This cover and synopsis caught my attention. Fantasy romance is my favorite genre and this sounded quite unique. The cover is stunning and very eye catching and the writing, while wordy is very digestible. That being said I had to DNF this book at 15%. I've been reading it for 2 weeks and that Is as far as I got. The characters were not captivating although I did enjoy the man living among Wolves. Amnesia is one of my least favorite plot devices and having characters who can't remember anything was very frustrating. I felt like I read and read and read and the story never reached a point where it got more fast-paced or enthralling.

This was my first Pepper Winters book. She has a lovely writing style, beautiful and unique. I thought this book would 💯 be me - forbidden star-crossed lovers, mystery and angst! I just could not get on board with the story after how the sexual assault was dealt with. I disliked characters and could not get over this. Also the book is long - this would not have been a problem if there was more development of the story but I felt there was not enough of this to justify all the words. I do think this book is for fans of forbidden romance and longing but do read trigger warnings beforehand. I like dark but for me the characters just didn’t get the punishment/treatment required. As you can tell - I can’t get over it! Thank you for the ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this arc.

I sadly DNF’d the book because I just couldn’t get into it.

This story alternates between the Girl and the Stranger. They are both lost souls who have forgotten everything to do with their pasts, and it shows them navigating the world separately as they try to remember who they are while starting a new life. The only hint of their past that each does remember is the faint memory of someone who they cared for deeply, though they don’t recall the persons face or anything beyond their prior existence.

The Girl is found by a tribe called the Nhil, a people who are one with fire and take her in when she has no one else. She learns their ways and finds a home amongst them, until she is torn between them and a mysterious stranger who butt heads due to their differences. The Nhil are a people of fire, able to control the element, and when they do a ceremony to find out the Girl’s name and anything about her it will reveal, she is granted the same power over fire. Rune is then taken on by the tribe as an acolyte to their Fire Keeper as they believe her to have the same powers that would make her the same as their current tribe member in this position, and it is considered one of great import.

The Stranger was rescued from death by a pack of wolves and has learned to run with them as his own family before he stumbles across a woman he is certain is the one he has been searching for. He tries desperately to get her to remember him in any small way and to stay with him, though she resists, fearing his family of wolves and the fact that she knows nothing about him.

This world was so lush and beautiful. I cannot express enough how fully fleshed out and unique and all encompassing it was to read about it. Though not much of the wider world was seen throughout the course of this first book in the Destini Chronicles, even what little part of it was shown still managed to be enough to draw the reader in and reveal little tidbits of how it worked. My favourite thing about it had to be the fact that there are different groups of people based on the elements they had control over. Furthermore, it is forbidden for people of different elements to mix because this would null one’s power so they no longer had access to any element. This creates a lot of tension throughout the book because, though not antagonistic towards one another, people are very set on maintaining their own element and therefore the mixing of two different ones resulting in the element disappearing is very taboo. This is also part of why the Nhil tribe is so adamantly against Darro, as they can tell he is not one of them and therefore has no right to be part of their close knit circle. Alternately, they do believe Rune is one of their own, and therefore want her to have nothing to do with Darro.

I feel like I felt so passionately on one end of the spectrum or the other about characters. There are some characters that I passionately hated and wanted desperately to be rid of, without giving away spoilers. But then I loved Darro, Runa, and all the animals under their care so incredibly much. I am a sucker for animals always. And Solin is one who grew on me so much more than I expected or ever thought possible. Yet he made certain decisions that made me so angry with him despite begrudgingly liking him due to circumstances later on in the book. There were so many incredible characters.

Also, can I just say, this quote had me teary and awwing. “About time you came to find me.” I won’t give either context or whereabouts in the book it appears, who says it or who they’re saying it to for spoilers sake, but one of my top favourite quotes despite its simplicity. It wrenched my heart in the most beautiful way. This book all around was so beautiful. Heart wrenching, stressful, full of the push and pull of tension and conflict, yet somehow no matter the difficulties these characters faced, there was still that beauty and so much passion. I honestly can’t speak enough on how incredible this book was. The thought of waiting for the sequel, particularly after how When a Moth Loved a Bee ended is agonizing. I need book two now!

Pepper is one of my ride or die authors. I’m buying everything she puts out!! I didn’t even know what this was about but knew I had to have it.

Heartmates, alphas, SEXUAL TENSION. And it’s through the roof. This fantasy is thickkkkk and has all the elements I love to see. The world is amazing, whimsical. The characters make my heart pitter patter.

I can’t say too much without exploiting the whole plot but just trust me and read it. Pepper put her whole heart and soul into this and it shows! I can’t wait to read the rest of this series.

WHEN A MOTH LOVED A BEE is the first instalment in Pepper Winters’ adult DESTINI CHRONICLES high fantasy series focusing on Girl aka Runa, and Stranger aka Darro.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Runa and Darro) WHEN A MOTH LOVES A BEE follows in the wake of the discovery of two injured and damaged souls, without memories of what happened or why. ‘Girl’ is rescued by a group of people who call themselves the Nhil, a ‘clan’ with affinity to fire, and as such their leader sees something in Girl that calls to his power. Meanwhile, the Stranger is discovered by a pack of wolves, wolves who will nurture and heal our story line hero but something is missing in both Girl and the Stranger, and not until they meet across the lands do they realize the part that is missing, is the other. The Nhil have plans for our heroine, plans foretold by the fires but the Nhil’s plans for Runa aka Bee are adversely affecting the Stranger, now called Darro aka Moth. Darro believes Runa is his mate, and refuses to allow anyone or anything to keep them apart, even if the cost is the death of everything and everyone.

WHEN A MOTH LOVED A BEE is a slow building, detailed, complex, complicated and ‘long winded’ (close to 1000 pages) story of power and magic; life and death; light and dark, love and loss. The saga is told in secrets and riddles; going around in circles as the ‘voices’ warn Runa and Darro without outright revealing the truth, as well as quite a bit of repetition, replaying many scenarios, recapitulating previous plot points. The premise is intricate, exhaustive and intriguing-the elements and nature (including animals) play a large roll in the lives of the characters; the romance is heart breaking and emotional; the characters are numerous, powerful, controlling and charismatic. WHEN A MOTH LOVED A BEE ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.



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The first 100 pages I was enthralled only to find I had almost 900 pages to go!

I requested this book on NetGalley! Thanks for the opportunity to read this story.

Genre: Fantasy
Pace: Slow
Summary: A girl with no memory wakes to find she had been found and unturned back to health by a wonderful vm village of people referred to as the Nihl people. A pack of wolves adopt a man who also has no memory and wants to be left for dead. The two worlds collide and the woman and man are drawn to each other and realize they share the same mark on their thigh. He has a feeling of knowing her, and they begin to uncover why they have no memory, why they were to remain lost and I found, why they were not meant to find each other. What happens when they realize what could happen if they claim to what’s out there for them?

I’ve never read anything by Pepper Winters. Her writing is so stunning. I couldn’t put the book down for the first 100 pages. It was like a wave of something new hitting my brain! Loved the imagery that came to mind while reading this book. I could almost smell and feel certain scenes. I have to say, as beautiful as this story was to read… the length was a problem for me. I felt like some more editing would have been helpful. This was a good read with incredible writing, but not enough editing for me to give it a 4/5 star review.

Note: This book I had some very adult content. Check recommended reading age and content warnings

I DNF’d. I couldn’t get past the first hundred pages. It felt like I was not making any progress, very slow read and nothing really stuck out to me or captivated me to keep going. I really wanna give this another try once it’s been revised.

When a Moth Loved a Bee is a new romantic fantasy, with angst, slow burn and star-crossed lovers. Winters is wonderful at creating great relationships and emotions for every book she writes. If you aren't a fan of Peppa, you will be after her leap into the Fantasy genre. I was very happy to learn that this is part of a series and not a standalone.

The only negative I could find here was the fact that Winters has fallen prey to the 'long book' craze that is happening right now. There was a lot of repetition that possibly didn't need to be there. It's part of the great 500 page book, but just a good higher page book club.

When a Moth Loved a Bee is perfect for you if you love a great and immersive Romantasy, while it is long, it is absolutely worth the time taken to read. Many thanks for an advanced copy for a review.

Thank you Netgalley for proving an eARC of When A Moth Loved A Bee!

It's a poetically written romance fantasy features elements like star-crossed lovers, magical creatures, angst and slowwww burn!

I'm genuinely interested in the world building and plot, as the writing is absolutely ABSOLUTELY (yes, I have to emphasise that twice) mesmerising and unique.

Although I did enjoyed majority of the book, there are some parts which I felt like way too slow & dragging (which few of the chapters can be concluded in a simple way instead of the all the unnecessary details?)

Wow!!! So much emotion, action and the description of scenes was unreal like you can picture it all while your glued to the pages. I could not stop it is pure brilliance.

My first high fantasy and oh boy what a journey, the words just flowed in the light and dark and was so beautifully written it consumes your every thought.

When a Moth Loved a Bee is the first installment in the Destini Chronicles Series.
This is Pepper Winters leap into the fantasy genre. And, I must say has done an extraordinary job creating this fantastic, fictional world. It’s one of the best I’ve read. This is not a quick read but well worth your investment of time. Winters sets a delicious and steady pace where you quickly get swept away in this world and with the characters. I was completely immersed from beginning to end. If you like fantasy, this is the book for you.

This book deserves 5 stars and so much more. The chokehold this book has me doesn’t surprise me at all. Because I have always been a big time fan of this author’s work. The elements of fantasy, the romance, the arc but mostly that ending..I can’t wait enough for the next one already!! I need it so bad.

I have been waiting for a new Ms. Winters book for quite some time after finishing the Goddess Isels series. This time we are taken on a journey to a high fantasy world where a moth loves a bee as in the title - opposites pulled to each other.
The Girl was found almost dead, but the tribe of Nhil took her in and nursed her back to health. This person has some affiliation to fire that connects with the chosen by it and guides people in the direction they (fire) find fit. Their way becomes the way of the Gril as she's not remembering her past and only some flashes that are not bringing her close to knowing who she was. She's light, but her story is kept under darkness - what will happen when a bee clashes with the moth?
The second main character is a man that we call The Stranger - that was rescued by creatures that were called wolves, which also nursed him back to health. He was only with those animals getting their way as predators. He feels there is someone he loves, but this is all he has, so when he sees her this feeling deepens and he needs to feel the Girl.
This book is the longest book I read in a LONG time, so if you are not into A LOT of developing characters and the world then I don't think this book would be for you. This story is definitely on the slower side of pace - but thanks to it we can do a lot of deep dives into relationships, customs, and what we can meet in this fantasy world - I hope that we will get to see more of this world in future books, as that Ms. Winters gave us is such a tease! This story is definitely on the beautiful side that will make your heart squeeze with pain for those characters and what they are put through. So the conclusion: I need book 2 ASAP! I hope Ms. Winters will not make us wait for a long time for it!

When a Moth Loved a Bee by Pepper Winters was a 5 star and I highly recommended it. It’s a High Fantasy Romance that had me emotionally all over the place! I wanted to throw this novel across the room, twice.
This journey was so captivating and I just didn’t want to put it down! I loved it so much and I’m going to be pining for book two until it’s released.
I loved the unique telling of this and loved the main characters. My heart broke a couple of times but the story left me hopeful.
I haven’t been moved like this in awhile and I’m not a huge fan of books longer than 500 pages but I never wanted it to end. The writing spoke to me and I felt everything.
I hope I’ve convinced you to get this novel. It’s really good, I promise.
Thanks Valentine PR via NetGalley.

This book definitely wasn't what I'd expected, except now I'm here, with a knot in my throat and refusing to cry (also yes, there are two chapters of the sequel available that helped a lot in forming that knot).

I must say, I did find the book long, and not just as in page numbers, but also the story was a bit too stretched. Then again, that's the thing with fantasy worlds, you have to introduce the reader, and Pepper Winters did it amazingly. Plus, in this story I'm fond of more creatures than characters, since I can only stand only the two main leads and just a few others.

I won't give away the names, that's also a part of the process, and god, do I have even more questions now!

Girl and Stranger are unique, and I loved the way Pepper differentiated them in a way that allows the reader to begin to form their own theories, but also the way that it renders them interesting, the precise two halves of a whole.

The fact that it's a dual POV made me get annoyed at both Girl and Stranger at times, though I felt more angst than anything else, so much that I wanted to throw my phone somewhere because of it.

Trying to say something about either character feels like it would be a spoile. It's so hard! I loved both their devotion, and the bonds they created with several creatures was probably the second most beautiful thing besides their forbidden romance, which is extreme in this book.

I wish I'd gotten more answers, and not only pissed off at some… things. I was about to reach into the damn book and tell them to fuck off in Girl's place.

For most of the read I was like, "weird, Pepper usually makes you suffer more than this" and while there was angst, once I reached the final chapter I regretted that thought deeply. And everything, I bet, will be even worse in the next book. I can barely wait already, because I need a happy ending for Girl and Stranger, I need it like I need life!

"I found him in the cloud-shrouded night. No moon to guide me. No stars to follow. Just my heart and the whispers it fed me of his anguish, torment, and misery."

I still don't know if I liked this book. I didn't really like Runa all that much.
Darro however, I grabbed on to him from the start. The way he was just complacent to die at the start. And the "monster" he becomes. His whole thing was quite interesting.

I don't think I'd continue reading this series. But it was nice to check out book one.

4.5 Stars

It’s no secret that Pepper Winters is one of my favorite authors. Her books just get to me … rock me … stay with me. And this behemoth of a book is no different. I fell deeply, madly in love with the girl and the stranger and this vast, unique, colorful fantasy world they live in. And the fact that Ms. Winters decided to write her first fantasy romance just shortly after I returned to that subgenre after years of abstinence … well, I’ll just call it fate.

Let’s get back to the sheer number of pages of this book. This book is massive – just like the best epic fantasy books are – and the longest I have read in a long while – and that even after Ms. Winters decided to cut out about 20% of the originally intended length. I probably took longer than usual to read my way through it, for one, because I was daunted by the massiveness of it, and secondly, because I did not want to miss the tiniest morsel of the world Ms. Winters created.

The love story. The slowest of slow burns with an underlying longing and desperation that almost drove me as bonkers as our couple. The number of intimate moments they shared, only to be interrupted by every living entity imaginable time and again, was vast. But there’s a reason, and an irrefutable at that, why every living, existing being keeps trying to keep them apart. No matter how frustrating it was. I felt every bit of that heartbreaking frustration, that excruciating hopelessness, right alongside the two of them. And with the way things ended here, I just know it’s only going to get more devastating before it – hopefully – gets better.

The side characters. Zetas, Natim and Zetas. Oh, and Salak. I loved them to pieces, the way they bonded with our star-crossed lovers on a spiritual level, no matter how much they did everything in their might to keep them apart. Then, the Nhil. They might have had good intentions, but even after the redemption arc of the most despicable of them, I’m still not as forgiving as the heroine is toward them, and I’m not sure I ever will be, but that remains to be seen in the upcoming book(s).

Full of vivid world building. Unique animals. Elements with a mind of their own. Two unknown people that could not be more star-crossed. Characters that crawl under your skin and make themselves at home there. An insane amount of sexual tension and longing, but relatively low spice. A story that spans eons of time and exceeds mortality. Filled to the brim with magic, mystery, and fated love. A story I’d love to see on the big screen one day. I’m fully invested in this wondrous would and ready for book two already.

I love fantasy romance. It's one of my favorite sub-genres, but unfortunately I couldn't get past the writing style and the length of this book. The writing still kept pulling me out, instead of submerging me and this wasn't helped by the extreme length of this book. There will be those out there that love this slow-burn, nature-esque fantasy romance with a forbidden couple and lots of darkness, but I am sadly not one of them. I wish I had more positive things to say.

I will start by saying I am not a reader of Fantasy books however I am an avid fan of Pepper Winters works and have read everything she has written since her debut novel.

So when she advised she was writing a fantasy novel I knew I was going to have to step outside my norm and go to a place where only Pepper could silently will me to go.

When A Moth Loved A Bee was beautiful and heartbreaking all at the same time. When you begin this journey you are met with nameless characters with no memory of their pasts. However they both feel a pull and a connection. As you dive between the pages their story comes to life before your eyes and engulfs you.

I felt a myriad of emotions reading this book. Sadness, hopelessness, joy, anger, relief, love, loss and defeat.

There were some parts of the book that seemed drawn out or repetitive but the characters and story was intriguing enough to push me forward.

The version of book I read was long and it took me many days to read but I finished and it ended how I expected….teetering on a cliff. But I knew going in that this was going to be a duet. I will be waiting to for the conclusion of this story to see how it all works out.