The Five Daughters of the Moon by Leena Likitalo

The Waning Moon, Book 1

Synopsis: The Crescent Empire teeters on the edge of a revolution, and the Five Daughters of the Moon are the ones to determine its future.

Alina, six, fears Gagargi Prataslav and his Great Thinking Machine. The gagargi claims that the machine can predict the future, but at a cost that no one seems to want to know.

Merile, eleven, cares only for her dogs, but she smells that something is afoul with the gagargi. By chance, she learns that the machine devours human souls for fuel, and yet no one believes her claim.

Sibilia, fifteen, has fallen in love for the first time in her life. She couldn’t care less about the unrests spreading through the countryside. Or the rumors about the gagargi and his machine.

Elise, sixteen, follows the captain of her heart to orphanages and workhouses. But soon she realizes that the unhappiness amongst her people runs much deeper that anyone could have ever predicted.

And Celestia, twenty-two, who will be the empress one day. Lately, she’s been drawn to the gagargi. But which one of them was the first to mention the idea of a coup?

Inspired by the 1917 Russian revolution and the last months of the Romanov sisters, The Five Daughters of the Moon is a beautifully crafted historical fantasy with elements of technology fuelled by evil magic.

Review: I admit that I am always intrigued by stories regaring the Romanovs. How not to be? There are so many mysteries surrounding them. A tragic story that continues to haunt us today. As soon as this novel was announced, I confess that I was very impatient to see what the author was going to propose us. How can we resist the paranormal and historical mix proposed? The cover also immediately charmed me. It is really beautiful !

Each chapter follows one of the sisters that the synopsis presents. I admit that from the start, I had some trouble with this type of format. I am easily lost in the number of characters and as we follow one person and we move to another in the same context, it was a bit difficult for me to situate everything. Besides, I must say that the first part of the story seemed a bit blurry … It took me a few chapters to get to understand more clearly what was going on.

Once the characters understood, I had a better time with the characters but it is true that I think I missed the basics, some explanations about the impact of the moon, on this world which is finally different and on the powers of the Gagargi. It was an intriguing and interesting story, with original ideas but I think I was expecting a little too much or maybe I was expecting something different.

3

mellianefini

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