*The Malice of Moons and Mages* is a captivating dark fantasy that pulls you in with its unique magic system, gripping plot, and morally complex characters. From the very first chapter, the tension is palpable, and the stakes quickly rise as the protagonist navigates a world filled with dangerous magic, hidden secrets, and treacherous alliances.

What I truly loved about this book is how the author creates such a rich and immersive world. The intricacies of the magic and the deep lore behind the moons and mages are fascinating, and they really elevate the story. The pacing is tight, especially in the first half, and the twists and turns kept me hooked throughout.

The characters, particularly the lead, are complex and relatable, even in a world so filled with danger and intrigue. The relationships—both allies and adversaries—are nuanced and unpredictable, making for some incredibly tense and satisfying moments.

If there’s one thing that kept me from giving this a full five stars, it would be a slight drag in the middle, where the plot slows down a bit. However, the stunning finale more than makes up for any pacing issues, with an ending that left me eager for more.

Overall, *The Malice of Moons and Mages* is a fantastic read for fans of dark, atmospheric fantasy with deep world-building and morally gray characters. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for the next installment!

Fast-paced, magic, touch her and die, multiple povs, overprotective dragons, dark broody sophisticated MMC, chatty unfiltered FMC who likes to push buttons and have fun, forced proximity and betrayal.

It was really engaging and jumped straight into the story from page one. The two main characters are forced to not only be close to each other but also feel each other's emotions, pain and in the MMC's case hunger the whole time.

They learn decades of secrets(the realisations they come to...) while on a time limit and outrunning the two groups of sworn enemies that hate each other allying just to capture them.

The MMC goes from planning her death to proving more than once exactly how willing he is to keep her safe from all of them. 

The FMC stays true to her goals and herself(willing to do anything for her family and those she loves) while they both try to navigate the bond between them.

They both develop really well throughout the book as they get tested on what's really important to them and what they're willing to do to achieve their goals.

Even though the book is fast-paced it is extremely easy to keep up with and the length of the chapters nicely correlates to the pace which breaks it up really well so it doesn’t feel like it drags on.

The multiple povs also mean you see this story through everyone's eye and know who to hate from the start.

The book does end on a cliffhanger so be warned.

Am I reeling? Yes.
Do I need the next book? Immediately.

The Malice of Moons and Mages is phenomenally written in multiple POVs that seem to all be telling a different story but as they slowly converge they add to the building suspension of the plot.

As the first novel, it is a pretty solid foundation for the lore, history, and magic system. In all honesty, the story is quite slow in the beginning and takes time for it to build momentum within the plot but also for fully understanding the interconnection between the characters and their history… but when it’s built…damn, brace yourself 🌜✨🪐🌛

Audra is a gem💚; she is fierce and uncompromisingly herself. She is tender-hearted but vicious if need be. Her development throughout the story is a pleasure to witness, as she goes from (literally) down-in-the-dumps to coming into a wonderful, yet small part of her full potential. I cannot wait to see where her story goes 🐉

Now Lua, do I forgive him for his past misdeeds? yes. Why, you may ask? because he blossoms into a loving, self-less, and considerately protective man. Who is learning that vulnerability is not a weakness and brutality is not always a strength. Looking past his hard, impenetrable exterior made from his lifetime of tough-love, he is actually a softy by nature and is in desperate need of affection. Between you and me, he was the character I was rooting for throughout the story; he may not have been the most moral or the kindest, but he proved himself to be the true Rajav.

Let me just say that, when N.V. Haskell has the next instalment ready, I will be waiting 🌸

I loved this story- the only reason I am giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is because the beginning was a little slow from SO much world-building. There are just so many names- but once you get your bearings with the characters, tribes, and moons, the story hooks you.

I read a ton of fantasy and this world has SUCH a cool magic system with the anchors- I love how it affects the relationships between the characters to add another layer of complexity. The connection the different tribes have to the celestial bodies in this story is so fun and unique, and makes for an exciting “us vs. them” political storyline as well.

I also loved the inclusion of LGBTQ relationships without making it a huge focus- many of the characters seem to be pansexual or bisexual with mention of more than one gender of lovers, without making a huge deal about it. Overall I enjoyed the twists and revelations throughout the story, loved the writing style and multiple POV’s, and I am genuinely looking forward to more from this author!

Wow! This book was extremely well written and thought out from beginning to end. From the descriptive writing to the plot progression, I could not put this book down. I am extremely happy that I requested and received this eARC. I highly recommend this to all of my Fantasy lovers.

I am a sucker for a good fantasy book.
I eat them up lol
This book had me flipping pages for hours!
Throw a subplot of romance into the fantasy book and i am SAT.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

Actual rating: 2.5 stars

This was unfortunately a miss for me.

I really enjoyed the first 25% of this which made me think that I was going to live this book. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

I really liked the rich worldbuilding, complex characters as well as the writing style but I struggled a lot with the rest of the book.

For me, the biggest issue were the multiple POVs.
I did really liked that we git to see the thoughts of both main characters, but I just couldn’t bring myself to care about the others enough to read about them so often. Every time one of these chapters came up (which was o f t e n) I had to force myself to not just close the book and never pick it up again.

And while I enjoyed reading about Lua and Audra at the beginning, I also started to struggle with their chapters toward the end. Not only did it feel like we were just being told about important moments instead of actually seeing them, which made the development of their relationship feel very jerky because it felt like we’d just get random developments without seeing what actually caused them, but I also didn’t like the direction in which the developments went.

The plot was intriguing but, unfortunately, not interesting enough to salvage this book.

Overall, I had a really hard time getting through this, which is really sad considering the strong beginning this had. Unfortunately, this was not for me.

3.5 Stars

If you're looking for high fantasy with great world building, complicated characters, and unique magic, this is it!

The first 10% or so throws you into action with Audra, a thief, getting herself out of captivity by literally going through some sh!t. She is independent and strong-willed, and you can't help but like her. Lua, a high-ranking Moon mage, is having his own problems, as he tries to be free of his own people who have turned against him. The two meet and instantly dislike one another, but find they are bonded.

There is a lot to take in with this, as is often true of high fantasy. We get 4 or 5 perspectives throughout, and this is a world of multiple factions that do not get along. Some are tied to "Starling" (the sun), others to moons. By about a third in, it all started to make sense.

This is more fantasy with some romance, and has a very, very slow burn between our main characters. They go from enemies to friends to more very gradually.

Every character in this world seems to be pansexual, as each one, including our main characters, reference having lovers that are both opposite and same sex. Fair to say it's not lacking in diversity!

I'm excited to see what comes next in this series!

3.5
Thank you to the author & Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

**Trigger warning : animal death**

I typically love a multi-pov but this one threw too many names at me too quickly and I was lost. I went back and took notes on the characters which helped but I will still confused by some names that popped up and the political system seemed to go over my head.

With that said, the story itself was attention grabbing and fast paced right from the get go. I was in a reading slump but still found my self picking this book up everyday to read as much as I could.

The magic system is super interesting & I loved how all the characters seemed to be fluid (a world where you just love who you live without explanation!!). I was drawn towards the FMC & I feel like we still have so much to learn about her backstory and the MMC.

The twists and turns were great & what an ending! If there’s a book 2, I think I’d give it a try :)

This was a really interesting, if complicated at the beginning book. I enjoyed the writing and the characters and I am interested in what might come next from this author. Thanks to the publishing and author for this ARC!

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC. I really loved this one.

Woah! What a rush. I was hooked on this book. I sped through it but I also didn’t want it to end. This book was absolutely amazing, while I was so confused when reading all the different characters perspectives, eventually my brain clicked and went “ah, yes, this person is related to this person via this type of relationship”.

The magic system was honestly amazing. I’ve read similar in fanfiction but that’s a different universe and honestly not something to review. I had fun reading this and guessing what was happening and what kind of relationship was going to develop between the main pairings.

The worldbuilding was incredible, the map at the front of the ARC certainly helped because I, like so many hikers, was lost without one. I was transported with the characters as they pillaged and murdered. I did get a little bit of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but that may be just me trying to put things into familiar little boxes. The idea of two moons in a universe makes my physics knowledge have a big, fat question mark at how the world works, especially regarding tides but it’s a fictional world so really that can be ignored.

Lua was such a little bitch. I love him. He straight-up just made things so annoying for Adura and honestly, I don’t blame him. Adura is one of those FMC who sacrifices everything for family and I don’t hate it. She has strong morals and sticks to them, she loves her family, and she’s a fighter/thief. I know she stole Lua’s heart (Please stop booing me).

Very excited to see book 2 of this series and see where they go from here!

(Cross-posted to Fable and Goodreads and StoryGraph)

Five stars!

This was an excellent read! Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the ARC; I had such a great time with this story.

This had everything I love in a great fantasy novel: a cool magic system, politics, plotting, deep lore, action-packed battles, and dragons! What else could you need?

For the characters (or, at least those who are Starling and Moon), magic is the foundational basis upon which all other facets of life exists, and everything else is secondary. However, Audra didn't grow up with either tribe, and she has a few (well, more than a few) thoughts on things. Lua is seemingly set in his ways, but also has never had the opportunity to do things differently. The forced proximity in this had me screaming, and the sheer anxiety of the last few chapters had me staying up late to finish this book.

I also really appreciated that in the world the author built, queer relationships are normal and accepted.

I am really interested in learning more about the Western mages, the underlying lore of the three tribes, and of course, the dragons! "After all, how hard can it be to steal a mage?" I don't know, but I absolutely need to find out. Book 2 can't come soon enough.

The Malice of Moons and Mages was an engaging and thrilling book. It captured my attention and drew me in, albeit with a start that was slightly confusing due to alternate points of views, jumping around a new world. However, this was in fact vital to the overall story, and thus I recommend readers continue, as the book was incredibly well written and highly enjoyable.
The writing was engaging, accessible for younger adults, whilst maintaining a level of interest for those older. Additionally, the political side was highly interesting, and whilst I don't typically find this, it was not too complex that I understood it, whilst providing another layer of intrigue with enough body to prevent plot holes. The final few chapters were read in a single sitting, the climax intense and exciting.
Overall, it was a thoroughly enjoyable read, which I would highly recommend!

The cover and description drew me in and it wasn't long before I was obsessed. The Malice of Moons and Mages brings together action, romance and political themes (Game of Thrones ish) in a world with a unique magic system that draws on celestial forces.
The characters and their relationships are well built, weaving stories of the past into the present to give us a full picture to their motivations. I adore Audra, her snarky attitude and swearing. She is authetically herself and met l never apologizes for it. Her growth arc is significant.
There was not much I didn't like about this story. I do feel like we've yet to fully understand Lua's involvement in the war with the westerners. The one thing that had me scratching my head was that in chapter 1 Audra cuts her hair so short that she knicks her scalp and can pass for a boy. The entire book takes place over about a months time. Yet towards the end, Audras hair has grown enough that it can be cut at an angle and styled.
Overall, this was a phenomenal read. The ending left me desperate for book 2.

This is a bit of a mixed review.

I enjoyed the overall story and romance in this. I especially liked the usual enemies to lovers back to enemies wasn't the same in this at all. A nice changing of the trope.

I liked both of the main characters and the different politics between the tribes. It helped to progress the plot significantly.

However, it was often hard to understand who was who as there were a lot of characters in the book that were introduced in a relatively short space of time. Additionally, the first few chapters are really hard to understand what is going on. There are a lot of terms that are used for the book that didn't make sense and aren't explained until much, much later in the book. I didn't understand that Song, Silence, and Starling were all named of the moons and sun for way too many chapters, for example.

The pacing was also all of over the place. At times, it was very quick, but at others, it was very slow and seemed to really drag, making it take longer to read than it would usually take. I almost lost interest a few times and thought about giving up.

However, I am glad I stuck it out. I enjoyed the worldbuilding and the overall plot. I really enjoyed the ending. I think this shows a lot of promise and look forward to the next.

3.5 stars

I liked aspects of this quite a bit. It felt very original, and the multiple tribes created a lot of tension between characters. That said, it got pretty confusing about who was fighting with whom. Despite quite a lot of action, the pace also felt pretty slow, and it took me longer than it usually would to finish. The ending conversely felt a bit rushed, and it would have been nice to have an epilogue chapter to soften the edges a bit.

There were also a couple of typos (wrung instead of rung) and in chapter 41 (i think -- the one where Arn was accidentally injured) Audra was in a different room and then magically in the same room. I reread the pages 4-5 times trying to figure out where she's magically appeared from and did not figure it out -- seems to be a substantive error.

3.75✨

The Rajav Li-Hun is dead and the courts of the Moon mages is turned upside down. Through a turn of events, the Oji Lua finds himself tethered to a skilled thief with her own missions. Together they must head on a journey to break their bond while powerful forces hunt them down at every turn.

Audra is highly skilled, insanely stubborn and loyal to her core. I don’t love or hate her. I find her incredibly passionate especially on her quest for justice. I found similar traits in Lua as well which makes them a fantastic pairing. This is portrayed as enemies to lovers but I found the former part fizzes rather quickly. I would have liked a bit more tension between the two of them. I do think romantasy fans will love our “touch her and die” MMC.

The magic system here is like a breath of fresh air. Sets itself apart within the genre. The only issues I had with it is that everything was insanely fast paced. Found myself putting it down because the world building felt so overwhelmed. The first few chapters are pure unlimited chaos that only is ramped up but 3 POV’s. Eventually it gets into a good stride and all comes together neatly. It is a ruthless and mystical high fantasy world. Fans of gripping vivid fast paced high fantasy with a touch of romance will devour this.

Thank you to Cursed Dragon Ship Publishing, N.V. Haskell & Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Malace of Moons and Mages

Thank You NetGalley for this ARC. All reviews are my own personal thoughts and opinions.

Overall Rating: 3.75

I have read a ton of fantasy and this one’s magic system is truly unique - it’s refreshing and creative. Without getting into too much detail, let’s just say it requires pairings and a balancing act of giving and taking.

This story follows a tale of an unwilling pair - Audra and Lua. Both hate the bond and are set on a course to remove it.

Spoiler Warnings Ahead

Pros
- Fast-paced moving adventure
- Excellent side characters that you truly care for.
- enemies to lovers
- LGBTQ rep
- Morally Grey MMC
- Unique magic system
- Bonds

Cons:
- Writing in the beginning was a little bit hard to follow and visualize.
- I felt that certain themes or systems were not explained thoroughly until much later in the book. This uncles the 2 moons and 1 star,

Despite the cons, the story truly shines in the adventures these two encounter - especially once the chase begins. I would recommend this to anyone wanting a whimsical Romantasy woven into a unique magic system..

Thank you NetGalley for providing an ARC for an honest review.

Our story starts out with the (realistically) badass FMC being jailed for stealing dragon's eye jade to save her baby brother who had a spell cast on him and to return her people of the Western tribe to their former glory after a war between the Moon and Starling tribes and a bide for power left her people and decimated. Fate intervenes when we meet our MMC after he and Audra bond unwillingly Lua has some serious generational trauma to contend with and a psychopathic sister who has no empathy and her only goal is complete control. In this true enemies to lovers romantasy our FMC and MMC are conflicted with their differing background and figuring if their loyalties and feeling are due to the bond or something more.


I will say that the first couple of chapters were pretty confusing. I am one who loves multiple POV's and intense world building but it was just too much too fast. That being said once you push through meeting each character the story really ramps up and keeps you hooked. There is great comedic banter between our FMC and MMC within the first 30% of the book but once the romance was introduced I felt it lacked chemistry and could seem a little bit controlling and obsessive at times. Also....Moonie....I can't get over that nickname I despised reading it several times throughout the book. I kept thinking that Selene would have some type of redemption arc but nope that girl is actually insane.

All in all I loved the plot twist towards the middle of the book and how things were built up at the end for a possible duology...trilogy? I'm not sure but I can't wait to read it!

Spice rating 2.5🌶️one open door scene that is very short but not explicit.

Tropes: enemies to lovers, forced proximity, touch her and die
Plenty of Diversity and 🏳️‍🌈 inclusion

I wasn’t sure I was going to like this book at first. I hated The MMC and believed him an entirely irredeemable character. He was a wildly unlikable, unfeeling , selfish and without mercy. I wasn’t sure how the author was going to redeem him, but the storytelling pulled me in and I couldn’t put it down.

His redemption snuck up slowly and I’m not even sure what chapter it was by the time I stopped hating him. This story swept me away, and held me captive. I didn’t want to leave. The world was rich, the characters were all complex, and I really love a book with multiple POVs.

The end wasn’t really a cliffhanger, but left me devastated that there weren’t more pages. I can’t wait to see where this author takes us next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the free advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.