Moonlands by Steven Savile Series: Moonlands #1
Publisher: CreateSpace (2015)
eARC (484 pages)
Via: NetGalley
Rating:
Reading Challenges: Read 2015
Synopsis
Ashley Hawthorne thinks of herself as the Cuckoo Girl. No matter where she is it feels like she doesn’t quite belong.
Everything changes when her eccentric aunt, Elspeth Grimm, leaves her the key to a safety deposit box in a bank that was destroyed during the Blitz. That box contains the first part of her true inheritance: an umbrella, a battered old notebook, a pair of aviator’s goggles and a locket. Each of these gifts is a unique part of who she really is.
Elspeth is a Grimm, a descendent of the brothers who purged this world of monsters by trapping them within the Concord. She is the Oracle. A keeper of all the knowledge we have amassed about the creatures of the Fae and other worlds. And someone intent on destroying the Concord has murdered her!
When Ashley looks through the goggles that night she sees curious creatures on the roof of the house across the street watching her. To the naked eye they look like crows but they are not. It is the first glimpse of the other place—the place where she will finally belong.
The journal is crammed full of things, but there’s no actual writing in it. Ash decides she’s going to use the book as a journal, and begins the first entry: My name is Ashley Hawthorne. The ink fades so she writes it again. My name is Ashley Hawthorne. Again the ink fades. She tries again and again until the ink scratches out an entirely different first line: That is not who you are!
Find the book: Goodreads
Ashley is just a normal girl recently moved to London. Like every almost sixteen year old, she isn’t sure where she fits in. At the reading of her aunt’s will, Ashley is left a safety deposit box key and the address of an old, decrepit bank. The safety deposit box holds an umbrella, aviator goggles, a blank book, and a locket with photos of two people Ashley has never seen.
A letter Ashley finds in the book tells her to seek out Marissa du Lac for answers. Ashley makes the connection between Marissa du Lac and her school librarian, Miss Lake. Entering Miss Lake’s office for a meeting, Ashley sees a giant wolf attacking her librarian. She runs.
Back at her house Ashley learns that things are a bit different than she always believed. The imaginative mural she had painted on her bedroom wall wasn’t just a product of her imagination. It turns out there is actually a place with no sun and seven moons. That place is called the Moonlands.
This story follows Ashley as she learns about herself. The story is face-paced and interesting. The ending is a horrible cliff hanger and really sets the book up to be the first of a series. I would love to know what happens next!
I really liked this book as Ashley’s journey is a fun adventure. Along the way she learns things aren’t always what they seem and the path isn’t always straight and family is more than just blood.
Which Reading Challenges?
- You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley for review consideration.
This in no way affects my opinion of the title nor the content of this review.
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