Tag: blood and moonlight

ALC Book Review: Silence and Shadow (Blood and Moonlight #2) by Erin Beaty

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy + Romance
Length: 464 pages
Author: Erin Beaty
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Release Date: October 3rd, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

After confronting a killer and fleeing her home to be with each other, Cat and Simon arrive in the sprawling city of Londunium pretending to be a newly married couple, but don’t expect to keep up the ruse for long. Cat looks forward to honing her healing magick at the local Selanae university, but instead finds a council of ruthless leaders threatening to erase her non-Selanae “husband’s” memories to protect their secrets.

Terrified to lose him, Cat takes desperate steps to keep him safe. But when a string of mutilated bodies turns up in the woods outside the city, and Simon is recruited to profile the killer, Cat is pulled back into a world of murder, mayhem, and magick—one that threatens to swallow her, and everything she loves, whole.

The sequel to Erin Beaty’s buzzworthy YA medieval fantasy-thriller Blood and Moonlight, Silence and Shadow is full of swoony romance, dangerous magick, and murder—perfect for fans of Kerri Maniscalco and Mary E. Pearson.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

A GREAT MYSTERY.

I just have no complaints. I really enjoyed listening, I thought the story was great, the subtle romance was sweet (with some fade to black steam) and I love these characters. They’re flawed without making you feel like pushing them off a cliff. There’s apologies and strength and I love the way Erin Beaty crafts her characters.

The mystery kept me guessing and I love the change of location from the previous book (which you do have to read before this one!!). Exploring a new area, side characters and a killer on the loose. This has a slight cozy vibe while also being on the darker edge. With some action mixed in and some twists that made the ending feel like you have to keep going.

I’m a big fan girl of Erin Beaty and this continues to ring true. Another brilliant book!

Overall audience notes:

  • Upper YA Fantasy + Romance
  • Language: light
  • Romance: multiple fade to black
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: serial killer, blood/gore depiction

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Book Review: Blood and Moonlight by Erin Beaty

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Mystery
Length: 448 pages
Author: Erin Beaty
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Release Date: June 28th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Rising above the city of Collis is the holy Sanctum. And watching over its spires is Catrin, an orphan girl with unique skills—for she alone can spot the building’s flaws in construction before they turn deadly.

But when Catrin witnesses a murderer escaping the scene of his crime, she’s pulled into the web of a dangerous man who will definitely strike again. Assigned to capture the culprit is the mysterious, brilliant, and enigmatic Simon, whose insights into the mind of a killer are frighteningly accurate.

As the grisly crimes continue, Catrin finds herself caught between murderer and detective while hiding her own secret—a supernatural sight granted by the moon, destined to make her an outcast, and the only thing that might save her and those she loves from becoming the next victims…

In this medieval YA fantasy thriller, an orphan with a secret, magical sight gets caught between a mysterious genius and the serial killer he’s hunting.

MYSTERIOUS.

I really enjoyed this one! It was different than my usual YA fantasy picks and brought a lot to the table. A fantasy and a thriller all in one was a good change of pace.

Catrin was a main character who went up and down for me. I liked her at times and struggled with her occasionally, but overall, I liked who she was and who she became. She was fiercely loyal to those who looked out for her and was compassionate to those in differing situations.

There was a sweet and subtle sub-plot romance that I liked too. As the other major key player, Simon, held a lot of sway in where the story went. He had a mysterious nature, but was soft as fluff on the inside and this is how I adore my love interests.

Mental health was a major theme and I there were many good conversations and approaches to how this subject was discussed. The author’s note at the end had an interesting tidbit of history that connected into the story and I loved learning more about that as well!

The mystery kept me guessing and even though I was pretty sure it was one character, I liked how great the writing was that I felt pulled in multiple directions on who the murderer ultimately was.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Thriller
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: small mentions of sexual assault and rape (not on page), murder (graphic descriptions of bodies found), suicide and suicide ideation, mob aggression resulting in death, differing mental health depictions

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