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Celestial Beasts #1
The Moon's Shadow
Alice has always thought she was crazy. She was told she was crazy by everyone she ever met. Everyone made fun of her and she felt like an outcast her whole life. Only one person ever believed she could see the things she said she can see. An old family friend and neighbor. However, this old friend is not what he seems and the old stories he shares with Alice are more then just fables and old myths. Gods are real and so are demons. Alice might share a name with a heroine from a classic story, but the rabbit she is chasing is much older and was in myth long before humans could no longer see through the veil. With the help of a wily fox and a legendary hero she must try to save the world from a darkness created to destroy it. A Journey to the west inspired tale of a girl named Alice and her journey to find a missing rabbit.
- GenresFantasy
401 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 11, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 1, 2023
The Moons Shadow: The Celestial Beasts Book 1 is the first book in the Celestial Beasts series. Looking into the author's profile, this appears to be her first published work, with the other books in the series having not been released at the time of this review.
It's evident from reading that the author has a passion for Asian mythology. Characters are pulled from a wide range of cultures, including a Korean fox spirit and the legendary Sun Wu Kong. Setting the story in modern-day America does give those mythological characters some new context, and the idea of Sun Wu Kong as a grizzled detective with a "I'm too old for this shit" attitude is a fun take on the character.
As mentioned before, this is the author's first book, and that does seem to come across in a few ways. The copy I have (loaned to me by a friend) does have some typos and formatting issues, which isn't completely uncommon in an independently published book. This included some odd spacing, some duplicated paragraphs, and a chapter that ended in the middle of a sentence. Hopefully with some publishing experience under her belt and a good run through by an editor, those can be eliminated for the next few books in the series. There are some written accents for some of the characters which are a bit odd to read, and if the author reads these reviews, I'd encourage them to try and imply accents, rather than trying to write them out phonetically.
The book summary draws parallels to Alice in Wonderland, but outside of the fact that the protagonist is named Alice and there are indeed rabbits, the connection feels a bit strained. I did go in expecting more of a "through the looking glass" experience, but really it felt more like the set up to a magical girl manga/anime, like Sailor Moon. In fact, the first time we see Alice, she's waking up, late for school, in a very Usagi Tsukino sort of way, and her relationship with "Pizza Guy" feels more like Sailor Moon's with Tuxedo Kamen than anything written by Luis Carrol. This isn't a negative! This sort of thing shows up in TONS of stories for a reason! Just set your expectations appropriately.
One thing that did detract from the story was that Alice honestly doesn't do much. She starts the story as the typical "I like weird things, so I'm an outcast" type, and then spends most of the story having things done to her or around her. Even at the end . I would have loved to have seen some worldbuilding by seeing through Alice's eyes just what she's seeing that sets her apart and how it affects her instead of just being told that she sees things and has weird reoccurring dreams. But at the end of the story, Alice doesn't really seem to have developed much beyond how we initially found her. Hopefully this changes in future books if Alice remains the primary protagonist.
The body of the book alternate between Alice's view and the fall of the Moon Palace that starts the entire chain of events into motion. The best writing in this book is in Alice's sections. The sections on the Moon, while the explain what happened in the past, actually seem to drag down the pace of the story. They're all ostensibly action scenes, but the prose style doesn't feel tight enough to convey that. I would have preferred to see Alice learning about these past events along with the reader. Her trying to understand what was happening would have given her more opportunities to be the hero of her own story, rather than needing to be rescued multiple times.
Where this book does do some great stuff is with the secondary characters. Sun Wu Kong, as mentioned above, is a great re-contextualization of the character as someone who has moved beyond what we know about in legend. A Crow demon brings some great comedy and has a capriciousness which leaves you never quite certain about where her loyalty lies. Alice's aunt is a great human character, and the fact that she sets up some amazing potential for future books.
Overall, this is a good first showing for a new author. There's some roughness around the edges that a good editor could help smooth out, and there's some potential for something really amazing here.
It's evident from reading that the author has a passion for Asian mythology. Characters are pulled from a wide range of cultures, including a Korean fox spirit and the legendary Sun Wu Kong. Setting the story in modern-day America does give those mythological characters some new context, and the idea of Sun Wu Kong as a grizzled detective with a "I'm too old for this shit" attitude is a fun take on the character.
As mentioned before, this is the author's first book, and that does seem to come across in a few ways. The copy I have (loaned to me by a friend) does have some typos and formatting issues, which isn't completely uncommon in an independently published book. This included some odd spacing, some duplicated paragraphs, and a chapter that ended in the middle of a sentence. Hopefully with some publishing experience under her belt and a good run through by an editor, those can be eliminated for the next few books in the series. There are some written accents for some of the characters which are a bit odd to read, and if the author reads these reviews, I'd encourage them to try and imply accents, rather than trying to write them out phonetically.
The book summary draws parallels to Alice in Wonderland, but outside of the fact that the protagonist is named Alice and there are indeed rabbits, the connection feels a bit strained. I did go in expecting more of a "through the looking glass" experience, but really it felt more like the set up to a magical girl manga/anime, like Sailor Moon. In fact, the first time we see Alice, she's waking up, late for school, in a very Usagi Tsukino sort of way, and her relationship with "Pizza Guy" feels more like Sailor Moon's with Tuxedo Kamen than anything written by Luis Carrol. This isn't a negative! This sort of thing shows up in TONS of stories for a reason! Just set your expectations appropriately.
One thing that did detract from the story was that Alice honestly doesn't do much. She starts the story as the typical "I like weird things, so I'm an outcast" type, and then spends most of the story having things done to her or around her. Even at the end . I would have loved to have seen some worldbuilding by seeing through Alice's eyes just what she's seeing that sets her apart and how it affects her instead of just being told that she sees things and has weird reoccurring dreams. But at the end of the story, Alice doesn't really seem to have developed much beyond how we initially found her. Hopefully this changes in future books if Alice remains the primary protagonist.
The body of the book alternate between Alice's view and the fall of the Moon Palace that starts the entire chain of events into motion. The best writing in this book is in Alice's sections. The sections on the Moon, while the explain what happened in the past, actually seem to drag down the pace of the story. They're all ostensibly action scenes, but the prose style doesn't feel tight enough to convey that. I would have preferred to see Alice learning about these past events along with the reader. Her trying to understand what was happening would have given her more opportunities to be the hero of her own story, rather than needing to be rescued multiple times.
Where this book does do some great stuff is with the secondary characters. Sun Wu Kong, as mentioned above, is a great re-contextualization of the character as someone who has moved beyond what we know about in legend. A Crow demon brings some great comedy and has a capriciousness which leaves you never quite certain about where her loyalty lies. Alice's aunt is a great human character, and the fact that she sets up some amazing potential for future books.
Overall, this is a good first showing for a new author. There's some roughness around the edges that a good editor could help smooth out, and there's some potential for something really amazing here.
February 26, 2025
The Moon’s Shadow is the first book in J.L. Brown’s Celestial Beasts Series and I will be reading the rest. It intertwines Asian mythology/Legends with Alice in Wonderland, though at times the parallel with Wonderland seems a bit strained. The protagonist’s name is Alice and for some time that was the only connection I saw. Many of the characters are pulled from Asian culture (A fox spirit, Sun Wu Kong) and it’s fun to see these characters come to life in modern day and have their stories blend (while traditionally many of their stories are from different parts of the world from each other.)
The book format is one that alternates chapters between Alice’s viewpoint (Teenage American girl, with angst) and the Moon Palace where our mythological characters are introduced. For this reader, there were many names from Asian culture introduced in the beginning chapters that I was not familiar with. This made those chapters a little hard to get into and was confusing for me but, that remedies itself shortly as you get used to the flow. They are followed by chapters of Alice that are fun to read and remind me very much of a few great books I read at her fictional age.
We first see Alice not fitting into her school or the kids her age. Her strongest relationship is with an older man who owns a shop by her home. Alice enjoys spending time with him as he regales her with stories of mythological creatures and lessons that we find out are actually based in reality. He attempts to give Alice a strong background in these legends so that when she must face these creatures on her own, she will know what to do. As the book progresses, we don’t see much growth in Alice but one assumes that will change throughout the series.
I am very intrigued by the characters and the path this book is taking so I am looking forward to reading more of the series. I think this “world” that J.L. Brown has created is one that many readers will enjoy and the way that Brown includes the mythologies of other countries is fresh and intriguing.
The book format is one that alternates chapters between Alice’s viewpoint (Teenage American girl, with angst) and the Moon Palace where our mythological characters are introduced. For this reader, there were many names from Asian culture introduced in the beginning chapters that I was not familiar with. This made those chapters a little hard to get into and was confusing for me but, that remedies itself shortly as you get used to the flow. They are followed by chapters of Alice that are fun to read and remind me very much of a few great books I read at her fictional age.
We first see Alice not fitting into her school or the kids her age. Her strongest relationship is with an older man who owns a shop by her home. Alice enjoys spending time with him as he regales her with stories of mythological creatures and lessons that we find out are actually based in reality. He attempts to give Alice a strong background in these legends so that when she must face these creatures on her own, she will know what to do. As the book progresses, we don’t see much growth in Alice but one assumes that will change throughout the series.
I am very intrigued by the characters and the path this book is taking so I am looking forward to reading more of the series. I think this “world” that J.L. Brown has created is one that many readers will enjoy and the way that Brown includes the mythologies of other countries is fresh and intriguing.
January 2, 2025
The way myths and legends from different cultures were brought together felt so seamless and natural—it made the world feel alive and layered. I especially loved the creative takes on characters like Sun Wu Kong and the Korean fox spirit—they added so much personality to the story.
The vivid descriptions really pulled me in, and the action scenes were just plain fun to read. There were plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing, and I genuinely didn’t want to put it down.
Plenty of awesome characters and creative takes on well known characters. Alice is a solid protagonist, though I’d love to see her grow even more in the next book—there’s so much potential there!
For a debut, this book is super impressive. It’s packed with imagination and heart, and I can’t wait to see what’s next in the series. If you’re into mythology, fantasy, or just love a fun adventure, definitely check this one out!
The vivid descriptions really pulled me in, and the action scenes were just plain fun to read. There were plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing, and I genuinely didn’t want to put it down.
Plenty of awesome characters and creative takes on well known characters. Alice is a solid protagonist, though I’d love to see her grow even more in the next book—there’s so much potential there!
For a debut, this book is super impressive. It’s packed with imagination and heart, and I can’t wait to see what’s next in the series. If you’re into mythology, fantasy, or just love a fun adventure, definitely check this one out!
August 10, 2023
I really enjoyed this book, and found myself thinking about it a lot while I wasn't reading it. The Asian mythology woven into it is rich and beautiful, while being accessible to readers with no experience of it. The descriptive writing is just as beautiful and vivid, in particular the high-fantasy scenes, and the characters are engaging and intriguing. Its independent nature means that the Kindle version has a few formatting issues - I am so hopeful that the series is picked up so that the story can shine with the presentation it deserves. Looking forward to the next instalment!
August 2, 2023
I had a difficult time getting into this story due to a few factors. There’s a blend of East Asian mythology and culture that feels like it’s being used interchangeably, such as a Chinese character wielding the armor and weapons of Japanese samurai that felt immersion breaking since I didn’t feel that the world building at this point had explained this blending of cultures.
The story is divided up between two characters that feels like it’s meant to merge at some point, but made the experience feel disjointed to me and I feel that focusing on the lead character, Alice, would have better served the story.
Speaking of the main character, Alice felt like a collection of tropes vs a fleshed out person which made it difficult for me to empathize with her. I bring this up because ‘the outcast’ archetype is one I generally gravitate towards based on my own personal experiences. The split story meant that we don’t see all these odd things that cause others to think she’s weird. We’re simply told about them and this makes her far less sympathetic than if we were to see the world through her eyes.
I did also feel slightly uncomfortable with the idea that a white girl is the hope of an otherwise East Asian cast. It can be tricky to have this set up without falling into the “White savior” trope, but I admittedly don’t know if the author plans to introduce additional cultures in future installments.
There’s a lot of possibilities when bringing elements of non western mythology to a western audience, but at the moment this feels surface level.
This does not need a sequel, it needs an editor and at least some basic research.
The story is divided up between two characters that feels like it’s meant to merge at some point, but made the experience feel disjointed to me and I feel that focusing on the lead character, Alice, would have better served the story.
Speaking of the main character, Alice felt like a collection of tropes vs a fleshed out person which made it difficult for me to empathize with her. I bring this up because ‘the outcast’ archetype is one I generally gravitate towards based on my own personal experiences. The split story meant that we don’t see all these odd things that cause others to think she’s weird. We’re simply told about them and this makes her far less sympathetic than if we were to see the world through her eyes.
I did also feel slightly uncomfortable with the idea that a white girl is the hope of an otherwise East Asian cast. It can be tricky to have this set up without falling into the “White savior” trope, but I admittedly don’t know if the author plans to introduce additional cultures in future installments.
There’s a lot of possibilities when bringing elements of non western mythology to a western audience, but at the moment this feels surface level.
This does not need a sequel, it needs an editor and at least some basic research.
August 10, 2023
I really enjoyed this book, and found myself thinking about it a lot while I wasn't reading it. The Asian mythology woven into it is rich and beautiful, while being accessible to readers with no experience of it. The descriptive writing is just as beautiful and vivid, in particular the high-fantasy scenes, and the characters are engaging and intriguing. Its independent nature means that the Kindle version has a few formatting issues - I am so hopeful that the series is picked up so that the story can shine with the presentation it deserves. Looking forward to the next instalment!
February 1, 2026
From start to finish, I could not put this book down! Fantastic storytelling and lots of adventure. The author crafts thrilling action scenes and beautiful descriptions, and I became deeply invested in the characters. I love the mythology angle and want to learn more. Such an exciting and satisfying read. I’m now a huge Geulimja stan.
March 20, 2026
Very well written. The story grabs you from page one, I couldn't put it down! A must read 📚
July 29, 2023
This book has everything you would want in a wonderful fantasy read! Literally could not put it down and kept wanting to skip ahead to see how the character arcs panned out because the mystery around the main fox character was so enticing! If you love Asian lore and mythology, you should definitely check out this book!
July 29, 2023
Amazing, deep, great for all ages book written by and amazing author. You will not want to put this book down. Cannot wait for the next one.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews