#tnaim

If you tend to avoid synopsis for potential spoilers, heads up! I'm going to type it directly from the back of the book here.

quick break

quick break

"Farleigh is just an orphanage. At least, that's what the church would have the people believe, but beautiful orphans Nox and fae-touched Amaris know better. They are commodities for sale, available for purchase by the highest bidder. So when the madame of a notorious brothel in a far-off city offers a king's ransom to purchase Amaris, Nox ends up taking her place, while Amaris is drawn away to the mountains, home of mysterious assassins.

Even as they take up new lives and identities, Nox and Amaris never forget one thing; they will stop at nothing to reunite. But the threat of war looms overhead, and the two are inevitably swept into a conflict between human and fae, magic and mundane. With strange new alliances, untested powers, and a bond that neither time nor distance could possibly break, the fate of the realms lies in the hands of two orphans--and the love they hold for each other."

I want to tell you all about it, but at the same time I don’t want to spoil anything because everything I read sparked so much joy I’d hate to deprive you of that. So I’ll do my best to say as much as I can.

I first learned about The Night And It’s Moon when I stumbled upon a TikTok that the author, Piper CJ, made rating the reactions of her family when she came out to them in preparation of her book that would have the occasional non-heterosexual sex scene or two.

I don’t know about you, but I was immediately drawn in. I had to know everything I could about this fantasy book that caused a conservative family to want to disown someone. I was also in a point in my life where I was growing bored of all the books written by cis het white men. I dove down the rabbit hole.

I was hooked. I immediately pre-ordered TNAIM as soon as it was available and devoured it when it got in my hands.

Again, this is a spoiler free post, so please continue reading on about my favorite non-spoilery things about TNAIM.

First off, it has two things that every fantasy book should be required to have:

A map!!!

And a pronunciation guide!

Seriously, these are invaluable parts of a book that contains a hustling and bustling world inside.

Another terrific piece that gives you a unique insight to the author and her thought process is the dedication:

I was reminded of Lord of the Rings when I read TNAIM. It’s the feeling that you’re following a small story in a huge setting, and the story steadily gets bigger and bigger. The thing that puts TNAIM above LotR (wut??) is that queer people are front and center. Explicitly.

The book ends in a satisfying way, but also ensures that you want the next book as soon as possible to find out what the heck happens to everyone. So much crazy stuff happens. Several parties are split! How are they going to find each other again!? Which leads to my next book recommendation!

The Sun And Its Shade! (Also by Piper CJ! Coincidence?? I think not.)

I dare to say that TSAIS is even better than TNAIM. I’m assuming because TNAIM has to set up the world while TSAIS gets to go at full speed as soon as the book starts. We pick up pretty much right where the previous book left off, and zero time is wasted. Several burning questions were left unanswered in the previous book and thank goodness most if not all are answered here. But what drives the plot if not the quest for answers???? Rage. You will read out of rage. This is my reaction to finishing the book:

I already have a list that is two characters long whose deaths I am impatiently waiting for. Long, painful, slow deaths. And one of the book’s main antagonists isn’t on the list!!! (In an objective sense I want this antagonist to be murderized, but not on an emotional level like my main two.)

There you have it. A perfectly written, spoiler-free manifesto about why you should read these books, and then be all ready for The Gloom Between Stars in a couple months!

-albino valkyrie with true sight, childhood trauma surrounding abandonment, and is a raging bisexual