Rating: 4/5

“My last thought was of sunlight – not panic, not loved ones, but of warmth.”

Right from its first sentence, Moths and Moonlight piques our curiosity and promises to be a captivating read. Told from the perspective of Fleur Harkyn, a seer, and the ghost of Lenora Khade, this imaginative debut novel by Krista Fazendin is a challenge to put down.

Most of the story takes place in Mundad, the non-magical realm of existence that we live in. Protagonist Fleur Harkyn has been banished to this realm. Unable to reconcile with her past, she denies her powers and responsibilities until she meets the ghost of Lenora, a woman who dies under mysterious circumstances and inexplicably has Fleur’s memories. Fleur and Lenora soon discover that there are more dangerous things going on in the realms than meets the eye.

Moths and Moonlight keeps a quick pace and is highly visual. Fazendin excels at painting a convincing picture in our minds, and her dialogues make for exciting exchanges that keep you reading on. The use of an alternating narrative provides for interesting contrast, with Fleur’s story presented in third person while Lenora’s is in first person. The effect is that we start to feel Lenora’s story more personally – and for good reason as it is her story that drives the plot forward.

The author writes fluidly; however, characters’ inner worlds, motivations and backgrounds are inadequately drawn out. This prevents the story from maximising its potential as a book. The story consequently struggles at the peak of its action, when characters seem inexplicably nonchalant while pulling off an elaborate gadget-laden heist. It is also unclear why the author does not leverage on the protagonist’s magical abilities during these scenes. Nevertheless, it stands as testament to Fazendin’s storytelling abilities that the reader gets invested enough to be left wanting more.

Much like watching supernatural fantasy on television, this book leaves you with the satisfaction of having binged on an imaginative and engaging story with just the right amount of romance peppered in, albeit without the depth one could potentially get from a book. This does not prevent it from being enjoyable, however. Moths and Moonlight is a promising novel that fans of supernatural fantasy will love – especially those who enjoy watching fantasy television. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

This review was first published on Reedsy Discover on 1 October 2023.

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