From award-winning bestseller Laura Purcell
comes her YA debut, MOONSTONE, a sparkling, chilling gothic romance with real
bite… Following a scandal at Vauxhall pleasure gardens, Camille is sent away to
her reclusive godmother, who keeps a strict watch over her and her own sickly
daughter, Lucy.
Camille must stay away from everything she has
known until the scandal is forgotten, keeping strictly to the small farmhouse
in the woods. Away from the corsetry and curtsies of polite society, Camille
finds herself surprisingly…free. She is also strangely drawn to Lucy, a pale,
fragile girl who dreams of stars, but has never left the farm.
Yet as Camille and Lucy grow close and cross
forbidden boundaries, the fine balance of their woodland home begins to death
stalks between the trees, claw-marks rake the doors and the moon rises to the
song of a creature Camille has never heard before. Camille begins to realise
her godmother was holding more than unladylike behaviour at bay…
Review:
Reading this as an adult I can see the simplicity of the story, however,
thinking about reading this as a young adult, which this is targeted too, I
would have loved it.
The pace goes between slow and fast as the story progresses. The
‘secret’ seems quite obvious from the start, but the development of the story
is presented really well. I enjoyed this book even as an adult. It’s a bit of
an escapism into a world of YA fantasy.
I liked Camille as the main character, she had her human flaws like
naivety, but she was brave, head strong and not afraid to get stuck in. She was
also kind and understanding and I felt she questioned things for all the right
reasons. Lucy was clearly trapped in a very sad world her mother Rowena and
Bridget created for her to keep her safe and Camille became the one bright star
in the darkness.
I would certainly recommend this to any budding young adult reader, who
would like to delve into mystical creatures fantasy genre, it’s a great start
into this world and a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Thank you to Netgalley for this book.
Rating: 5/5
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