WOMS: When the Moon Hatched

This week as promised, it’s a return to fantasy with Sarah A. Parker’s When the Moon Hatched.

When I last wrote, I mentioned I had made a brief return to fantasy, which I would soon review. However, if you’re here for a lashing based on my frustrations I shared last week, you won’t find it. Despite my frustrations with the fantasy genre as a whole, especially trends that were still present in this book, overall I was pleasantly surprised, and impressed, with Parker’s latest novel.

I think what I appreciated most about Parker’s work was I discovered she self-published this novel, and if my suspicions are correct, then maybe an indie publisher picked it up. It’s impressive she succeeded to publish such a gargantuan project, especially one that’s so polished and contains all the finesse found with traditional publishing, which is part of the criticism against self-publishing.

If you compared this work with something from a traditional publisher like say Fourth Wing and you weren’t told how they were published, you’d think they were cut from the cloth. From the texture of the paper, the individual page design, the cover art, the maps and glossaries, the chapter header artwork, the line editing—it’s definitely a masterpiece.

Then there’s the actual plot, characters, worldbuilding—and her prose!

Admittedly when I picked up the book the first time to begin reading, I immediately set it back down because the extensive glossary at the front of the book intimidated me at first. Her world was so unique by how they told time, how a day or a year was defined, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to wrap my head around it enough to immerse myself within her world. (I had been reading a different fantasy murder mystery that I experienced that issue, and feared the same would happen here.)

I was so wrong.

When I eventually picked the book back up and started reading, the opening prologue—which I love she had one! I do not buy into that whole, “Don’t write prologues. They’re boring or dead,” position. I love a good prologue, but again the key is if it’s good. Hers was exceptional, lyrical, beautiful! Though somehow simplistic and concise. It didn’t bog down the pacing nor introduction. It helped solidify the secondary world you were entering, which hers is an excellent example of how to write a necessary prologue, in my opinion.

I found the same lyricism in the opening chapters as well (and through the rest of the book). She wrote such exquisite descriptions despite the occasional vulgarity, it wasn’t as gritty and dark as other fantasies who are similarly explicit. Somehow she found a balance with her diction, still painting her world with beauty through the eyes of her characters. I think that’s what I appreciated most about When the Moon Hatched.

Even though there were the ever present tropes of the assassin, deadly female fatale who hates every and everything with a tragic past continuously hinted at and why she’s so callused and keeps herself from growing too attached to anyone—using this trope as an example, when we’re introduced to our main character, she’s definitely all those things, but her inner softie is immediately revealed. She’s fighting to free child slaves, she has a roommate she adores even if she sucks at expressing her affection and appreciation, she has a pet she cherishes. Somehow this softer side didn’t seem forced to me. There was a genuineness about it I don’t usually see in other similar heroines.

All this we learn about her in the first fourth of the book, then when tragedy strikes, she goes on a killing spree and accepts her death sentence. She gives up, which I found interesting. I don’t recall a similar character.

Of course by the time she’s going to be executed, the main love interest shows up and rescues her, and though he’s the typical humongous male dripping with awe and power, he has a sense of humour I appreciated. He’s not stoic or plays his card too close to his chest. Sure, he doesn’t necessarily reveal everything he knows about the main character, but he’s vulnerable. It was his vulnerability I adored. From the similar books I’ve read, usually it takes a few lengthy chapters before the love interest is as vulnerable with the main character as he was with her.

Then there’s her unique worldbuilding, which she emphasised through her word choice by swapping common terms out with synonyms. For example, it’s not night in her world, it’s slumber, and a bed isn’t called a bed but a pallet. Such a creative tool! Also her magic system is fascinating. Though it’s elemental magic, it’s attributed to the power of a specific deity in her world, and that magic wield through song. Again—such a cool world!

There’s also dragons and fae, enemies to lovers romance, probably a found family (but we’ll see in the upcoming books), and other tropes most people look for, but not with the same carbon copy regurgitation I have grown frustrated and bored with recently.

My only complaint is the ending. It wasn’t necessarily a cliffhanger, and though there is resolution for some of the more pressing plot points, I definitely left me wanting more. In short, it was almost anticlimactic. I’m not saying I hated it. It just…ended. After all that it just ends! And there’s no word on when book two will be released, which I think is mostly why I’m frustrated. If I knew when to expect whatever comes, then maybe I wouldn’t be annoyed. Maybe that’s it: I don’t know what comes next. I don’t know where we go from here. I mean, sure, I have an idea, but there’s just so many unknowns. Perhaps that’s a good thing, though. It shows I’m invested in this world and the characters.

If you’re looking for that next romantasy to keep you up reading late at night, then look no further than When the Moon Hatched. It’s sure to give you all the feels.

Have you read it? What are your thoughts on her worldbuilding? Let me know in the comments below!

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