Child of the Moon

Series: Child of Prophecy, #1

Author: Audrey Simmons

Genre: Fantasy

Book Description:

At her birth, Neoma was dubbed the Child of Prophecy by the Order of the Moon. A title with great and terrible ties to it. One that should grant her magic enough to take on the vengeful God Aurinko and His army. One the people of Manena put all their hopes into.

When her lack of magical aptitude becomes abundantly clear, Neoma resents being in the mage classes. As her 18th birthday approaches, she learns the Sisters will force her to go through the Anointing Ceremony in order to join the Sisterhood in the Order of the Moon. Will the Moon Mother forsake her in front of her fellow graduates? Or will Her blessing cause a series of events that might just break Neoma?

One thing is for certain: war is on the horizon and the Child of Prophecy is far from ready to face the might of Aurinko.

Review:

I’m feeling kind of out of it with too many things to take on this week, but for some reason I still want to write a review. So pardon me writing this review when I’m too busy … it’s not as if I’ll ever catch up if I fall behind.

What immediately stood out to me about Child of the Moon is the creation story and mythology. The space setting is done in a mythical, fairytale vibe, breathing soul into the universe in a way I really enjoyed. I liked the creation of moons and planets, nebulae and stars, and the character of the Moon Mother – the creator of all things in the vast Void, who comes to dwell into the first and smallest of the orbs she made, the moon that looks down on the planet of life.

The chosen one trope was done in a way that did not annoy me – the chosen one is not my favorite trope, if not done well. Neoma just wants to get away from everyone’s expectations for her as their ‘chosen savior’, and is definitely not chosen in the way everyone expects her to be or wants her to be. Instead, she throws a wrench in their plans and defies their order where it’s become something rigid, instead of as fluid as life. There are some aspects about the chosen one and the prophecy that are bothersome, but the book feels like it raises some of these questions in order so that you think about them – and the reality might be something other than what it seems, or what people think it is. So I’m reserving judgment on that for now. It seems interesting.

I liked the gods, their different personalities, and the way they’re embodied in their world and have a relationship to it. I really like the Forest God, who gives special blessings to none, but showers a bit of kindness and help on whoever thinks of him. Him and Neoma’s relationship is really, really neat. I like how close Neoma is to her gods.

The romance was clean, but very physical. Neoma thinks about Lucas’s physique quite a lot and seems really attracted to it. They have a very hard time talking to each other and communicating, and while some of the reasons behind that are explained, it felt a little overdone to me.

I liked the idea of ‘platonic soulstars’, or basically people who fit together/feel made for each other the way romance often makes people feel, but it’s all platonic. It’s not a stable idea in the society, but I really enjoyed how the characters put it side by side with the romance, with just as much importance and significance to their lives.

For whatever reason, I really didn’t feel any of the characters nearly as strongly as I’d have liked to. I wasn’t able to picture them, and feel their personalities beyond the words. They all felt a bit distant, and none of their relationships or personalities really “clicked.” Though this is probably due in part to the fact I was pretty tired and really reading far more books that I should be, far more quickly than I should, when I read Child of the Moon. Maybe sometime I’ll go back to Child of the Moon to see how it is when I’m not in that state.

I liked the way death is handled. How the Moon Mother takes them – and how sometimes, people can linger to watch over and protect their loved ones from the River of Stars. These kinds of things always appeal strongly to me.

There’s also a nefarious conspiracy. Looking forward to seeing how that develops in future books, as well.

Audrey’s Website

SPFBO 8 Spotlight for Child of the Moon