Lunamare

The Luna Duet, Book 1

By: Pepper Winters

Narrated by: Tor Thom, Fiona Clare

Length: 18 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

Aslan: the 16-year-old boy named after a lion. A boy with his entire life ahead of him.A boy running from a terrible secret. All it takes is one awful night to change everything. One secret, one smuggler, one boat, one storm. And he wakes in an entirely different existence. Staring into the ocean blue eyes of his 12-year-old rescuer.

Neridat: the 12-year-old girl named after a sea nymph. A girl with lofty dreams and absolute faith that she’ll achieve them. All it takes is a bright, sunny morning to change everything. One boy clinging to wreckage, one sea cradling him close, one chance at keeping him safe.

He’s illegal and unwanted. She’s stubborn and so sure. He’s lost absolutely everything. And she’s found the only thing she ever wanted.

They begin as rescued and rescuer, slowly growing from 12 and 16. He’s not allowed to touch her. She’s convinced he is the one. But as each day dawns on his illegal existence, Aslans’s secrets creep ever closer, the death he ran from hunts ever faster, and the darkness that he can’t get free of finally finds him. And it costs him everything.

A true coming-of-age story that spans a lifetime. This book deals with heavy subjects. Check the content warnings on the author’s website.

Lunamare is a tangled romance that fans of the Ribbon Duet will love. Combining the beautiful drama of Nicholas Sparks with the brutality of dark romance, Pepper Winters has created a tale of soulmates, secrets, cruelty, and heart-wrenching love.

©2023 Pepper Winters (P)2023 Pepper Winters

This was a heavy story

Lunamare was told that way the movie Titanic was told. An older character telling the story of how she fell in love when she was younger and all the happiness and heartbreak that came with it.

I loved this story. The writing, the characters, just everything. I felt like I was watching a movie. I can’t wait until Coramare.

This story does deal with some hard subjects, so please do your research before picking up this romance.

Another Phenomenal story that you MUST listen to

First of all, I am a HUGE and LOYAL fan of Pepper Winters. I have read/listened to almost ALL of her books…dark and highly emotional as they come. This one tugged raw at my emotions when I started the book, bringing up memories of Ren and Della from ‘ The Boy and his Ribbon’. Wow! I was pulled into the Australian marine life of the Taylors and beautiful 12 year old Neruda and 16 years old Aslan. A few things stood out for me - the perfect narration by Tor Thom and Fiona Clare. Especially, Tor Thom,, to narrate in Turkish and also to pronounce ‘moon’ in so many languages…The duet narration, like, all of Pepper Winters ‘ series….blew me away. I fell into the story, I was absorbed in it….I cried, I ached, I wished, I smiled and laughed and WORRIED for both of them….There is also triggers in this book and be warned …it is uncomfortable, filled with anger and digust for those who take advantage simply because they can….now…I am onto BOOK 2 ….

My head is spinning!!!

Oh WOW!!! This book had my mind reeling and my head spinning! A beautifully sad story that I'm praying has a happy ending for them all!

Part 1 of Aslan and Neri

I received this ARC for my honest review. I was fortunated enough to get the eBook and the audiobook for this. I read and listened to this book at the same time. Tor Thom and Fiona Clara did a wonderful job portraiting the growth of Aslan and Neri. Two young kids growing up together. Coming of age, turmoil, angst, new found family, survivor guilt, secrets to big to hide. young love. I have read plenty of Pepper Winters stories before and had mixed feeling about most. But I can tell you with this book, we are drawn back on how Neri and her parents met Aslan and how he became a part of their lives. How they trusted a complete stranger. Made rules, how a young girl help guide and pushed Aslan to face his demons and how he tried to do the same for her. Neri's force to be reckoned with was dimmed and how Aslan tried to help her as much as he could. but she was stubborn. How one decision could ruin everything. A choice to be made. This broke me in their heroine tell and I can't wait to read the / listen to the rest. This maybe redundant because this was the first review I posted. But I wanted to include this with this review. This first part of the duet wrecked my poor deluded heart into shred. How dare you Pepper Winters?! A slow burn, full of emotions with all the angst of young love, coming of age. Aslan and his family trying to find refuge but finds tragedy. A love story told to journalists wanting to interview Neri Avci the biologist, but in order to under Neri the famed Biologist they must know the love story of her and her husband when they met as young teenagers. Age gap of 4 years, nothing too big of an age gap. I loved reading/listening to Neri’s zest and sassiness for life, a water baby, love of her parents and the boy she grew to love. This book broke me and I can’t wait to hear about her redemption in book two. I am eagerly awaiting….

Great narration!

Rating: ☆☆☆☆      Spice: 🌶🌶🌶

Angst: 💔💔💔💔

Cliffhanger? ✅️

Do I recommend it? ✅️ 

Trigger Warnings: ☠️ ☠️ 

Tropes:  Contemporary Romance, new adult, romantic suspense, soulmates, star-crossed lovers, friends to lovers, forbidden, age gap, coming of age, multiracial couple 

Aslan Avce had been a 16 year old boy named after a lion. He had his whole life ahead of him but was running from a terrible secret. One night changed everything. One secret, one smuggler, one boat, and one storm. He wakes in a completely different existence. He was saved from the ocean by a 12 year old girl with ocean-blue eyes. Nerida was named after a sea nymph. She had lofty dreams and faith that she would achieve them. All it took was one bright and sunny morning to change everything. One boy clinging to wreckage, one sea cradling him close, and one chance at keeping him safe. He's illegal and unwanted. He's lost everything while she's stubborn and so sure. They begin as rescuer and rescue. They slowly grew up together. He's not allowed to touch her, and she's convinced he's the one. But as each day dawns on his illegal existence, Aslan's secrets grow closer, the death sentence he runs from hunts faster, and the darkness that he can't get rid of finally finds him. And it cost him everything.


I'm still rather new to Pepper's books, and I struggled a bit with this one. The beginning plot was incredibly slow, but I knew if I just stuck with it, I would be glad I did, and I wasn't wrong. There were moments of true beauty, moments of frustration, and moments of darkness along with pain. The connection between Aslan and Neri was palpable as well as inspirational. My heart truly went out to Aslan as he lived with so much pain, sadness, and fear. Nerida's immaturity was aggravating at times, yet she was so sure and mature in other ways. Once the angst increased, I struggled putting my Kindle down. Although I knew there was a cliffhanger, the events it was comprised of got me angry. I am really looking forward to the next book because it holds so much promise. While I read the ebook, I also listened to the audiobook, and the narration was incredible, especially Tor Thom's portrayal of Aslan. He brought Aslan's Turkish heritage to life, and it added so much to the story. While there are a few parts of the story that could be considered dark, for the most part, it wasn't as dark as it certainly could have been. This is a story that I will most certainly recommend. Bring on book two!! This is my honest opinion, freely given.

Not for the faint of heart

Lumamare is the first book of the duet and deals with subjects that may be triggering o some so please heed the trigger warnings before proceeding. It is a story with plenty of secrets, and I was on the edge of my seat whilst listening. This book is not for the faint of heart but if you are a follower of dark romance with some romantic suspense then this book may be for you.
This is Aslan Avci and Nerida (Neri) Taylor’s story and Tor Thom and Fiona Clara did a great job with their performances with a story that spans years.
This book shattered me and left me with one heck of a book hangover. All I can say is I cannot wait for the conclusion in Cor Amare.

A heart wrenching love story with true connection.

Let me start by saying the narrators did an exceptional job and gave the story even more feeling.
Feelings which include having your heart beat up while unable to look away!
A very unique story. I can't wait to dive into the 2nd book in this duet.

You can really feel every complex emotion.

It's realistic in the sense everything could happen and there are definitely hard parts to hear. It's not your over joyous love story and it's very raw and emotional at points. It was hard to hear certain points because the author expresses all the conflicting and complex emotions involved. I definitely recommend this book, just be aware of the trigger warnings.

Go in blind

Do not read the reviews. Go in blind. Experience the story and decide for yourself.

Love the voice for Aslan!

There is something about listening to Aslan Avci's thoughts through Tor Thom's deep, rumbling voice that just swept me deep into Lunamare. My heart broke for him while he suffered through his traumatic memories of his family and heard his conflicting feelings for his savior Nerida Taylor. Interwoven throughout is the sweet (but bratty at times) voice of Neri. This audiobook is extremely long (at over 18 hours), but I really didn't want this story to end. Hearing that cliffhanger through Aslan just made me more excited for the next book in the duet, Cor Amare.