Draw Down the Moon

I am disappointed to state that reading this book was not a pleasant experience. I think the writing was a little too juvenile for my liking. There were a lot of sentences and lines of dialogue that made me outwardly cringe. This brought me back to the worst parts of 2010s writing which is something that I don't say lightly. That being said, I probably should've DNF'ed this book because I don't have a lot of nice things to say about it.

I want to actually start with the buildup to the ending and the ending itself, and all I really have to say is “HUH???”. I am going to be SO honest, the ending had me so confused. Like I get that this is book is going to be part of a series and it needed a cliffhanger...just maybe I don't know, have a better cliffhanger? The story is left off on confusing territory.

Working backwards a bit, I am so sorry but I did not like any of these characters. They were so flat and one-dimensional, literally in the first chapter Wren outlining her relationship to Lee in a repetitive manner was just unnecessary. Lee had a bit more nuance to his character as he had background with his sister passing away and that changing the structure of his family; therefore changing what he needed to accomplish for his family's sake. I liked Lee, but what was this poor boy on during those last few chapters??? I don't understand that change in mindset that I won't spoil. I will say I really disliked Wren, she was incredibly childish and a lot, if not all, the miscommunication that occurred in this book was because of her. I hate the miscommunication trope with a passion especially when it's done poorly like in this book.

The pacing of this book is slow, the flip flopping between perspectives got a bit annoying towards the end especially when Wren was finally having her moment. The romance was not...it. I personally wish I was a supporter of Wren and Lee but I find myself wishing they could just stay friends because they did not do it for me as lovers.

If this book had been published in 2016 when I was getting into reading, this would've been my bread and butter. However, it just fell flat for me but if you're looking for a book that used zodiac in its magic system or a book about teenagers attending a magical school, this book is for you!

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.