★ ★ ★ • 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.

This book had a lot going for it: an interesting system of moon magic, secrets and murder, and an isolated magical boarding school, along with being a story that might appeal to younger YA readers (which I know was a problem for some, but I didn’t mind). Plot is a big driver of my interest in any given story, and this book had a decent one.

However, I’ve realized that it’s not just plot, but a combination of plot and characterization that make a truly compelling story for me. Unfortunately, this book did not have a great example of the latter. While I liked Wren as one of the main characters, Lee should not have been the other (as he was written). He should have been a side character or written differently altogether (if he just had to be a main character), as I found side characters like Sam and Ruby more compelling.

Lee is so blinded by trauma, parental issues, and ambition that he wouldn’t know what critical thinking was if it punched him in the face. This would have been fine if he’d developed beyond that throughout the story, but he had no character arc to speak of. His blind trust of authority figures means he’s essentially useless as a character, both to Wren, and in general. He claims to know her well and care about her, both as a friend and more than that, but whenever Wren expresses misgivings about certain people or events, Lee always tries to excuse away happenings and character traits as much more benign things. It’s honestly appalling that he doesn’t think, even one f****** time, to dig deeper on why she feels this way, and insists that the grown-ups in charge are perfectly fine and know what they’re doing. He is eighteen, which also makes him a grown-up! He’s allowed to think for himself, and isn’t that what you’re supposed to learn how to do? But no, apparently that would be too difficult. It’s a shame no one called him out on this crap. Ultimately, he destroyed my interest in the story.

Despite what it looks like, though, I still didn’t actually hate this book. Wren, Sam, and Ruby, along with the moon magic and magical intrigue, made it not utterly terrible.

Oh man, I really wanted to enjoy this contemporary fantasy about a secret magic school, but it just didn't work. I love the idea that one's magic is used to amplify others' powers, and at first I thought I would love the main character (an underdog wanting to understand her newly found magic)... but it just never happened. It kind of all felt flat and uninspired. On the bright side, the cover art is beautiful!

Draw Down The Moon (ARC)
P.C. Cast, Kristen Cast
3.5⭐️

Pub Date: 4/2/2024

This one is very YA. It felt a bit like Harry Potter to me- teen being whisked away by a magickal man to go to a magickal school. The characters were very illogical at times (childishly so) even though they're supposed to be adults/college age. The mystery and the plot were actually very good and intruiging. However the writing style didn't compel me to devour it. There were some phrases that really bothered me a lot like "welcome to the beginning of your future" and "welcome to the rest of your life" to name a few, that were so repetitive when the main characters were just coming to the school. I thought it lowered the impact of the statements significantly. The Magick system and world building were a little lacking in explanation and weren't very clear The rush came very late in the book so expect a cliffhanger. It's an okay read for me. It's 50-50 if I'd read the next one in the series. We'll see I guess...

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin Press for a gifted e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a bit to get into the story and world, but once I did I really enjoyed the read.. It reminds me of Crave. I honestly love any book when the FMC don’t know what they are growing up and now all of a sudden they are the same but different.

Love all of pc cast books. So naturally when she releases a new one I'm in line or on the per-order list ! I’ve been reading PC Cast and her daughter Kristine Cast ever since I was in high school!

This book really took me back to when I read the house of night series for the first time, so I knew automatically that I was going to love this book!

I loved how well rounded and relatable Wren was, and Lee is a perfect friend for her, a well good duo!

And the astrology added to the book! It’s was all perfection!
I can’t wait to see how PC Cast takes this series further🖤

2.5 stars

I love a good YA fantasy, and with protagonists who are 18 years old I thought this would be another great addition to the genre. Unfortunately these characters and the story read incredibly young. It follows your typical normal girl who is the chosen one which is a staple for YA fantasy. But where we have Celeana, Aelins and Feyres, all who are 18/19 years old, Wren felt childish and better suited for a middle grade marketing rather than YA.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley.