10 Thoughts On ‘Woven In Moonlight’

Hey everyone!

It’s been a while since I’ve last posted, but I’ve been really busy and low-key stressed (hurh hurh not a big surprise). I’ve still had an amazing January so far and I hope all of you had it too!

Remember how I was in a huge reading slump a while ago? Well, reading this book and Woven in Moonlight DEFINITELY helped me (like a bunch).

The thing is, I GOT A PHYSICAL COPY OF THIS BOOK. And, um, that’s huge and I think I screamed when the publisher told me??!?! I’M DYING Y’ALL BECAUSE IT’S JUST TOO GORGEOUS.

also, I got fairy lights!!

So without further ado, let’s jump into the review (well, my thoughts on WiM)!

1. The Cover

Ok, not even kidding, the cover is soo pretty and intricate and ugh I’m in love in with the cover!!

I mean, look at it?! Isabel Ibañez actually designed the cover herself?? We love a multifaceted author! (ok, but I actually love this cover!! look at the cute designs and the moon and the jaguar and the tapestry!!)

2. The Premise

Even before I started reading Woven in Moonlight, I was already intrigued by the synopsis! I’ll show it below:

Ximena is the decoy Condesa, a stand-in for the last remaining Illustrian royal. Her people lost everything when the usurper, Atoc, used an ancient relic to summon ghosts and drive the Illustrians from La Ciudad. Now Ximena’s motivated by her insatiable thirst for revenge, and her rare ability to spin thread from moonlight.

When Atoc demands the real Condesa’s hand in marriage, it’s Ximena’s duty to go in her stead. She relishes the chance, as Illustrian spies have reported that Atoc’s no longer carrying his deadly relic. If Ximena can find it, she can return the true aristócrata to their rightful place.

She hunts for the relic, using her weaving ability to hide messages in tapestries for the resistance. But when a masked vigilante, a warm-hearted princess, and a thoughtful healer challenge Ximena, her mission becomes more complicated. There could be a way to overthrow the usurper without starting another war, but only if Ximena turns her back on revenge—and her Condesa.

It literally says ‘Bolivia politics’ and you expect me to not be hooked?!

3. It’s #OwnVoices

Although I’ve enjoyed so many books by white, straight, neurotypical authors, it’s always a delight to support #OwnVoices authors, especially as a person of color!
Authors like Leigh Bardugo (who I still love btw) have been deemed ‘best YA diverse fantasy writers’ while there are so many POC authors struggling to get their books published by the same publishers because their stories aren’t valued enough.

I’m not trying to hate on Leigh Bardugo at all! But in all honesty, I think there are SO many other diverse fantasy books out there that were written by actual OwnVoices authors that deserve more love.

This is why I’m so hyped for Woven In Moonlight because it’s written by an author of Bolivian origin and is another amazing Latinx book to add to the list I made.

4. The Small Dividers

If you scroll up a little bit and look at the picture I took with all the pwetty fairy lights, you’ll see a small divider with a moon and stars around it!

     <<< that right there!

It’s a small detail but throughout the book, I couldn’t help but love how it looked!

5. Ximena’s Magic

Ximena Rojas, our main character is the decoy Condesa. And her powers- weaving tapestries out of moonlight- were an amazing part of the story!

The fact that there was magic in this fantastical world just made me nostalgic for the days when I was a blissful child reading a bunch of random fantasy books 😦

I do wish we got to see her powers more fleshed out but I’m also happy with how it turned out! (mini spoiler alert below!)

And the fact that she can literally weave animals out of her magic and make them move and live and exist ah so cool!

Ok, cool, spoiler over!

6. Rumi

Rumi, the healer, is an interesting character. I’ve got to say, I wasn’t a huge fan of the romance (I’ve gotten very picky lately- what can I say? I’ve stopped enjoying romance unless it’s an actual romance novel lol), but I thought Rumi was kind of an interesting character!

Also, I’m not going to pretend like I didn’t freak out when I saw the character art LIKE OMG. He looks beautiful! (credits to @taratjah on insta and Isabel’s Instagram account)

7. El Lobo

El Lobo, the vigilante, is just such an amazing concept that I love! He was funny, saucy, and fought for what he believed in.

(also from the author’s Instagram account! beautiful art omjg)

8. Catalina and Ximena

Ok, this was actually a highlight of this book. Although I tHRIVE for amazing female friendships, I think this friendship falling apart was a great addition to the story.

I guess this is a minor spoiler?

Catalina just refuses to take into account that someone else might be a better leader than her but when the girls break away and end their friendship, it still is heartbreaking and Ximena is losing a part of herself- basically her sister.

It’s emotional and deep and Catalina starts falling apart and I love it when characters actually show weakness!

9. Princess Tamaya

I LOVE PRINCESS TAMAYA!

She’s an amazing character and ack I loved her! She’s fierce and proud and noble and honorable and Tamaya is infinitely better than her idiot of a brother.

Tamaya was probably my favorite character in the whole book! She’d make a great queen ❤

10. Tapestries

Oh my gosh, the tapestry descriptions were so satisfying! If you know me, you’ll know that I LIVE for satisfying description *happy sigh* and this is the epitome of a satisfying description! Ximena’s tapestries sounded beautiful and made the story so much more wholesome.

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I hope you all enjoyed this post! I ended up rating this 4.5 stars because I had trouble connecting with the romance but I actually loved the rest.

What was the last #OwnVoices fantasy you read? How was your January? What’s your reading goal for 2020?