Clace 's Reviews > When the Moon Hatched

4.45!

“He’s fire and brimstone. I’m shattered ice. Our collision is steam and destruction, destined to dissipate, but I’ll gladly burn beneath him until the world comes crumbling down.”

I cannot stress how much love I have for this book, reading this was a whole new experience and one that I loved so much that I will gladly reread it again and again in the following months. Now this was my first book by Sarah since 2021 and I was pleasantly surprised at how much her writing improved. It was so good and not only that I loved how she handled certain aspects of this book.
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Giving us the whole guide at the start which was like i think 30+ pages helped a lot and it also saved Sarah from info dumping in between major scenes, she literally threw it at us and said im not explaining anything after this LMAO. I also saw how much effort and hard work she put into this work with all the art and the dairy entries. It really worked out in the end and her writing style oh my god it was so accessible and easy to read.
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What surprised me the most was how she was able to give life not only to the main characters but also the world and the dragons, her words were nothing short of exceptional and magical. I loved her storytelling and her ability to let the readers dwell on the emotions that they face as they read the heartbreaking story of the characters and what they go through.

“Sadness is like stones that stack inside you, making it harder to move. Ignorance is my self-preservation tonic, and I’ll swear by it until I die.”

Raeve, our FMC was witty, verbal and short tempered but also sly, manipulative and strong. I loved her so much. The story follows mostly her perspective and it was so fun to read because her tendency to include humor in the most unlikely situations was amazing. She's also an assassin and if you dont know how much i love Assassins please head over to my review of the assassins blade. What I liked the most about Raeve's story was her undiscovered past and the way it slowly unraveled in front of us and how much my heart ached for her, for everything she went through and lost. Parker outdid herself here.

“It most certainly will, but what she doesn’t see is that her love bolsters me. Strengthens me. When she shines that light my way, nothing can hurt me.”

Kaan, our MMC was broody, grumpy and strong but on the inside he was caring, loving and well...basically a cinnamon roll who was madly in love with Raeve. I was confused at times at how the story around him and Raeve we unfolding but it actually fit into place quite well. Kaan put up with Raeve a lot and was very patient with him. His grief was neglected at all in this book and that is another thing that i salute Sarah for, she highlighted how much his impacted him and how they still influenced his decisions and why he loved and wanted to protect Raeve. It was done really well.

“Chase death, Moonbeam. And I pray your bloodlust brings you the same sense of peace I feel just knowing you exist.”

The plot was handled really well and the thing that i liked the most was that its categorized as a fantasy and it is a fantasy yes there is romance but it does not overshadow the plot or even come near the plot. Even if you take out the romance the story would still be able to stand on its own. The story starts with Raeve an assassin of a rebel group whose told to listen and not question who has her own personal problems to deal with gets entangled with Kaan a king who basically stalks Raeve but there are so many twists and flashbacks and they are so well maintained that you dont have to think much and can easily enjoy the series.

“Your hands know me,” she whispers. “Yes,” I murmur against her hair. “Know you, crave you, worship you.”

The romance was probably one of the best things about this book. I am all for slow burns and this book did deliver on that, i also love the hate to love trope which was pretty prominent and no one can convince me that Raeve and Kaan are not star crossed lovers because they are. They were so god together. There was so much tension eluding off them. Every interaction with close proximity between them was so hot. Sarah aced the angst part.

“but I’d die knowing I left something bright behind in this beautiful world sketched in so many shades of ugly.

Most fantasies fail to follow a structure when it comes to their worldbuilding and Lore but that definitely was not the case here because Sarah really blew everything out of the water with how well organized everything was, how her lore fell into place weaved its way around the worldbuilding and constructed a foundation for the series. Even the dragons had their own stories here.

“Then he asked me what I wanted, and I told him my truth. One three-letter word that weighed too much, being promised to his kin. You.”

As much as I love this book and appreciate it there were one or two things that bothered me:
The pacing was very weird, it was fast paced at times and often felt very slow so that really impacted my mood as i read and the length? 715 was a little to much like 50 to 100 pages too much i felt there was a small patch where i had to drag through and the start felt so overwhelming but overall it was very good and i will definitely recommend!!

Okayyy so i got some tropes:
. Who hurt you?
. He falls first
. Forbidden love
. One dragon ;)
. Starcrossed lovers
. Angst and tension
. Dragons
. Multi-POV
. Banter