The Moon Dwellers

The Dwellers #1

by David Estes

In a desperate attempt to escape destruction decades earlier, humankind was forced underground, into the depths of the earth, creating a new society called the Tri-Realms.

After her parents and sister are abducted by the Enforcers, seventeen-year-old Adele, a member of the middle-class moon dwellers, is unjustly sentenced to life in prison for her parents' crimes of treason.

Against all odds, Adele must escape from the Pen and find her family, while being hunted by a deranged, killing machine named Rivet, who works for the President. She is helped by two other inmates, Tawni and Cole, each of whom have dark secrets that are better left undiscovered. Other than her friends, the only thing she has going for her is a wicked roundhouse kick and two fists that have been well-trained for combat by her father.

At the other end of the social spectrum is Tristan, the son of the President and a sun dweller. His mother is gone. He hates his father. Backed by only his servant and best friend, Roc, he leaves his lavish lifestyle in the Sun Realm, seeking to make something good out of his troubled life.

When a war breaks out within the Tri-Realms, Tristan is thrust into the middle of a conflict that seems to mysteriously follow Adele as she seeks to find her family and uncover her parents true past.

In their world, someone must die.

Genres: Dystopia, Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Fiction, Post Apocalyptic

366 pages, Paperback

First published June 16, 2012

About the author

Get a FREE short story from David Estes' #1 Amazon bestselling epic fantasy series, Fatemarked, when you sign up for his mailing list: https://www.subscribepage.com/b2v6v3

David Estes has written more than 40 science fiction and fantasy books. He loves chatting with his readers, all of whom he considers to be his friends. David lives in Hawaii with his beautiful Aussie wife, Adele, his moody cats, Bailey and Luna, and his rambunctious sons, Beau and Brody.

Join 3,000+ David Estes Fans and YA Book Lovers Unite in David Estes' official fan group at:
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/7...

Books by David Estes:

-The Fatemarked Epic- For fans of A Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, and The Way of Kings! Four kingdoms. A century-old war. One ancient prophecy that could change everything.

-The Kingfall Histories- a follow up series to the #1 Amazon bestselling series, The Fatemarked Epic

-Strings- “A wonderful retelling of the Pinocchio story…I simply couldn’t put this book down.”—Rysa Walker, bestselling author of TIMEBOUND

-The Dwellers Saga and the Country Saga. Voted books to read if you enjoyed the Hunger Games on Buzzfeed and Listopia.

-Salem's Revenge trilogy- the witch apocalypse begins!

-Slip Trilogy- "Someone must die before another can be born..."

-The Adventures of Nikki Powergloves- Kid superheroes? 'Nuff said.

Reviews

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread 2022 - 4 Stars- I’m going to finally finish the series so I reread this one and it’s still good!

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

***********

www.melissa413readsalot.blogspot.com

I am so glad I finally got to read this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I look forward to the rest of the books in the saga.

I loved this story starts off in the Moon Dwellers Realm. These are people that live underground. We get to read about Adele, Cole and Tawni. They are in the Pen, prison for different crimes.

Adele's parents were taken away along with her sister and she ends up in prison. Her father did well in teaching her and her little sister how to fight. Adele is trying to think of a way she can find her parents again. It seems hopeless in the Pen.

One day while they are all outside, in a sense, a boy named Tristan is visiting the Moon Dwellers. He is the son of the President and he lives in the Sun Dwellers Realm. They are rich and take everything from the poor. When Tristan and Adele see each other they both have blinding headaches. Neither one of them can figure out what happened. And we don't figure out what happens in this book either so don't worry about a spoiler :)

I am however going to give away some ***MILD SPOILERS***!

Adele, Cole, and Tawni decide to break out of the Pen. They have a good plan in place on how to break out of their cells. But on this night one of the other Realms decides to start bombing the Moon Dwellers, this is sort of an advantage to them to keep the guards occupied. But they have to make sure not to get killed in the escape from the bombs. They set out to find Adele's sister first, Elsey.

In the meantime, Tristan and his friend Roc sneak down to the Moon Dweller Realm so Tristan can find Adele and try to figure out what is going on with them. He is a good guy, he doesn't believe in the things his father does and he wants to make things better for all of the Realms as equals.

Ultimately, they are all on the run from people trying to them and drag them back. The story has some good action, a very good description of the atmosphere in the different Realms, a death that I hated to happen, and some good reunions.

The author set up a good world and I like the premise. I recommend to anyone that likes these kinds of books.

[David Estes]

I hope you all enjoy my new book as much as my beta readers did! Here are a few of their quotes after reading The Moon Dwellers:

-“I’m excited for the next book and this one isn’t even out yet!” -Alexandria

-“HOLY CRAP! I literally JUST finished and I’m kind of on that crazy after-you-finish-an-epic-book high!” –Kerri

-“OH MY GOD!!! What a lovely story David! I am in LOVE with it!” –Nicole

-“Awesome job. Can’t wait till the book is going to come out. Let me know when so I can demand all my friends to read it.” –Kay

-“I was heartbroken and cried my eyes out, but that’s one of the things I love. If an author can make me feel that much emotion through their characters then in my book that makes them so much better.” –Kay again

-“The action was absolutely amazing, and it kept me on my toes the entire time! Overall it was kinda sorta FREAKING AWESOME!” –Kerri again

-“I love this book! I am already dying to know what happens next!” –Christina

-“Wonderful story!” –Laurie

[Terri ♥ (aka Mrs. Christian Grey) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick review:

Cover: eye catching color
Rating: PG
Thumbs Up: 5
Overall: An amazing story with guts and determination.
Characters: Well written
Plot: An original tale with that kept me captivated.
Page Turner: Yes
Series Cont.? Absolutely
Recommend: Yes
Book Boyfriend: Tristan *sigh*

SUMMARY (50 words or less)

This story is very well written and thought out. So much so that the undercurrents of romance that on hinted at the surface didn’t bother me. In fact it was a plus. The only thing I did was root for them all to survive this tale. Awesome book. Sequel Please!

To see my full review and yummy pic, check out my blog post below.

http://mybookboyfriend.blogspot.com/2...

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

YA Dystopians have become my favorite genre over the past year. There really aren't too many I haven't read yet, although there are a few. I'm not sure why I didn't read this one sooner, I am kind of kicking myself right now! This was a thrilling, couldn't-put-it-down kind of read!

The story is a dual POV between Adele and Tristan. Adele is in prison through no crimes of her own. The society is set up like a caste system, and Adele's class, The Moon Dwellers, is considered middle class. Although now she has no rights at all, and is in prison for life. Tristan is royalty, and at the other end of the spectrum. He belongs to the Sun Dwellers, the richest souls in their society. The Sun Dwellers control everything, and take away more and more from the Moon Dwellers and the Star Dwellers (lowest class) every year. The castes are even separated geographically. Everything is underground, after a global destructive event up above the earth.

The story starts off where Tristan is in a parade of some sorts in the Moon Dwellers districts. Adele sees him from the prison yard, and he, her. The both experience an extreme sort of head pain when they lock eyes. Tristan decides he must go back and find out about this girl. He basically runs away to go find her, against his father's wishes. So he sets off with his best friend and servant, Roc.

Adele, meanwhile, has befriended 2 prisoners by the names of Cole and Tawni, and they make a prison break. At the same time they are escaping, the Star Dwellers, who are upset with their lot in life, has declared war on the Moon Dwellers, and is bombing the heck out of their districts. Its utter chaos as Adele runs to try to rescue the rest of her family, and Tristan is chasing after her.

Adele is an awesome, kick butt kind of girl, and I absolutely adored her! Tristan was no weakling, either, as he was trained in sword fighting since he was little. He and Roc have an interesting time of things, though, as they don't have much common sense in the Moon Dwellers districts! They get themselves in more trouble than Adele does! I loved the friendship and brotherhood of Roc and Tristan, and I thought their moments were some of the brightest and funniest!

The bulk of the story was really about these specific groups of people, but towards the end we start to see the bigger picture of this dystopian society, and its impending doom. The ending set things up nicely for the next book, The Star Dwellers! I can't wait to read the rest of the trilogy!

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Early Beta Review 2/21/12

Wow, what an amazing journey into a completely unique world. This Dystopian/Urban Fantasy Novel stole my breath. Journey under the earth’s crust after post apocalypse into the tri-realms for an emotional adventure ready to sweep you into it.

Adele is a 17 year old girl sentenced to life in prison because her father dared to question their unfair existence. For six months she has held her own in the juvenile detention center while waiting for her 18th birthday only to be transferred to a maximum security prison. She is a moon dweller, in this dystopian novel a moon dweller is the middle class but don’t let that fool you most of their neighborhoods are slums.

Tristan is a Sun dweller, Prince of the Tri-realms, first born son to the President. Sun dwellers have been taking advantage of the moon dwellers and even lower class Star dwellers for 500 years. However Tristan is unique and feels his father’s tactics are unethical and disgusting.

One day while fulfilling his princely duty he is in a parade that passes Adele in the yard on the detention center, their eyes meet and Adele feels an instant connection to him. That had to be her imagination right?
Follow Adele and her band of rag tag friends in their mission to escape prison and rescue her father from the work camp he has been sent to. At the same time fate leads Tristan away from his Palace in his journey to escape his existence as the “Prince” of the realm.

Will they meet? Do they feel the same connection?

This was a fabulous work of art appropriate for all ages. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment of this sweet and fantastical world from the amazingly creative David Estes.

Stalk David on his blog, goodreads, & facebook.

You can pickup The Moon Dwellers on Amazon and B&N.

Other Books by David Estes

Angel Evolution (The Evolution Trilogy, #1)

Demon Evolution (The Evolution Trilogy, #2)

Archangel Evolution (The Evolution Trilogy, #3)

[Veronica Morfi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4/5

The Moon Dwellers is the explosive start to the Dwellers Series. This story takes place in a world where everyone lives underground. The closer you are to the surface the better your life. So we have the Sun Dwellers, the Moon Dwellers and the Star Dwellers. The Sun Dwellers are the rulers while everyone else is pretty much their slaves.

In this book we follow Adele, a Moon Dwellers that has been sentenced to life in prison for the crime of her parents' treason. While in jail she meets a couple of people and together they will try to escape and get her little sister back.

In the mean time this book also has the PoV of Tristan, the son of the President and obviously a Sun Dweller. In one of his trips in the Moon realm he sees a girl prisoner (Adele) and feels a mysterious, agonizing pain (did I forget to mention she does too? well she does). After that he will do anything to find her again, but with Adele's escape and everyone on the realms being after her it would become harder and harder to meet his mysterious girl once more and get some answers.

What I mainly loved about this book is the world building, Estes did an amazing job working out all the little details for the three realms and their residents. I also fell in love with Tristan, he is amazing, especially for being the President's son. Finally the action and mystery. This book is filled with fight scenes, running for your life moments and a lot more. There is also the great mystery behind Tristan's and Adele's connection. All in all a good old WTF is going on.

My only issue was the insta-love, or better yet insta-obsession. Because of the mysterious pain they felt when they first locked eyes both MCs became obsessed with each other (maybe I would too), but when they do finally meet they are suddenly suppose to have this insta-connection that I didn't really feel, it was mostly forced on us. But other than that this book, and hopefully the rest of the series, is kick-ass. If you are into Dystopian this is the book for you.

P.S. I listened to this one in audiobook and it was amazing. Both narrators were awesome. Definitely worth it.

[Jeann (Happy Indulgence) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual Rating: 4.5

Before I begin, thanks to the ARR program, I received a free copy of the Moon Dwellers from the author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for David for choosing me as a reviewer.

Adele is a strong, capable fighter who is stuck in a juvenile prison called The Pen. We meet her when she gets picked on by another inmate, someone who's bigger and stronger than her. With her unexpected fighting skills however, she bested the inmate and catches the attention of three different people - two other inmates called Tawni and Cole, and Tristan, the prince of the Sun Realm.

Then begins the journey where Adele learns to trust her new inmate friends, who escape the prison together on a mission. The story is told from two perspectives, that of Adele and Tristan. From the first sight, they both feel some unexplainable chemistry and Tristan sets out to find this girl, unbeknownst to him that she's on a mission that will take her straight into the warzone.

It took me a while to get through The Moon Dwellers. I'm not quite sure what it was, perhaps the characters were undergoing such a journey that I felt like I had to let parts of it sink in before moving on to the next scene. There's just such a build up of each character and the brief parts of world-building that there was quite a lot to take in. However, once I was well and truly through the book (about 60% of the way through) the action-packed scenes and the climax of the book really takes off and I was captured until the end.

The dystopia setting of the Tri-Realms (The Sun Dwellers, Moon Dwellers, and Star Dwellers) felt a lot like the Hunger Games. Each realm is based on a class based system where the Sun is the richest, most powerful realm (ie. The Capitol) and the Moon Realm & Star Realm felt like different sectors from the Hunger Games, with the Star Realm being the poorest one. As with any political struggle, the Tri-Realms break into a war and our main characters are in the middle of it. This definitely felt like the 2nd and 3rd book of the Hunger Games series.

Usually the whole insta-love thing would bother me as it seems to be a main theme in a lot of YA books, but here it didn't. The book focuses on the situation and character development so much that the whole love thing seemed to be secondary to it's focus. When it's worked in with so much forethought, coming to a mind-blowing explosion at the end, that's when it's actually done well.

David Estes is skilled at conveying emotions and insights unique to each character, that by the end I found myself emotionally vested in the characters that he has created. Adele has an inner strength about her that allows her to take care of others, such as the fragile but caring Tawni, and the haunted by his past Cole. Tristan's struggle against his father and single focus in finding the girl he's so enamored with was a welcome break from Adele's painstaking emotional and physical journey.

I really enjoyed The Moon Dwellers and am clamouring for the sequel.

Check out Happy Indulgence for more reviews!

[Alana ~ The Book Pimp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmm...I had to let this one sink in a bit.

Very City of Ember feel to it, but MORE everything.... more action, more romance, more back story, more violence... even more caves (I think!) And it's definitely an 'older' read than City of Ember. Very dark themes, and just the slightest smattering of young love.

"My heart is alive again. Because I see her."

I am always drawn to dystopian fiction, but have not read very much of it. So I can't proclaim how similar or dissimilar it may be to The Hunger Games... or many other books. If most dystopian novels are like this one, I really need to get cracking! You could really get a feel of a social statement being made about the world within it's pages, but it doesn't hit you over the head with the statement.

"I'm not sure what everyone's been smoking, but I want some - clearly it's good stuff."

You really want to root for Adele and Tristan, you want everything to work out for them. It's easy to connect to the characters, and wish you could be there beside them to help their lofty goals to better their world.

"No matter how much I try to wish it all away, my past is the zit that you pop, watch bleed, watch heal, only to see poking from your skin again a week later."

"Me, the queen of sarcastic comments - self-declared - has been outsarcastified."

"In reality, he's never so much as negotiated a turd from his butt."

"I don't particulary like confrontation. Unfortunately, confrontation seems to like me"

"I've had some strange requests in my life, but this one takes the cake (if we had cake, that is)."

Sorry, I just couldn't help myself... there are SO many wonderful little gem of quotes in this book! I laughed, I cried (well at least got misty-eyed), I said "NO!", I gasped... it really takes you, wraps you up into this strange new world, and sweeps you away into the story. I cannot recommend this enough!

"Belly flop time."

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to thank author David Estes for sending me a copy of this book to read and review. Review also posted here:
http://thecovercontessa.blogspot.com/...
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-m...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008...
It's a been a bit since I read a dystopian novel. I have been wrapped up in paranormal lately, so this was really a great change.
First, I must address the world that David built. I really love the concept of having to move beneath the earth to escape after the collapse on the earth's surface. I would have liked this to go a little more into the depth of why it happened. I think that would have made it a little more believable for me. With that said, I could totally picture David's worlds. The Sun Dweller realm reminded me a bit of the ship from the movie Walle. I could see how things were made to help simulate sun and being on the earth's crust. The Moon Dweller realm reminded me of caves. All I could think about was dark gray rock, rising on all sides, lit only by the timed lights that created "day" and "night." I cannot really picture the Star Dweller realm at this time, as we haven't really been there, but I know that comes in the next book. In my mind there's a lot of dirt! LOL!
I was worried about the book being told from two points of view. I am always worried about this, especially when it is a male and female POV, which have to sound very different to be believable. I was not disappointed. I was a bit shocked by the "insta-love" between the two main characters, but I almost feel there is more to this that we have yet to learn about. So I was able to put that on the back burner. And I loved the way that David kept us in suspense through most of the book as the characters almost met a number of times before they finally come together.
Adele is a kick butt heroine. I love kick butt heroines. She is smart and sassy. She is certainly strong and capable. She is also loving and compassionate. She knows how to distance herself so she won't become attached or get herself into a situation where she might have to fight her way out. But she also shows the side of herself that is a teenage, falling for Tristan as only a teen would do: by seeing him and locking eyes with him in an almost "love at first sight" way. She appropriately grieves death in the book, which I think is a hard thing to write. And she shows us that you can overcome anything if you put your mind to it. Although, she does have some luck along the way. And she has flaws, which definitely make her more relatable to the reader.
Tristan is not at all what I would have expected. He is strong and funny. He has so much love, you can feel it coming off the page (for both Adele and his friend Roc). He is honest, almost to a flaw, but it suits him and makes him more relatable. And you can see that his ideals are in the right place, even if his father's are not. I am curious as to what exactly it is he knows, as we don't really get any information on this during the book, except that it seems to be something that will help them change their worlds.
The supporting characters, Roc, Cole and Tawni, are really great. I love Cole's sense of humor and I was sad to see him go, as I really thought there could have been a lot more to come with him in the story. Tawni is certainly strong. And she is definitely holding back some secrets (that she seems to share with Roc and Tristan). And Roc, well, I just love him. He's such a great friend to Tristan, despite his position in the Sun Dweller realm as a basic servant to the prince. Elsey is wise beyond her years. I did find when she spoke that I really didn't see a 10 year old girl. I know that she was supposed to have really grown while in the orphanage, but to me it wasn't quite believable. And I'm looking forward to seeing more from Ben Rose, as I am sure he and Tristan are going to bond in the future over their love for Adele.
I was a little disappointed that we didn't get more insight into the evils that truly lurk in these worlds. Alas, there is Star Dwellers for that to happen, no? And I'm excited to see if Adele finds her mother, and who else she and Tawni meet along the way.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. I read it for a chapter a day read in Never Too Old for YA Books, and, let me tell you, it was hard to stop at just the chapters we were reading for that day! I didn't read the sneak peak to Star Dwellers. I want to be surprised when it comes out! And I will read the rest of this trilogy, that is for certain. Nicely done, Mr. Estes! I am looking forward to spending more time in the realms come this fall!
I'm rating this a 4/5 stars.

[Alexandria · Rating 3 out of 5]

*run!*
*slash*
*stab*
*kung fu kick to the balls*
*run in the dark with hopefull abondon that you dont hit a wall face first*
"Oh crap! Whatch out for the canabalistic hag!!"
*run some more*
"Oh shit, my pancreas, my liver, my leg!!! Oh the agony!"
*epic tumble down raging waterfall*
"Damn, are we there yet?"
*DEATH, PAIN, ANGUISH, and sweet FREEDOM*
"Yup, we're here."
"So, what do we do now?", someone ask.
"On to the next one!!!"

And that my friends, is my personal synopsis for this novel. Oh it was good, but horribly repatative in its actions at times. The story begins with our stricken heroine who is in prison. Her family has been falsely acussed of a crime by the corrupt government and now she seeks justice. Justice being, getting her younger sister back, and breaking her father out of prison. All of which take up the whole novel, while a rebellion is also taking place. I'll be completely honest in saying that this entire novel is a wild goose chase, to put it simply. But an entertaining, comic relief, action packed wild goose chase. And in the end it did its job of keeping me interested enough to finish the book. And the romance, for all of you who actually care about such trivial things, made me want to vomit; for a number of reasons. I'm not even going to waste my time in explaining. Just read, and enjoy. *snicker* Perhaps I'll like the next one more.

[Michele Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh Mr. Estes what a horribly wicked, wonderfully awesome place you have created in the Tri-Realms!

I thoroughly enjoyed The Moon Dwellers from start to finish. I don't like to give things away in my reviews, bc I myself hate to stumble upon too many spoilers. Especially about a good book and this is a GOOD book. If you loved Hunger Games than I think it is safe to say you will love this one but believe me when I say they are not one in the same. My thoughts:

I was worried at first that it would be a bit copy cat of HG because there are some similar elements i.e. Mining, districts vs. Sub-continents, kick butt lead female with no social skills, little sis, suspect president ... BUT, and that's a big but, while there are similar ideas this book is soooo much more.

Two person POVs work extremely well here. Going from Adele to Tristan throughout brought so much depth to these characters. I fell in love with them rather quickly. In fact, I fell for all of the supporting cast quickly, the good guys anyways!

Bromance! Tristan and his servant/BFF had such an awesome relationship with each other that there were times I wanted to pick up the phone and call my BFF, whose 500 miles away, just to tell her I love her! I loved the humor that their interactions brought to the story as well.

A story of mutual um...affection? This would be the best way to classify our budding romance between Adele and Tristan. Young love is complicated as it is but add in magnetic first glances, I'm a prisoner your a prince, mad man chasing me, war zone, "i'm risking my life for you, oh by the way I'm Tristan", and of course your parents had mine arrested..this will be one happy family around the dinner table on turkey day! You can see why this isn't just your run of the mill boy meets girl, girl swoons, kind of book. This isn't a gratifying love story for about 75% of the book and that's a good thing. I kept flipping pages thinking "okay this chapter surely they'll finally catch each other". My husband asked me why I grumbled several times during my reading, I was that frustrated for Adele and Tristan! But Oh- mylanta the first night they are finally with each other..swoon..so perfect for this couple in the telling of their story.

Story, story, story. First, the setting is wonderfully described. David created an awesome (under)world of caverns and fake sun/moon, Ii found the inner workings of an underground habitat to be quiet interesting. Second, the tales of friendship, hardship, betrayal and family are all gripping and the fighting is crazy good too. We are left at the end with lots of questions; what does Tristan know about his Dad, what's up with Adele's mom, can our couple ever find love??

I for one can't wait for book two, coming in September, to continue this story. I was given a free copy of this book for an honest read and review but would willingly have bought it..it's that good people. Go read it, you won't be sorry.

That's just my humble opinion ;)

[Anthony Jr. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a hard review to write, for a particular reason. I read a preview (prologue and chapters 1 -2) of this book before, in July. I posted a few thoughts about those early chapters and from what I recall my only issue at that time was how quickly a certain character's wounds healed or something to that effect.

Fast forward. Mr. Estes announces he has made changes and is providing copies of the book in exchange for a honest review. I jumped on this, because based on the amount I had read before I was interested in how things would play out.

Those changes... :(

Either I have changed a lot since July or the changes nearly ruined the style of the book for me.

Before going into that, I will talk about the good parts of TMD.

The Good

In the original version I thought the hook was good. Two protagonists are separated by huge barriers. It is the type of story where obviously they will get together - the story lies in the how. This question is raised early and remains a driving force throughout most of the book. For most of the book you have a reason to keep turning the page.

Lots of adventure, lots of tense moments.

Another good effect is something reminiscent of the heart-wrenching scenes in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. Mark Twain could be writing about something frivolous in one chapter and have you ready to cry in the next. David Estes has his moments where character back story revelations have a powerful impact, or certain events really get you in the heart. Not easy to do.

If he keeps those skills and improves in other ways, watch out.

Now, sorry David, but on to the bad. But this bad is not terribly bad. It is more a cumulative effect of a lot of small style things and a few substantive. If you aren't the sort of reader bothered by such things and are just looking for a dystopian adventure story in the vein of Legend or Divergent, you will likely enjoy the book a lot more. In fact, it is very similar to those books - two very capable protagonists, cruel government, revolution in the air, etc. And in fact, if style issues were the only problem, TMD would be a three. But those few substantive problems unfortunately make this a two for me.

I will break these problems up by category and try to provide examples so you can skim through as necessary, since this will be a bit long. I will also say up front, I think most people won't have find the problems I find with the book to be a problem at all.

Style Problems

Characters repeatedly stating the obvious
Certain questions are constantly repeated. I wanted to say "we know" too often. Also, quite a few lines state what could be easily deduced. Example: a character say she's in "the Pen", where people trying to kill themselves is a regular occurrence, a bell tolls for each death and seems to be slowly driving her crazy and she has been sentenced to life in prison. She describes more such gloom then says in narrative: "Yeah, my life is looking pretty bleak right now." The reader doesn't need to be told this. Many small, similar instances began to grate on me.

Lots of clichés
A small thing, but when I see multiple cliches it starts to bother me. I like to see things described in new ways. A few from TMD: "My father would tan my backside if he heard me say that." "My hands were cold and clammy." "His eyes are strong and confident." There is, literally, a blond-haired, blue-eyed hero. This next cliche is a spoiler: There is a token black guy in the adventure party. And yep. He gets killed.

In addition, some cliches gave me a mental picture I don't think the Mr. Estes intended. Speaking of a character's mother cornered in a fight: "Like a wild animal, her teeth snap and snarl." First, in my mind teeth do not "snarl"; they are inanimate, so mom could snarl, but not her teeth. Second, the picture this gives me is of mom on all fours, snapping sharp teeth, spit flying, and men shouting and shuffling around her with sticks, treating her like a rabid dog. Quite a few times in a fight characters "bare their teeth." They aren't vamps or wolves, thank goodness, but still, they bare 'em.

Repetition
Reading the same thought over and over is a subtle grinder for me. E.g., Adele says internally that Cole is sarcastic. She continues thinking, he's possibly even more sarcastic than her. Then Tawni says "Sorry, Cole can be sarcastic sometimes." I get it already. Another example, Adele narrates internally, was it all in my head? Then says aloud to her friends, "I thought it was all in my head."

Modern references
References that belong in our times took me out of the story a bit too often. Mention of "paparazzi". Adele making a reference to the stereotype of "goods made in China" - although in the story world that sort of manufacture happened over 500 years ago and she is unsure whether China even exists anymore. Tristan mentioning the "haters" probably having "voodoo dolls" of him. There's a reference to "Harry Potter", and another in which a character describes herself as moving "like a ninja." IMO, no teen 500 years in the future would be using such references.

A few cringe lines
"We'll keep focusing on swords -- because they're useful and awesome." "When I fight it's like I have eyes in the back of my head." "Luckily although their aim was perfect [when killing my enemies, now when they are firing at me they all miss]." There are phrases that are so played out that, IMHO, they should never be used. In TMD, they are used, repeatedly. e.g., "I'll never leave you." "I'll never forget you."

Substantive Problems

Inconsistencies
A character breaks the legs of two gang members who approached her. Yet when she punches a guy in a riot, she doesn't phase him at all. So is she weak or strong? Then we are later told there is the rule that fights can be only one on one - so how were the two guys allowed to jump her in the first place?

One character says he's "never known the moon dwellers to be suicidal", but another describes repeated suicides and suicide attempts happening on a regular basis. She herself seemed to be contemplating it. So are they suicidal or not? There are a few other clashes like this.

Pulling items out of hats
When certain characters reach an unexpected waterfall in a cave, they decide to jump through it and one character suddenly pulls out some "water-proof flashlights", unmentioned up until that point. Apparently they were just carrying them around.

When some characters are stuck pinned down with a man loading a gun running toward them, one character inexplicably produces a metal slingshot. Another character takes it, apparently an expert with slingshots. Both the item and the skill were previously unmentioned. Add to this good fortune the slingshot already having metal pellets in its handle. Too much was pulled out the hat for me here.

In another scene, a character had no idea he would ever see another character again, but at the moment they meet - over half a year after being placed in separate prisons in essentially separate states - he pulls a note out of his shoe that another character "meant for you to have, in case I ever saw you again". So... he carried this note around in his shoe for the last six or seven months? Or just on that particular day?

Logic, sometimes borders on TSTL
Some characters toss a rock through a waterfall blocking their path deep in a cave. They hear the rock rebound off something, so they feel it is safe to jump through the waterfall. The rock could have hit a sheer wall and fell straight down for all they know, but they run and jump blindly through.

Minor spoiler here, names removed:
In one scene a father tells his daughter she cannot join the revolution to possibly end a rising civil war because he wants her to instead go break into a maximum security prison facility to get her mom out. This is an ordinary girl as far as we know. Her only training is some family fighting style her miner father taught her - but incredibly he says he can't go with her. Apparently he has to stay behind and watch his other daughter.

So a man maybe in his early forties sends his sixteen year old daughter off to try and break his wife out of a maximum security facility... and won't even go with her to help?

Conclusion
Those add up to a two star book for me. But I am pretty harsh, and, based on the number of good reviews I've seen for TMD, probably in the minority. Most people seem to enjoy the book.

[Zuleeza · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is also available on my blog, Qwerty

Some may say that you should never read a book because of the author. But looking at numerous cases of authors throwing temper tantrum throughout this year especially, I'd say, I am one of those people who would read a book because of the author. Call me judgmental, but I think the readers deserve to be appreciated and treated with respect especially when they spent their hard-earned money for your book.

David Estes is one of my GR friends, he was the one who added me. We don't interact very often because usually he reads books which I haven't read or have no interest to read. I am not very comfortable with the idea that he has more than 1200++ friends, he rated his own books five stars, he voted for his books on listopia and he likes the positive reviews (I'm not sure what he does to the negative reviews, probably just not responding to them). But I guess as an indie author, you have to be out there, promoting your books, or who else is going to do that.

As his updates keep popping on my newsfeed, my initial skepticism slowly diffuses away. He's on GR mostly TO READ, he responds nicely to comments on his updates, he is active in group discussion, and I thought 'Wow! This guy is really nice. I must read his books no matter what'.

I got Angel Evolution sitting on my tablet but as soon as I found out The Moon Dwellers was almost out, I was more drawn to this book as it's the latest and should be the best book yet by David Estes.

So, there you have it, my story of how I decided to pick this up. :)

First, I have to take my words back. This book is nothing like Legend. What made me feel like that at the start was because we got these two main characters coming from two ends of spectrum in a dystopian society, Tristan and Adele. And oh, how sweet the author is to name Adele after his wife's name ^_^

What I liked:

1. I wasn't impressed with the cover at first. But it sort of grows on me. The colour scheme is really nice and IT ACTUALLY FITS WITH THE STORY. Oh well,I guess I'm just tired with girl-in-a-pretty-dress-cover that makes no sense whatsoever with the story itself.

2. The characters. I think this is a first book I've ever read where the male lead actually has a male best friend. And it's so appealing because the bromance is portrayed with such loyalty and purity. My favourite character is Roc, hands down. He's cocky and funny, I think the story would lose its luster without him.

3. The writing was very neat and precise. I read this in the plane, during a transit, in the next plane, and at the airport. I usually have trouble reading in public because for start, I do show my emotions while reading (which is quite embarrassing), second; well, for obvious reason, I need total silence to concentrate on the story. But reading The Moon Dwellers was effortless, you can easily get back to the story if you got distracted. Haha!

4. Some of the scenes were very moving. Cole's background, Elsey and Adele reunion, Cole's death, Roc's loyalty.

5. The romance is very sweet and innocent. Damn it! Tristan is such a sweetheart. To counter the insta love, (see things I didn't like below), the author was very clever to shape Adele and Tristan relationship slowly and steadily after they finally met. They were just holding hands for God sake, and I was already squealing in my seat. It is just so nice to find a book with this kind of clean romance. I'll gladly recommend this book for my 16 years old niece.

6. The fight scenes were told in specific details and well, made sense. Not just, he punches me, I block the blow yada yada.

7. The right emotions were shown by the characters at the right time. For example, Adele still remembered the lost of her friend, Cole when she finally be with Tristan.

What I didn't like:
1. Guess it.

It'as if there's an invisible tether between our eyes linking us together."

"There is no doubt I felt something for him. I feel something for him.

"Although from a distance her eyes look dark. I know they are a deep, enchanting green, almost feline. I half expect them to glow in the dark. Nonsense! All nonsense! I can't possibly know what color her eyes are as if I know her. I've never met her."

Oh Lord, the insta love. No, wait. The ala Disney insta love (which is worse). Honestly, I don't know how to keep the story going if the author lets the attraction between Tristan and Adele grows slowly because the story dictates that they hardly had a chance to see each other.

2. This book lacks that special something. While the premise is refreshing, at the end of the book, it reached a point where almost all dystopian books have been there (The Hunger Games, Divergent, Shatter Me). A chance for a revolution. Again, if we minus that, it would still come short from earning five stars from me because it is not one of those books where I found it impossible to put down and I got a book hungover long after I finished it. It's good, no question about that, but it doesn't stay in my heart.

3. The awkward analogies and similes.
"Have human lives become like a tube of toothpaste? Something to be used up and thrown away?"

"Her beauty resonates from her like radiation from uranium."

4. Sort of. This phase appears 17 times. That's A LOT.

5. Sometimes, the plot just got too convenient. The explosions detonated at the right time, Tristan saw Rivet chasing Adele at the perfect moment and so on. The story seems to be planned, too well planned. I wished for more spontaneity.

So, the verdict: 7 pros versus 5 cons. Congratulations to David Estes for earning more plus points from me; a reviewer who is very hard to be pleased. Hehe.

[Karen’s Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so happy to find out that award winning Julia Whelan and Will Damron were narrators for Estes's amazing Dwellers Saga! And, wow...! They did not disapoint! Julia played Adele to perfection and I loved her portrayals of Tawni, Elsey, and even Tristan. Will did a great job as Tristan, and I adored his Roc.

I tried to drag out this audio as long as I could, and savored every minute!

I have The Star Dwellers loaded up and ready to go and am off to be swept away again into this incredible distopian world that Estes created!

[Sylvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moon Dwellers had me captivated from the first page and I seriously had to resist reading ahead, since I was reading this along with my fellow moderators and group members in our Chapter a Day Challenge. But, alas, I could not resist any longer and had to finish it. It was that awesome and exciting. I was literally sitting at the edge of my couch just devouring every page, jammed full of action and adventure and kick ass fight scenes. I'm telling you David Estes is brilliant. He really knows how to suck you into a story and keep you enthralled and wanting so much more. But, before I go on, I want to thank David for providing me, as well as my fellow moderators, with a copy of this book, so we can read along together. He is very generous and thoughtful and I can't thank him enough.

The world as we know it has gone. The only survivors are living underground and separated into three realms. They are The Sun Dwellers, who are the rich and powerful; The Moon Dwellers, who are the people who mine and provide for the Sun Dwellers; then beneath them are The Star Dwellers, who are so forgotten it's unnerving. Now, the story centres around two main characters and is told in their POV's.
Adele Rose, a kick ass protagonist, who can hold her own against anyone and everyone. She is so fierce and strong and determined it's totally amazing how independent and self assured she is. Thanks to her fathers teaching at such a young age, Adele is able to defend herself against the biggest of opponents and have the will and desire to fight for a noble cause. We meet Adele in the Pen, where she is serving a life sentence for her parents crime of Treason. The plan, is to escape the Pen, with the help of two inmates Tawni and Cole, who are harbouring secrets of their own. There purpose, is to assist Adele in escaping and go out in search of her younger sister and parents.

The other main character is Tristan Nailin. He is a Sun Dweller and the Presidents son. He grew up with the many perks and privileges that are bestowed on the rich, but not without a price. He's mother abandoned him, he's brother loathes him and is turning out to be exactly like his evil father. Tristan is nothing like his father and brother, and wants to leave the tyranny behind him and go out and prove himself to be the better man. With his trusted friend and confident Roc, they set out to find Adele, the mysterious girl who captivated him from a distance when he was out touring the Moon Realm, for the sake of his father. But, what they thought would be a somewhat simple plan, turned out to be more than that. They find themselves catapulted into a conflict. A revolution that stirred in the belly of all the oppressed and was turning into war.

Each chapter alternates between Adele and Tristan, and every chapter I read, I hold my breath in anticipation and longing in hopes that they finally meet. Adele is running and fighting, while Tristan is fighting and running just to catch up to her. There is an attraction that cannot be explained between them and you are cheering them on and waiting desperately for them to finally meet and when they do, Adele kicks him in the gut. It's so magnificent, I just about laughed out loud and wanted to cry at the same time. The perils and torture they go through and not to forget to mention the fighting and the surviving, oh boy it was non-stop. By the end of it I was out of breath LOL. I was saddened too at a few turn of events that occurred and it had me screaming NO, I was so upset and I could not believe that it happened *sniff sniff* but, I overcame my grief with the beautiful and tender moment that Adele and Tristan shared. The moment there hands touched, oh dear Lord, my stomach fluttered and my heart raced. It was so pure and raw and soft. It was total calm and peace, admits the chaos of war. It literally made me sigh, I was definitely a goner at this point.

I think I have said enough and I really urge you all to go and read this brilliant, heart-stopping, faced-paced and action packed book. David is a wonderful story teller and I can't say how much I love this book. I really am swept away and genuinely grateful that David wrote this book and I really can't wait for the next one because I need more. There is so much more to be told. Bravo David!

[Yzabel Ginsberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Book read and reviewed for {Read It & Reap 78} in the Shut Up And Read group.)

I wish we could give .5 stars on GR, because I'd clearly put this one at 4.5/5 stars. Well, I'd put a 5/5 if not for one thing, that I'll expand on later on.

Having read David Estes's first novel, "Angel Evolution", barely a few days ago, I was amazed to discover to which extent this author's writing has developed in this new, beginning trilogy. This is clearly a work for which said author took into account various critiques, and used them to improve his writing and storytelling. The result is, frankly, very good.

"The Moon Dwellers" follows two characters on two opposite ends on the social scale: Adele, a young woman who's been sentenced to jail for life, but decides to escape with her friends Tawni and Cole and find her scattered family again; and Tristan, elder son of the allmighty President, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but intent on estranging himself from this life that doesn't feel like his own. The story is told in the first person, from the alternating points of view pf Adele and Tristan; while such an exercise in writing can be quite hazardous, here it works well, allowing us to learn more and more about those characters and what their lives are like.

I especially enjoyed said characters' personalities. Adele and her friends have had to become strong during their stay in jail, and they don't let anyone dictate them how to behave—they don't hesitate to fight, and they do it well and with spunk, too, both physically and through sarcasm. As for Tristan and Roc, the one isn't such the pampered prince as a lot of people believe him to be, and the other, albeit not the best when it comes to handling a weapon, is terrific in the way he managed to keep his sense of humour throughout dark times. Their friendship, too, is made of solid mettle, and feels genuine and very much present.

The one thing I wasn't too keen on was the 'insta-connection' between Adele and Tristan; it has nothing to do with "The Moond Dwellers" per se, it's simply I as a reader who's never felt convinced by such strong attractions upon first sight. Also, I thought that at times, events unfolded a little too neatly (the various bomb attacks, especially), reinforcing that aspect of 'destiny bringing everyone and everything together'. I suppose you either like it or not.

This said, I am nonetheless eager to read the next volume!

(As a side note, I find the cover's composition absolutely fascinating. The more I look at it, the more it grows on me.)

[Brigid ✩ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

So, my Kindle seems to have inexplicably deleted more than half the notes I took while reading this.



But whatever, whatever. I can deal with it. Even though it's been about a month since I finished this, I think I can remember what I was going to say pretty well.

The story:

Humanity (what's left of it, anyway) is forced to live underground after the surface of the Earth is completely destroyed. A new society is formed called the Tri-Realms, which consists of the Sun Realm, the Moon Realm, and the Star Realm.

17-year-old Adele, a Moon Dweller, has been sentenced to life in prison as punishment for her parents' treason. She is desperate to escape and find her family––her parents and younger sister, who were also captured. Two other prisoners, Tawni and Cole, decide to help her escape and search for her family.

Our other protagonist/narrator is Tristan––who is not only a Sun Dweller, but the son of the President himself. His mother is gone, and he thinks his father is evil.

One day while he's in the Moon Realm, Tristan catches sight of Adele in the prison yard and feels inexplicably drawn to her. In the following days, he finds himself unable to forget about her. Unsatisfied with his luxurious Sun Realm life and feeling like he is destined for something greater, he decides to leave his home with his best friend Roc and go after Adele––who, after she and her friends escape the prison, is being pursued by a ruthless killer hired by the President.

My thoughts:

I found The Moon Dwellers to be an addicting and exciting read.

The dystopian society David Estes creates is unique and intriguing. I really liked the idea of the three separate realms and how each one had its own rank; it felt realistic, like something that could potentially happen. That is, even after the apocalypse and everything, there's still a power struggle among humans.

I also enjoyed the cast of characters. Adele is a strong heroine who can really kick some ass. Tristan is kind of like a sad puppy dog in some ways, but I still found him likable and his narration is amusing. Tawni and Cole are both nicely fleshed-out characters with interesting backstories. And I loved the bromance between Tristan and Roc ... I'm a sucker for bromance.

That said, there were a few things that I found confusing and/or unrealistic in some way.

I had some trouble suspending my disbelief when it came to the premise. This is how it's explained by Tristan at the beginning of Chapter Twelve:

They say the meteor was the size of Texas. Any life left on the surface of the earth when it hit was wiped out by either the shockwave caused by the collision, or the resulting tsunamis unleashed around the world's oceans. Humans were forced to move underground.

Secretly, government scientists expected it for years, using covert teams of miners to dig the world's largest caverns in preparation for the inevitable. But still: There wasn't room for everyone. It would've been terrible: the Lottery. Families ripped apart; friends lost; blossoming relationships cut off at the knees. Of course, key individuals, like politicians, doctors, scientists, and farmers received a free pass, but all others just got a number. The number gave them a one in a hundred chance of getting selected to move into the underground facilities.

All the rest were destroyed.

And that was just the United States. No one knows for sure what happened to the rest of the world. Perhaps they weren't so prepared. Perhaps they were all dead.

So ... I have some major issues with this explanation.

First of all, I don't understand why the U.S. government would know that the apocalypse was approaching and prepare for it without telling anyone. I also don't think it's scientifically possible to know a meteor is coming years in advance––certainly not long enough to be digging enough tunnels to fit that many people underground. I mean, that would take ... a long, long time. Not only that, but wouldn't people have suspected something? I mean, where did they put all the dirt and rocks they were digging up? There would have to be like mountains of soil everywhere. It would look really suspicious.

Secondly, I find it hard to believe that everyone would go along with this "Lottery" thing and that a majority of the human race would just stay on the surface of the Earth and wait to get fried to death. I would think there would be a lot of rioting over who gets to survive and who doesn't; I mean, it would probably end up being some kind of crazy all-out war with everyone just killing each other all over the place.

Thirdly, I find it really hard to believe the whole "we don't know what happened outside of the United States" thing. I mean, we're not talking about a disaster that's going to only affect one country; it affects the entire world. Surely they all still had phones and Internet and television. So, first of all, all the governments in the entire world would have to decide not to tell anyone that the apocalypse was approaching and they would all be preparing for it in secret––which seems highly unrealistic to begin with. And then, after it had happened, I don't understand why the U.S. wouldn't try to get in contact with other countries. They still have the technology to watch TV and whatnot throughout the course of the story ... so, wouldn't they have the technology to at least make long-distance calls or something and find out if the rest of the world survived?

There's also this:

Our senses of hearing and smell have been heightened, making us less reliant on our slightly improved sight. Our skin has become paler and dustier. Human lungs are now more resistant to the constant intake of rock dust.

... Which I also find hard to believe, because evolution takes millions of years. I would think that the inhalation of dust and mold and whatnot would have quite a negative effect on a lot of people's health; they wouldn't simply adjust to it that quickly.

So, those are my believability issues. Sorry for the long rant. :P

I also had some problems with the double first-person narration. I sometimes had trouble distinguishing Tristan and Adele's "voices." The book probably could have been written in third person and it would have been less confusing at times.

Speaking of voices, Tristan's dialogue felt really unnatural to me at times. For example, when he first describes what Adele looks like to Roc, he literally says:

"Even wearing her gray prisoner's tunic she was stunning. Her hair fell like a black waterfall around her shoulders. Her eyes were intensely fascinating."

This just doesn't strike me as the way any teenage boy talks. Ever.

On top of that, I had some mixed feelings about the romance. I liked it for the most part; it was pretty atypical, at any rate. I found it a little strange that Adele and Tristan were so obsessed with each other after only seeing each other for about five seconds––and I mean, I don't think that's completely out of the question, but they also would both kind of act like they knew each other and would defend each other so intensely if one of their friends questioned their obsession. So, I understand being that drawn to someone, but I'm not sure about the whole "I just know this person is perfect because we're soul mates" type thing. But anyway, once they met up with each other (which took a long, long time) I thought their romance was sweet and didn't go as over the top as it could have.

... That seemed like kind of a long list of complaints. But really, I did enjoy this book a lot and I hope to read the sequels. I did have some believability issues with it, but over all I thought it was a lot of fun to read, built an original world, and had an exciting plot. Good stuff. :)

[Lola · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got a copy in exchange for an honest review

After all the great reviews I already had read about this book I was really glad when I got an ARC to read for a blog tour. I had high expectation of this book, but it certainly was a great read with an original story.

Let me start with the story, it is a unique dystophia story. I really liked it, but I think there was a bit too much focus "love at first sight". Both characters practically are in love with each other without knowing each other. I am not a fan of insta love, so I didn't like this part of the story. Luckily there where enough great parts to compensate. Although at times it was a bit boring and I felt like there was just missing something that would've made the book awesome.

When I think about the story I also immediately think about world building. I love world building and it is certainly something a good dystophia novel should have. Well let me say the world building was great. I loved the world and it was such an unique world. We even get an explantion for how the world came to be. We get enough world building, but I still would've liked to see more how the different classes live, I hope we get more of that in the next book.

And then the characters, almost from the beginning I loved the characters. There is so much depth to them and they all have their own unique personality. And from the two main characters we get enough background to also understand why they are the way they are. Adele was such a strong female characters, I really recommend this book for those who love strong female characters. She is strong in mind and body, knows how to fight, but never initiates a fight. I also liked Tristan and the fact that he don't wants to be like his father, but clearly thinks for himself. I still think that it is a bit strange he left everything he knew just to chase a girl, but that's my opinion. The side characters where also great, they had this characteristics that made them unique and I liked learning more about them.
There where a few characters that I didn't like. Like Tristans father and "the evil guy". I just really couldn't understand why they acted like they did. And they both seemed a bit simple characters, I didn't feel like there was much depth to them.

This book uses multiple perspectives. I am a huge fan of multiple perspectives, but I think the author could've used it a bit better. I really like seeing both Tristan and Adele's perspective, it makes the story more complete and we understand them both. We also see two different stories and perspectives. The thing I didn't like about the multiple POV's is that sometimes we get to see events from both their perspectives. First we see one of their POV's and then it stwiches to the other POV and some of the events we already saw we now see from another side. Sometime it works, but most of the times I felt like it disrupted the flow of the story a bit. Also the author uses cliffhangers a bit too often, many chapters end with a small clifhanger and we get the other's POV, while I just wanted to see more from the current POV.

To conclude: a great and original story. I loved the world building and the characters. I do think there was a bit too much focus on the insta love and I think the multiple POV's could've been done better. Overal I really enjoyed the book and am curious what will happen in the next book.

[Kayleigh {K-Books} · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Moon Dwellers Review on K-Books

Wow! What can I say about this book? It is absolutely awesome. That is definitely the first word that comes to mind when I think of Moon Dwellers.

Adele, a Moon dweller, has been sentenced to life in the Pen. She has come to terms with what her life is going to be like. But then she sees Tristan. Son of the president, he would never notice her right? But when their eyes meet for a split second something happens, they feel a connection. Now with her new found friends in the pen Adele is determined to escape the pen, find her family and bring them back together. But will she be able to succeed and will she be able to find Tristan and see if he feels the same, or will she be doomed to spend life behind bars for a crime she didn’t commit?

I really enjoyed this book. It was fantastic. I was drawn into this new dystopian world from the first chapter and was intrigued as to find out what was going to happen. This was the first book I have read by Davis Estes and I will definitely be reading his other work as well, I was amazed by his ability to completely hook me to the story within a few pages and have me sat on the edge of my seat unable to put the book down as I desperately needed to know what was going to happen. I am definitely a fan now.

I loved the characters in this book and how none of them is how they seem. I loved Adele and I really connected with her and felt through her. I loved how we figured more and more about this world and the other characters through her journey. I felt like everything she was going through I was going through as well and I needed to know what happened to her.
I really loved Tristan as well and how he is definitely not what you would expect from him, being the president’s daughter and I loved how you found more about his good side and how he wanted to see change more as you went through the journey with him.
I really loved that this book is told from a split perspective. I really love books told from multiple perspectives as I feel like you can get two sides of the story and really feel like you are going on two different journeys at the same time. This is definitely the case in this book. You are going on Adele’s journey of putting her family back together as well as going on Tristan’s journey to defy his father and chase after what is right.

I don’t know what I was expecting when I started this book but it definitely was not the amazing new series that I found. I will definitely be following Adele and Tristan’s story right to the end and I cannot wait to find out what happens next. An amazing start to a new series and I can’t wait to read more.

[Hazel *Craves the Angst Reviews* · Rating 5 out of 5]

★★★★★
THIS BOOK WAS AWESOME!
Amazing and epic tale of adventure, rebellion and love!

The Moon Dwellers is a YA science fiction novel and the first in The Dwellers series written by David Estes. I read this as a R2R with Making Connections YA Edition. As always, a special thank you to the mods and author for allowing me to participate.

The Rundown:
The authors blurb does this so well, I won’t try to recreate it. ;)

The Review:
I am in awe at how terrific this story was. The world building and society was unlike anything I’d ever read. Everyone lived underground in pre-constructed and natural occurring caves that were designed and utilized because a meteor destroyed the top level of Earth. The authors attention to the sheer mass and construct it would take to house a society under the Earth came through flawlessly in the telling of this story. The society was made up of three different classes and each had their own separate leaders and rules which harbored corruption and inhumane rules against its people inciting rebellion. But though this was the case, it was amazing to read how the society proliferated!

The writing was poetic and flowed well between the different POV’s of Tristan and Adele, the two main characters. There was an amazing amount of action and adventure throughout every page and it literally kept you hooked and excited to see what would happen next.

The characters were so well done! I LOVED all of them especially Adele who was resilient, fearless and loyal. She was everything you could hope for in a strong female lead.

The Wrap Up:
If I wasn’t already a fan of this author before, I would definitely be now. David Estes is a very talented writer and I am waiting enthusiastically for September (2012) so I can read the next installment of this mind-blowing series. This book left off with a slight cliffhanger with new challenges and new adventures awaiting these remarkable characters. I can’t wait!

[Think · Rating 5 out of 5]

2015.10.06 UPDATE: I was very lucky to have received a copy of the Audiobook version of The Moon Dwellers for review. This was my FIRST EVER time trying out an Audiobook and I loved it!! I have never tried Audiobooks before because I was concerned it would alter how I perceived the characters in the novel. This was a big worry for me since I have absolutely LOVED this entire series from David Estes and felt a bond with the characters. Well, this totally changed the way I feel about Audiobooks. I am amazed by the narrators, Julia Whelan and Will Damron. Their ability to completely capture the essence of each character had me floored. It also reminded me how much I adore the stories of David Estes! I highly recommend this audiobook to anyone that loves a truly amazing story. Well done again David!!


This story follows Adele and Tristan. I thought it was extremely brilliant and doubly entertaining the way that the author, David Estes, told the story so seamlessly while coming from both the point of view of Adele and then Tristan. They trade every chapter giving their take on events unfolding in the novel. I fell in love with both of them immediately. For some reason, I realized exactly at the start of Chapter 9 that I was hooked. I couldn't wait to read what would happen next!

The Moon Dwellers was a great read. I would completely throw it in the ring with Divergent any day because it could definitely hold its own. The world that Estes created is horrific and beautiful. If that doesn't make sense to you now, just read The Moon Dwellers and you will see. Estes has a knack for knowing just when to serve up the hope and love and good feelings. However, when Adele gets rough, she kicks some major ass. Adele don't play! And really neither does anybody else.

Estes delivers a winner with confident writing that truly draws you into the story. I couldn't help but absolutely love this book and I highly recommend it.

5 stars to The Moon Dwellers

[Jennifer (random jendsmit) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full Review posted at Passionate Book Divas Blog

OMG! Oh - My - Gosh! Holy Shit - Oh my god!

I loved this book!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have to take some time to put my thoughts in coherent form at the moment - I will have a reveiw for this book for you in a day or so... maybe a week - depends on how long it takes me to COME DOWN FROM THIS EPIC HIGH I'M ON AT THE MOMENT!! **that is in caps b/c if I were talking aloud i'd be shouting out of pure excitement!!!**

I am giving 4.5 stars b/c this is a 1st book and David has to get more amazing judging by his previous books :) So I'm saving my extra 1/2 star for the next installments in the story ;)


squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

[Dvora · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would!! The suspense and the action was non stop. Always waiting for something to happen. The romance was perfect. The acts of bravery and loyalty was something to be admired. Something we can all learn a lesson from. The strengths and weaknesses of each character was balanced perfectly for their personalities. The story was well thought out and really made me think, what if that happened. The humor, banter and wit with all the characters had me LOL many times throughout the book.

Thank you David for sending me on a whirlwind journey that I can NOT wait to back to in September!!!!

[Karen’s Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so happy to find out that award winning Julia Whelan and Will Damron were narrators for Estes's amazing Dwellers Saga! And, wow...! They did not disapoint! Julia played Adele to perfection and I loved her portrayals of Tawni, Elsey, and even Tristan. Will did a great job as Tristan, and I adored his Roc.

I tried to drag out this audio as long as I could, and savored every minute!

I have The Star Dwellers loaded up and ready to go and am off to be swept away again into this incredible dystopian world that Estes created!

[Yilaine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am frankly astounded that this got such glittering reviews on GoodReads (above 4.0?!). The writing is terrible, as it's inconsistent and reeks of immature wordsmanship. All the plot devices are about as shaky as a chihuahua being ridden by a fat lady. I was groaning by page 15 and making strangled throat noises by page 20. What another rotten waste of a great idea/concept.

[Dre · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the story. It was a journey and I can't wait for the next book!

Tristan and Adele. Adele and Tristan. Those names just go together. <3

[Tee Loves Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

First and foremost, a huge thank you to David Estes for sending me a copy of The Moon Dwellers to read along with my fellow mods!! This was my first experience with David's work, and I was absolutely impressed!! I started this for our group's chapter-a-day, but I freely admit that by about 50% in I couldn't stand breaking away from the book anymore and I just read through to the end (bad Erin, bad!)! I'm kind of still in a giddy "OMG I love this story!!" mode right now, but I'll try to keep from babbling incessantly. =D

Summary:
Nearly 500 years ago a meteor destroyed all life on the surface of the earth. In the US, caverns and tunnels were built far below the surface in preparation, in the hopes that some could survive. Three realms were created, and consequently citizens were separated into class systems based on how deep their realm was built inside the earth. The year is 499 Post-Meteor, and there is unrest and anger amongst the citizens. The once elected presidential position has turned into a self-appointed monarchy, and the unfair power and privileges awarded to people in the Sun Realm has long caused discord. Tristan, son of the current president and next in line for the job, sees the world in a different light than his father. He sees his father's selfish dictatorship is wrong and has no interest in following in his footsteps. When he is passing through the Moon Realm one day and catches sight of the beautiful dark-haired girl behind the fence at the Pen, something about her beckons to him. He's not sure what it is, but the pull is instantaneous and undeniable. Adele, locked up in the Pen for treason when her parents were accused and taken away, lives her life trying to just make it through without feeling. Not feeling means she won't suffer the pain of loss, knowing she will never again be free. But that day, she sees him. The golden boy everyone knows is Tristan looks at her and she feels something so strong she thinks it must have been her imagination. But a crushed heart can beat again, and when these two paths crossed, a series of events was set into motion that would forever change the lives of them and their loved ones. When unrest becomes civil war, this lovestruck boy and determined girl guide their friends through one disaster after another. Tristan is determined to find Adele despite the odds, and Adele is desperate to reunite her family, and with a little luck their goals may find them crossing paths once again.

The concept of the tri-realms post-meteor was awesome, I loved envisioning this entire underground world they created. It was like the humans became ants, tunneling into the earth to make their little colonies in the 'safety' of the rocks. It was such a unique creation and, even though I was suffering from extreme virtual claustrophobia at many points, I got completely swept away in it! So much attention to detail was given for the descriptions of the realms and caverns, it made getting lost in this world easy. The class systems that formed were an interesting sort of mirror image of our society now. The self-righteous attitude of the sun dwellers just infuriated me, especially hearing about how they treated innocent citizens of the other realms. One thing I can't wait for with this series is seeing the sun dwellers learn their lesson the hard way!!

As for the characters in this book, yeah, they were freaking amazing!! From the moment we meet Adele, I knew that I was going to love her. I tend to dislike weak and timid heroines, and she is anything but!! I just loved that she was so bad-ass and tough-skinned thanks to her dad training and preparing her (hmm, what exactly does daddy know??) for so many years. I really liked the fact that, even though I was dying for Tristan to finally find her and play hero, Adele was handling herself just fine until he did!! And Tristan, oh I fell so hard for this guy!! He's gorgeous, he's tough, he's brave, he's devoted, and he's risking his life repeatedly for Adele all because of the way she made him feel when she looked at him. *swoons* Talk about the recipe for the dream guy, Tristan gives even my favorite book boyfriends a run for their money!! And the alternating POV between Tristan and Adele lets us see how this adventure plays out from both ends, which was just awesome. I can't say who's perspective I liked most because they are both great characters, but I always love hearing the male character swoon over the lead gal!! The supporting characters were no less memorable, they each had distinct personalities but they played off of each other perfectly. The sarcasm and humor that they used with each other throughout the story was great, too, it made me just love them even more!!

The incredible world David created and the unforgettable characters had me completely sold on this book, but what I loved the most about it was the heart-racing relationship growing between Adele and Tristan. I'm a huge fan of dystopian stories, but one gripe I have with a lot of them is in their lack of any real love story within all of the action and suspense. Many readers argue that the genre itself precludes any real romance (hellooo, Hunger Games), but I take the opposite stance. I think in a great survival story about people rising from the ashes of a miserable future existence, showing the humanity that remains by having characters share meaningful relationships and fall in love makes it all come full-circle. Moon Dwellers takes characters that have lost freedoms, lost love, and lost hope, and makes them all realize that there is something good left. In a world full of chaos and violence, unfair treatment and heartbreak, they refused to let that be the end of it. And Adele's actions essentially were the fuel for the fire, giving each of them something to hold on to because she wouldn't back down. I'm scared of what she and Tristan will have to go through in the rest of the series, because I'm so anxious for them to get their chance. It's such a sweet and thrilling romance growing between them, I had butterflies in my stomach just from them holding hands!! Can't wait to see more of them together!

So, needless to say I'm officially a huge fan of this series and David Estes, and I highly recommend The Moon Dwellers. It's earned itself a spot in my top 3 dystopians, and I'm definitely looking forward to the release of The Star Dwellers this September! It's going to be a long wait until we get more of this incredible story!!

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading the The Moon Dwellers. This book first came to my attention for a group read for a chapter-a-day. I lasted about half-way into the book before I couldn’t take it anymore and just finished it. The suspense was killing me!

World Building : I was really intrigued with the premise of the book. It takes place hundreds of years in the future in the former United States, where the human race has moved to live in the ground due to the surface of the earth being uninhabitable. The humans are separated into three different groups: Sun Dwellers, Moon Dwellers, and Star Dwellers. Each group moving further into the Earth through tunnels, the richest being the Sun Dwellers. I thought the world building was written very well. There was one chapter where the history was explained. I thought it could’ve been explained a little differently instead of the reader being “told”. Or even leave some of the explanation out and explained more thoroughly in the rest of the series. I didn't really feel like I was missing anything in the world-building prior to the explanation.

Characters: The story is narrated through two characters: Adele (Moon Dweller) and Tristan (Sun Dweller). Tristan just happens to be the son of the President or “king”. The president is not really elected – instead is passed down to your kin each generation, more like a dictatorship.

The story begins with Adele in a type of juvenile-hall type of facility in the Moon Realm. She has an instant connection with Tristan one day when he is parading through the Moon Realm and they make eye contact with each other. I loved Adele and Tristan. Both characters were well written and I loved their internal dialogue. The secondary characters were well developed: Tawni, Cole, El, and Roc. I love Roc!! I like how the bromance was written with Tristan & Roc. This is a great adventure and the plot progresses very well as the characters make their way through the Moon Realm. Oh, and there's sword fighting…! LOVE sword fighting!

There weren't any negative aspects in the book, but a few areas I thought could've used some improvements:

1) I wasn’t too thrilled with the instant connection between Tristan & Adele. I never really like insta-love plots. It also wasn’t thoroughly explained. Maybe to be revealed in the rest of the series, but I don’t really get the intensity of it or their trusting in it. What was up with the Tristan's fainting spells?!
2) There seemed to be a lot of “convenient” plot twists to help the characters along the way the bombing at the exact same time as they escaped from the Pen, etc. I think there was some suggestion in the book that it actually wasn’t as it seems… that maybe there’s a higher source helping them along their journey . They basically went out on a mission with no plans on what they were doing. Come on guys – have a plan! I was annoyed that they were just "going with the flow" most of the time! But it's a good thing I was annoyed, meant I was invested in the characters and the outcome :)
3) I thought that Adele and Tristan were way too trusting in the book! After being careful for so long, they were just spilling the beans! They were lucky that it didn’t bite them in the end, but under their circumstances – I think they should’ve been more careful.
4) I felt that the reader was “told” a lot of things in the book, instead of letting the scene progress or the story unfold. The way that Adele & Tristan were narrating, it was really detailed. The writing and plot progression was done extremely well, it would’ve been nice to let the actions speak for themselves instead of diving into their thought process so much.
5) Where were their insecurities, their imperfections? All the characters almost seemed too perfect! I might just like flawed characters, but they just seemed a bit too good to be true. Plus, they think too much and figure out why they’re thinking what they’re thinking or feeling what they’re feeling. Where's the mystery, the uncertainty, the tension, the anxiety?
6) I like dual narratives. However, there were times during the action sequence where the flow of time was disrupted and we went back a few minutes so that the other character could explain the same event from their perspective. I didn’t think this was necessary. I think the time flow could’ve continued without some of the time-backtracking. I thought it lost some of the forward momentum during the action scenes.

Overall, this was a really great read! It was a fun, unique, adventure and I can’t wait to find out what happens next in The Star Dwellers. The first chapter sneak peak already has me excited for September to roll around.

[Lynn Worton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic YA Dystopian story. I loved it!

Adele is a wonderful character. I liked her feisty, sarcastic attitude but, like any teen, she can be a little prickly and defensive. She is a sixteen year old girl living in the Moon Realm, one of the Tri-Realms created when the earth was faced with a mass extinction event when a meteor was found to be hurtling to Earth. Sent to the Pen (an adolescent detention centre) and separated from her parents, who are branded as traitors, and her younger sister, Adele finds herself in a race against time to bring her family back together again.

Tristan is also a wonderful character and the heir apparent to the Presidency of the Tri-Realms. I liked his sense of honour and decency. He has a more compassionate attitude than his tyrannical father, who is the President of the Tri-Realms: the Sun Dwellers, the Moon Dwellers and the Star Dwellers. When he spies Adele in the Moon Dweller Pen, Tristan is confused at the effect she has on him. Determined to find out why, he sets out to uncover the reason.

I downloaded this book two years ago onto my Kindle, but due to my reading list being so long I haven't been able to read it. I decided to download it as an audiobook when I heard it was available earlier this year. This gave me the option to either read it, or listen to it. This audiobook is narrated by two readers, Julia Whelan and Will Damron. I have heard Julia Whelan's voice before - when I listened to Dan Wells's Partials series - so I knew and liked her voice. However, Will Damron was an unknown entity and I was a little worried. I need not have been. Sometimes, having two narrators can be an off-putting experience for some readers, but I have no issue with it. Both of them did a fantastic job in bringing the story and characters to life. They have pleasant and clear voices to listen to and I would definitely listen to more books read by them both, whether together or alone.

As I mentioned earlier, I have been wanting to read this book for some time, as I have read one of the books from the author's other series he has written. Namely, Fire Country from The Country Saga. Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to read the other books in this series yet, but I am hoping to soon.

I started to listen to the story and was quickly hooked. This book is told from both Adele's and Tristan's points of view in alternating chapters. This gives the reader an insight into the protagonists thoughts and feelings, as well as scenes that play out without the other character being in the picture.

This is basically a story about a girl's journey to bring her family back together after they get separated by force. However, there is also action, adventure and romance, not to mention a tyrannical President who rules with an iron fist. In a way, it is very reminiscent of other Dystopian/post apocalyptic novels I have read in the past. But, there is an originality to the story that had me sitting on the edge of my seat. I love the world the author has created, even though it is a rather dark in more ways than one. I also liked meeting all the different characters. Tawni and Cole are completely different in temperament, but their differences compliment each other and make them wonderful friends for Adele. I absolutely love Roc. He brings a comic timing, wit and lightness to the story and has a repartee with Tristan that brought a smile to my face. His irreverence for Tristan's higher station makes him one of my favourite characters. Tristan and Roc have grown up together and this makes them best friends who are as close as brothers, rather than master and servant.

There are several surprising twists and turns in this tale, which had me guessing as to where the story was headed. Nevertheless, the journey has been an exciting roller coaster ride from beginning to end, containing explosions, sword fights and a formidable round-house kick or two. I am now looking forward to reading/listening to the second book, The Star Dwellers, as soon as possible.

David Estes has written a fantastic dystopian novel that has turned me into a huge fan of his. I love his writing style, which is fast paced and the flow is extremely fluid. His characters come alive, and the descriptions of the environs left me breathless. I am looking forward to reading more of his books in the foreseeable future.

I highly recommend this book if you love books like The Hunger Games, Divergent and The Maze Runner, or YA, Dystopian or Post Apocalyptic genres. - Lynn Worton

[Marni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received my copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

This story centers around a future earth, where the population now lives underground in the realms. There are 3 realms, star(lowest), moon(middle) and sun(highest). The government has gone from the elected officers to basically a monarchy, but with a whole lot of selfishness thrown in. The main characters are Adele, a moon dweller, and Tristan, a sun dweller and son of the president. They originally don't really meet, but catch each others attention from afar. This story is about the oppresion of the dwellers, the love and disdain of family, frienships, attraction, hope and faith.

The author, David Estes, has forged his name into writers to be watched and read. An indie author with several books to his name and several more to come, he is right in line with those you find on the best sellers list. Hailing from Pittsburgh, PA, having lived in Australia, and currently checking out the islands of Hawaii, his experiences in the different cultures in life come through in his writing.

Why only 4 stars? Even though I loved this story, and can't wait for the second in the series, I found the ending a bit rushed, just a little too cleaned up too quickly. Yes, there are a lot of unanswered questions, which there should be since it's part of a series, but I felt that the ending could have been drawn out another chapter or two.

Why should you read this? The answer is because it's a darn good book, action packed, quirky good in many places, and not only makes you root for the characters but puts you into the story. You will find yourself laughing with them, feeling sad with them, etc.

Look for the second book, The Star Dwellers, the end of September 2012. Cover reveal is scheduled for Sept 15th, with release scheduled for Sept 30th.