Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me access to the free advanced digital copy of this book.

I really enjoyed this story. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about it after reading some of the reviews, but I ended up liking it a lot. I understood what a lot of people were saying about the characters being unlikable, but to me they just read like teenagers. Still growing and learning, still a little self-absorbed, but innocent. I loved Jonas, he was definitely my favorite, but I still liked Ash and Shani, and I liked them all together. All the characters go through a good bit of growth in this story, and it ends with them all being better people than when it started. There were some more difficult topics discussed too, like loss and grief and sexual orientation/ sexuality.

Overall, Brighter Than the Moon was a coming of age story following three teens as their lives intertwine. They make mistakes and learn from them, then try to be better, The ending is a little open-ended, but I didn't mind. Really, their lives are just beginning, so life could really take them anywhere and the ending reflected that. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys YA and I look forward to what the author writes next!

Trigger Warnings: Cursing, racism, fostering, past death of a parent, catfishing, cancer, hospice, death of a parent, funeral at a church

Representation: Transgender, Black, half Indian/half Cuban, Lesbian, Gay

Brighter than the Moon is a ya contemporary romance. Jonas met Shani online, while there hasn’t been much progress, Jonas would like that to change. The only problem is Jonas hasn’t been completely honest with Shani. When she starts to suspect gang Jonás is hiding something, she convinces her best friend Ash to spy and find out the truth. Ash then also falls for Jonas, which may complicate everything for all three. Will it matter that their hearts are in the right place? Coming clean will require them to figure out who they really are, which is no easy task when all the pieces of your identity go beyond easy boxes and labels.

I really enjoyed this book! I finished it in one day! According to other reviews, I am one of the few to think so. I thought the story was interesting and something very different than other ya stories. I loved the theme of not needing labels and having to define everything. This story is filled with a lot of love and respect, despite the rocky beginning. The story has the typical angst and emotions of a high school story but isn’t as whiny as some other teenage books. Overall, it’s a great read and I’d recommend it to anyone struggling with their identity or looking for a warm and loving happy ending.

I was intrigued by the concept of a YA internet romance that wasn't a murder mystery or thriller. And the initial connection between Jonas and Shani was very sweet. But as the book progressed, I found myself trying to keep track of so many different voices, emotions, and plot lines, that things became more difficult than they ended up being worth.

There were many parts of this book that I really liked, namely the moments from Jonas' perspective. I found Jonas to be a really refreshing character and the one that most cam alive on the page. I think it's really fantastic to have polyamory represented in YA literature, however, this book was trying to do SO MUCH, that the exploration of gender and sexuality sort of fell by the wayside and in the end felt really rushed ad forced. The intersectionalities within all three main characters identities is wonderful, but I feel the nuances of their respective identities could never have been fully explored in 300 pages.

I enjoyed this book. Brighter than the Moon follows three protagonists: Jonas, Shani and Ash. The book winds through secrets, love, loss and growth, and truly piercing questions of self and identity.

I think it was ambitious to have three distinct narrative voices and protagonists, and I do feel like Ash's story arc is a bit flat. I did not get the resolution I hoped for and I didn't feel like Ash really had a chance to flourish.

The book is divided into four parts, and I wish it had been left either at three or that a fifth had been added because the end of part four felt a bit rougher and open ended, leaving me with an unsatisfied feeling.

Valdes crafts beautiful worlds and this book was no exception. I look forward to seeing what he brings us next.

I went through a range of emotions as I read this book. At first, I loved the romance blossoming between Jonas and Shani. Then things happen and now Ash is involved and quickly I’m seeing how things become complicated. Jonas is the character you feel for the most although you come to see how they all are struggling in their own way. Seeing them all go through things but find a way to support each other is sweet and made me come back around to loving the book again but for a while I really couldn’t stand some of the characters. Still, they were realistic and I liked watching them grow and sort things out. It definitely made me think. A good read I would tell others to check out.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC

CW: death

Okayyyy … I know by now that whenever I use the word okay at the beginning of a review there’s something off. And in this case I have no clue why, except …

First of all, I don’t hate this book. It’s quite nice actually. I liked the message of not knowing all the answers right away, the BIPOC and queer rep, and I simply adored Jonas. The story is easy to read and I flew through the pages. But something crawled under my skin that kept itching.

It might be the writing, third person, present tense. I just don’t like third person, present tense that much and think it can only be pulled off by the best authors.

It might be Shani. I liked Ash with all his flaws, I loved Jonas who was so brave, but somehow I couldn’t connect to Shani as much as I wanted to.

It might be the triple POV. Usually, I love multiple POVs but somehow I didn’t like the jumps from one to the other in this story.

It might be just me. Like I said, this story is quite nice actually. So don’t let me encourage you to remove this book from your TBR. On the contrary even. If you like the message with heavier themes underneath, easy readable YA stories with multiple POVs, and great queer and BIPOC rep then this might be just the book for you!

Thank you, Bloomsbury USA Children's Books, for allowing me to read Brighter Than the Moon early.

I was pleasantly surpised that I could download this book without requesting it and I clicked the Read Now button without even thinking. Am I glad that I did! I loved this well written and captivating story and will definitely pick up Spin Me Right Round up too!