This was a disappointment. I was hoping the changes would reflect the current climate and that wasn't the option. This has been a troubled book from the beginning and the revisions did not seem to help. I wish Piper luck because I think she's a cool human I just think she needs some help in the editing and content department.

Full instagram review and post to be linked shortly!!

I loved this book and I’m so happy that it was picked up for traditional publishing!!!

big thanks to bloom books for providing an ARC of this story through netgalley.

as a disclaimer, i did not read earlier versions of this book, just this one. i cannot speak to the contents or events of earlier versions but from previous feedback I've seen since looking up the author, it seems that the concerns from the indy pub version we addressed.

i thoroughly enjoyed this book. as a self proclaimed fantasy lush, i could look past any spelling/grammar oversights and enjoy the story. I loved that Piper put so much into the details of the book and gave us the chance to learn with the characters. I will say I didn't realize we were going to meet the to MC's when they were children so that threw me off at first as I'd seen the book marketed as a fantasy romance but fear not! no child romance here. we see Not and Amaris grow up into strong, independent`women who have each learned to thrive in their environments.

If you are someone who enjoys expansive world building (complete with playlists, a menu etc on Piper's website), a powerful story of self discovery/acceptance, and queer representation (specifically Bi in this instance), give this book a go!

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this before I realized it was a sequel and also before I saw the plagarism scandal. That just isn't something I can support.

3⭐️

The pacing is just so slow and unbearable in the first part of the book that I was struggling to stay awake while reading it. I had to put it down and try to put it back up several times, but the beginning of this book is really boring and does not make me want to continue to read. If you can get past the first 10-15 chapters, this book is okay, but not something that I’m particularly excited to continue reading. I think this book had a lot of potential to be great, but should have been better edited, but as it stands it does not compare to other sapphic romance fantasy series and stand alone books.

It was so good! It took me awhile to get through (mainly because of a reading slump and because the back story and world building took SO long) but once I got through, I didn't want to stop reading! The 2 main characters, all the different side characters, the "villains", the world and the magic's. Everything was just so good and different! And it was even SAPPHIC! Like, what more would you want? Magic, amazing world building, excitement, an amazing story, the character growth too and a sapphic love story. Everything together was just so good! The story was just so good and I absolutely loved it! And I can not wait for book 2!! I need to know what will happen next with Nox, Amaris, Malik and Ash!

The Night and Its Moon by Piper CJ is a stunning fantasy Debut. From the opening line I was pulled in for narrative that would not let me rest until its completion. I have since picked up a physical copy for rereads and am looking forward to the release of book two.

This is a great read for people wanting bisexual rep and female led Witcher style vibes.

I read The Night and Its Moon last month from #NetGalley and the story really caught me! I loved how it follows the main characters through 3 phases of their lives- as children, as teens and as young adults. Each stage showed us important pieces of the story, and I can't wait for the series to continue!

DNF.

I wanted to finish this so bad as I have followed this book from it's early promotional days on tiktok, and then waited for the rewrites after the original launch debacle, and when I saw it on here, I was so excited. I wish I loved it more, but it just felt rushed and off. I can't even explain it, I just did not love it.

This was such a great LGTBQ romance read! I have been loving everything that bloom been publishing lately and this was not an exception. Another right amount of romance in fantasy to keep me interested. The plot wasn’t reliant on the spice nor was the spice reliant on the plot. They melted well together. And I feel that’s what’s needed in a good fantasy romance novel

Thank you so much, NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books, Bloom Books, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Apparently, Farleigh is just an orphanage, but it's what the church would have others believe. Beautiful orphans Nox and fae-touched Amaris know the truth: they are available for purchase by the highest bidder, they are for sale. So when a madame from a notorious brothel wants to purchase Amaris, Nox ends up in her place, while Amaris is sent to the mountains, home of assassins. Even with new identities and lives, they will never stop at nothing to get back to each other. With the threat of war between Fae and humans,magic and mundane, new alliances, powers and unbreakable bond between them, Nox and Amaris will do anything to get back to each other and their love.

The night and its moon is a fabulous and addictive fantasy romance, written by the brilliant Piper CJ and it's truly amazing. The worldbuilding, characterization, plot twists and so much more is brilliantly written and engaging.
I loved so much this book. The romance is powerful and swoony, the characters are so good and well written and their bond is to die for. Between war, powers, factions, this book is truly awesome and so recommended.

There were lots of issues with this book. Let’s start with the most important. Nox is a woman of colour. I think. I say I think because I’m honestly not sure. She’s described as having dark brown skin but also as having tan skin. And when I looked up the character art that Piper CJ commissioned herself I was left even more confused, as the woman in the art is a white woman? This leaves the inclusion of a WOC main character feeling performative, at best. Add that to the weird fixation on Amaris’ pure, unmarked, white skin and the brutal whipping that Nox receives in the white woman’s place and this all starts to feel a bit insidious. Not to mention that Amaris gets to escape and become a Reever while Nox, once again in Amaris’ place, gets sold into sex work… it just doesn’t sit right with me.

Onto the writing. This book is so repetitive. And I don’t mean plot lines, I mean full sentences that repeat. For example.

“If given the chance, they’d run. Nox couldn’t blame them.”
Then on the next page.
“Nox didn’t blame the siblings for their dreams of running away.”

And this happens multiple times, throughout the entire book.
Then there are sentences like this: “Nox watched the exchange, knowing the end was a forgone conclusion.” This sentence makes very little sense. Almost as if Piper was a smidge too heavy handed with the synonyms feature on Word.
And sentences like this: “Her eyes remained glazed as they continued to see same after same after same.” This is terrible writing that should have been fixed in edits.
It’s all very choppy, with an overuse of full stops that disrupt the flow of the writing and a reliance on over complicated prose. Add that to the fact that this book is about 20 chapters too long, with complete chapters that should absolutely have been left on the cutting room floor, and the whole book becomes pretty impossible to sit through.

Here are some other issues I had with the book, in bullet form to save us all some time.
- Nox’s powers are never fully explained. I don’t know if being able to charm men is a common theme among succubus lore but even if it is, you cannot expect every reader to know this going in.
- The whole thing was so poorly edited. I know I’ve already touched on this but it needs to be said again.
- The similarities with The Witcher books need to be addressed. I wouldn’t say it’s a direct plagiarisation, but there are definitely far too many similarities to be a coincidence.
- The political side of the story is explained very poorly.
- Emily’s entire character could have been cut.
- There’s a POV change to Ash once and then we never hear from his POV again.

All in all, this book is a mess. It could have benefited from a much longer editing and revision timeframe and some sensitivity readers.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with access to an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

You guys I literally don't know how to express how I'm feeling after reading this book! Everything about it just left my jaw on the floor like the sizzling romance and the world-building was just *a chef's kiss!* Love it and can't wait to read the next book!

I'm a fan of Piper's from Tiktok, so I already knew a bit about this book before reading it. I was so delighted to be given an ARC for this book and I really enjoyed it! It did take a while to get into the story and care about the characters, but I also think that all the set-up was needed for the characters and plot.
There is a lot of very descriptive language, so if you're not into flowery and poetic descriptions you might not enjoy the prose. I personally didn't mind and felt like it fit in well with the kind of story that was being told. A book for those who are a fan of lady knights and faerie stories!

This book is a fantastic debut novel. The two main characters are interesting and engaging. The world is beautifully described using almost poetic language. The portrayal of sex work is done in a way that felt nuanced - empowering without negating the hardships Nyx faces.

With that being said, it is evident this is a debut novel. At times, it seemed like the author didn’t trust their audience to “pick up what they were putting down.” For example, the themes of religious trauma, queer identity, and self-determination were well-woven into the undertones and descriptive language throughout the story, yet the author would add explicit “tell you rather than show you” quips as if to make sure the reader caught the messaging. I think this critique will quickly become moot as the author grows more confident in their voice.

Given that this is a debut novel, it shows potential for an engaging series. An action-packed love story in a fantasy realm…what’s not to like?!

🌙 The Night and its Moon ✨

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Super, super excited that I got to read this one! I made a wish for it on NetGalley and miraculously received it a week ago, just enough time to read and savor this delicious new fantasy that will fill the void while SJM is busy working on more ACOTAR and CC content! This is a bisexual folklore fantasy, republished and edited as Piper CJ moves into traditional publishing.

Synopsis: Raised in the same orphanage, Nox and Amaris are deeply attached to each other as they navigate the complicated web of human trafficking their church sanctions. When they become separated as teenagers, Nox is forced to rise through the ranks of a brothel, while Amaris trains as a reever to protect the kingdoms from monsters and conflict. Over the years, both girls go to great lengths to reunite while also being swept into a growing human-fae conflict that tests their knowledge and opinions of magic.

I really, really enjoyed this book for what it was: a first book in a series that will take several books to reveal all its secrets and allow its characters to develop. One of the things I like about this book is that the relationships between the two MCs and their respective companions/friends are already complicated and challenging, and the MCs are flawed women who are still strong characters. Fans of The Witcher, Game of Thrones, ACOTAR, and Throne of Glass will appreciate this series for having some similar themes/creatures, but this holds up as a unique addition to the romantasy genre. This book is not very spicy (according to the author, the later books will be), but there are scenes alluding to torture, SA, manipulation, and violence that definitely make this an adult fantasy novel (not YA). The new version is officially out today, 9/20, and the sequel is coming out in February 2023, so you won’t have to wait long to find out what happens next (and believe me, you’ll want to)!

Many thanks to Bloom Books and NetGalley for letting me review this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Before I dive in, first I highly recommend you check out Piper CJ on both Instagram and TikTok. Her story for finishing this series (YES! The entire series is already done and will be releasing every six months until all four books are out!) is so inspiring and she just seems like someone I'd love to wander the woods with while admiring rocks and mushrooms. Seriously, if you read and love this one as much as I do then be sure to interact with Piper on socials as she is such a sweetheart she will almost certainly reply with kind words back.

The book itself though - is beautiful and brilliant. From the first chapter, I knew I was going to love Nox but I was not prepared for how much I was going to love her character. The story follows Amaris and Nox who have been in an orphanage for most of their lives. When someone decides to purchase Amaris for their brothel, of course Nox volunteers to take her place as she could never allow a fate so awful to befall her Amaris. No matter what happens, the two of them continue to search for one another. The story will break your heart and put it back together again and again.

The entire book is full of rich descriptions from Piper who shows off her expertise in folklore on every page. She manages to make the story so approachable, almost familiar at times, while never once making you feel like this is a story that's been told before. This bisexual fantasy series is certain to capture your heart from the very beginning.

For those that may have picked up the indie, unedited first edition copy of this book, I'd still recommend picking up the fancy new polished version from Barnes and Noble (they have a special edition with a bonus short story and sprayed edges!), Amazon or from your local indie bookstore. I know I've already told you to find Piper on socials but I also have to tell you to check our her website as she's already done the work of suggesting what foods you're going to be craving when you get to certain settings in the book. If you see this review early enough I also can't recommend enough checking out Apothecary 19 for their limited edition Amaris and Nox candles which of course match their descriptions from the books as well.

If you love adult fantasy but are tired of not reading about strong female characters (OR LGBTQIA+ characters!) then I recommend checking out The Night and Its Moon as soon as you can.

I received this ebook from Bloom through Netgalley for free in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

I was intrigued by this book because I heard one character has a very Witcher-like story arc, and I love the Witcher series. The story starts out with two young girls growing up together in a orphanage, and they end of being separated when a madame comes to buy one of them. That's where the story really kicks off. Both Nox and Amaris have intriguing storylines for the next few years while they are separated, but I was definitely more interested in the Witcher/Amaris story. The story ends on a cliffhanger, and once again I am most looking forward to Amaris' side of the story. I didn't feel a lot of chemistry between Nox and Amaris, despite them dreaming of each other multiple times in their years apart. Hopefully we can see more of that romance in the following books.

I enjoyed this book and think the series has great potential. The author's enthusiasm for their work oozes off the page and it is truly and interesting concept/world she id trying to create. I hope things get more flushed out in the subsequent books. I follow Piper on TikTok and so was excited to be given the chance to read an early copy of the new edition of this book. I know there has been some controversy surrounding this book and can see why some people might not want to read it. Overall, I did have a good time reading this and will likely pick up the next book to see where the story goes.

Review to come soon! Thank you to NetGalley for this great eARC. Initial reaction - what a stunning story, full of adventure and drama! I can't wait to see what Piper CJ does next!