Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher (Little Brown Books) for a free eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. All opinions my own.

I’ll start by saying that Daughter of the Moon Goddess is on my “favorites of all time list”- I love it SO much and I never shut up about it.

I understood this book was YA- but I did, to be transparent, thinks DotMG was ALSO YA, so I was comfy with that. However upon starting this, I double checked, and found out DotMG is actually adult, and this is her YA debut. It definitely falls on the young side of YA, reading like we really are inside the brain of an emotionally unstable, prone-to-outbursts teenager. There’s something to be said for the authenticity in that, for sure.

I’m so sad to say that this didn’t reach what I wanted it to be. I’m thinking 3.50 stars- but I might come back to this. Some of my qualms;

I predicted all of the major plot turns, with the exception of one or two near the end. Usually that’s fine, but they felt a little too good to be true- easily predictable, AND too coincidental for the story. Our FMC is erratic, and her emotions wavered constantly- one paragraph she is dreamy and curious, and in one instant, we hear of her “cloud of anger descending”. The murder scenes are short and rushed and failed to create a lot of tension for me, which made me slow to read and uncommitted to the characters’ survival.

Now onto what I liked;

The gay relationship 🥹 I love SLT for being inclusive, even when our MCs are straight. I loved the lush descriptions of the scenery, the jewelry, the precious stones, the nature; all very typical Sue Lynn Tan, and I drank it alllll up. It’s so immersive and delicious and I love it. I thought the plot twist at the end (the one I didn’t predict) was clever! I didn’t see it coming which was fun, and I thought it gave necessary depth and dynamic change to some of the characters.

Side note (WITH SPOILERS): I’d love to hear from someone else who read DotMG- did the plot points read as VERY similar??? A ton of stuff lines up as identical in this book. Our MC doesn’t know her family (same); two men fight over her (same), one of them being a prince and one being a leader from a rival kingdom (same); she falls for the rival instead of the prince (same); Magic connects her mentally to one of the characters (same). Just a weird thing I noticed.

Also: shoutout to the “dragons with pearls” reference at 64%, I love a previous book Easter egg!!

Overall, I think this reads like a very purposeful first-in-a-duology-book. It panders a little too much to the lil cliff hanger at the end, leading me right up to buying book 2 to find resolution. I’m so sad to say I probably won’t pick up book 2, since this didn’t pull me in all the way.

Thank you to Berkley and their Underrepresented Voices program for this fun lil Halloween themed gifted eARC copy!

I’ll preface with saying I’m not a prolific romance book reader- I typically read a few YA romances a year, and I’ve picked up maybe 1-2 adult romances in the last few years. However…a GAY adult romance?? With demons???? I was in.

Samantha Cooper has….had a really, really bad day. To add insult to injury (the injury being she’s now single, and moving out of the apartment she shares with her True Love), she’s trapped in an elevator with Daphne, who’s wearing all pink, and claims to be a demon. Sam takes a leap for a deal that seems too good to be true…6 wishes, wishes she could use to get her love back, in exchange for just one tiny little price- her soul. Sounds crazy, but isn’t love about doing crazy things? That’s the dilemma Sam has to face, while we’re along for the (increasingly crazy) ride.

I’m giving it 3.75 stars- I liked this read. I’d call it pretty low-stakes-bubblegum (no crazy horror/gore, etc), but I did catch myself leaning in towards my kindle as I read at certain points, to hurry myself along- I really wanted to find out what happened! The end 15% felt a bit rushed, but I’m honestly not mad at the logic that was used to wrap it up. Our MC is a little mopey at the beginning, but the fact that she’s actually such a pure heart really did get me- I just want you to be happy, Sam!! I was surprised at a few points, and sad at a few others. Overall, an enjoyable time was had.