June 6, 2014

Review: A Creature of Moonlight by Rebecca Hahn


Title: A Creature of Moonlight
Author: Rebecca Hahn
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Release date: May 6th 2014
Source: Netgalley
Format: eARC

Rating: 3/5

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A stunning debut novel about a girl who is half dragon, half human, and wholly herself.

As the only heir to the throne, Marni should have been surrounded by wealth and privilege, not living in exile-but now the time has come when she must choose between claiming her birthright as princess of a realm whose king wants her dead, and life with the father she has never known: a wild dragon who is sending his magical woods to capture her.

Fans of Bitterblue and Seraphina will be captured by A Creature of Moonlight, with its richly layered storytelling and the powerful choices its strong heroine must make.

I really wanted to love this book because the blurb is really interesting, I liked that the main character is half human and half dragon and all the other intriguing things about the magical woods, but sadly I didn´t enjoy it as much as I expected, it bored me more than once and it's not because it´s written in prose, because I've read other prose books but the plot was really slow.

Marni is a sixteen year old, she lives with her grandfather in a small hut and is known in her village as the flower girl because the flowers are the means of earning their livelihood; but she isn´t an ordinary girl because her mother was a princess and her grandfather used to be the king, but due her birth her mother was killed and she and her grandfather were exiled far from the current king.

The kingdom where she lives has a magical forest with many magical creatures and it´s in that forest that many girls disappear to never return, but there are stories of girls that return months or years later, and if they´re pregnant their children are called sons or daughters of the dragon that is believed to inhabit the forest. As this last happened to Marni´s mother, everyone says she´s the daughter of the dragon and because of this she was executed .

The main plot of this book is Marni trying to find her place in the kingdom, either as a princess and heir to the throne, as a flower girl or as the daughter of the dragon, in addition to that everyone wants to marry her and she must decide if that's what she really wants.

Overall, A Creature of Moonlight is mostly narrated, there is very little dialogue, I liked the way it´s written (lyrical prose), it´s very beautiful, there is no romance and is more about Marni´s self-discovery and family. I still don´t know how I feel about this book because there were parts that I liked and others that bored me, and I felt that the plot was dragging a lot, so that it.

15 comments:

  1. Hmm this one doesn't sound like it would be for me. I like fantasy stories or even those with a historical feel but this just sounds bad to be honest.

    Thanks for the great review!

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  2. Narrative novels tend to bore me, but I'm curious about the premise, at least.

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  3. Great review. Sad I wanted to check this book out. Maybe I'll pull it down a notch on my list of book I want to check out.

    Aparajita @Le' Grande Codex

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  4. I sometimes need that break from romance in novels and more focus on the character and her growth. Sounds like a great read!

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  5. I read this for review on goodreads...and I enjoyed it, but it definatly wasn't what I was expecting. To me it was more like a fairytale.

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  6. I am so sad that this book has gotten some negative reviews. I have been drooling over it for a while, and now I am concerned that I may not even like it. Disappointing. But, I will still absolutely check it out. I mean, DRAGONS! I love dragons. Just in case you are looking for a fantastic dragon book, check out Deborah Cooke's Dragon Diaries series. LOVED it!

    Check out the latest reviews and posts at The Best Books Ever

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  7. Hmm...this book sounds interesting but I don't really like the fact you said it bored you. Do you know if this the first to series or if it's a stand alone? I could probably find all that out. Of to go look...

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  8. This one sounds pretty interesting--not very often to find a book with this type of main character (i.e. half dragon). That cover is really nice, too :) Definitely worth a try.

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  9. The premise sounds so cool and different. I wish it had been at least a 4/5 stars :/ Still going to give it a try.

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  10. Hmm, it sounds good but kind of common too. I need fantasy books to be full of action and fast paced. Pity this one want fast enough. Great cover though.

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  11. Sound good, but mostly narrated? Hnn, maybe later.

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  12. It stinks that this book is getting quite a few negative reviews, I really had high hopes for this one since I feel that the idea and blurb sound interesting.

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  13. Have you read Seraphina? Did you think this book was comparable? I really liked Seraphina but I know others who thought it was boring and had a hard time getting into it.

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  14. I recently won this book. Based on the summary, combined with your review, I want to read it but I don't think it is a priority.

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  15. this book was decent but I was not huge fan of the plot and the consistency of the man that wanted marni's hand in marriage she obviously doesn't want you so back off.

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