3.2 Stars

One Liner: Mixed feelings; has potential but doesn’t reach the expectations.

Riley Mays and Vaughn Orr don’t seem to have anything in common. After all, what can a girl living with her cousins on a Wisconsin farm and a best-selling author from New York have in common?

But when Vaughn ends up where Riley lives, they realize the deeply hidden pain and dark secrets in each other. What is it about their past that pushed them into neverending despair? Can the two break free of the shackles and build a better life? How do Nature and the mystical moon feature in the entire equation?

The side characters are interesting, especially Kiran. Riley sounds younger than her 21, and Vaughn appears older than his 29. Feels a little creepy when some secrets are revealed about their past.

The narration at the beginning is abrupt but flows well after a while. It would’ve worked much better if the second half wasn’t overloaded with secrets. The premise for magic is wonderful. If only it was taken to the next level!

Thank you for using the term Hindu rather than vague terms like Indian and South Asian. I don’t even remember the last book by Western authors who did this.

To sum up, The Oceanography of the Moon could have wowed me if the magic was explored and utilized rather than simply used to create a sense of something otherworldly.

Thank you, NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

#NetGalley #TheOceanographyoftheMoon

******

Read the full review here.