I'm grateful to Netgalley and Troubador for this eARC.

I requested this book because the title intrigued me a lot, and I love the book's cover. Itsya beautiful painting. This is the first book I've read by Barbara Kastelin, and now I'm going to read more of her works.

Full moon over Kabul follows the story of a woman, Colette, who takes up a job to teach French to Afghan men in Kabul, and how this decision has a domino effect on the course of her life- personal and professional.
There are themes of forbidden love amidst religious, political, and extremist tensions. The backdrop of Kabul and Europe support the intensity of the narrative.

The ghosts of love are hard to let go of, even more when they keep coming back to bite you.

Parallel to this unfolding drama in pursuit of love and its demons, and the total chaos of what it brings, there's another narrative where Colette has to fight a person hell bent on using her story for his own aggrandizement.

It's a quick, fast paced read, and has a gripping storyline.
I would like to specially mention that I loved the author's technique of describing cities (from different reference points) from the beginning of the book.

This was a strong romance novel and enjoyed that it was in a different setting than I was expecting. The overall story worked well together and enjoyed how good the characters worked in this story. Barbara Kastelin has a strong writing style and was glad it was written so well.

This is both a romance and an adventure story about Colette Fontaine, a young Anglo-French language teacher, and her best pupil, Abdul Hannan, the son of a Taliban Commander. It’s a dual timeline focusing on Kabul in 1998 and Bedfordshire in 1999.

This novel is centered around broken boundaries and the repercussions of stepping over the line. Both Gilbert and Colette's challenges were a product of their own doing.

Full Moon Over Kabul brings to light the challenges faced by female teachers in Afghanistan. Colette Fontaine faced an uphill battle. Not only was she working in a challenging environment as a woman, but she was working with mature students who struggled with gender equality and a societal outlook that didn’t hold the teaching profession in high regard.

Although I really struggled with this novel, I could see how the author hoped to provide critical insight into the experiences of Anglo-French teachers in Afghanistan and champion advocacy efforts for their rights and well-being. That being said, the protagonist and antagonist both crossed a line and I had little sympathy as they faced challenges. The teacher in me wanted to warn Colette of the dangerous game she was playing...I was equally frustrated, abhorred, and smug.