This was not what I expected, by any stretch of the imagination. I judged this book by it's cover but found the contents to be quite different. The discussion of evil and Christianity did not intrigue me at any level and I chose to DNF at 40%.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

a haunting and atmospheric blend of mystery and dark magic, where secrets unravel and danger lurks in every shadow. this was a gripping, eerie, and impossible to put down read—but i didn’t connect with the plot as much as i thought i would..

It is a beautiful cover
But I couldn’t get into it. I think I only did like 10% of the book but I was not enjoying it, it has a good premise but it was not the right book for me

The cover depicted a different type of story then what the book is about. I guess this can be seen as a "Don't judge a book by its cover" moment. This book is about a small town that has experienced evil. There are Christian aspects of the book along woth influences from Greek mythology. There is no main character. This was difficult to get started but it does pick up around the middle of the book.

This book was a little hard to get into. I'm not sure if it just wasn't the right book for me or it just wasn't the right timing. That being said, I still wanted to finish reading it and give a fair review for the author.

This book is about a small town somewhere in Indiana and the townspeople think that something sinister is at foot. They all hear voices at night. Theres a monster that wants to attack the townspeople. And the mayor and sheriff are up to no good. There are some ties to Greek Mythology with the storyline. The townspeople are afraid that something bad is going to happen and that the monster will murder everyone. And the ending was kinda sad. I wasn't anticipating it.

Under a Waning Moon by Steven L. Ririe is a fantasy novel with an interesting premise and a unique world. The plot has moments of intrigue, but it often feels slow, and the pacing drags in parts. The characters are decent but could have been more fleshed out, and the world-building, while creative, leaves some gaps. It’s an enjoyable read for fantasy fans, but it didn’t fully captivate me. A solid 3 stars

I've never seen a more misleading cover than this one. I wouldn't consider this a fantasy novel, despite its fantastical elements. It's mostly historical fiction with some Greek mythology aspects that reads at times more like a fairytale. And because the center of the story is a small town in the 19th century US, I feel the main part is played by faith and religion. Unfortunately, I'm an atheist, which means most of it didn't catch my interest, to say the least.

The blurb led me to believe that Emily, a young woman trying to fight against the evil that rules over the town in the form of a corrupt mayor, would be the main character. However, I don't feel that's true. The third-person omniscient narration lets us know bits about a wide cast of characters in the town, and Emily doesn't stand out in any way. Frankly, no one stands out in any way, possibly except the corrupt individuals.

The writing is nice and descriptive, I could see every scene in my mind very clearly. Nevertheless, it was more like reading nonfiction with lots of dialogue - not once did the writing elicit any emotional reaction in me, not even the tragedy that occurred at the very end. The pacing was good, and I appreciated the short chapters that kept the story going.

There's nothing inherently wrong with the book; just not many aspects that would stand out and make the story memorable for me. I won't read the sequel, but I'm sure the duology will find its intended audience.

This book has a wonderful atmosphere and is short enough to get swept up in and finish quickly. I did find the plot a bit slow or uninteresting at points, but overall had a decent time reading. If you are interested in a short historical fiction this might be the book for you.

There's a lot of potential here, I think that the historical setting was well researched and the characters were strongly made, it just felt like something was missing?

Under a Waning Moon by Steven L. Ririe is so so good I couldn't put it down for a bit. I totally recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good and the characters are fantastic.

Thank you for the opportunity to read Under a Waning Moon. I was really intrigued by the premise and appreciated the historical detail in the writing. Unfortunately, I struggled to connect with the story and wasn’t able to finish it. While it wasn’t the right fit for me, I know other readers may enjoy it.

I appreciate the chance to read your work and wish you the best with its release!