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Kingdom of the Two Moons is messy, dramatic, and emotionally chaotic — which is exactly why I devoured it. Melody gets pulled into a world of fallen angels, twisted magic, and two men who are walking red flags (in the best way). The romance simmers, the tension cuts deep, and the world feels both dangerous and beautiful. While the pacing drags in a few places and I occasionally wanted to shake the heroine into asking better questions, I still couldn’t look away. It’s the kind of book that doesn’t just invite you in — it grabs you by the throat. I need book two. Badly.

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A great new fantasy! The world building, characters and it kept me on my toes. At times I wasn't sure how things were going to go and if this certain person was trustworthy or not! This book had a lot of tension (will they/won't they), mystery, passion, and at times, adrenaline.

This book was a lengthly one but to me there wasn't much filler. Every chapter had a reason and helped the flow of the story. I have a feeling the second book is going to be more intense and not so much world building and will be more on the adventure side of things if it stays along the lines of where we were at the end.

I loved the characters and can't wait to see where things lead up to in the sequel! The ending left me wanting more!

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If you were around during the golden age of YA paranormal—when brooding fallen angels ruled the shelves—you’ve already read Kingdom of the Two Moons, just under a different name.

This book leans heavily into the classic 2010s formula: a “special” girl who doesn’t know her power, kidnapped and thrust into a dark, seductive world ruled by an emotionally distant, morally ambiguous male (in this case, a fallen angel named Caryan). Add a centuries-old prophecy, a magical bond that overrides free will, and a love triangle with her fae captor, and it starts feeling like a remix of Hush, Hush, Fallen, and Unearthly—but with darker court aesthetics and spicier packaging.

The writing is solid and the worldbuilding had promise, but Melody rarely felt in control of her own story. Her agency is often sidelined by men who withhold information “for her own good,” and the dynamic between her and Caryan walks a fine line between seductive and unsettling. While some readers might enjoy the nostalgic pull of those intense, shadowy romances, it didn’t offer enough freshness or subversion to stand out.

For fans of that old-school paranormal drama, this might scratch the itch—but if you’ve outgrown the tropes or are looking for stronger character development and nuance, this one may frustrate more than it satisfies.

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Kingdom of the Two Moons is a romantic fantasy debut that takes a little time to find its footing, but once it does, it becomes an immersive, addictive ride through a richly imagined world of witches, fae, and forbidden power. The story begins slowly, and for the first few chapters, I found myself waiting for that spark to truly pull me in. Around the 20% mark, though, the narrative finds its rhythm—and from there, I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.

The world-building is ambitious and layered, complete with a detailed map and a glossary of magical creatures and terms. While the lore is fascinating, it does sometimes verge on overwhelming, with a lot of names and factions to keep track of early on. The romance is a definite highlight. There’s a simmering love triangle that adds tension without overshadowing the plot, and both Riven and Caryan bring distinct dynamics to the story—Riven, in particular, stood out with his charm and complexity, while Caryan exudes dark, unpredictable energy.

Tonally, the blend of modern references (like Eminem) with traditional fantasy elements was jarring at times, pulling me out of the immersive atmosphere. But these moments were rare and didn't detract too much from the overall experience. Though the ending feels abrupt—cutting off just as the tension truly spikes—it left me eager for book two. It’s clear that this first installment is laying the groundwork for a larger, more epic narrative, and I’m intrigued to see where it leads.

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Thank you Netgalley, Last Unicorn Press, and Alexandra Thomashoff for sending me this advanced review copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I struggled like crazy to get through this book. It is so slow, and is in desperate need of some trimming down. There was so much info dumping that made sections drag on forever. Even after finishing it, I still don't have a good grasp on the worldbuilding at all.

The romance felt awkward, and not really like a full love triangle most of the time. There were other people involved during spice scenes, and it felt weird.

I really liked the idea of the story, and it would have normally been a book I would have loved if it hadn't been so bogged down with info dumping and repetition. I think there was just too much going on at once to keep my attention. Also the POV shifts back and forth from 1st to 3rd, and my brain did not vibe with that at all.

Melody was fine, but there were times it felt like she knew too much. She was your standard fantasy "chosen one" FMC.

Blair annoyed the crap out of me the whole time. She was a hot mess express.

Caryan is the "morally grey douchebag" of the bunch. He has almost no redeeming qualities and tons of noncon vibes.

Riven was the most likeable of all of them.

I don't really know what is going on between Caryan and Riven. There is some sort of unexplained bond going on that is apparently going to be explained in the next book?

I don't think I'll be picking up the next book in the series.

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I'm really sorry however I couldn't finish, I believe it would be a really good book and plot however it wasn't my style :(

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DNF

I tried so hard to get into it. but....

the world building is so so hard to understand
the format of the book is not for me
i am not a fan of the writing style

this was not for me but it might be someone else's cup of tea....

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I'm sorry, but... what did I just read?

Am I the only one seeing more than just similarities with Sarah J. Maas’s books? I wouldn't call it an outright copy-paste scenario, but it's very hard to chalk this up to coincidence or just common tropes.

Blair feels like a structural echo of Manon—same foundation, but without the emotional payoff. It’s the kind of copy that borrows the bones but skips the heart. And it's not just her—other characters bear more-than-passing similarities too, like Caryan and Rhysand.

But the breaking point for me—the moment I DNF’ed—was when it didn’t just borrow traits but seemingly lifted entire scenes from Throne of Glass (TOG). Here’s what I mean: In TOG, Manon Blackbeak leads the Thirteen, an elite witch unit. In KOTM, Blair leads—you guessed it—30 elite warrior women. Manon has her second-in-command (Asterin) and a clear rank structure. Blair? Same. Manon is whipped by her second-in-command as part of a punishment/honor code—Blair also undergoes a similar punishment by her second. Manon rides Abraxos, a wyvern. Blair? Yep, she rides a wyvern too.

Manon’s arc—ruthless and emotionally detached, slowly softening—is mirrored nearly beat for beat by Blair.

And it doesn't stop there. There are more on-the-nose parallels with S.J. Maas’s other works: a secret-born heroine destined to rise, the redemption of a male ruler (very Dorian-coded), the torture/rescue trope, and even the gray-haired love interest (a Rowan echo). Let’s not forget the Illyrian winged warriors—KOTM features winged, mountain-dwelling fighters with a strict training system. Sound familiar? Oh, and purple eyes. Of course.

And this was all within the first few percent of the book. I can only imagine what else is in store.

The writing style didn’t help. There’s excessive repetition—phrases and sentences repeated within the same paragraph. Readers don’t need that level of hand-holding. If all the redundancy were edited out, the book would probably be half its current length.

So here’s my question to the author: why should I read a story that feels like a copy, when I can read the original—and better—version instead?

Also… I’d really like to know what Sarah J. Maas thinks of all this.

Do not recommend.

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This book started off a little slow for me. Up until about the 20% mark, I found myself waiting for something to really grab my attention. But once the story picked up, I was completely hooked and flew through the rest in no time! A solid 4 stars from me.

As is common in many fantasy novels, we're given a detailed map of the fae world at the beginning, laying out the various territories. There's also a glossary of the different creatures, which I appreciated, although I found it difficult to retain all the information.

We start by following Blair, a witch sent to the human world by a witch queen to track down Melody. The human world didn’t quite work for me, mostly because it’s set in a more modern setting than I expected. The reference to Blair listening to ‘Eminem’ pulled me out of the fantasy vibe and made me cringe a bit. Blair was a bit of an odd character, who I struggled to connect with. Unlike Melody, who I had so much sympathy for. The poor girl has been held captive all her life because of her special gifts that people just wanted to use for themselves.

Reading this reminded me of my experience with ACOTAR. I wasn’t completely wowed by the first book in that series either, but I understood that much of it was devoted to building the world. The same applies here; the foundation is being laid, even if parts felt slow or overly detailed.

Some sections did get repetitive, and the constant use of pet names like “my little villain” became grating after a while. That said, I absolutely loved Riven as a character, he was definitely a standout for me. I kept hoping that he and Melody would end up together, but I love a love triangle! Caryan gave me strong Rhysand vibes, but with a much darker edge to the point where I was never quite sure what he was going to do next.

The ending felt a little abrupt, cutting off just as things were really starting to get exciting, which means I’m definitely eager to read the next book - I need to know where this adventure leads! As a debut book, I could not have been more impressed.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. It was such a thrill to receive and review my very first ARC!

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ARC so many high hopes for this one, It was giving me Witcher vibes. Being written in 3rd person was something i could not get by the plot was good i was intrigued but going from POV to 3rd person was just not it for it. I wish this would have been written in duets rather than 3rd person. Might pick it back up again down the road but i cant bring myself to open it since March.

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Left wishing for more in terms of world building and less repetitiveness. It took a lot of effort to try to push through and idk, it just didn’t click very well for me.

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I love a predictable, romantasy book!
the first 100 pages were a bit slow (but i feel like that is the same for most first books in a fantasy series) but after that the pacing was much better.
the writing was easy to digest ... other than switching between 1st and 3rd pov

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Thank you NetGallery and the author for providing me with an eARC of this book.

First of all, It was full of potential and promise as a debut book. I had a love-hate relationship with the multi POVs in this book. The constant shifting between first and third person was distracting me but also drawing my curiosity to the next chapter. It took some time to adjust, but the story was intriguing enough for me to continue.

The author did a great job on the tension between three MCs’s love interest. The push and pull was well-balanced and compelling. World-building has measured up to Romantasy standards with magic system, politic and creatures. It was a light and quick read that I would recommend as a palette cleanser.

- Love triangle
- Multi POV
- Slow burn / Forced proximity
- Fae, witch, elf

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Thank you NetGalley and Alexandra Thomashoff for gifting me this book!

Overall, it's a good read and it has a lot of promise, however it is difficult to get to that point due to the switching of POVs and information dump. However, you are grateful for it at the end and I think a reread, it would be a lot easier. I love POV switching, but sometimes it can make it complicated on where we are and who is doing what, what were they doing before etc. However, I also enjoyed the chaoticness, as it reminded me of the tandem read of Tower of Dawn and Empire of Storms. I am giving it a second read now I have all the information and know what is happening, will update my review then :)

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Kingdom of the Two Moons has all of my favourite tropes and a fabulous fantasy world, and maybe I need to pick it up and re-read it again at another time, but for now I found it really slow going, and the changing POVs hard to follow.

What To Expect:

🖤Morally grey MCs
🖤Enemies to lovers
🖤Angst
🖤Multiple POVs
🖤Dark fantasy
🖤Slow burn
🖤Love triangle (FMF)
🖤Forced proximity
🖤NO HEA (book 1)

3 stars

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Enjoyable, some parts were confusing, but it has the bones of a good fantasy. I don’t love the love triangle trope, but i enjoyed the multiple POVs
Still an enjoyable read.

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I found it difficult to remain interested in the worldbuilding because it seemed more like an overwhelming information dump than something that was naturally weaved into the story. The plot meandered down due to lengthy expositional passages, and when it did pick up speed, the events frequently seemed to be repeated.

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Thank you to Netgalley for helping me discover this book because I am so glad that I was able to snag a copy! Kingdom of the two moons gives me everything that I want from a 5☆ read. I need book 2 asap! This book checks all of the boxes that you want it to; enemies to lovers, a maye bond, banter, a whole variety of magical beings, prophecies, relatable characters and wonderful world building. I read this all in one sitting, I couldn't put it down! There wasnt much spice but im hoping it increases in book two. I love a good slow-burn romance and I can see a possibility of a love triangle happening. Who knows? This is why I need book 2 asap!

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Kingdom of the Two Moons by Alexandra Thomashoff 🐺💞🧚🗡️ - These are my personal reviews!

Rating 2/5 😭: I wanted to love this—so badly. I gave it my full effort, picking it up again and again, hoping something would click. I don’t DNF really ever and I stayed with this story until the end, even when it was hard to push through.

Spice: 1/5 🌶️

Overall Review: The concept drew me in from the beginning. 700 pages!! I knew I would be in it for the long haul. It had so much promise, and I could absolutely see the passion and effort the author poured into building this world. Unfortunately, the execution just didn’t work for me. The writing felt inconsistent, at times overly repetitive, and at others, overwhelming with too much information. It made it hard to connect or stay immersed. That said, I did love that it featured a dual POV (one of my favorite things in a story), and there were moments when I thought, maybe now it’ll turn around. I kept hoping for that spark, that payoff, but in the end, it just didn’t land the way I’d hoped. This wasn’t the right book for me, but I know it might resonate more with someone else. And for that reason, I’m still glad I gave it a chance.

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The switching of POV is messy

But it was a nice read once you get the flow. It’s a lot like other popular Romantasy books, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

There are witches, fae, demons, vampires, and great world building.

Overall a solid easy fantasy if you want something less serious.

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