Scan barcode
A review by onthesamepage
Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Before you read my review, please check out this review by lou reading things for a deep-dive into what makes this book problematic: https://youtu.be/r4BgWYkVhfY?t=358
While I enjoyed my reading experience overall and knew it was inspired by Bolivia going in, I wasn't aware of the exact parallels while reading the book, and after reading and watching several reviews I have lowered my rating. I think it's definitely important to know about this before deciding whether you want to try this book or not.
I did enjoy the story and the characters. It has similar beats to The Winner's Curse and is overall fast-paced and entertaining. The romance is a bit weird in how it develops because things escalate pretty fast at some point, and not in an entirely believable manner. The author uses some Quechua and Spanish words throughout the book (mostly for food and there's a glossary at the back), and whether you'll enjoy that or not will be a matter of personal preference. I will say I've seen this done better, and I wouldn't have minded more complex dialogue in something other than English. I have a phone, I can Google it.
The usage of Quechua for the names did stand out to me. I have no idea if these are names that are commonly used, but the meanings behind most of these are so on the nose I rolled my eyes.
The whole mystery behind El Lobo was honestly pretty obvious, but I still had fun reaching the conclusion.
While I enjoyed my reading experience overall and knew it was inspired by Bolivia going in, I wasn't aware of the exact parallels while reading the book, and after reading and watching several reviews I have lowered my rating. I think it's definitely important to know about this before deciding whether you want to try this book or not.
I did enjoy the story and the characters. It has similar beats to The Winner's Curse and is overall fast-paced and entertaining. The romance is a bit weird in how it develops because things escalate pretty fast at some point, and not in an entirely believable manner. The author uses some Quechua and Spanish words throughout the book (mostly for food and there's a glossary at the back), and whether you'll enjoy that or not will be a matter of personal preference. I will say I've seen this done better, and I wouldn't have minded more complex dialogue in something other than English. I have a phone, I can Google it.
The usage of Quechua for the names did stand out to me. I have no idea if these are names that are commonly used, but the meanings behind most of these are so on the nose I rolled my eyes.
The whole mystery behind El Lobo was honestly pretty obvious, but I still had fun reaching the conclusion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Torture
Minor: Colonisation