers ahead.

Plot and Pacing

I really wanted to like this book. I've heard fantastic things about Emily X.R. Pan and, come on, it's being marketed as "Romeo and Juliet meets Chinese mythology." What's not to love? Unfortunately, this book was just not my cup of tea. I wish Hunter and Luna had more time together to properly explore Hunter's past especially with the whole "on the lam" storyline. I still don't fully understand why the Yees were constantly on the run and paranoid about everything. The inclusion of the hexagonal artefact felt shoe-horned in and by the time it made its appearance in Luna's hands, I had pretty much forgotten about its existence. The rivalry between the Changs and Yees didn't feel real either. I know this is fiction so duh, things aren't meant to be real BUT I just couldn't believe that the families would hate each other so much about one job position. I wish the conflict and drama between the two had been more explicit rather than just, "Don't you dare talk to the Chang/Yee girl/boy!" There were no stakes set by either Hunter or Luna's parents.

There were many opportunities for escalating the tension in the book. Luna finds her mother cheating on her father, she learns her father has been hiding her university letters, she has those weird dreams. But each scene felt almost passive? I don't know if that's the right word. I never felt that Luna really acted on anything, she just let things happen to her. And then the one time she is proactive (i.e. running away with Hunter), they're both floating in the sky and she returns from whence she came? It felt like an easy, anti-climactic ending. Even Hunter's arcs weren't all that immersive. I really empathised with him and I thought he was very thoughtful and caring especially when it came to Cody. However, I just...I don't know, sometimes he came off as a bit cliche with the "misunderstood bad boy" personality type.

I'm not entirely sure what message I was meant to glean from this book.

Characters

I could relate a bit to Luna especially this part:

Really, she wanted…something different. She wanted to be the type of person who took charge of her own life and went off on epic journeys. Someone who did daring, unexpected things. Why couldn’t some mage appear, like in the fantasy stories—a sorcerer summoning her to become her true self?


It's literally all I've ever wanted. I wish this craving had been explored a bit more rather than just having Hunter almost be the antidote to the desire. I would have loved to see Luna understand that sometimes you have to create your own magic in the mundane or build your own adventure. While Hunter pushed her to be more bold and daring, it was always him initiating actions. For true growth, Luna should have initiated one or two actions of her own.

As for Hunter, I don't think he really developed as a character. He didn't really have a conflict other than his need to break free of his family. Which he did in the end. I couldn't understand what his inner turmoil was. To be loved? To feel worthy of greatness? It just wasn't clear.

Writing Style

I think part of the reason this story lacks cohesion and immersion is the way Pan used a LOT of POVs including characters who I, frankly, didn't give a rat's arse about. For example, there are so many chapters from Wong's perspective. WHY? I didn't care about him at all! This would have been so much stronger if those other chapters had been from Hunter and Luna's perspectives and their relationship had been fleshed out a bit more. Like I said, I really wanted to like this book but, on the whole, it was rather underwhelming.

As soon as I read Romeo and Juliet meets Chinese mythology I knew I had to read this book so I am so grateful for this arc. I was completely enchanted. The writing was amazing and was almost lyrical, I fell in love with the characters and the storyline was incredible. I read this so quickly I just couldnt put it down. Possibly my favourite YA book of the year so far. It is an amazing read.

Lush prose and a swoonworthy pairing make this a heartstopping romance. Perfect for fans of Stephanie Garber and Renee Ahdieh!