This did not live up to my expectations. I had alot more to think about and it just did not keep my attention the way it should have.

Wren Nightingale is "moonstruck" when she turns eighteen. So rather than living a life as a Mundane, she is bundled off to Moon Isle for the summer with her friends Lee Young and Samantha Hopp learning to control her magic. Despite having magic, these are still people with all the faults, flaws, and lust for power. Wren and her friends need to learn who and what they can trust while figuring out who they want to become. A decent first volume in the magical academy trope.

Hmmm finally finished and I think it was because I had trouble connected to the characters in any way. They felt much more juvenile than I thought and that is a big pet peeve of mine when reading books from authors who walk a fine line between wanting to be mature and not actually displaying that in the story. The story was cool, but I'd hope to see it "mature" in some way.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

Having reread the "House of Night" books a year ago, I definitely see a lot of similarities between the two series. The biggest thing being that the main character reads soooooo much younger than their stated age. While the book had an interesting storyline and one of my favorite tropes (friends-to-lovers), I didn't connect too much with the characters and had a hard time really losing myself in the story. I would still probably give any future books a read and recommend this book, just don't have too high of hopes when reading!

This book read really young, even thought the characters are 18.
Possibly just my opinion, but i thought it was marketed older.

It wasn't bad though, and the characters were well written.
Plus this cover!
I just expected a higher maturity to the characters. I think if you know that going in, you might like it better than i did!

I absolutely loved this beautiful story filled with romance, magic, and mystery. I love the way the authors wrote their characters. They’re relatable and easy to connect with. I found them intriguing and really enjoyed seeing their growth throughout the story. This was a first read for me from P.C. Cast and I really loved it.

★ ★ ★ • 3

It’s been some time since I’d read anything by PC Cast and Kristin Cast, but I had really enjoyed their House of Night series and various novellas in my early teens… However, I just didn’t really enjoy Draw Down the Moon at all.

The writing style and characters I didn’t find to be particularly appealing and it just felt overly immature. It sort of seemed to beg the question as to who the target audience was even supposed to be as it seemed geared towards very young teens while referencing things that would be more relevant to older teens.

I was able to finish the book, but I don’t think it’s something that I would recommend to anyone else or consider reading again.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review!

I've gone through numerous books by this mother-daughter team and have enjoyed each one of them, this one was certainly no different. Choosing any of their books is a safe bet. I really enjoyed this one and the distinct magick systems it features.

I enjoyed Draw Down the Moon; it was a fun, magical read, but it didn't quite hit the mark for me. I liked the concept of elemental powers and astrological additions. Wren and Lee's dynamic kept things interesting. However, some parts felt predictable, and the pacing was a bit uneven at times. Overall, it's an entertaining book.

Draw down the moon-2.75⭐️ .5🌶️

Young Adult Fantasy
Coming of age
Dual POV
Friends to lovers
Moon magic system
Academic setting
Secret society
Trials
🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 Side character rep

TW: murder, gore

I haven’t read PC and Kristen Cast since I was into the house of night series when I was 19-20-ish. I found myself not enjoying this as much, but I’m 37 now.

The magic system was definitely original, but the world building was overly simplified and it skewed the book into the young teen side of YA Fantasy, rather than new adult with the characters being 18. As a mid-30’s adult, I won’t be reading this, but I would definitely suggest it to a high schooler!

The characters represented great diversity and empowering language. I found the side characters to be really well developed and brought a lot to the plot.

I found the pacing to be decent, if a little stilted due to the push and pull of the budding romance and the world building. But it’s an interesting plot.

I’m not a fan of product placement and pop culture references, like celebrities or tv shows, in fantasy books. It brings me out of the story.

The poetry made me laugh out loud at how not great it was. The high school angst was so real.

A lot of 4th wall breaking, which is NOT my favorite

There is too much mind reading dialogue going on. I much prefer there to be a full conversation, rather than implied facial expressions.

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I really want to like this, but I really just feel too old for it. I got about 10% into it, and I have been trying to reconnect with YA, but this one just feels a bit too much of a reach for me.

Thank you to Wednesday books for a free copy of this book. First of all I have to say I have always been a huge fan of PC Cast and Kristin Cast.
This book gave me serious nostalgia for their House of Night Series. While it was a lot calmer and tamer than that series, it still had a lot of elements of that series in my opinion. I can’t say what because it will spoil the book but if you liked the House of Night series you’ll prob like this. I do wish there was all the zodiac signs in this book, instead of just a few. But maybe in the next books they’ll add more. The story itself was interesting, but the romance didnt feel that natural chemistry.

Woow this was sooo good! I could not put it down, I was hooked from the beginning wondering about these characters and their world.

Once we got to know Wren and Lee better it made me so intrigued, the authors have built such a cool magic-filled world within the regular world.

I kept trying to read so fast to figure out everything about Wren and how magic started becoming part of her reality.

Woow just so so good, by the end it was a rush trying to finish and see what was gonna happen but I guess we’ll have to see on the next book since it does end on a cliffhanger lol

This one immediately gave me divergent/ZA/Harry Potter vibes while reading. This story follows Wren and Lee, Wren is not magical (or so she thought 😉), and Lee comes from a strong magical family background.

As Wren finds out she does in fact have powers the story gets going.

This one did read more like YA for me, while it was lighter on the romance and focused more on the plot and world building.

This had a compelling narrative that embraces the destiny, friendship, love and sacrifice. I feel like it would be the perfect book for young readers who are transitioning from middle grade into young adult fictions. It has a nice blend of magic and mystery with just the little bit of romance thrown in.

I wish I could say DRAW DOWN THE MOON bewitched me, but instead, it lost me rather quickly. I can’t fully pinpoint it, beyond the fact that connecting with any of the characters felt beyond possible as the story progressed. That said, I can see some readers being drawn to this style of storytelling.

This was good but kind of bland; it followed a pretty standard plot and there wasn’t many unique elements. This would be good for middle grade readers.

I loved a lot of the characters but the story felt too predictable and I was left wishing for more. Absolutely enjoyed the magical elements and thought those were well thought out!

I'm a sucker for anything written by the Cast mom and daughter duo. They're pretty fun books and I like the strong female characters and supportive friends. Draw Down the Moon is another example of an entertaining book with a powerful main character and some cool moon magic thrown in.

The narration is split between Wren, who suddenly comes into her Moonstruck powers on her eighteenth birthday, and her best friend Lee, who's been mastering his healing ability since he was a child. I didn't like Lee that much, he cares for Wren but his priorities aren't the best and he seems intentionally blind to what's happening in front of him. Hopefully he gets his act together soon.

There are still mysteries around the moon and elementals I'd like answered, so I'll be waiting for the sequel to see what happens.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the copy.

P.C. and Kristin Cast do it again. I loved previous series by the two of them and this start of another series was not a disappointment. This was a super fast read because I had to know what was next at every moment. Wren has always known about magic but knew she was not destined to be a part of it. Until one day all of a sudden she has magic for a minute and everything changes. She's suddenly able to attend the magic school her best friend Lee is about to head off to. So much happens when they get to school but it's all so much fun (and anxiety for the well being of characters). Sorted into houses. Competitions. Powers. So much fun. Overall I cannot wait for book 2 - it's a Cast book --- there is obviously a cliffhanger :) Thankfully it's a very manageable cliffhanger.