TITLE: Shadowed by Moonlight

AUTHOR: KryssaStevenson 

REVIEW FATE CHOSEN: Ashes

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Before I leap into this review, I would like to extend congratulations to the author on their upcoming release date! Yes, you read that correctly—"Shadowed by Moonlight" is set to be published in January 2023 and pre-orders are already live at: www.shadowedbymoonlight.com

Needless to say, after being blown away by the sample chapters available on Wattpad for review, I've already pre-ordered my own copy. So without further ado... let's begin.

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|| COVER/TITLE ||

4/5

I need to start off by saying that your title is utter perfection. It seems simple at first glance and, honestly, I didn't think much of it. However, the moment I dove into the story and discovered the meaning behind your characters' names, it piqued my excitement. The title becomes clear very quickly, and its revelation in the third chapter drives the point home—and, through excellent foreshadowing and buildup, you left enough hints that I was able to pick up on its meaning long before the mysterious woman said it aloud. It led to that all-too-fun reader moment of, "Aha! I was right!"

If I were to base this off your professional cover, this truly would have gotten a perfect score. However, while your Wattpad cover is eye-catching and fitting for the book, the text becomes harder to read from a distance and doesn't seem to fit as well with the style of images you have. (Your cover for publishing, though? Absolutely stunning. 10/10, can't wait to see it on my shelf next year.)

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|| BLURB ||

4/5

Your blurb is quick and to the point—which I personally prefer over a long blurb. I still remember how quick I was to accept your review request because of how drawn-in I was by it, especially once I hit the line about Toa making a deal that sends Masina to the underworld. I hit that line, read it over again, and knew right away that I needed to read this.

The main part I would have nitpicked is something you've resolved already with marketing, which is to really push the underworld plotline first and foremost above the current blurb's opening line about jealousy. That bit about getting your sibling sent to the underworld? That's a huge draw right there—sending a sibling there (or wanting to, I should say) is relatable even outside of a fantasy setting. So, I was thrilled to see you marketing it with that.

The only other small things would be the wordiness that leaks into a few lines of your blurb. But, wordiness is something I don't notice in your sample chapters, so I'm assuming that this was something you likely polished up in revisions afterward.

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|| OPENING SCENE/HOOK ||

4/5
(For the opening scene, I have covered Chapter 1.a instead of the first chapter as a whole. )

Relatable. So many of us have had that one person in our lives (whether it's a sibling, other family member, or someone else in forced proximity) who we feel envy toward or like we're constantly living in their shadow, no matter our own personal achievements. Seeing Toa's attitude toward Masina is that slightly-unpleasant look in the mirror we all need when those feelings arise in ourselves—it takes you on a journey from completely understanding his point of view to realizing how askew it is. Because Masina is quickly shown to be a caring and sweet little sister, and not at all the attention-stealer Toa pictures.

Showing both sides so quickly is an excellent draw, because it begs the question: "Why is there such a strong resentment?" It made me wonder whether it was truly all jealousy, or possibly even something in their pasts that brought such harsh feelings.

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|| PLOT/PACING ||

5/5

The first three chapters take us on a whirlwind of events. We begin on an ordinary day in the village, with the future chiefs coming together with their predecessors, which quickly devolves into chaos when an army of demons attack their people in broad daylight. This first chapter as a whole has flawless pacing and build-up—not to mention how riddled with emotions it is. Not only do we cover Toa's boiling jealousy, we see more of his hurt feelings over how the others treat him as next-in-line for chief, but then we discover something new about him: his bark is far worse than his bite.

From internal dialogue alone, I had expected Toa to be more fearsome in his approach—almost overcompensating for what he feels he's missing from what his sister excels at. Instead, we find quite the opposite: he freezes at the first sign of battle. Even while his friends and family struggle around him, he can't find the courage to move, and this was a profound—and very telling—moment for his character.

As we progress into the second and third chapters, seeing him race around to aid the others (and finding out his sister has beaten him to every punch) and discover that his place as future chief is on the line due to his falter on the battlefield, the momentum stays strong. We learn so much about his background, his drive, their mother, and how even his own father feels about his personal progress. Toa's encounters with the "mysterious woman" at his mother's burial site keep the intrigue rolling. Who is this woman? How does she know so much about the family? How did she predict his fall as future chief?

You do a phenomenal job in only three chapters of feeding us small amounts of information, followed by many more questions that kept me turning pages every time I re-read your sample chapters.

One thing I don't often go much into in reviews is worldbuilding—but I want to commend you on the excellent job you've done. You brought their villages and culture to life quickly and efficiently without it ever turning into info-dumping. That isn't easy and you knocked it out of the park.

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|| CHARACTERS ||

5/5

I've covered most of this above, but Toa's character alone would have been enough for me to give you a perfect score on this one. He's well-rounded, with good intentions buried under bitter feelings. He feels human, as do all of your other characters—and you have quite a large cast to work with, including the children of the other chiefs. 

So often, when that many characters are introduced at once, it becomes hard to follow and names/descriptions end up forgotten in the onslaught of information, but this didn't feel that way at all. I never found myself confused or scrolling back through chapters to remember who anyone was or how they related to Toa. You did an excellent job of keeping them separate and distinct.

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|| DIALOGUE ||

5/5

Your dialogue flows naturally and elegantly. Again, every one of your characters feels human, and their spoken dialogue plays a large part in this—when their speech is clunky, they'll feel robotic. I could easily pull your characters right out of the page, meet them in real life, and never bat an eye. Again, excellent job.

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|| GRAMMAR/SPELLING ||

4.5/5

During the course of your review, I guiltily admit to reading your sample chapters three times. Three times--and this was purely for my own enjoyment because I became so sucked into the world you've created. And in those three swipes? Yes, I could point out piddly little errors or an occasional missing punctuation mark... but, I'm not going to. You know what you're doing and it shows. Errors are bound to happen and what I found while excitedly poring over your work would easily be caught in a final edit sweep (which I know you were having done professionally before publication anyway!).

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|| OVERALL ENJOYMENT ||

5/5

I don't often pre-order books, and I had to snag yours, if that tells you anything about how much I enjoyed your sample chapters. In fact, it pained me to withhold my order until I posted this review so that it would come as a surprise—I wanted to hit that shiny button right away!

Kryssa, I want to wish you all the best of luck and commend you on a job well done. Your book is going to go far—I know it will. And I cannot wait to get a copy of it in my hands!

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Thank you for requesting a review! <3

-Wrenna