Fighting Dreamer

My Thoughts: Shadows on the Moon sounded like my kind of book... and it was! :) I love books set in Asia. And I also like when the heroes have some kind of unique abilities. Suzume had an awesome one, shadow weaving. She could change her look, become invisible... I loved her power. And I just loved her. She was really likeable and easy to connect with. And those times she cut herself was just heartbreaking. I was so proud of her when she found the power in herself to put an end to those self-destructive habits.

Suzume went through so many hardships in her life. She was betrayed by those who were supposed to love and protect her, lost her family (twice), but she has always managed to stay alive, to renew herself. I loved her "acts"; Suzu-chan, Rin and Yue were all very different and she "played" them perfectly. 

Suzume had a hard life, but this book was still a lot lighter than I expected. I liked that. I also liked that there was no love triangle. When I read the Goodreads summary I thought the Moon Prince was going to have a bigger role in the book, but he was mostly in the background. And never was a real "threat". And Suzume was not a courtesan, that's another mistake in the blurb. 

The main love interest, Otieno was a foreigner boy from a country called Athazie. -an exotic looking young man, with deep brown skin and long black hair.  He was a great archer, had a falcon and was also a shadow weaver. He could see through her illusions and recognize Suzume no matter what she looked like. And I loved how persistent he was! My absolute favorite parts of the book was when they were together. *swoon*

My other favorite was Akira, Suzume (Yue)'s "sister", a former Shadow Bride. She was gentle, caring and the bond between Suzume and her was really strong. Oh, and she was also a shadow weaver.

I loved all the references to the asian culture. Suzume's music, her shamisen (three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument), the dances, the colorful dresses, the verses are all weaved beautifully into the story.

I love revenge stories, and Shadows on the Moon was a great one. It was a long and absolutely satisfying read. I just loved how things ended. Perfect, perfect, perfect. I'd highly recommend Shadows on the Moon  to everyone.

Title: Shadows on the Moon  

Author: Zoë Marriott  

Blurb from Goodreads: 

On my fourteenth birthday when the sakura was in full bloom, the men came to kill us. We saw them come, Aimi and me. We were excited, because we did not know how to be frightened. We had never seen soldiers before.

Suzume is a shadow-weaver. She can create mantles of darkness and light, walk unseen in the middle of the day, change her face. She can be anyone she wants to be. Except herself.     

Suzume died officially the day the Prince's men accused her father of treason. Now even she is no longer sure of her true identity.   

Is she the girl of noble birth living under the tyranny of her mother’s new husband, Lord Terayama? A lowly drudge scraping a living in the ashes of Terayama’s kitchens? Or Yue, the most beautiful courtesan in the Moonlit Lands?   

Everyone knows Yue is destined to capture the heart of a prince. Only she knows that she is determined to use his power to destroy Terayama.     

And nothing will stop her. Not even love. 

Published:

July 7th 2011 by Walker Books Ltd

Goodreads - Amazon 

Have you read Shadows on the Moon or The Swan Kingdom by Zoë Marriott ?
Would you like to be a shadow weaver? (I would :)