Moonlands by Steven Savile

3 stars!

With Moonlands, author Savile began with an enchanted setting and fantastic plot, full of magic, hidden worlds, various supernatural species, a plan to set the former Queen’s heir upon the throne when she reached a certain age; and then executed it poorly. Relationships between characters felt shallow and unexplored, Ashley’s childhood backstory is non-existent prior to her family moving into a new house in London shortly before the story begins, and backstory for other characters is minimal at best. Many different species of supernatural beings were mentioned, as occupants of the Moonlands, but details were only given for the Fae and Wolfen; not even the Elves, from whom the King Under the Moon hailed. 

The multiple first-person viewpoints were never confusing; however, the main character’s narrative was not mature enough to be believable for a girl nearly 16 years old. Overall, her character was rather immature, and I was very disappointed in the writing style and reactions for several important and big-reveal scenes.

Great idea, hopefully other readers will enjoy more.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.