** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley

~

The Alchemy of Moonlight, by David Ferraro
★★★★★
377 Pages
1st person, single character POV

Content Warning: mentions of blackmail, corrupt police officers, violence towards servants, murder, violence, suicide, homophobia, forced captivity, threats to commit the MC to an asylum for 'deviancy' for being gay, spiders!, off-page beheading, mentions of medical situations

Themes: unrequited infatuation, arranged marriage, stolen inheritance, forced proximity, manipulation, swapped societal roles, morally grey characters, love triangle, MMM, FF off-page side characters, taxidermy

~

The Alchemy of Moonlight is an excellent gothic horror that takes its cue from classic werewolf literature, while adding a new spin. As my second book by the author – the other a vampire novel – I can see they enjoy juxtapositions. In A Vile Season, the MC was a vampire turned human; here, we have a noble, a Marquis, becoming a servant, to escape his life. And the concept that humans can be just as monstrous as the actual monsters worked perfectly in both books. Here, this worked well, by putting Emile immediately off kilter and in a situation out of his control.

From the start, we know that Emile is yet to turn 18, so he's only 17 at this point, which felt quite young. I definitely felt like he was written as older than that, but maybe he was just mature for his age. There were definitely times when he acted his age, which was great to see, but I don't remember any ages being given for Bram or Henri – the two love interests – and they both definitely read as much older. I would have liked a little clarity, because I think the only mention was that they were 'around' Emile's age. Although, saying that, the book is set in 1873, where are wasn't much of a concern, especially among nobility, so I didn't let that affect my rating too much.

I adored the formatting – again! – because they take the time to have everything so prettily and neatly arranged. It was just as beautiful as the style of writing, which is so evocative and makes the story crystal clear in my mind. I'm not always a fan of 1st person, since a lot of details can be left out due to the limitations, but I never felt that way with Ferraro's writing. Everything was exactly as I would have wanted it. They have a knack for beginning with a stunning opening line/paragraph, that really sucks you into the story.

By 9%, we had been introduced to pretty much every plot point of the blurb, except the reality of who Emile really was. I love this, because we already know this information from the blurb so there's really no reason to hesitate over telling us in the novel. I like to have that out of the way quickly, so that I feel settled into the story and can anticipate getting to the parts I know nothing about.

There were a lot of twists in this story. I did guess two from the very end of the book, but I still found myself surprised – always pleasantly so – often, along the way. I really felt like the story went places I wasn't expecting, while giving me everything I wanted from a gothic horror. There were times when Emile needed to flee, and it wasn't a clear cut situation. I loved the times when events didn't happen cleanly or clearly, just to resolve an issue, but they didn't fall apart in ridiculous ways just to continue a bad situation or to force the characters towards a path that didn't feel natural. Everything was so well plotted and paced that nothing felt out of sync.

I was quite surprised by the fact that all of the characters are morally grey. They all have that moment where they face some moral dilemma and make the selfish, arrogant or unexpected choice. They all have flaws, they all make mistakes. I loved that when Henri made a mistake that hugely impacted Emile, Henri grovelled and Emile didn't instantly forgive him. For that situation, he needed to not forgive Henri, otherwise it wouldn't have felt right.

Saying that, I did feel like there was one big issue I couldn't really get past. I chose not to let it affect my rating, because it's a me problem: Bram. I have to admit that I never really warmed to him, as a central character. He's part of the love triangle that takes us the majority of the book – Emile is torn between the kind doctor Bram and the egotist noble Henri. However, I just couldn't take to him. I never felt like he was a genuine competition to Henri, who I adored. Maybe it was because he came across as too good to be true, for most of the book, and Emile saw him through rose-tinted glasses. Or maybe it was just that I liked Henri more, but I definitely didn't see Bram as a real love interest, even to the end.

I loved Emile as a main characters. He's young, a bit naïve, alone and afraid, but he's got a strength about him that comes out when he most needs it. He can stand up for himself, even if he has those teenage moments of temper tantrums and running off to avoid his problems. I think this might be another reason I preferred Henri as a love interest, because he shared those teenage traits, whereas Bram read as much older and wiser, like he just didn't fit with Emile, on the same emotional wavelength.

The plot was split into Parts.
Part 1 focused on Emile being a servant, exploring the new position, and meeting his two potential suitors. It felt a little slow, especially compared to A Vile Season, which I read just before this. There's one death in this part, which happens off page, but lots of mystery and uncertainty.
Part 2 built on that story and progressed better, as Emile was exposed as being a Marquis and his aunt appears at the chateau, to make his life miserable. Two more deaths happen, all off page, where Emile either stumbles upon the remains or sees the aftermath.
Part 3 is when they head to Udolpho; his aunt is now a fixture in the plot, there have been multiple deaths, and there's a forced proximity with Henri.

I really enjoyed the vast array of secondary characters – Annette, Henri's sister Blanche, Montoni and Ludovoci. They all had so much individuality and potential. I particularly loved how close Blanche grew to Emile, their banter with each other, and the late and brief appearance of Carmilla.

Were there any downsides? This was an ARC, so there were a few editing issues, with Emile once being called Henri, as well. I also didn't connect to Bram, probably since he didn't get nearly as much page time as Henri or Emile. I felt the beginning was slow.
However, despite all of that, I really enjoyed the book and I feel like it did exactly what it set out to do and I was left feeling satisfied, when I was finished. It was exactly what it needed to be, and what I wanted to read, so I chose not to dock any stars. My enjoyment was a definitive 5* and even taking my issues into account, I would only have marked it as a 4.5 and marked it up to 5 anyway.

~

Favourite Quotes

“Did he really think he could just...order me to fall in love with him? Did he really expect a command could thaw a heart? It was shocking. It was unthinkable.”

“I never wanted you to leave me, Emile, but I've come to understand that I have to let you go.”

*2.75 stars*
I have somewhat mixed emotions on this book.

On one hand, i think this story was extremely underdeveloped in terms of both characters and plot. Emile was a very… mediocre main character to read and having two different love interests that are utterly in love with him felt strange with his lack of interesting qualities. However, I enjoyed the actual gothic elements of the story quite a bit. When I requested this, i did not realize it was a queer retelling of “The Mysteries of Udolpho” so my review is somewhat lacking as I cannot compare it to its original work. However, the romance was my least favorite part so perhaps the original is better.
This story follows Emile, who ran away from his home and role as a Marquis because his aunt, who is in charge of his inheritance found out he liked men and threatened to send him to an asylum unless he got married to a woman by the time he turned 18. He is undercover as a Servant of Count Montoni’s home where he meets Blanche and Henri (love interest number 1) and because of working there he also meets Bram (love interest two). Things get scary and romantic as per the gothic genre.
To focus on the romance, Bram felt like such a clear choice to me. I enjoy the idea of it ending in polyamory but that entire decision felt very rushed and thrown at the reader. I wish we got more interactions of Henri and Bram so then it would actually be Poly and not just them settling to make Emile happy. Good idea in theory but I don’t love how the author wrote it.
I definitely didn’t hate this book but it was just very underwhelming. Im excited to see what the author comes out with next as the idea is there however the execution was lacking.

This title circulates well with readers who have enjoyed Mackenzi Lee's Montague Siblings series and Alexis Henderson's House of Hunger. The cover art is beautiful and gothic in style, ensuring that readers notice it and pick it up but the somewhat confusing and jumbled opening chapters causes some to lose interest. If readers can be encouraged to get past the opening, they often fall under the spell of the story and ask for more when they reach the end.

This book kind of let me down. I was so hopeful that I would love this book but in the end, it just didn't make me feel anything other than "meh".

Started out strong but definitely dragged too much for my taste. I liked the atmosphere and the characters but with such a slow plot there is only so much intertest that can be held.

“The Alchemy of Moonlight” may not have been the most surprising or subtle mystery in recent memory, but it sure was chock full of all of the very best things.

Regency romance. Queer love. Positive polyamory. Even werewolves.

I will admit that at times it felt like a soapy season of "Dark Shadows," and it did briefly lose my interest on a few occasions.

But if you like Gothic stories with tonnes of gay rep, then you won’t be disappointed with this title.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an e-ARC of this title for review.

If I had to give it a one word rating, it would be "fine." Or possibly, "meh." I'm going to rate it 3/5 though, since I think there's a lot of potential and opportunity. And I really don't think there was anything *wrong* with this title. I just saw a lot of chances for growth and polish.

Firstly, the writing style does not feel young adult or gothic. The dialogue gets close, but the actual style feels pretty modern and clear. And the level feels about middle grade, unfortunately, which isn't what I was hoping for. It wasn't a bad writing style though. I would gladly read more from Ferraro, especially if he decides to write the Carmilla sequel he hinted at. I squealed when she showed up, because you know I love my girl Carmilla.

The characters were overall very good and fun to follow. I like Emile a lot as a protagonist, he had a great sense of humor, his sensibilities regarding fashion, romance, love, and propriety were all very nice when he spoke about them, and I never felt like he was flat or one dimensional. My second favourite character was definitely Bram, who I desperately wish we spent more time with. Even though Henri needed the extra time to make up for being a massive douche, I would have just preferred to spend more time getting to know Bram and his sweet, honest soul. Like I mentioned, Henri is a douchebag. I never really warmed to him after his many mistakes in the first half of the book, no matter how often he apologized. But his sister Blaire was a lovely woman to back up the cast, and I liked her flamboyant nature that covered a lot of inner turmoil. The evil uncle was fine. He's clearly the bad guy, there's not much else to say other than, "he's bad!" And the rest of the cast were similarly there to mostly fill roles as sidekicks, antagonists, or plot points.

The plot itself was fine as well, not a lot of intrigue for me in terms of the mystery, but I wasn't able to see straight through the smoke and mirrors at least.

The supernatural aspects of this book come a little bit too late to be polished to perfection, we don't spend nearly enough time with the werewolves as actual werewolves to get a feel for them.

Overall, this was a nice debut, but I would like to see more from Ferraro, a couple more titles that hopefully allow this new author to flex his muscles and get stronger.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

The Alchemy of Moonlight is a charming gay retelling of the Mysteries of Udolpho -- a piece of classic gothic romance (plus werewolves). It's different enough to stay refreshing, but similar enough to be a great nod to it. (I found it odd that the book's summary didn't identify itself as a retelling, but perhaps the references to Udolpho Castle and Count Montoni were expected to be enough!)

The gothic romance is on point in this, with Emile standing in as the perfect ingenue, just as a young runaway nobleman-hiding-as-a-manservant. That said, I found the actual romantic element to have too quick a pace for my tastes -- by 25% we've had confessions from both love interests, and Emile has been LONG torn between his attraction between them. Which is fine; I don't mind a bit of instant lust, but nevertheless the pacing felt odd given the slow drawing out of the central mystery.

I really like Emile as a character; he's delightfully earnest and yet foolish in a way that's important in a gothic romance -- this whole plan is idiocy, when you think about it; he's a nobleman, and he writes 'himself' a letter of character to take to another noble's home, as if they might not hear about the missing son or be familiar with his family, and then on top of that he's absolutely terrible on actually maintaining the cover, repeatedly showing that he doesn't know how to do common tasks that he was apparently recommended for, and even slipping up and giving his own actual last name! I enjoyed this; a flawed lead is a great thing to have in horror, because you can see things getting set up and feel real fear for how this may come back to bite them. I was surprised by the fact that the other characters didn't view Emile the way the reader did, however; Bram refers to him as the most down-to-earth man he's ever met, practical, and smart. None of these actually describe Emile, which either is a flaw in the writing or meant to tell us interesting things about Bram's own faulty sense of perception of someone he's developed feelings for. I'm not entirely sure which it was.

It took a long time for me to warm up to the love interests -- also both very flawed men, which tbh is vital for a gothic romance -- but I did by the end, and the resolution of their love triangle worked in a way I liked very much.

The writing was often quite on tone, but the dialogue tended to slip into modern diction. YMMV on if this bothers you. The pacing is slow at first (with, as mentioned, the romance part much faster than the gothic part) but as the gothic horrors increase in the back half, it becomes quite thrilling.

All in all, a charming piece, especially for a debut author. I look forward to reading more by him!

The Alchemy of Moonlight had a lot of potential but the pacing kept taking me out of the story as it was happening. The gothic feel worked well, however, some of the characters were lacking.

"The Alchemy of Moonlight" immerses readers in a spellbinding world of gothic romance, mystery, and queer intrigue. From the captivating cover that sets the tone to the unexpected twists that elevate the narrative, David Ferraro crafts an engaging tale that teeters between the eerie and the enchanting.

Emile, a young marquis, must flee his home and adopt the guise of a servant in a Count's mansion after his aunt's threat of institutionalization unless he agrees to an unwanted marriage. Caught in a complex love triangle, Emile grapples with unraveling the mysteries surrounding the mansion, including the family's peculiar affliction during the full moon.

This story presents itself as a compelling reimagining of the gothic romance masterpiece, "The Mysteries of Udolpho." The pivotal twist in the middle of the book is a stroke of genius, highlighting Ferraro's skill in intricately weaving the threads of a supernatural mystery. The gothic ambiance is tangible, particularly within the confines of Udolpho Castle, crafting a hauntingly exquisite setting that enhances the unfolding drama.

"The Alchemy of Moonlight" is tailor-made for those seeking a queer gothic novel with a touch of the paranormal. Despite a few pacing hiccups towards the end, the book delivers a well-balanced blend of mystery, horror, and romance. While not without a few minor flaws, the novel's unique narrative earns it a solid 4-star rating for its atmospheric charm and successful navigation within the realm of gothic storytelling.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and its historical context for queer individuals. The fantasy elements added to the plot tension. The sequence, however, took a really long time to build. The setup took a little long and while I liked the characters, I think it took too long to build those relationships and characteristics. The class conflict, like an upstairs/downstairs situation, was historically situated and helped build the characters’ connections. I loved the travel to Udolpho because I am a fan of gothic literature. It could have been a little shorter. And that ending, hmmm. I’ll take it in fiction because I wanted it for the characters, but didn’t seem to plausible.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a bit out of my comfort zone. I did not like this one. But I really wanted to. Thank you for the advanced copy.

What an absolutely peculiar read. The pacing was absolutely god awful. It would have been a 1 star read if not for the last act. I felt like NOTHING happened for the first 250 pages. I absolutely would have dnf’d it this had not been my book club’s book of the month.

HOWEVER - the last act was so much fun. It was WEIRD! Hello head on a spike that come back to life!!! And the love triangle ends in a throuple?! I had so much fun with the last 80 pages of this book and I wish the first three acts had been a similar experience. The fact that the word “werewolf” is not used until page 250 is absolutely ridiculous. It is so blatantly obvious that Henri and Co are werewolves that the book would have been so much better if this had been embraced much earlier. OR if it had been better concealed from the reader.

I cannot stand Henri. He’s manipulative, whiny, and a BAD person. Bram was the obvious choice, but unfortunately there would not have been a novel if Emile had chosen him from the get-go. He had no faults which wouldn’t have been interesting. The only good thing that Henri did was write to Bram to save Emile. I felt like this somewhat redeemed him, but I could not get passed how god awful he was.

Also the aunt’s lowkey redemption came out of nowhere.

Overall, a weird novel that I would not recommend. Disappointing but i’m very excited to dive into discussing this with my book club tomorrow.

DNF at 35%

Quick word of caution, please don't read the official blurb of this book because it INCLUDES A SPOILER. I read it before writing this review and it revealed plot points that I didn't even reach myself by the 35% mark in the book. Now, on with the review:

Our main character—Emile—is 17, an orphan, and on the lookout for receiving his inheritance once he turns 18. Unfortunately Emile's aunt disavows him upon discovering his sexuality, from whereon he is on the run as a servant under false pretences until he is of age. From here a love triangle ensues, alongside some sinister machinations that Emile sets out to uncover.

I enjoyed the gothic, sinister atmosphere of this story. Oddly, the writing style contrasts quite a bit with the tone of the story. The writing feels somewhat juvenile at times, whereas the tone of the story itself feels more mature despite this being a YA novel. Regardless, it didn't deter me from reading this book.

What did ultimately deter me from finishing this, however, is the direction of this book's plot and the decisions Emile makes that we as a reader are meant to go along with. Emile's affections oscillate between two men in this novel. One is so glaringly kind, trustworthy and wholesome, while the other appeared wonderful initially but soon revealed his true colours. Simply put, this second love interest is a douche. Yet it feels like both the characters' potential as a love interest for Emile are given the same weight. They are equally sexualized and romanticized in Emile's head—which, it's important to acknowledge that a protagonist's thoughts don't always reflect the narrative intent. But here, I had a hard time making the distinction. I don't understand how I'm supposed to be convinced of a love triangle when one option is so glaringly problematic while the other is wonderful, yet they're both seemed to made out as almost equally viable options by the protagonist. I'm just not invested enough because of this.

Since I DNF'd this story, I can't give any insight into how satisfied I am with how the plot plays out. I will say however, that Emile's justifications for playing amateur sleuth in whatever plot he is uncovering seems farfetched to me. He thinks he can uncover some secret from Count Montoni's mansion as use that as leverage. But the mystery in this book involves murder (which Emile unfortunately stumbles upon in the beginning of this story) so you're telling me Emile doesn't think him snooping around might get him killed? I know he's 17 so the more nuanced side of my brain wants to give him leeway and allow him to think like that given the stress that he's under—which is definitely a valid argument—but in reality I cannot convince myself that someone in his position wouldn't realize his risk for being killed. But then again, I suppose we need some excuse to move the plot forward, I suppose I wish the author had a more convincing explanation for Emile's involvement in the mystery, because then I would have been invested in Emile's amateur sleuthing.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. this was fantastic, just what i have come to expect from this author and look forward to carrying in my book store.

Special thanks to Page Street Kids for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. DNF @ 20%

This was not what I expected in terms of the writing and the story. It felt like we were thrown into this world in a way that indicates we should already have some kind of knowledge about it. The period and setting are unclear but the language feels modern while the dress and customs do not. The writing felt stilted and juvenile, which was quite a contrast to the less-PG thoughts the main character would have about the two young men he encounters in the story. The combination didn't compel me to keep reading and in fact, I put the book down often and made very little progress each time I picked it back up even though it felt like I had been reading it for ages.

The start was intriguing and gave me the dark gothic vibes I was expecting from the cover and synopses but sadly, the way our MC becomes immediately boy-obsessed after meeting the two whom I assume will be his love interest(s) felt like a very insta-love-triangle situation was about to unfold and that is just not for me. At all! I found myself getting bored and annoyed reading Emile's flighty/wishy-washy perspective and his constant back-and-forth between thinking about the boys and about how his family has wronged him which led him to live the life of a servant. At 20%, it already felt incredibly repetitive and I don't think I could've stomached reading a whole book that (from other reviews I'd eventually looked up) would just be more of the same.

Ultimately, I just couldn't get into this the way I wanted to and each time I went to pick it back up, I dreaded it. There definitely was potential with the plot but the juvenile and clunky writing put me off.

I was excited for the concept of this book as it promised a lot of classic gothic novel elements and parallels, but the writing really let me down. I was not able to finish it because the style of prose was very simplistic and lacked any sort of personality; I felt very removed from what was happening even though it was in first person, and everything was written very bluntly. Even though I had been excited to read this novel, I never got interested in the characters or the plot because there was nothing that really interested me in how the story was laid out. The plot elements had so much potential but the whole novel felt bland to me.

Thank you so much, NetGalley, Page Street Publishing, Page Street Kids, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Emile is a queer marquis, trapped in a world of straight expectations. He longs for his freedom and indipendence and when his aunt declares he must marry or be disowned, he runs away disguised as a servant, hoping to wait until he can come of age and be indipendent. Working in the service od Count Montoni and his family he soon starts to stumble in mysteries. Every full moon they need to be sedated. When he discovers a mangled corpse on the estate and reports it, he couldn't have guess what length Count Monton was willing to go in order to protect his family and secrets. In the meantime, Emile becomes more and more involved in the household and his inquiries draw the attention of the doctor Bram and the count's handsome nephew, Henri. Emile finds himself struggling to hide his identity, earning the trust of the doctor and trying to trust, and love, Henri, a very mercurial and peculiar man.

The Alchemy of Moonlight is a magnificent queer gothic love and a young main character caught between his desire for freedom and indipendence, his real identity, his inquiries and passion, honor and love. And, of course, the unraveling of centuries old curse.
I truly loved this book! There is everything you could hope for in a book. Emile is a young queer man, willing to hide his identity and then, once of age, be free. Only his curiosity leads him being entangled in secrets, in the Montoni's family's history and hidden past. Not to mention charismatic and handsome nephew, desire, love and honor. In a book filled with dangers and mysteries, Emile fights for himself and for love and I truly, immensily found myself involved into everything!

Mysteries of Udolpho retelling was a suspenseful sexy version filled with delicious characters of which I cannot pick a favorite. The Gothic classic received new life with action and humor, but most importantly through the ever building tension between Emile, Henri, and Bram. Dear readers go and take a wolf sized bite of this tasty treat.