***THIS BOOK WAS PROVIDED AS AN ARC IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW***
Under the Dragon Moon follows Mael Nguyen, a warlock living in New Orleans. He ***THIS BOOK WAS PROVIDED AS AN ARC IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW***
Under the Dragon Moon follows Mael Nguyen, a warlock living in New Orleans. He does odd jobs here and there, mostly in the pursuit of his own interests. He has one rule: No humans. But, when pretty boy golden retriever punk Leo Greyson stumbles into his shop looking for help, he breaks the rule just once. Looking for a dragon egg before time runs out, Mael and Leo stumble their way through magical black markets, auctions, and shoot outs while navigating through the magical underbelly of New Orleans.
Trust me when I say, my summary doesn't do the book justice. There is so much jam packed in this book and unless I ramble for days and weeks and months, I just can't cover it all. What I can say, is that this debut is nothing short of magical.
I'll do my best to avoid spoilers!
Hanlin's ability to craft a believable urban fantasy is admirable and I have to admit, I'm a tad bit jealous. But, my enjoyment and giddiness in my reading experience is wholly unique with this book. The characters and plot were highly developed and left no cracks for anything to slip through. The world building was magnificent, and having grown up in New Orleans, I loved the lore around locations I was familiar with and the magical take Hanlin put on an already magical city.
The characters were the shining stars of this book.
Mael Nguyen, a half-fae(sidhe in the book), half-Vietnamese transman is our main character. I curse Hanlin's name for creating a character that's so rich and deep, but it alas, a fictional character. A grumpy, selfish old man, Mael is only interested in researching magic and learning everything there is to know about it. He is fine living in his bookshop with his assistant while taking only the jobs he's interested in. Mael's character is highly relatable as a transman myself. His mental illness is also portrayed incredibly well. Suffering with PTSD and forms of OCD, I found Hanlin's descriptions of the disorders to be both parts sensitive and accurate to my own experiences. Mael is also autistic, and the depictions of how his autism manifests is just as sensitive and intricate. Down to the magical world building, Hanlin takes these aspects of Mael to deepen the lore of magic. One of my favorite examples is Mael's earrings, which are enchanted to muffle sound to prevent overstimulation. It's thoughtful and done incredibly well.
Leo Greyson is in a world: Adorable. The lead singer of a punk-grunge band called Jeff and the Goldblums and radio show host, Leo is the golden retriever, high-energy counterpart to Mael's curmudgeonly wet-cat energy. Needing help to find the dragon egg that was stolen during a break in, he goes to the one person that can find it: Mael Nguyen. Leo is new to magic, so watching him learn about magical creatures and societies was enchanting to say the least. Ever curious and excitable, the energy Leo brings to the story was much needed and compliments the MC seamlessly. Not only that, but Leo's 1st person narrative brings a lot of humor to the book that had me laughing out loud several times throughout.
The minor characters are just as rich and complex as our two main characters. Altogether they create a diverse cast of various genders, gender identities, ages, sexualities, mental illnesses, and so so much more.
Sensitive topics are handled beautifully by Hanlin(a list of content warnings are also provided at the very beginning of the book). While there were some portions that were uncomfortable to read for me specifically(for example, Mael's OCD attack that was shockingly close to my own), they were written with care and were clearly researched. There is no hint of negative stigma attached to these moments.
Hanlin's prose lends itself well to a story like this. The descriptions are so vivid, sometimes you can feel the muggy humidity of New Orleans in summer, or smell the beignets freshly topped with powdered sugar, or feel the way the threads of magic slip through your fingers as you read.
The romance was easily my favorite part, but I am a SUCKER for romance. Mael and Leo, or MaeLeo as I will refer to them moving forward, have a beautiful chemistry. Side by side, one might not assume they would fall head over heels, but by the gods they do and it is so much fun to watch. While the romance it fast and a whirlwind, it's no less believable. Besides, in a world with vampires, djinn, swamp monsters and werewolves, what's wrong with a whirlwind romance??? Nothing I say!
Overall, Hanlin's debut novel is stunningly beautiful. I cannot say enough about it.
I'm so incredibly thankful to have been given the opportunity to read this book and I cannot wait to read more from Hanlin in the future. ...more
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