Moonlands

By: Steven Savile

Narrated by: Becky Doughty

Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

Fifteen-year-old Ashley has a complicated life. There's no doubt her overachieving parents love her, but they are wrapped up in their own worlds for so much of the time it leaves her feeling like she's alone.

Like a lot of teenagers, Ashley dreams of other worlds, but unlike a lot of teenagers, her world is about to collapse as rifts to an ancient fae kingdom begin to open all around her. With the arrival of a supernatural hit-squad intent on killing her, and an unexpected inheritance, Ashley's London is about to become a magical and mysterious warzone where the prize is Ashley herself.

Ashley has to find out the secrets of her own life before she is killed. Balancing ancient prophecies, schoolwork, and the love of her life is difficult to say the least! Take part of the wonderful world of Moonlands.

©2013 Steven Savile (P)2015 David N. Wilson

Critic reviews

"Aimee Carr's debut work symbolizes the spirit of Young Adult adventure reading! Bold and unexpected - Moonland is a thrilling read for everyone who needs a break from the mundane." (Ashley Knight, author of Fins & Fathom)

A beautiful story

Where does Moonlands rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It is among the top 10.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Moonlands?

I can't pick just one, the whole book was amazing,

Which character – as performed by Becky Doughty – was your favorite?

It has to be the main character, Ashley. The performance was pretty spot on.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

A tale of self discovery, with a dash of magic and a pinch of humour,

Any additional comments?

I was drawn to this book by its beautiful cover, what I didn't expect was to be totally blown away by the beautiful story inside. Steven Savile really is a master at weaving a fantastically fun, entertaining story. I stayed up until 6am to finish it because I was so engrossed I completely lost track of time.
The book is worded perfectly, although it is a YA novel, everyone can enjoy it. This is one of my favourite books this year so far and I really want to know what happens next…please, please let there be another book in the making.
Becky Doughty did a wonderful job with the narration.

World building is second to none

AudioBook Review: Stars Overall: 4 Narration 4 Story 4

A dive into a darker fantasy kicked off with a touch of a slow start as the characters are given time to develop. Ashley, at 15, is convinced she is just normal, with busy parents and nothing special to set her apart. Those dreams are all too soon answered and we are off and running in a hard to put down story.

Saville uses his fresh perspective in this fairy tale inspired fantasy. Ash is a wonderfully well-built character: smart, determined and a little daring, even as I felt her appeal wane a bit with the overly used self-deprecating trope of “I’m not special” and a fairly unnecessary love interest later in the story. Sometimes it is perfectly acceptable to have a heroine that is flawed, and learning without the self-deprecation. Her greatest strength is her willingness to do what needs be done: swallowing her fear and moving forward.

World building is second to none in this story, Savile’s descriptions and reveals bring the world to life, giving a sense of a dream come to life. Certainly a high point of the story. The plotting arc moved steadily early on, but in the latter part of the story the elements felt as if they combined to rush to the end: taking a bit of the shine off of the characters. Sadly Ashley lost much of the sparkle that made her special early on in the midst of the rush to the end…..
Additionally, unlike other teen/ya reads, Ashley’s parents are NOT invisible, her mother is totally supportive and wholly involved, diving right in to lend a hand and support her daughter.

Narration for this story is capably provided by Becky Doughty, and her voicing of Ashley is convincing and feels age appropriate. Her ability to vary delivery and pitch changes to delineate the other characters, and a slight diminishment in the brightness of Ashley’s personality as the story went forward and the character did, in fact, seem to lose some of her spine followed the trajectory of the plot nicely.

While answering many questions, leaving more unanswered with the underlying mystery and a touch of a cliffhanger at the end, the story will leave you wanting more. The strength of description and unique world led to the 4 stars for story. The ending and rush to the finish was a touch disappointing, and while I hoped to see a trajectory for Ashley’s character that went upward rather than dither a bit with some of her decisions, I see potential for her to grow and develop further, and I am curious to know what happens next.

I received an AudioBook copy of the title via AudioBook Blast for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Intriguing alternate universe!

Where does Moonlands rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I think it's in the top 5.

Who was your favorite character and why?

As a YA story, the characters just seemed young to me, but I did like how Blackwater Blaze was able to see past what he thought he wanted and do the honorable thing.

What about Becky Doughty’s performance did you like?

I'm not sure how she made the Wolfen voices, but it came across well and it drew you in.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Makes Pan's Labyrinth like a walk in the park.

Any additional comments?

I was given this book free for an unbiased review. Anyone who loves Pan's Labyrinth will be fascinated and terrified. A must read.

A surprising read.

Any additional comments?

This was such a pleasant surprise. I wasn't sure what to think before starting it because I've read some pretty mixed reviews but I'm so glad I gave it a chance. It was such an adventurous and engaging read.

The summary sums it up perfectly so let's get right to my thoughts.

Plot wise, it was really fast paced and entertaining. The idea of a princess who doesn't know she's a princess isn't exactly a new one but the author makes it his own with the introduction of shifters and a whole new world. I loved finding out everything alongside Ash because it brought me into the story.

Character wise, Ash is awesome. She is a typical 15 yr old whose life changes immensely with just one moment. When she is told what she is, she doesn't immediately accept it, which I liked. I also loved that Ash, despite everything, stays true to herself. She was strong, capable and likable, which is always a major plus.

Then we have Blackwater Blaze. He is sent to assassinate the girl but is betrayed so ends up being her protector. He was super scary but also super hot!! Lol. I loved seeing the book from his POV as well.

There are also a lot of secondary characters that are part of Ashs life who watch over her and protect her. All were well written and I loved seeing who else was part of her life.

The world building in this was amazing. Both worlds are vividly described and richly detailed. Ashs' home world was awesome and the author detailed it to perfection. The land, animals and creatures were woven into the story seamlessly.

In all an impressive book. It grabbed me from the start and wouldn't let go. From it's intricately woven story to it's captivating characters, Moonlands is a must read. I fell in love with this world and can only hope we see more from it and it's characters.

Becky Doughty was perfect for the story. She brought Ash to life and portrayed her personality flawlessly. She gave her all to the story, and it shows.

*I received a copy of this for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Great coming of age story!

Great story with easy to listen to. narrator that makes the characters come alive! Lov

Destiny!

First of all I want to let the author, Steven Savile know that the book cover was absolutely beautiful and it caught my attention. I must say that after reading other reviews and they kept writing that this story was written by Aimee Carr and I found myself confused so I did a little research but not too much. I found it has a good storyline, magic, adventure, and plenty of danger along the way. The story was filled with alot of detail and that's always a good thing. The downside of it was the characters. I normally find myself connecting, bonding with the characters but not in this story. The author needs to find a way to let the readers/listeners connect to the characters because that's what helps to make a great story. I also felt like the story was slow, yet the writing was good. This is a favorite genre of mine and I did expect it to be better than it was but sadly it wasn't. I have never listened to anything by Steven Savile but I would be interested in more stories he has on Audible, like Torchwood for one.

Narrator, Becky Doughty did a great job with her narration of Moonlands. I haven't listened to any story this narrator has done before so this was a first for me by her but I wasn't disappointed at all. She did a great job with distinguishing the characters accents. Overall, I rate it 4 🌟 and recommend you give this story a chance. I received this audio in exchange for an unbiased review.

Cross between Princess Diaries & Harry Potter

Any additional comments?

Moonlands by Stephen Savile is an adventurous YA novel that is a cross between Princess Diaries and Harry Potter. It's well written, fast paced, and very engaging. Like Princess Diaries, Ashley is a normal 15 year-old girl attending an exclusive private school, who unbeknownst to her is secretly a princess whose Kingdom may soon be in jeopardy. Like Harry Potter, there are about a dozen secondary characters who are all secretly watching and guarding the princess, as well as an obvious villain who turns out to be a good guy. Words alone can't express how much I loved this thoroughly enjoyable book!

I listened to the Audible version of this story narrated by Becky Doughty who did an outstanding job. Becky portrayed Ashley as a very likeable young lady surrounded by unbelievable events. Becky had great intonation and pace, keeping the story suspenseful throughout. She had differing voices for male and female characters, and expressed urgency when appropriate. Despite receiving a copy of this book in exchange for a review, I loved it so much I listened to all 10 1/4 hours all in one day. Highly recommended!

Moonlands

This was a pretty decent book, but I found that parts of it dragged a lot. Ashley Hawthorne is just an ordinary 15 year old girl with the normal problems of growing up. When her "Aunt" Elspeth dies and leaves her a mysterious envelope, Ashley's life drastically changes. Soon, she finds herself running for her life, accompanied by a handsome young werewolf who was supposed to be her assassin.

The book is part fairytale retelling and part epic fantasy IMO. I had some problems with how rapidly Ashley just accepted everything that was thrown at her. As she follows Blackwater Blaze back to her (supposed) homeland of Moonlands, she encounters all kinds of different creatures along the way and she just seems to know everything about them. When she finds out that she is the daughter of the Queen and King of Moonlands and, therefore, in line to inherit the throne, she just goes along like it's just another day.

I have found that I really don't like epic fantasy that much, so that could be part of the problem that I had with this book. I kept thinking of all of the quests that occur in those books as I listened to this one. And, the ending was pretty much of a letdown and left the reader with a cliffhanger.

The narrator did a great job with her pacing and most of her voices for the different characters were great. Her performance kept me listening long after I would have probably given up if I had been reading a physical book.