Though I’m very late to reviewing this one, I really enjoyed it! It kept me interested, and I would recommend it to anyone who dabbles in this genre.

I could not finish this one because I just could not follow what was going on. I felt lost the entire tjme.

I had a really difficult time getting into this one. There were a lot of different things to follow, which made it feel very slow.

This book is a little difficult to read and has so many plot points and moments where time is adjusted and not quite what it seems. Although it can get strange, the overall story and characters are fantastic. This ends up being a really sweet love story and a tale about self-discovery and satisfaction.

Well written drew me right in kept me turning the pages. Interesting characters literary storyline netgalley #legend press

I kept expecting this book to get better but it did not. It just went nowhere. Nothing really happens except his girlfriend who is basically using him as a caregiver, has some ideas about the moon. But she never can even say what those ideas are. Also the main character has no personality other than skateboards, weed, and love for this annoying girl. Not for me.

The book opens with N burying Farzaneh under the light of the full moon. It's very mysterious and sets a fantasy-like tone for the novel. However, the fantasy disappears after this intro, only to reappear in the last few pages.I almost quit reading this book several times. Our narrator and main character, N, is a new University student and struggling to fit in. At first, it was interesting, but as he becomes involved in a relationship, I started to lose interest. The girl he's dating definitely has some issues, and he's clearly not happy, and stays just to be in a relationship. Ugh.

We don't get much background on N. No indication as to why he's chosen to study for philosophy, and not much in the way of character development. He's just a guy who goes from one twisted, somewhat co-dependent relationship to another even more twisted relationship.

N wanders through life examining things through the eyes of his philosophy course work. When he meets Farzaneh, they have a strong connection and the book really picks up here.As the story unfolds, it becomes clearer and clearer that Farzaneh is mentally unstable. There is nothing magical or fantastical about her, she comes across as deluded, maybe manic.

The main story of the book does not fit with the introduction and the ending. It's possible this is the author's intent, and we are supposed to question the reliability and sanity of our narrator, N. For me, it fell flat and would have been hugely disappointing had I not been immensely relieved that the book was finally over.

Perhaps more introspective into the psyche of N, letting us in on why he believes that reality only exists for him through Farzaneh, would have helped. Perhaps not.

I would not recommend this book.

Farzaneh and the Moon had me experience a small roller coaster of emotions. I believe if I read this book a few years ago (i.e. during my high school or college years) I probably would have liked it a lot. However, what I mostly took from this book now was a highly attached boy who let his love of Mysterious Farzaneh take control of his life. Not to say the unnamed narrator is completely at fault here - Farzaneh is also to blame. What I could not figure out were her true feelings for him, reading multiple instances of her physically showing discomfort whenever he'd mention being with her long term or even touching her, but then she would randomly reassure him that she did in fact want to be with him.

I know that this mysterious, exotic, broken girl can have some sort of appealing factor for some readers, especially when her partner is there to "help" her and supports her crazy notions (wow so romantic). However, what really should have happened at some point in this book was her partner trying to get her help because it's pretty obvious that her past trauma and experiences has affected her mental health to the point where she really believes she needs to be in sync with the moon - that the moon is a part of her.

I'm really struggling with rating this book because I did enjoy the first half or so but as I read on I really started to dislike the characters and what was going on. The ending was slightly redeeming because I was not expecting it at all. And despite not really enjoying the book's plot, the writing is actually great, in fact I'm interested in checking out Matt Wilven's other book. I think I would say this is a 2 and a half star rating, but rounding down to 2 for my Goodreads rating.

She is muddy, distant, shaking with dark knowledge.

N. is at University in London, his young mind feasting on philosophy but it is Farzaneh’s world he really longs to access. Here is a young woman who feels and thinks deeply, someone who challenges him emotionally, who stimulates his intellect as well as his physical being. Both want to live in a way that doesn’t require just ‘going through the motions’. If it takes a little psychedelic help from nature to reach the deepest access of their minds, well who better to do it with than Farzaneh. She hasn’t been anchored to anyone since her father, there is pain she hasn’t confronted, and N. wants nothing more than to be the one who can keep her together inside. She is wildly interesting to him, but is this depth or something darker?

When is loving someone so blinding that you neglect to notice the rupture in their logic? When does the hunger for spiritual bliss blur the lines of what’s sane and what’s madness? What can N. really grasp about love at his tender age? In a sense, Farzaneh would annihilate herself if she could align with the moon. This is more than longing for some spiritual awakening, there is a creeping illness inside of her. One of the most honest moments however, speaks to N.’s state of mind when he is halfway through his course and says “I’m still none the wiser about any of them”, meaning the other students. He is too busy being wrapped up with his beloved, is it possible for healthy love to be so exclusive that the rest of the world and everyone within it disappears entirely? There is a shallow relationship he has earlier on, feeling completely disconnected but should communion with another eclipse sanity? Should we really want to merge so entirely that nothing else matters? “Everything is how she wanted it.” Nothing can ever be exactly as one person wants it, that’s not healthy.

Farzaneh’s obsession with the moon escalates, she can feel it in her very womb! N. needs to be with her, can’t live without her! Love can’t be wrong, love is a balm right? She likes her alone time, but he just wants live together! Normal day behaviors are disgusting her, eating- who needs to eat? She doesn’t want to be a person in this way anymore. N. will do anything to keep her, anything. But does real love bend itself this way, keep the peace, create an atmosphere that isn’t healthy just to be in someone’s life?

This is far more than just meditation or harmless moon-bathing going on here, can a trip to Venice be the fix? The only thing sinking faster than Venice is Farzaneh’s mind, and it begs the question, just how suspect is N. in neglecting to rein her in? He is scared of confronting her behavior, even if he doesn’t tell us so, in the simple choice of letting it continue. Then comes the burial….

The ending, what are we to make of that? I wonder, was N. an unreliable character all this time? Just who is ill here?

This was a decent read, I see love differently from someone in their twenties, time seasons us I suppose, therefore a lot of N.’s decisions seem completely ill conceived. I just kept thinking, God save us from those who love us. Clearly Farzaneh needs something, but it isn’t a man’s love. It’s a peculiar tale, if nothing else it clearly demonstrates that we shouldn’t always fulfill the requests people we love ask of us. I’m not sure even in some alternate universe I would feel comfortable helping someone dig into the earth, so to speak.

Out Now

Legend Press

Great read. The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.

I wanted to like this book, but I found myself disliking it. I wasn't fond of the characters and the overall plot seemed lacking. Some might enjoy this book, but it just wasn't for me.

I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.