Draw Down the Moon by P. C. Cast
Product Details
Web ID: 18496962A Magical Coming-of-Age Tale
Draw Down the Moon is a captivating young adult fantasy that introduces readers to a hidden world of magic and mystery. The authors skillfully blend elements of supernatural powers, teenage drama, and coming-of-age themes. The premise of a young woman discovering her hidden magical abilities is intriguing, and the setting of a secret academy adds to the allure. However, the characters, particularly Wren, often come across as younger than their stated age of 18. Their behavior and thought processes sometimes feel more appropriate for a younger age group, which can disrupt the flow of the story. Despite this minor issue, the book offers a fun and exciting read. The world-building is imaginative, and the romantic tension between Wren and her fellow students adds a delightful spark to the narrative. The audiobook narration is satisfactory, with the dual narrators providing distinct voices for the different perspectives. However, the male narrator's performance can sometimes feel one-dimensional, focusing primarily on expressing romantic interest rather than showcasing a complex character. Overall, Draw Down the Moon is a promising start to a series, with the potential for further exploration of the magical world and its inhabitants.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Not quite for me
I really wanted to love this book, but for some reason it just didn’t grab my attention like I hoped it would. It felt like something was missing for me, but I couldn’t pinpoint what it was. In the end, I think it might just be written for a younger audience than other books I usually read. I will say that it gets more interesting as the story goes on. It’s the first book in a duology, so it’s pretty obvious there’s still more left to this story when the book ends. I’m curious about where things will go next.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Not the greatest 😬
As someone who would be considered for the Young-adult section. I have to say even I found this book to be a little cringe and “quirky”. I think the person who wrote this definitely did not write it well. Throughout the book it felt like Wren and Lee were already a couple. Even though they were trying to figure out their feelings for each other. I also noticed that some parts of the book there was just irreverent information to the story. I did not like the parts where there was “(…)”. To me it was just for more useless information we didn’t need to know or that it was already implied. And I don’t mind that it was astrology related, but it just got on my nerves after a little. Overall not my favorite.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
for a younger YA audience
**I received a copy of the book through NetGalley. I voluntarily read and reviewed it. All opinions are my own.** I need to disclose that I’m not the biggest fan of books set in boarding schools and magical academies. There are exceptions when I truly adore a series. For instance, The Scholomance trilogy by Naomi Novik was excellent, even if I had quips about certain things that happened. Draw Down the Moon is largely set in a magickal academy. I had some hesitations about it, but the beginning of the book drew me in. Wren is pulling a prank in the middle of the night with her best friend Lee. Just as she turns 18 years old, she is struck by the moon’s magick, making her no longer a Mundane but Moonstruck like Lee. Her world is somewhat turned upside down because she will be attending a magickal school (with her two best friends) rather than leading the normal mundane life she had finally come to terms with. I was intrigued by this moon magick and the elementals that surrounded it, but not so much by the academy, where Wren finds some things are a little off. I think I would have eventually warmed up to the story, but I began to note how the writing seemed aimed at a younger YA audience. It’s not usually an issue…when it is expected–I enjoy reads of all ages. The problem was these were individuals out of high school, likely 17/18 year old, and some of the conversations made me inwardly cringe. I liked the characters. Wren’s apprehension at a new school is one I completely understood. While she’s worried about trying to catch up, she is also trying to deal with her new feelings for Lee. Lee is trying to live up to his family’s reputation as well as trying to deal with his seemingly unrequited feelings for Wren. Life is generally complicated and the authors capture it here. Wren’s other best friend Sam was a character I liked, but some inconsistencies in her actions toward the end left me frustrated. I would recommend this to this for a younger YA audience and those who like magic and the academia setting. However, I am ultimately conflicted over this one. I like the magick and want to know more about it as well as Wren’s fate. The reveals at the end were good ones. The problem is I did not connect as well with the writing.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Well written and really engaging.
Well written and really engaging. A young mundane has settled into the fact that she didn't inherit magic like her parents, but on her 18th birthday everything changes in a flash. As Wren heads to a magically hidden island to explore her magic, along with her two best friends, she'll find not only her magic, but some things that have been hidden for centuries. Can she survive her powers? Only time and magic will tell.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Magic School, Mysterious Murder, and Romance
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Young Listeners, P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast, Marie Smith (audio narrator), and Jordan Barton (audio narrator) for the opportunity to read and listen to the audiobook of Draw Down the Moon in exchange for an honest review. Draw Dawn the Moon is the first book in a duology, and it is a fast-paced, magick-filled romance taking place at an academy for elemental witches. The pacing is brilliant, the conflicts are dark and intriguing, and the overall impact makes for an excellent start to a two-part series. Being a long time fan of House of Night, I was excited to explore another academy-type of novel in the real of paranormal from the mother-daughter writing duo. I am certainly not disappointed, and I think this duology will be one of their best works to date! Wren's parents are both magickal, harboring elemental powers, but she was not born under one of the astrological moons, meaning she is fated to be a Mundane (basically a regular human being). On her eighteenth birthday, some semblance of power makes its presence known to her, and instead of saying goodbye to her best friend, Lee, she is abruptly going with him to the Academia de la Luna, a special school for elemental witches. With alternating first person perspectives, not only does the reader see Wren's first-hand experiences, but Lee's as well. Unlike his best friend, Lee has always known he would be attending the Academy (think of it as kind of like a college, as students attending have already graduated high school). Lee is from a more prestigious magick family and aims to pass the school's trials for a shot at upholding the family name. While Lee fight's the attraction he has had for his best friend since, well, forever, Wren is working on navigating just how her magick works. As the female main character, she follows the chosen-one arc in a way that keeps the reader wondering about her powers and just what makes her different, and why. With her newfound friend, Sam, she embarks on a journey to discover her magick, learning that there are darker pieces at play at the academy, and Wren might be on the verge of discovering them. I greatly enjoyed this novel as a first in a duology. Even though I love House of Night, I do still find the writing style to be a bit immature at times, though this is a young adult novel. Technically. The characters being eighteen and just out of high school makes it lean a bit more in the new adult direction, and there is some more mature ideas being explored, though not crossing the line of the safety that generally comes with a young adult novel. Some of the dialogue is a bit off-putting, yet there are other conversations that truly make the book impossible to put down. I truly love the characters, I love the conflicts, and I love the incredible end that makes me want to read the next one. I generally don't get too into "witch" type novels, but this one really sucked me in and blew me away! Draw Down the Moon is perfect for lovers of paranormal, magic schools, and dark events. An excellent first book.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Good for younger audiences
Despite the main characters being eighteen, this reads for a younger audience. I enjoyed the setting, a magical school, where powers are based on the moon. It is a fun and easy magic system to grasp, which makes it a suitable starter fantasy for young teens. It has a whimsical element to it, set on a magical island hidden from mundanes. I really struggled with the writing style. It reads like a middle-grade or even chapter book with a "quirky" sense of humor. The overuse of parentheses, ellipses, and exclamations point made it hard for me to think of this as YA. The sense of humor was also really bad. Our two characters have graduated high school, yet they talk and joke like my friends and I did at twelve years old. There was a lack of maturity and depth that I was expecting. The plot line added nothing new to the YA genre. A seemingly normal girl who ends up being a "chosen one" has been around for ages. Thankfully, the characters avoided being Mary Sue, but just barely. I read and enjoy both middle grade and YA, so it was easy for me to note that, if this book had been marketed for a younger audience, I would have gone in with a different mindset. Alas, I was expecting something with a little more depth and uniqueness. This isn't a bad book; it's great for those trying out fantasy, or YA novels. I would recommend this to younger readers. If you are already a firm lover of either genre, I'd skip this one. You won't find anything new or stand out here. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press Wednesday Books for the advance copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Cute new series from PC Cast & Kristin Cast!
Thank you to Wednesday Books and SMP for the digital arc copy and the physical arc copy of DRAW DOWN THE MOON. This review is entirely my own thoughts and opinions based on the advance copies I recieved! *ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚ DRAW DOWN THE MOON is a coming of age and coming into your own magick story of a girl who thought she would live her life magick-less until the moment she turned 18. She's suddenly pulled into the world she thought she'd never be apart of only to have mysteries about her own powers and her place in their world begin to surround her. With the help of her friends, Wren begins to unweave the mysteries of their magical world, even the secrets that were meant to be buried. *ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚ MY THOUGHTS: This book definitely sits on the young side of Young Adult, which confuses me a bit as the characters are supposed to be 18 year olds heading off to college. To be fair, the bulk of the characters reflect their age— LIly, Ruby, Sam, Luke. But the two main characters, Wren and Lee, were written to act like early high school aged characters, which aged the book down into lower YA. It did at times feel like I was reading a young teen's diary. Since I am clearly not the target audience, I'm rating and reviewing this book in the mindset of this is for a younger audience. Outside of that, this reads very much like a P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast book. Its style is reminiscent of the House of NIght series which gave me some serious nostalgia to when I was 18-20 years old and obsessed with that series. Plot-wise, I loved it. While my 35 year old mind was able to quickly put together the plot and know what the big reveals would be, I could easily see my younger self obsessing over it. I loved the unique premise of how magick works in this world, My Pisces self is slightly salty that we're not one of the Moonstruck signs. LOL (I was even born on a full moon night!) I appreciated the familiar PNW setting. I loved the focus on friendship and communication, listening to your intuition, and learning to shape your own future. The romance between Wren and Lee was sweet, if not a bit cringy at times (but weren't we all cringy at that age?). I especially appreciated the huge effort to create a YA story that is heavily inclusive. All in all, this was a pretty solid 4 star read for me and I will be looking forward to the sequel cuz of course they left the book off with a huge cliffhanger.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com