The Night and Its Moon

The Night & Its Moon #1

by Piper C.J.

An addictive fantasy romance from TikTok sensation Piper CJ, now newly revised and edited. Two orphans grow into powerful young women as they face countless threats to find their way back to each other.

Farleigh is just an orphanage. At least, that's what the church would have the people believe, but beautiful orphans Nox and fae-touched Amaris know better. They are commodities for sale, available for purchase by the highest bidder. So when the madame of a notorious brothel in a far-off city offers a king's ransom to purchase Amaris, Nox ends up taking her place -- while Amaris is drawn away to the mountains, home of mysterious assassins.

Even as they take up new lives and identities, Nox and Amaris never forget one thing: they will stop at nothing to reunite. But the threat of war looms overhead, and the two are inevitably swept into a conflict between human and fae, magic and mundane. With strange new alliances, untested powers, and a bond that neither time nor distance could possibly break, the fate of the realms lies in the hands of two orphans -- and the love they hold for each other.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Fiction, LGBT, Queer, Romantasy, Fae

544 pages, Paperback

First published February 10, 2022

About the author

Fantasy author with an M.A. in Folklore, who loves to take pictures, eat french fries, and live my life as an all-around creative forest nymph! I'm so excited to bring you with me on my journey as I step out of our everyday lives and into the new fantasy world within The Night and Its Moon fantasy series!

I wrote these books for an audience of one, and that audience was me. I wanted to see bi representation, love, mental health struggles, religious trauma, and overcoming the of obstacles that I needed to be modeled in my own life. At the end of the day I'm so proud of myself for creating the series that I'd always hoped I could read, and I hope someone is able to connect with them in a way that I have.

Reviews

[Piper C.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

EDIT: PLEASE READ
I have both a desire and an obligation to share this apology and accountability with you and use my platform for good. I can only ask for the grace to show you that I can and will do better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJT8E...

I'm the author! I wanted to give myself 5 stars because if I don't believe in myself, why should anyone else? I wrote this series for an audience of one, and that audience was me. I'm proud of me for writing the stories I always wanted to see, for queer representation, for representation of trauma/mental health, and for putting myself out there, even if the cost of coming out was excruciatingly high. I love my books, I love the world I built, and at the end of the day, I made this audience of one happy <3

[Suzy · Rating 1 out of 5]

DISCLAIMER: the ONLY reason why i am being so scathingly honest with my review is because of the author, editor, and other people bullying readers in the comments on goodreads for reviewing a book they have every right to give their honest opinion on WITHOUT getting shit on.

EDIT: The author went on to apologize in two TikTok’s, seeming kind’ve sincere in saying that Goodreads is for readers, and not authors or publishers. but then… she deleted them less than a day later? ok interesting……

EDIT 2: It seems the original two Tiktok’s got taken down because of reports and threats, my mistake. Piper CJ has also posted another apology on her Tiktok page that is MUCH more sincere than her first two. However horrific the behavior from many people were, it has nothing to do with my reading of the book, and my review still stands.

furthermore, this is one of the most poorly written books i have EVER read, and i do not say that lightly. it was torture from the first page until the last. SUPER long and drawn out backstory, for what? We get it, one is made of the (moon/snow??? no idea), and one is reminiscent of night. we don’t need the first 200 pages describing their boring childhoods. the light and dark archetype would have worked if not for the repetitive descriptions of the characters’ physical features, and the little care to give the characters real depth. not to mention, some of the adjectives used to describe the main characters made me feel just a *little* uncomfortable. the story lacked structure all around, and theres absolutely no intrigue except to just see if the book gets better (hint: it doesn’t). there’s absolutely NO bridge from childhood friendship into romance, and the sudden shift felt almost dirty, not in a fun way. and slow burn?? there was no burn, but the book was DEFINITELY slow. if i could rate it 0/5, i would. would only recommend to my worst enemy.

[chaptersbydani · Rating 1 out of 5]

2023 edit: Piper is at it again! Utilizing her base to attack reviewers- this time on TikTok, where mass spam reports have lead to the reviewers videos being removed and the reviewer going private on social media platforms. Piper is a truly repugnant human being that hasn’t changed a bit since this controversy. Please don’t support her or her brand. She is a bully, plain and simple.

Edit:
I wanted to highlight another critique I’ve seen that I wholly agree with but just didn’t know how to put into words. The fetishization of POC and the excessive sexual trauma the POC alleged main character (Nox feels like a side character despite being the leading love interest) in this book is disgusting. It, like many other heavy topics in the book, are dealt with poorly.

Also, the drama surrounding this book has grown. I absolutely will not be supporting this series or any other subsequent books by Piper going forward. The drama is simply too much. At every turn, Piper and her editor have concocted reason after reason to paint themselves as the victims and try to silence reviewers. First it was blatant attacks and cussing people out and making videos to shame them, then we’re not feminist enough if we say anything, then we’re just homophobic, then we’re just not sympathetic enough, etc etc. I realize that this critique extends beyond the scope of the actual book. But Piper’s brand has been to build relationships with readers to increase hype for her book. So when those relationship/ interactions turn sour so too do feelings about the book. The entire situation has been handled poorly from start to now (as it doesn’t seem like it’s over). This book wasn’t truly ready for publication. Piper wasn’t emotionally ready for what it meant to be a published author and receive feedback on her works and neither was the editor. Piper doesn’t seem to know how to make an authentic public apology. Yes, it’s great that the reviewer that she personally attacked accepted the apology. But it does not erase the new culture that has been created surrounding her books- which is one of mean spiritedness, immaturity, abuse, and fear. I simply can’t support her, her brand, her works, etc going forward.
— — — —

This is a book I’ve looked forward to for months. Piper’s marketing has been incredible. It’s not just that she’s wholly honest and authentic in sharing her story- it’d be crass to call that marketing. It’s how for weeks she’s dropped character aesthetic boards, menus based off the book, and her Spotify playlist she listened to while writing. I went into this book feeling fully connected to the characters and world. So it was a bit disappointing when this book fell flat for me. I have a lot of thoughts so this isn’t going to be formatted like my normal reviews. I’ve done some pros and cons.

Things I loved:
- The attention to “tiny” description details: scents, foods, and scenery. The details of the music and nameless folks in the tavern came alive. I always want to be immersed in a book and Piper delivered with detailed descriptions.
- LGBTQ representation! 🙌🏼 obviously the book was marketed as a bi fantasy so it was expected but I still love to see it. I came out shortly before Piper did and this is the first book I’ve picked up knowing there would be bi representation depicted by a bi person.
- Wise observations of people and human nature. There are a couple of quotable moments in here.
- Amazing world building.
- Intriguing characters. Nox, Ash, and Gadriel are my favorites.

Things I didn’t like:
- The repetition. Piper obviously settled on a few key phrases to describe each character and then used them to death. After the tenth use, we get it- Amaris is the ivory, moonlit girl and Nox is the raven that smells like plums and cinnamon. Millicent wears too much vanilla. Etc.
- Building off the first point, every character sounded the same. They all had the same thoughts and reactions. Any difference was due to lack of factual understanding, not their own difference in mentality. I wish there had been a bit more development.
- My evergreen complaint with fantasy: unnecessary sexual assaults. Piper did touch on this in one of her TikToks, so it’s not like I went in completely blind. I thought there was only one assault. No. There were a few and although they weren’t all explicit, they were all deeply unsettling and I don’t recommend this book at all if sexual assault is something that triggers you. Piper said that one was met with “swift female vigilante justice” (or similar phrasing) and I can’t say that I fully agree. To me, true justice would have been not having the assault scene altogether as it was a wholly unnecessary moment in my opinion. The last assault especially felt like it was just for shock value.
- And, of course, the typos. There have been several reviews that included this comment (which have been met with surprising hostility by the editor, which is its own issue). We’re not talking about little typos (such as “the” appearing as “THe” or a lack of spacing between words which happened a couple of times). A character’s name wasn’t spelled consistently, there were at least four instances of words missing from their sentences, and several times of words and phrases being used incorrectly. Those kind of mistakes and their frequency disrupted and, frankly took away, from the experience. I understand this was a small team effort from a couple people publishing on their own for the first time. But these errors were glaring and worth mentioning. Hopefully they’ll take notice and adjust accordingly.

Overall, I’m not sure I’ll read the next book. Frankly, I probably won’t given the appalling behavior of the editor in other reviews. It’s one thing to be having growing pains, it’s another to be so totally unprofessional as to cuss people in the comments on GoodReads. Especially when this is a book that built its momentum from positively interacting with and building relationships with readers.

[Reads With Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Update, revised, new review: https://youtu.be/Inv57ycqguU
First Video review https://youtu.be/W043dMTUvsQ
(And please note my reviews are NOT FOR AUTHORS they are for READERS)
I have several problems with this book. For now all I wanna say is this:
Who here can tell me what story has the following exact plot and characters?
A half fae orphan girl with all white hair, a scar across her eye, and an unexplained power she has no control over, gets taken in by a surrogate father and on his horse they ride to the mountain that he and his people, assassins trained to kill demons, come from. The assassins are trained together but dispatch to do their work alone. There’s only about a dozen of them now, when there used to be much more. She wants to train to become one of them. At this mountain she encounters misogyny and pushback from most of the men. She asks if there’s a council she can appeal to to become one of them and is told there’s no hierarchy among them but one of the men who’s been there the longest sort of has final say. Along the way she finds out she has a very rare power that seems to come alive when she gets upset and yells. She grows up there at assassin mountain, is trained in fighting and potions and learns about all the creatures and beasties of the land. She’s even taught about djinn who can grant you three wishes.

If you guessed the Witcher you are correct. But if you guessed Piper CJs book, you are also correct.

Passing off someone else’s original work, simply with new names, as your own work, is a shitty thing to do.

TLDR: this is just Witcher fanfic and should’ve been labeled as such and uploaded to ao3.

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Saw this book spreading around TikTok and picked up the sample on Amazon now that it's out.
Afraid I'll be skipping this one, girlies.
If you like:
1) ambiguously brown love interests
2) overwritten fantasy
3) under-edited books where the author can't distinguish between a dialogue tag and action
this one's for you! 💖

[Pudders · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disclaimer: Out of fear of being attacked for my review, I will be posting anonymously.

I downloaded the sample of this book to see what all the drama is about and gain my own opinion of the writing for myself. However, I will openly state regardless of the writing, the author’s (and her “editor’s”) actions were and are absolutely horrid. This type of behavior is inexcusable and utterly detrimental to the indie/self-publishing community. As a few booktokkers have already pointed out in direct response to this incident over the course of the last 24-hours, it is situations like this that make them hesitant to read books from self-published authors, and therefore unwilling to review or promote their books. Which anyone who is in the self-publishing space will tell you is some of the most crucial free marketing they have available to them.

Now, the book. Since the editor clearly stated bad reviews should only be left if constructive, I’ll leave a few pointers below. As a broad statement based on the sample alone, it is obvious the book needs not only a line editor, and a developmental editor, but a sensitivity reader as well.

1. Pacing was far too slow. There is typically room for slower pacing in fantasy, but not to this extend. There still needs to be tension to draw the reader in and keep them there.
2. Excessive info dumping. The reader should learn about the world naturally and from the eyes/perspective of the characters. To write with such heavy exposition no longer works in our generation.
3. Dialogue. Any well read person, regardless of their personal writing experience, understands the formatting of dialogue. There was no formatting in this sample. Also, dialogue tags and/or action indicators to who was speaking seemed to be optional.
4. Character flaws, or lack of. Agnes and Nox seem to start the book already perfectly developed and can do no wrong. That only hurts the characters as it leaves no opportunity for character development.
5. Grammar. A lot of other reviewers have already made this point clear. However, I will add one thing. It was abundantly evident that most of the words were right clicked and changed out for synonyms. There were also a couple sentences that used contradicting verbs as if the author didn’t take the time to use the dictionary and make sure the wordage was appropriate.

I know there are some reviewers on here that are STILL attacking other reviewers. So, I will end with this.

Your actions are only adding fuel to the fire around this situation and are in no way helping, especially the author. Although the author has stated she would stay off of Goodreads, it very much feels she has simply found suitable replacements to be combative with reviewers in her place. The fact she has not come on to publicly ask you to stop, does not look good for her. There may not be a lot of people leaving reviews at this point, but there are a lot of people watching this mess unfold and continue to unfold. If you truly care about the author and her future in writing, step back and allow people the space they deserve to leave the honest reviews they want about the book.

[Shawna Finnigan]

Adding this to my no-thanks shelf as the author attacks reviewers who leave negative reviews. I will never support authors like this one.

No star rating so that it won’t impact the book’s overall star rating and so that goodreads will not take down my review

[Viola]

*Please make sure to read my edits at the end, as well*

After witnessing the behaviour from both the author and the editor towards readers critiquing this book, I will not be reading this and I strongly urge you to do the same.

Sadly, I was very excited for this book, however, something I will NOT stand for is for authors/editors bullying and belittling readers which leave less than positive reviews. The author insinuating someone is pedophile and a school shooter fanatic after cherry picking through their Goodreads 'Read' section to their hundreds of thousands of followers is just disgusting and I will never be able to look past it. Same with the editor actively telling people to shut up or that they are not entitled to leave a review (amongst other nasty comments), and STILL stands by their statements after the author's 'apology' (more on that later...). Apart from the review not even being awful but rather a very kind-hearted review offering critiques for improvement, their response was absolutely disgusting and, in my opinion, inexcusable. Also, for people separating the author and the editor, please do not do that: the editor is a reflection of the author and it is ludicrous to view them as separate. Just because an author is indie, it does not mean we should not hold them to the same standard as any traditionally published authors. For more details on what exactly happened, please do check esska's review and the related comment thread.

If you are still not sold on completely dnfing this book yet, the author went off and uploaded an 'apology' to TikTok. While her initial behaviour was awful, I was very open to still read this book if she took accountability for what happened. Well, that was not what happened at all. Her constantly minimising her bullying as a 'human moment' was disgraceful and should not be given a pass. Not only does she NOT address what happened apart from some vague statements, but she also mashes it together with when she responded to a comment about her book being YA and not NA. This just gave the impression that the current problem was small and that her commenting on reviews was more so the issue rather than the LITERAL BULLYING she was doing. You cannot genuinely apologise if you are not even explicitly stating what it is you did and/or for what you are apologising for. That TikTok was just a bunch of crocodile tears as a response of being called out on nasty behaviour.

EDIT (18/02/22):
since me posting this review, the author has deleted her 'apology' and has uploaded a new one. Although this one took better accountability (very slightly), it was just text on a screen (rather than a talking video) and she disabled comments which, in my opinion, is cowardly behaviour. The author also stated that she had been getting death threats - that is absolutely not cool, no matter what, so if you were one of the people that has been doing that, STOP. Do I think it was somewhat manipulative to include that as your last sentence in your so-called apology? A bit. Nevertheless, my initial problem with Piper CJ was her bullying towards others, so it would make no sense for me to condone anyone that engages in similar behaviour. She stated that she privately messaged esska to apologise and that esska had forgiven her. Whether that is true or not, you will need to ask esska herself and I cannot comment on it. Still important to remember that the bullying extended past just esska, and pretty much anyone that rated the book lower than a 5 star was attacked (albeit in a less public way). Overall, I still question whether the author truly understands why people are mad at her: she repeatedly states that she will leave Goodreads and that reviews are for readers and not authors (which, YES), but the issue was NOT the fact that she was on Goodreads and replying to reviews. The problem was that she was attacking and publicly shaming anyone that was not giving her book what she considered positive reviews.

Also, I have been noticing heaps of people have been leaving 1 star reviews for this book even if they have not read it. While I am not here to police how you should manage your own ratings/account, please do avoid rating a book unless you have actually read it. While this book may be a reflection of the author herself, that is not how reviews should work. There is no value in leaving a 1 star review if you do not mentioning anything on the book itself. Reviews are meant to be used to critique a book, not the author who wrote it. If you wish to get your opinions/thoughts on the book out there and have not read it, you can easily post a review without a star rating. That being said, I am not your parent, so you do you ✌️

EDIT (19/02/22):
esska posted an edit to her original review explaining the situation. While I admire her for forgiving Piper CJ, it still does not fully excuse what happened. I do not wish to demonise the author: I understand that this book IS close to her heart, but that still does not excuse the things she did. The only thing I can hope for is that Piper CJ takes a bit of time to actually think about the situation and realise WHY readers are actually mad at her. As someone who works in a university and constantly needs to provide feedback to students, I understand how challenging it may be to have your work thorn apart like that. However, that is one of the ways that you grow as a writer. I hope Piper CJ learns to understand that.

Again, I would just like to reiterate to please not give 1 star reviews on a book if you have not read it.

[Emma Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ roughly 70%. I can’t do it anymore.

NB: Bri (@hobbitslibrary) kindly let me know that there have been a lot of concerning things going on with the author’s behavior, particularly her statements about Jewish, BIPOC, and bisexual issues. I’m not going to be discussing the author’s behavior in this review because a) others have laid it out much more clearly and eloquently than I could and b) this review is already way too long. But I thought her behavior was important to mention so that readers of this review are aware.

Okay, onto the review. TLDR: This book was not fit for publication and shouldn’t have been picked up by a traditional publisher without receiving many more substantial edits than what it evidently did get. I am trying not to be too mean here, but I do A LOT of beta-reading for writer friends with varying degrees of experience, and this book reminds me intensely of an early draft of an early attempt at a novel. There are so many mistakes on the craft level here.

1) This book absolutely needed to have A LEAST 20% of the words cut out in line edits alone. Almost every sentence has too many words, often because it restates an idea that’s already been established. I don’t need to be shown and then told what I was just shown. Let me draw my own conclusions.

Example: “She steeled herself to try again. ‘Come on, you spineless jellyfish, she said, cursing herself as she summoned her grit” (p. 353).

I feel like I just read the same exact idea three times.

2) Sentences are frequently overwritten to the point that they don’t make sense.

Example: “She was left staring at the gray, amphibious hand that slithered down Millicent’s arm, ending in blackened, razor-sharp claws” (p. 340).

I had to read this several times before I understood that the hand in question was Millicent’s—at the end of the arm it’s supposedly slithering down (I think).

3) Grammatical errors abound, although I think this edition has fewer than the original, which is…something.

Example: “Something changed in him, as if waking himself from a spell” (p. 328).

“Himself” here is incorrect because it’s a reflexive pronoun, a pronoun that refers to the subject of the sentence. But the subject isn’t “him”—it’s “something.” What CJ means is “Something changed in him, as if he was waking himself from a spell.” (Or, maybe, in fewer words: “Something changed, as if he woke from a spell.”)

4) The order of sentences within paragraphs is very weird. In general, a paragraph should flow from external to internal: A stimulus or description should come before a character’s reflexive reaction, which should in turn come before a conscious action. Not so in this book. (To be fair, it’s super easy to write things out of order when you’re drafting—but it’s also usually easy to fix them later.)

Example: “Emily had come to despise the smell of vanilla. She choked on it now as it coated the back of her throat. The perfume mingled with the burn of anxiety. She didn’t know why she’s been called to the office, but after Nox’s clandestine departure, she suspected it wasn’t over anything good” (p. 338).

It’s good that we start with an external stimulus (vanilla) and then move to Emily’s thoughts (being afraid of the office), but the first half of this paragraph is jumbled. Emily’s choking is a reflex, so it should come BEFORE her rational thought about hating vanilla.

Coda
My goal is in this review is not to harass but to point out the reasons I didn’t finish this book so that readers can make an informed decision about purchasing it. Also, I see these mistakes all the time (and I myself make them all the time—although I’m not trying to publish anything that contains them). So my hope is that the breakdown will be helpful to other aspiring writers. When it comes to craft, we’re all on a never-ending journey of improving and learning, including me!

Also, there are a lot of bigger issues with this book (especially the really weird focus on the main characters’ skin tones and the constant equating of white/pale skin with “purity”) but I just don’t have the space, so I’m limiting myself to craft-type writing issues. Plus I think other reviewers have covered the macro stuff pretty thoroughly already.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC for review.

[etherealacademia · Rating 1 out of 5]

the writing is so poor

[Shelby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very on the fence about purchasing this book, because the “editor” (which I say in quotations, because they are not a professional editor with any credentials - but they did the task of editing the book) has been going around insulting and demeaning those who leave anything less than perfect reviews. However, sapphic fantasy is my favourite kind of book, so it was hard to resist a new release in the sub-genre; and I tried to not hold the editor’s autonomous actions as an independent contractor against the author herself. So I ordered it anyways.

That also makes writing this review scary. Because I know said editor will likely continue to chime in with crass insults to anyone’s critical feedback on this book. But I’m trying to be brave and honest and post this regardless, for the sake of the integrity of this feedback-giving platform.

Okay, now on to the actual book content:

3 stars, for me.

This story is outstanding - it is creative and unique and dynamic. I completely love the characters and plot. The magic system is also really innovative and clear-cut. Also, the cover and graphics of this book are pretty enough to make this a great addition to one’s bookshelf regardless of if they liked the story inside or not! It’s like a piece of decor. And, of course, the bi and queer rep is a beautiful thing to see.

The writing is fine and passable, but could be great - I know that the author is transparent about having paid her “editor” below the market rate to edit this book. But in my opinion she shouldn’t have paid anything to that person for this end result. Even just a simple handful of honest peer-revisions from multiple objective other people (although more time consuming) could have mitigated most of the missed errors in the final print copies of this book better than this “editor” did. And as much as I didn’t want the technical errors to detract from the reading experience; they did.

Since this author is committed to self-publishing and not outsourcing anything to a publishing house; I am hoping that with the profits from this hugely successful book launch this author can hire the type of writing professionals that are needed to put a final polish on these books technically (and who won’t be an internet bully to customers, after the fact)! Because she is oozing with talent and a final polish from an industry pro is all it would take to make them truly outstanding.

I will be continuing to read the rest of this series. And I have high hopes for progress of the book qualities moving foreword.

TLDR: The concept is outstanding but the execution needed more time and revision.

EDIT TO ADD: The author advertises this book as dual-POV, and it’s not. It does primarily follow the story of two main protagonists, but it’s a 3rd-person-omniscient POV that switches between all primary and secondary characters’ heads at random points in the text. The slow pacing makes this extra confusing to the reader.

*EDIT TO ADD AGAIN: As awful as this whole situation was, I don’t like to see people rating this book poorly on here just because of the author’s lapse in judgement and the former editor’s (she’s no longer attached to the project as Piper let her go) atrocious behaviour. This is a website for talking about the actual quality of a book. Let’s maintain that integrity.*

[Patrisia · Rating 1 out of 5]

TLDR This book should've been titled THE BLACK GIRL AND THE WHITE GIRL. It would be an accurate description of the "plot" and of all the problems in it.

Hi! I was here when all the controversy about this book first went down. More about that in the comments!

This book has gotten an insane amount of attention (thanks to the controversy AND the insane amount of airtime from B&N, especially for a self-published work**), and it deserves a constructive review. It deserves one star fair and square. If you’re paying full price, you should know what you’re getting.

CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE TITLE?!!? When the book was first released, Piper's social media tried so hard to make sure no one spoiled the "secret meaning" of the title when it was obvious that THE NIGHT = NOX THE BLACK GIRL and ITS MOON = AMARIS THE SPECIAL WHITE GIRL. First of all, why the hell is she using the pronoun IT to reference a woman? Second, none of the imagery is as cryptic as she seems to think, and despite all her insistence that this book isn't racist (even though it's hyperfocused on the color of characters' skin color), the title would mean the exact same thing if you translated the concepts. THE BLACK GIRL AND ITS WHITE GIRL. That title would never fly...but since it's lunar imagery, I guess it's okay? Anyway, if that doesn't clue you into the millions of problems with this book, read on, because there are more.

The first major problems (which have been acknowledged even by the five-star fans here) are grammatical and not just typos or formatting errors, even though Piper constantly fills her social media with "Oh typos are part of the charm, I'm so cute, hahaha." They aren't typos, Piper. There are significant grammatical mistakes. Run-on sentences, weird punctuation issues, and inconsistent spellings. (The name “Mabel” is also spelled “Mable." On pg. 49, words are missing in the sentence: “A farmer, hands knees still covered in dirt from his freshly tilled soil, had arrived…”) The amount of errors makes this read like a first draft. There's no excuse for that.

The entire book is completely overwritten. My biggest beef is that Piper assumes the readers are stupid and can’t pick up nuance, with constant overexplaining AND trying so hard to convince readers that she, the wRiTeR, is very intelligent. Here are a few examples.

LOTS of unnecessary repetition: “The ginger sisters had come to Farleigh together long ago and created nearly as reclusive a two-person bubble as Nox and Amaris.” Then, just down the page, “They’d made little attempt to integrate into Farleigh’s general population in their years, which was something the sisters had always had in common with Nox and Amaris.” It's like the author couldn’t pick which way of saying things was her favorite and decided to just keep them all. There are several places where an entire paragraph could’ve been one sentence.

There’s weird mixing of archaic and modern terms. Terms like “she has not yet bled” and a “woman’s moon time” are more primitive, but then characters know and use “sexism” and “tokenism” and refer to serotonin, dopamine, and testosterone, ideas that wouldn’t have been understood in a modern way. It's like the author wants to make sure readers are aware that SHE is aware of these concepts so she drops them into a context that doesn’t make sense.

There are also sentences and metaphors that just plain don’t make sense or are ridiculous. “Curiosity pulled her forward like a physical tether, the desire to know burning hotter than the chill of the night.”

“Nox pricked with an idea as her eyes floated over her shoulder and down the hall to where she knew Agnes’s office would be locked.” (Her eyes floated?)

“How poetic it would be to drift into the sea. Instead, she would bring the sea to her, as all the salt in her body poured from the bottomless well in her eyes.” (ALL THE SALT IN HER BODY is coming out of her eyes?)

“She had found a purpose. It had been planted as a tiny silver seed. It sprouted into starlight connection with the ivory baby whom the other children hated with their jealousy. Amaris had loved her back, and their moonlit plant grew into a metallic wildflower with roots so deep that they bore themselves into her very core.” (What the hell is this?! Their love is a metallic plant? Except the "it" that grows into a metallic plant is "her purpose"?)

The writing has way too much telling and not enough showing. The sentences get clunky and messy and I had to stop to reread them to make sense of them. “She was growing increasingly lucid as to the weight of her decisions and the consequences that may result from her choice to follow an assassin into the woods.” This is trying so hard to mimic the flowery prose of classic fantasy but it overdoes it in a bad way.

Finally, I had issues with things having nothing to do with style. The relationship between the two girls seems underdeveloped. Basically, Nox and Amaris meet as tiny children, they spend their entire childhood together, and right before they part, Nox confesses her romantic feelings. It feels rushed and forced. There's nothing prior to this that indicates any sort of romance, especially on Amaris' part. (I'm also uncomfortable with the vaguely incestuous implications even though they're not biological sisters.)

I’m also put off by the marketing of this book as the only sort of bisexual representation in fiction. There’s a lot of queer fiction, and even whole queer bookstores, which is not to say there’s ENOUGH queer fiction. The author stated (in her B&N live interview) that she doesn’t actually read much romantic fantasy, which really put a bad taste in my mouth. You can’t claim to be representative of a genre if you don’t know what else exists in that genre.

It is also disappointing to hear that there are allegations of plagiarism. I am unfamiliar with The Witcher, but another review has done her due diligence in this area. I’d encourage you to watch her review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W043d...

This book uses too many words to say very little and it was no way near ready for publication. The edits needed are significant rewrites, and even then, I don’t know if they could salvage this.

**This was originally self-published and the author's marketing strategy was to pretend that she got disowned by her family for coming out. It got internet famous and then got picked up by a real publisher. Although "real" is questionable since Bloom has zero integrity with its titles.

[Chloe Mills · Rating 1 out of 5]

okay I had to stop reading this book and just read spoilers because it was honestly so bad, I won’t even be adding it to my 2022 reads because I just don’t think I can. So poorly edited and felt very problematic, like did this go through a sensitivity read AT ALL? Because it doesn’t seem like it did. also the overuse of the light/dark (moon/night)??? whatever weird archetype was so drawn out and so painful and just all over the place. This is why I’m so picky with books that I see hyped up on booktok. Would give a zero but not possible.

[Madi · Rating 1 out of 5]

"It was both sloppy prose and dreadfully unbelievable, but it was better than staring at the stones of any empty bedroom." - direct quote from this book that doubles as a great review for it as well.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

Let's start with some basics:

This book rounds out around 550 pages, which is an excellent length for world building and is the first book in a fantasy series. It was in no way too short or too long.

This book is GAY! Read this for representation of both male and female bisexual characters, sapphic romance, and girls kissing girls. It's delightful.

And, as a simply stated fact, this book's dedication is the best and most hilarious one I have ever read.

Now let's get in to the more detailed stuff.

This is a queer fantasy that I am fully expecting to take the world by storm. Piper CJ has written a brilliant, kick-ass first novel of a series of four that is set for rapid release (all in 2022), and thank the goddess that it is, because I am already itching for the next installment.

I am a sucker for books with representation, but I am also picky on those books also being well written. This book accomplishes both.
Favorite lil gay quote: "Her nails were rather short given her romantic proclivities, but the speckles of blood and struggle had found their way beneath them nonetheless"

The other form of representation I was so excited to see was mental health struggles. This book touches on experiences with dissociation, panic attacks, and more.

This book also has impressive religious commentary, exploring the multifacetedness of religion and religious trauma.

Piper builds her characters beautifully and makes you care about each and every one of them. There is clear growth that is experienced by different characters throughout.

This book is romantic, features fight scenes and swords, deep subject matter that can be difficult to read about (in a good way), but it also contains small quips that allow for the right amount of tension-diffusing humor. For example, "Whoever was at the door better be dying, or else she’d be the one to kill them."

If you prefer fast-moving stories or novels that read quickly, this may not be the book for you. Every word is valuable in providing vivid imagery to create such a stunning visual in the mind. It's absolutely worth paying attention to each and every word, but it's not the type of book you can skim-read.

For fantasy selling points, this book features fae, dragons, magic in multiple forms, and a map of the world you're exploring through this story.

TL;DR: Read this book if you like sapphic rep, rich imagery, fae and magic, deep world building, and slow burns.

*Disclosure: I was provided an Advance Reader Copy of this book before release. My review is entirely honest and impartial, with the copy providing no bearing on my review.

[Luisa Santos · Rating 1 out of 5]

this is just the witcher with extra steps

the steps in question are racism, hypersexualization of women of color, hatred of self workers and self-absorption

full review on my youtube! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cQIT...

[Grace Boyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book last night but forced myself to wait a day before writing this review due to the sheer amount of emotions I was feeling.

I was extremely excited for this book after hearing about queer high-fantasy series so I was ecstatic to get an early release copy. It was very easy to get into, and managed to be an 'easy read' without being overwritten or simplistic in the plot or themes. The author somehow encompassed dozens of perspectives without it ever being confusing or messy, or making you feel deprived of one character's story - contrary to something we typically see in YA or Adult fantasy.

The plot is written in a manner that builds and pulls you into a vivid fantastical world while examining themes of race, objectification, feminism, equality, self-empowerment, child trauma, abuse, misandry and misogyny. This is orchestrated by having two main characters who have a similar origin but are separated during their young adult years, breaking their hearts and the readers'. This separation decreases the ~spice~ significantly in this novel, but the mature themes constitute this novel as being in the adult genre, contrary to what another review stated.

The Night and Its Moon asks the reader to define different types of love in the context of being an outsider, being different, and being queer, while leaving the reader open to establish their own emotions which is once again a rarity for popular fantasy novels. It's a beautifully written, enthralling epic that is hard to compare to other works.

Some favourite quotes:
"She often won the game without the competition realizing they were playing at all" pg 26
"This was the game of men, the game of religion, and the game of power" pg 49
"Well are you part demon or part stupid?" pg 238
" 'It makes me beautiful?' 'Oh my dear... it makes you powerful' " pg 241
"Nothing was quite as satisfying as rejecting a man then kicking his ass" pg 245

And the most iconic line: "Her nails were rather short given her romantic proclivities" pg 476

Anyway the book is gay and I will be mentally unwell until book 2.

[Ifrinna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Putting all the controversy regarding the author and editor aside, this is truly a 1-star book.

We have a story that was clearly written after reading/watching The Witcher series as SO many details were exactly copied. On top of abysmal editing and constant use of the same descriptors, spelling/grammar issues including inconsistent character name spelling?! It is blatantly obvious that this was written in a very short period of time without much revision, if any. This should have gone through minimum 6 months of extensive re-writes with a professional before being considered to be sold, especially at a full price listing.

And then we get to the story... I can't even begin to imagine writing something so blatantly insensitive as to fetishize a POC character AND have them be enslaved... I'm actually dumbfounded how this made it past LGBTQAI+ beta readers.

While I appreciate the story and attempt at inclusion, especially as a queer woman myself, this was a huge miss. It has potential, but needs an incredible amount of work before this is sellable.

[Andrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was going to try and finish this book but ended up (luckily) DNF and returned it to the store. So many errors in the writing, so it felt like no one edited this at all. One of the worst parts for me was the whole white innocence vs traumatized and over-sexualized character of colour trope the author was pushing. It was so uncomfortable to read as a POC and I can’t believe the author had the peace of mind to continue with a story like that.

I would also not recommend this book or author as her behaviour online is unnecessarily defensive and not professional at all. No one should be attacked for a book review, the author and editor of this book need to take a long break and reflect on their hate-filled actions to reviewers and readers.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

I feel the need to add my voice to this—I started a Goodreads account just to leave this review. I have been following Piper for a while and, like so many, was very excited for this new series. I picked it up as soon as I could and read it in one sitting.

To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. It is, simply put, not a good book. As others have said, it certainly COULD be, but it does not live up to the hype. The pacing is off, the prose is purple, and it’s riddled with easily avoidable grammar and spelling errors. But for a day or two, I remained hopeful about the rest of the series. Again: It COULD be good.

Then I saw what Piper was saying, and how she was responding, and I am quite frankly outraged. I don’t know this author personally, so I don’t want to attack her character, but I grew suspicious when she posted a TikTok a few weeks ago vaguely discussing the fact that she had made mistakes in the past and vaguely apologizing for whatever those mistakes were. “Taking accountability,” or at least giving lip service to the idea. It felt very much to me like a preemptive strategic move—getting ahead of the narrative, controlling the story. I was half expecting some embarrassing or scandalous news about her to come out, after that.

But the reality is worse. The scandal is happening right now, and she brought it on herself. The behavior that she’s apologizing for is very much not in the past, and she clearly has not grown or changed (or been held accountable in any way, as apparently many of her followers are willing to fall for her lip service and instantly forgive her). She tries to excuse her bad behavior by calling it “a glitch in the matrix,” or attributing it to mental health, or claiming that being a new author has “a learning curve.” I’m sure it does! But she seems to be struggling on the learning curve of simply being a decent person.

Most new authors don’t run into these problems, so it really has nothing to do with any learning curve. Most new authors don’t condone their editors bullying people who leave critical reviews; most new authors don’t imply that people who don’t like their book are somehow morally deficient. If you’re going to be a public figure, you are always going to encounter critics. It comes with the territory. But Piper is obviously not ready to step into that role, as desperately as she may want to.

Her actions have been truly egregious, and her apologies have been calculated, cynical, and insufficient. We should not accept them. We deserve better.

[Talia Devereaux · Rating 1 out of 5]

there will be spoilers in this review
The Night and its Moon had the potential to be a good book. The synopsis on the back made it sound like something that would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, though, Piper C.J. took so many wrong turns. Everyone knows about the drama; I'm not going to rehash it again. All I want to say is I'm disappointed Piper didn't take the opportunity to re-publish as a second chance to fix all that was problematic in her book. She had a rare chance to go and do some severe reworking with an actual editor and didn't do it at all. I have the special edition copy of this book, and there were still so many errors and words that were utterly misused. At one point, 'aquatint' is used instead of 'acquaintance'.

The entirety of this book is so convoluted and so wordy. Piper tries to adopt the same lofty high fantasy prose seen in works like Tolkien's or C.S. Lewis and instead comes off as incredibly pretentious and melodramatic. She writes sentences in four rephrased ways, like she doesn't trust the reader to interpret things the way she wants. I honestly think this book could've used a very, very hefty developmental edit and several more drafts before it should've ever been published. I also think Piper needs new sensitivity readers because they did her so dirty.

So, The Night and its Moon is about two half-fae girls, Nox and Amaris. The book's first half takes place in a child-trafficking mill masquerading as an orphanage. Some children get adopted by families, but most are sold to brothels to be sex slaves or to people looking for 'virginal brides' or young boys to do child labor. This 'orphanage' is also associated with the church. A bishop comes once a month to inspect things, and if he finds a child with fae lineage, he'll take them, no questions asked, no money given. And therefore, Nox, the only POC in this orphanage and the Grey Matron's serving girl, is made to protect Amaris from him. Now, Nox is half-fae too, but for some reason, no one can tell that, yet they know Amaris is half-fae just by the sight of her. She is such an anomaly that they don't want to mar her perfect skin because they want to get the most money possible for her.

On the other hand, Nox is considered a trophy to the orphanage because she's the only POC there and is put on display before the bishop. After this ridiculous display, she runs to hide Amaris away, but they're discovered by some bullies who pick a fight with them. Amaris uses her magical whammy power on these bullies to make them disappear forever. This scene serves two purposes. To show Amaris’ power and for Nox to get whipped on behalf of the white girl. Nox has to hide Amaris and take the blame for the mess left behind in the wake of her fight, and the bishop is like, ‘alright, whip her’, and they do. No one stands up for Nox because they all know she has to take the blame, or they’ll find the super special white girl.

It’s almost like Piper tries to undo what she did to Nox by having her back heal entirely and there be no scars. But, like, girl, you still whipped your only POC (so far) to save your self-insert/plagiarized character.

Some years pass and the girls are finally on auction for the market day because Agnes says they’re selling children slower and slower, but she’s unwilling to buy more children. First of all. You could’ve sold Amaris and Nox earlier if you hadn’t been hiding them from everyone, but okay. Second of all. It’s technically an orphanage, is it not? Is purchasing children the only way Agnes can acquire them? Do parents not send their children there if they can’t take care of them? If the church funds this place, orphans are left there constantly; why aren’t they providing the mill with more children? All the adults come, and nobody picks Amaris or Nox, which is weird, considering their specialness is consistently shoved in our faces. It’s not until the brothel owner, Millicent, shows up to take two random girls that she notices Amaris and wants to acquire her. Nox naturally thinks this is the worst day of her life(let’s not think about the day she was whipped, I guess?), and Amaris uses her magic power to not go with Millicent until she’s had her period(why not use the power to NEVER go with her?). Millicent makes Amaris, whom I believe is 12 or 13 in this scene, get naked so she can be scoped for any imperfections. It’s super uncomfortable and creepy. And what’s even worse about it is that THIS is the catalyst that makes Nox realizes she’s in love with Amaris. She states that she always believed their relationship to be ‘a friendship’ until a sudden intimate love sprang out in her…but nothing has happened to trigger this sudden confession except for the fact that Amaris was just stripped naked in front of her so she could later be sold to a brothel. Am I the only one who sees something very off about this? There’s a line where Nox thinks that ‘when Amaris needed her most, she had failed her’ but like Nox…girl…you were whipped for her.

So the girls decide they’re going to run away together before Millicent can come to take Amaris. They start gathering knowledge and supplies, but we don’t get to hear about any of them. Amaris gets her period, and it’s the worst period ever because none of the matrons bothered to teach these girls about their bodies, and now all of the girls think Amaris is dying. Anywho, Nox and Amaris are primed to run away, and an injured assassin with a gravelly voice shows up( I wonder who he could be!), ruining their plans to escape, so they have to delay. Nox confesses her love to Amaris, and Amaris, oblivious, is like, ‘yeah, same!’

Millicent shows up early, and things go haywire Amaris ends up abandoning Nox to run off with the strange assassin who showed up the night before. She also mutilates herself so she will no longer be ‘perfect’ and gives herself the same scar that Ciri has in The Witcher. How odd. Nox is left behind and has to go to the brothel in Amaris’ place. How unsurprising that Nox gets shafted yet again.

So while Amaris runs off with not Geralt of Rivia and his horse Cobb aka not Roach, Nox is forced to work in a brothel. Amaris trains to become a Reever befriends the other Reevers, and generally has the time of her life, not thinking once about Nox save for a random wet dream and trying to bone her ‘brothers’, and in the meantime, Nox is miserable lonely and depressed. Her thoughts are constantly revolving around Amaris; all she can think about is getting back to her. She’s forced to have sex with men, repulsed at their touch, and thinks about women the whole time. Oh, I forgot that she’s also a succubus and steals men’s souls when she has sex with them. So far, the only female POC character has been a trophy item to be put on display, a whipping girl for our special white main, and now an enslaved succubus.

The whole second part of the story— ‘Ownership’- is a lot of exposition that I barely cared about. Amaris learns to become a Witcher/Reever but doesn’t learn much. She knows how to run and wield some weapons, I guess? But she doesn’t learn how to ride a horse or get real-world experience before she takes her vows. She doesn’t even know the proper terminology to refer to things. Amaris never learns to control her power when she has a full-blooded fae at her disposal who could’ve potentially taught her. She never learns how to use her gift of influence nor how to use her special sight, which proves to fuck her over later in this idiotic story.

In part three, Amaris finally leaves Uaimh Reev with zero experience on a quest I cannot even be sure of. Honestly, what the hell is the plot of this book? Amaris isn’t trying to find Nox like she clearly could care less about Nox. On the other hand, I’m pretty sure Nox just ran away from the brothel on her hunt for Amaris. At least this girl is making some moves. I wouldn't say I like her chapters because they feel gross, exploitative, and racist, but I like her more as a character than Amaris. Amaris is the perfect speshul gurl and can’t be blamed for anything. She comes across some dark fae right, and it just so happens that they’re also POC like Nox (because they all have bronze skin in that part of the country, apparently), and their fucking powers are due to NIGHT LIFE (and Nox is now a lady and a creature of the night) and they have nocturnal eyes and like…?? It's constantly referred to how Amaris has terrible night vision too like to try and shove in her face that she's NOT DARK FAE, BUT NOX IS. I’m sorry, Piper, baby. I do not believe for one second that you had a sensitivity reader go over this book. I don’t. I do not. I do not. I do not. I do not. Anywho. Ash and Malik see these dark fae as demons and immediately want to kill them, so Amaris uses magic to make them go elsewhere. How can she CONTROL IT??? Hmmmmm? (Sorry, I’m starting to lose my mind)

I started just screaming at Amaris by this point because she was like, ‘UGH, IT’S NOT MY FAULT. I DID NOTHING WRONG; IT’S ALL THESE DARK FAE’S FAULT BECAUSE I AM BLAMELESS!!!!’ I want to fight her so badly. When the fae find out she’s a reever, and they’re all like, GASP, I TOO KNEW A REEVER, and she’s immediately like, ‘oh, was his hair red? Yeah, that’s Ash’s dad.’ I was about to give up on this bullshit for the third time. But I persevered. She throws a fit that Gadriel and Zaccai keep calling her a witch but then continues disrespecting them by calling them demons.

Amaris never like talks to anyone. Legit, all she had to do when Ash was being all douchey and prejudiced about her having power was say that she was a half-fae just like he was, and that would shut his ass up. But she like would rather wallow in self-pity and constantly whine in super dramatic prose. And then she feels so sorry for herself because her friends are mad at her, and she can’t stand rejection(Piper’s self inserting a little too hard here) that she shows up to Ash’s room in nothing but a towel and then gets nekkid. Like, bro, you could’ve…. I don't know, apologized for lying to him, but no, her solution is ‘I will OFFER MYSELF TO HIM BECAUSE HE’S BEEN THIRSTING AFTER ME’.

After Ash makes out with Amaris while she’s naked for a little while, he stops it, and they cuddle while she’s still naked and crying. It’s weird. Then they go to this temple that worships the All-Mother, much like the temple of Melitele in the witcher.

Nox throws a hissy fit because her powers of seduction don’t work on Ash, so instead, she meets a plot device child who gives her convenient information about where ‘the demons meet’. And Nox…asks this strange child if she can hug her, which is the weirdest shit ever. Who asks to hug a completely random child they just met? Also, the narration surrounding the hug is one of the creepiest things I have ever read. First, she wants to squeeze the little girl until she disappears. She says the hug is the best hug she’s had in years and then FOLLOWS THEM HOME.

Nox hears something about Amaris and…faints. Then she gets kidnapped by Millicent, who uses her slithery reptile hand to put her in a coma. She also killed Emily earlier with that demon hand, and Nox literally never finds out or bothers to try to find out about what happened when she wakes up from her coma. Now while Nox is in this coma, Millicent’s solution is to have a man sexually assault her comatose body, and then Nox kills him, so….girl power. After that, she tries seducing the Captain of the Guard so that she can intercept Amaris while she is visiting the Queen. And Erasmus/Eramus(Piper can’t figure out how to spell his name either) takes her to this torture chamber place, and like she keeps describing this dude as having virginal features, which is so WEIRD. There’s a really weird scene where Nox tries to entice the Captain into basically raping her before torturing her by pretending she likes it rough, so…again greeeaat. She also writes it like it’s a game of chess, and I really don’t think that Piper has ever played chess before. Anyway, she succeeds in getting the guard to try and sleep with her and sucks his soul out and then proceeds to castrate him by depriving his balls of oxygen. But here's the thing that really had me just unhinging my jaw in shock. She constantly is referring to herself as like angelic at this moment. Saying it's 'divine feminine justice' and like...Piper, I think you have a serious case of white savior complex and need some THERAPY.

Amaris, on the other hand, has been chilling in the castle, SUPER concerned about whether or not Malik has eaten. Literally, it is mentioned no less than three times. She says the Queen is too old to wear an ornate belt like the judgmental bitch that she is. The entire court scene was…oof. I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed a more moronic character than Amaris. She goes into the throne room, realizes that there is an illusion of the Crown Prince and that everyone but her can see it and instead of just…shutting her mouth and thinking it, she starts screaming like a lunatic about how the queen cast the curse on everyone. She has the power of illusion which is the biggest leap in the world. How do you know that someone hasn’t spelled the queen to believe the crown prince is really next to her? Does Amaris’ gift of sight allow her to tell where the magic is coming from? It also makes no sense that she would try and use her power on the queen when the queen is probably also half-fae, and as we learned earlier, her magic doesn’t work on people with fae lineage. So why not use it on the humans around? She’s screaming only at the queen when there are like fifteen human guards around her she could be shouting at. Amaris is such a MORON.

It's revealed the Queen is actually a witch and the reason they can tell is her lack of pointed ears(it actually says she has no ears but I digress). Amaris doesn't have pointed ears and neither does Nox. But they're both half-fae so...it stands to reason the Queen could be half-fae too. There are no specific indicators of a witch in this stupid book and everyone calls Amaris one anyway.

I have a lot of questions for Piper on her perceived notion of how this book was empowering for sex workers in any way, shape or form. Nox literally refers to herself as a wicked whore when she finds Amaris imprisoned and says that she should be the one behind bars. Like…are you fucking kidding me? Piper, you need so much therapy.

since people still want to delude themselves into believing that Ciri only having white hair is similar to the witcher lemme just point out everything that's similar to the witcher.
~ciri's white hair, scar over her eye, sonic voice power.
~odrin is a name taken from the video game the witcher 2. he is a gravelly voiced assassin like Geralt and adopts amaris like Geralt adopts ciri.
~the temple of the all-mother is similar to the temple of melitele.
~uaimh reev is a fortress set in the mountains where the reevers are trained and taught to kill monsters and protect the realm. kaer morhen is a fortress set in the mountains where the Witchers are trained and taught to kill monsters and protect the realm. both reevers and Witchers are sworn to take no part in king's wars. much like the brothers of the night's watch in game of thrones.
~nox and Amaris are basically yennefer and ciri.
~odrin's horse is given the same name as all his other animals 'cobb'. he even says 'come on, cobb'. Geralt names every horse he gets Roach and is infamous for saying 'come on, roach' in the games.

[Nao · Rating 1 out of 5]

first off, i am extremely offended that this started with a CJ Lewis quote

The way she describes the dark character is appalling. The use of epithets makes it seem as if she was just right-clicking for synonyms— inky-haired, raven-haired, dark haired— oh my fucking god we get it! You know, it's not that white people can't write pocs, but for the love of god get sensitivity readers. Is Nox simply a very tan yt from the mediterranean, is she from a place reminiscient of sub-saharan africa, is she from the indian subcontinent? nobody knows!
Is this book supposed to be 3rd person omniscient? 3rd person limited? neither the author nor the editor knew.
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WHY WOULD YOU INCLUDE NOX GETTING WHIPPED?? and in the little timeskip after, referring to her 13 year old self as a "young woman"
DNF.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been looking forward to this series since first hearing about it and was thrilled to have a chance to read it a little bit in advance. It is a master class in world building, rich in environments, monsters, and people alike. I was unable to set this book down, and read it in one sitting, completely mesmerized by the world it’s inhabitants.

Very much love to having bi representation in fantasy, and also to dealing with trauma and coping. The world is seldom fair, and that felt reflected in a way that made my stomach drop repeatedly- but as felt throughout this debut, strength lies in the fact that “we can hope.”

I am eagerly awaiting what comes next!

[ageless · Rating 1 out of 5]

I downloaded a sample of this book and I will not be buying a copy for sure because lord knows I’m not giving this author so much as a single cent after the behavior displayed.
I was really curious about this book after finding the author on tiktok and hearing her coming out story associated with the book, but I wholeheartedly recommend just sticking to tiktok.

This book is very poorly edited and executed. The pacing is widely off and it is vaguely problematic in its approach of any serious topics, especially in areas of the sexualization of the POC characters.
The small sample I downloaded was enough to tell me I would not have read the rest of the book even if the author and editor had been halfway decent people.

Onto the author. I don’t really write reviews, but after seeing how horribly she and her editor attacked a review that was actually so kind and constructive? I’m so disgusted that I had to write a review. I was so content to just not like the sample and not read the full book and leave it at that.

The apology videos on tiktok that came out and then were deleted (or taken down?) were such lackluster apologies that deflected and blamed trauma rather than having the author take accountability for her and her editors horrible actions. And the insinuation that people telling her she was in the wrong were homophobic or p3dos was gross. Like absolutely not bestie, this was all you in the wrong.

I think that some authors *can* engage with criticism now and then, and that conversation is really helpful for all parties involved. But this situation showed that this author is not one of those authors that can engage with criticism in a healthy or good manner. In this case I 100% agree reviews are for the reader and not for the author to butt their head into.

I hope the author, and any author watching this unfolding, realizes that this is really disgusting behavior that is going to kill your career before it even begins. Please do not do stupid shit on the internet just because someone hurt your feelings. It’s not worth ruining your future to snap back at people no matter what your trauma responses are. Trauma really sucks, and I can sympathize but at the end of the day you control you own damn actions.

[Olivia Kruger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dragons and Witches and Succubi, Ohh My! Let us also not forget to mention the fae. The Fae. The. Fae. If you like mythical creatures, immersive storytelling, and flawed characters this book is for you.

Do you know what I love more than a strong woman with a knife? A woman who embraces her sexuality and sensuality in order to manipulate men, the protagonist Nox did not disappoint: “she was art, and they worshiped her as such.” One of my favorite characters of all time is Persia from “Atlas Six” by Olivie Blake and Nox gives the same vibe. It’s not about the sex it’s about the power. I think that idea is so compelling. In our society the idea of purity and virginity is so heavily promoted that sometimes we forget the allure of fronting our desires. I love when women use men as a s3x toys, I don’t know if I am a lesbian and that’s all I see men for anyway. But when a woman is able to take her pleasure and get information out of someone I find that very empowering. And I think Nox’s character does that really well. Also I aspire to have her confidence and I will be carrying Nox’s character in my mind: “She hadn’t selected jewelry for her endeavor. She was ornament enough.”

Our two protagonists couldn't be any different- yet they compliment each other like two half of a whole. The moon for night, if you will. They both have power- just in different ways.

I love a classic woman who knows how to use a knife, our other protagonist Amaris. If you are recovering from the paternal relationship built between Geralt and Ciri from season two of “The Witcher '' you will love the feelings you get from Odrin and Amaris. I am a sucker for fatherly figures in literature and media (Yes I know I wasn’t supposed to enjoy the relationship Silco and Jinx had in Arcane- I am working on it). This is the classic I feel helpless and I need someone to teach me how to fight. Amaris escapes her fate of becoming a prostitute by marring her complexion and forcing a assassin (also know as a reever in this universe) to take her to his keep to train. She faces the patriarchy in order to train and succeed in this all male environment. I am a sucker for training sequences and seeing physical growth in a character and I was all for this. So combine it with the fatherly role model and sword scenes I adored the beginning of this book.

Something I love was that every character had their own personality, were well defined, and unique. It is hard to designate a category for this book- it isn’t YA, it isn’t high fantasy, and it isn't romance. I think the best way to define it is as a New Adult novel. I strongly believe there needs to be this New Adult category in order to bridge the gap between YA and High Fantasy (which this book does). The storytelling was easy to follow and read like a simple YA book but the scenes were adult. Piper CJ deals with adult issues and scenes. She didn’t shy away from emotional and graphic. The book wasn’t like reading a p0rno but had the romantic tension necessary to keep the plot varied and nonlinear.

IMPORTANT NOTE: this is a slow burn romance with blooming side romances on the way to the ultimate God (or should I say Goddess) Tiered romance. So, do not expect spicy s3x scenes. I thought this would bother me- but instead it made my heart warm like the following quote: “Nox meditated on that love, holding it close to her heart, letting it fill her.” So many times in literature we forget the comfort of love and I think Piper CJ did that really well. Everything was so emotional that I physically ached. Everything they feel is so genuine and human.

All in All my lil gae heart fluttered and I think anyone would enjoy this book: homosexuals and heterosexuals a like. Will be recommending this book to everyone.

[onthebooksel]

Author harassing people who gave the book 3 stars? I’m out sorry y’all

[Cacie · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF around the time the POC character took a whipping for the “chosen” blonde child. It is full of racist tropes.

- I’m not even sure of what to say? As someone who had been an assistant librarian for 9 years and currently helps secure new stock for my bookstore… I am truly shocked at how poorly this book is written. …how is this being republished?

[Zoraida]

I literally never do this. I never one star. If I don’t like a book or it’s not for me, I move on. As a writer, I cringe at the thought of putting up a review like this. But honestly, this book left me confused and frustrated. I don’t even know what I was reading half the time.

Fantasy readers looking for epic fantasy with strong world building try: THE SUN AND THE VOID (debut coming 2023), anything by Jenn Lyons, THE CITY OF DUSK for that dark fantasy.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Piper CJ's debut novel is exactly what you need in 2022 -- a lush, enchanting, sexy escape into a world of fae and magic and deep love. The first in a series, The Night & Its Moon follows two orphans, Nox and Amaris, from the orphanage where they grow up to the moment when they're separated. They each go on a journey of self-discovery, and end up pulled into the machinations of a land on the brink of conflict.
I don't want to spoil anything, but this book is such a luxurious read. The characters are fully realized, the world feels gorgeous and real, the prose is damn good, and I wanted more after the story had finished! Luckily for me, this is only the first in a series that's set to be released in quick succession this year. Seriously cannot wait!
For lovers of Sarah J Maas and Holly Black's Cruel Prince series, The Night & Its Moon is absolutely a must. I'm calling it now -- we'll be seeing these books on a BookTok table at B&N in the very near future!!

[Sophia Grace · Rating 1 out of 5]

Jan 2023 update: Below you’ll find the initial review I left as an ARC reader for this book. It didn’t convey my true thoughts, as I was attempting to be diplomatic and supportive of a new author. My 3 stars was always undeserved, but especially after the author’s continued unprofessional conduct on social media. Not to mention the novice writing and uncomfortable characterization in the book. I was one of the first reviewers to get some shade thrown at me online, and it seems it still hasn’t stopped in the new year.

My review from Jan 2022 (3 stars initially) -

I love reading queer fantasy, and seeing myself in the bisexual protagonists was a lovely experience. I was greatly looking forward to reading this book, but found it wasn’t quite my cup of tea after all.

The book is intended for the adult category, and while it does contain mature themes and content, I thought that the book read like YA. I would be surprised if it ended up shelved in the adult section - unless the series pulls an SJM and has to be moved in the future….
I wasn’t a fan of the switching between POVs, as I found it to be written messily. Overall, I didn’t love the writing style and felt that the plot was lacking - I think this is because although I fall into the *intended* audience, the book *should* be geared towards YA readers.

I love the premise of the novel itself, and I have high hopes that this will be a Paolini situation - new author continues their series and vastly improves as they go, going on to create a richer fantasy world than where they began.

I think that readers younger than me, or those who prefer YA fantasy, will greatly enjoy this book. Fae, exclusive warrior sect, witches, magic, monsters, curses!