4.75 stars, not quite 5 because the magic system was agonizingly vague and I feel like it made a few parts of the story and stakes confusing. But, overall, this was a stellar read! Luli is a kind of protagonist I don’t get to read about very often; initially sort of morally grey in her own right, firm in her boundaries and self even in a world and time period that is unkind to people like her, ambitious and sometimes reckless, some occasions with both of those things coexisting in equal measure. I don’t think there could’ve been a better protagonist for this book: I enjoyed her POV and what she brought to the table in terms of storytelling immensely. She felt fully developed in a way I hadn’t read other protagonists be before. I don’t know how else to describe it.

Anyhow! I loved the setting of this book, too. The Old Hollywood setting starts out with a kind of hypnotic glamour and dazzle, one that Luli quickly finds herself drawn to as a kid first discovering movies. As it goes on, we see parts of this start to fade away because of the disrespect Luli immediately has to learn to defend herself against, and then it takes on a mysterious, almost scary but ultimately alluring image once more of the immortality and supernatural business is introduced. The movies themselves are described a lot, both in general plot description and in production process(depends on their place in the plot), as you get to hear about the pictures that Luli was involved in or grew up with. I also liked that a lot! It was very cool to read about the behind-the-scenes details for these flicks, even if they only exist in-universe. (I was, and am, what you’d call a “theatre kid” so this, naturally, fascinated me.) And with those behind-the-scenes snippets, of course, came different relationships involving our main character and (mainly) her co-stars/workers! Maybe there could’ve been a bit more development on their parts, though, but I overall liked the explorations of the different dynamics captured within the narrative.

I also enjoyed the writing style. It felt lush and lyrical, with an additional bite for when it was most appropriate. Typically I read YA, so this was a nice change of pace, to be reading a distinctly adult book with this style.

GOD. This book was absolutely excruciating to get through. I hated Claire for most of the story, which was GRATING with her being a POV, because outside of her relatable scenes on her gender expression and discovery(and some stuff about her sexuality) she was frustratingly mean. Like, I get it, you don’t want to get bullied and want to fit in, but  in the final act her genuine surprise at any of her actions leading to…woe is me, CONSEQUENCES?, was so frustrating. Aubrey was subpar neurodivergent representation, being somewhat relatable at best(I am on the spectrum), and borderline offensive at worst. It took me a while to realize there were no quotations in her POV chapters to represent how she didn’t know if what she said was inside or outside her head at times, but it made reading more difficult. Her thoughts were also relatively simple, to the point where I had to check the tags to see if this was a middle grade or not. (It’s not. I get that the protagonists are only in their freshman year of high school, so there’s not that much of a difference, but she had…7th grader whimsy in some of her internal monologues. I hated it.) There were times in which I couldn’t tell if the infantilization of her was an ableist move on behalf of the parents or the author, thankfully it was more of the former towards the end but, I feel as if there should’ve been an extra reader for the autistic rep because some kind of author bias seeped in(at least to me during my reader experience). It speaks volumes I had to ask myself that question at all because the lines should not be blurred on something as egregious as that.

The only reason that this book isn’t one star is because of a) the thoughtful queer representation, b) how some of the explorations of grief were handled, c) Audrey being respected as a teenager and not a kid in the final act(with the narrative also starting to reflect that, imo), and Claire becoming more of a bearable person lol. Every side character felt one-note, except for Taylor, but even our POVs got repetitive in their gimmicks after a while: Audrey, the “freak” and the “weirdo” who desperately wants to be otherwise; Claire, the “perfect one” who’s secretly “not perfect” and panicking at the realization that her true self isn’t what others want to see or envision her as.

The only way I can see someone benefitting from reading this book is if they’re new to learning about the LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent communities and want to be a little more knowledgeable or familiar on their identities and struggles. Like one of those little pamphlets you find that are short and give you a few basics on different places or subjects. But, that has it’s own issues.

3.5 stars! The first third pleasantly surprised me with its quality(I’d heard this was the most “meh” of Aiden’s catalogue and went into this with my expectations fairly low), I loved the intrigue and the genuine mystery. But then, not much was added onto the plot after that, which made it a narratively weaker story than Aiden’s other two works, and the ending twists were strange? I think most of the plot holes were smoothed out but I got some questions about Neverland and how all of that business works. 

The romance, in concept, is kinda weird! I didn’t like it, and although I got that the same sense of tenderness present in Aiden’s other romances was MEANT to be captured here too, I just wasn’t feeling it as much. (Which was a bummer, because even with TST, I had my fair share of critiques about it but enjoyed that aspect of it a lot?? And, y’know, romance was something so beautiful and integral to his debut, “Cemetery Boys”! Yadriel and Julian are one of like…four book romances that make me yearn for the feeling of falling for someone lol.) (Anyhow, Aiden Thomas, please do not try to write another straight romance lmfao.)

The spooky atmosphere was very well-written, though. Even if it only got a few parts to really shine and be written in detail, it one of the best aspects of the story, in my opinion! 

This concludes my endeavors of reading every book Aiden Thomas has written so far. Yay.

3.75 stars! An immensely entertaining read, albeit it felt a bit juvenile at points(if some of the cursing and dirtier jokes were taken out, it could totally be a middle grade). (There were a couple lines I did not jive with because of that, so it occasionally felt a bit cringey. Sad face.) But! For once, the marketing for a popular book is spot-on: “The Sunbearer Trials” reads like if someone (well, Aiden Thomas in this case) took the Battle Royale For Entertainment concept from The Hunger Games, and merged it with the detailed mythology and humor/primarily lighthearted tone from Percy Jackson. And if that sounds just like it’s up your alley, I recommend going to check out this book! (Previous minor reader’s discretions noticed, of course.)

The cast of characters didn’t feel as crowded as I thought it would! I’m not one for books with large ensembles (saw where it could potentially go badly with the writing of “The Witchery” and it put a sour taste in my mouth), but I thought everyone had a solid characterization and their dynamics with each other worked really well. (Of course, not everyone gets the same level of development because…priorities and main characters, but I didn’t have too much of an issue with that because it didn’t take up the book.) 

Anyhow, definitely tuning in for the sequel though because a) the cliffhanger?!?!, b) after reading “Cemetery Boys”, I’ve dedicated myself to reading all of Aiden Thomas’s books! (Even though there’s only 3 out right now, so it’s not saying a ton per say.)

Reread from April 4 to 9th, 2025! No, it wasn’t an intentional choice to start it exactly 2 years from when I first read and finished it. (This’ll also probably be one of the only SMP books I actually review? Mostly because my original review and rating were made before the boycott, and I wanted to add my revised thoughts this time.) Fortunately, I still loved it, especially the romance, which was both beautiful and endearingly melodramatic! But I definitely can see why it isn’t liked by every reviewer, and I lowered my rating from a 4.75 to a 4.5 this time. Some vague spoilers ahead!

“When The Moon With Ours” straddles the line between a higher-stakes and somewhat dark fairytale, and a character-driven narrative. This is one of the things I like about the plot: while the public opinion on whether Miel and Samir are fleshed-out characters seems to be a little mixed, I still find them compelling, especially in the moments where their flaws are on full display. Consequentially, their internal conflicts are given just as much on-page time as the intrigue and plot twists, if not more. While I think Samir’s arc was the stronger one of the two, I was still interested in Miel’s, mostly because so much more of it is tied to the magical realism, and her struggles with her background and autonomy are made allegorical in a way. I’m a little disappointed that her dynamic with the Bonner sisters (and all the different ways it was fucked up, from a class to racial standpoint) wasn’t written with more depth, actually.

One opinion that didn’t change in my reread, though, was that I thought Samir’s transness (and his hesitant acceptance of it) was handled with a lot of care. McLemore’s commitment to writing an authentic character was evident— from the awkwardness of some of his intimate moments with Miel, to his disconnect with his birth/deadname and the person he thinks it represents, and even his moments of gender euphoria. (DON’T GET ME STARTED ON THE DEPRESSION REP, THAT FELT PERSONAL.) I feel like this book is one of the only times I can see a relationship between a transgender and cisgender character where the trans one isn’t only loved on a basic level, but actually seen. (Which, I think is kinda interesting to note once you remember McLemore came out as transgender themself, several years after this book’s publication and Stonewall Award.) And this is a more minor detail, but I genuinely loved how another part of the distinction between him and Miel’s POVs was shown in their different understandings of Aracely once her past was revealed?! To me, it showed how even though Miel could love Samir, they still had vastly different experiences. (AND ON SO MANY DIFFERENT LEVELS, TOO… like, I’d normally be quick to talk shit about Miel taking a while to separate Aracely from her pre-transition self, but not only does Aracely herself address that, there’s a lot more layers to Miel’s gradual understanding.)

The prose will be a hit or miss depending on the reader. Me personally, I loved the descriptions given to the different places throughout town, especially in the case of both characters’ households: they have a vivid (and welcoming) feel to them, not just from the commitment to including Miel’s Mexican heritage and Samir’s Pakistani-Italian heritage, but from the familiarity and picturesqueness they’re written with. (This includes both the houses themselves, and their parental guardians.) With some of these quieter and less melodramatic moments, especially those that indulged in the magical realism of the lovesick cures or the moon paintings, the flowery style works in this book’s favor. Though, I did also enjoy the twisted beauty of the glass pumpkins, and the forest with the glass coffin. (I’m just going to ignore some of the not-so-pretty logistics of Miel being left in there for so long, lol.)

With that said, this isn’t by any means a perfect book. As much as I praised the prose, oftentimes, it was as purple as the transformed pumpkins on the Bonner farm. I have a couple of annotations where I highlighted parts that stuck out to me as being profound, but then the paragraph it’s in continues to wax poetic until it seems repetitive. Samir and Miel’s relationship also suffers from the (annoying) Anna-Marie McLemore trope of one character lying to end a relationship, instead of admitting why they aren’t in a safe position to continue it. Thankfully, it doesn’t happen in the third act, but its placement doesn’t make it any less frustrating.

The Bonner sisters (or, las gringas bonitas) were also terrible villains, even if they posed an actual threat!! The final confrontation and their subsequent defeat is bullshit, their motivations are confusing, and they’re characterized more by their secrets than actual personality traits. It doesn’t help that their entire gimmick is being a collective, so whenever there’s something interesting revealed about them, they still can’t have their own dynamics and conflicts for longer than a paragraph or two. I’m also just bitter about them facing very few consequences by the end, I wish Miel could sic a rose onto their skin or SOMETHING😭 THEY DO NOT DESERVE HAPPINESS!! I DON’T CARE ABOUT YOUR CLOSETED SIBLING!! (Also, the Bonner parents were out of the picture for far too much of the story, why do we never get an explanation of why they’re afraid of their own daughters? How did the sisters gain that much influence? What went wrong in their upbringing?!?!)

However, I’m still very happy to have revisited this!! (And it was kinda divine intervention, to be honest?) I think this is my favorite from McLemore’s catalog, with “Lakelore” being second to it. Also maybe don’t listen to me, I feel like all of the issues I found with it would lower the rating by 1 or 2 stars if it were any other book, I just really loved the poetry and characters, and have a sorta nostalgic attachment to “When The Moon Was Ours” because I read it literally the year I got into reading and AMM’s work😞🙏

……………………
original review (April 4, 2023):
HOOOOLY SHIT ok this book was like. so many things. It was poetic, beautiful, and then visceral at points. My god. I loved the magical realism, loved the air of mystery hidden underneath most of that for the book, the love story at the center of it all which was incredibly compelling, shdwhfineofnd WAUGH

3.5 stars. Plot was pretty standard, but I didn’t mind the main relationship even with the instalove, and I could tell the author put a lot of thought into the world itself. It also felt culturally rich! I appreciated that. (Mammoth fight scene was stupid though I started giggling)