Moonflower by Angela Townsend is an engaging coming-of-age fantasy novel that details the story of a young woman as she looks to find her place in this world. Unknown to her, she has a future calling that she will be called on to answer in due time.
For now, settle in and discover young Natasha’s story as it unfolds a page at a time.
Moonflower is a fantasy novel, but when you start reading this book, you won’t get that sense. Don’t let that dissuade you from continuing this story. There is a point in discovering Natasha’s story the way that the author has chosen to detail it. You’re going to find yourself engaged and drawn in from the beginning as Natasha, as a small child, experiences great loss. She’s a child in Russia in the beginning of the story, but the story quickly transitions her to living in Seattle, Washington. An unwanted child shuffled from one family and group home to another. Until one day, all of that changes.
You’re given a glimpse of hope for Natasha in this book as she finally seems to have found a place to call home. Of course, nothing is perfect and that is only highlighted too well. The author expertly encourages your empathy towards Natasha. She seems to have found a nice place, but that is only on the face value of appearances. This new home, this new path will only be “happy” for a brief time before reality sets in...and this reality...it’s not a pretty one.
This is a fantasy novel, but it takes time before the fantasy element begins to unfold. For a good portion of this story the author focuses on Natasha’s life with her new “foster” mother. You’re given a glimpse into Natasha’s day-to-day life with someone who took them into her home. But was it for the right reasons? Author Townsend emphasizes a particular ugly element concerning the system, and that is sometimes people do the “right” thing for the wrong reasons. Other authors have emphasized the same things in their books, but Townsend helps to really highlight this aspect without taking it down a dark path when involving the boyfriends that are in and out.
While the characters aren’t the most dazzling, the storyline is interesting enough to keep readers engaged in what is going on with the characters themselves. It’s when Bambi’s (Natasha’s “foster” mother) latest boyfriend, Chuck, makes an appearance that the story begins to pick up steam. How is that you ask? Well, for starters, he actually sticks around longer than the rest do. He seems to encourage a change in the household and brings a sense of brightness and hope.
It’s not long after that the fantasy element begins to come into play. Natasha begins to learn more about her past than she ever knew. Secrets are coming to light, but not without a cost...a severe cost that will drive her to make a choice – stay...or find the answers she’s been looking for concerning her family and what exactly happened.
Gradually the author works in the fantasy aspect of this book a little bit at a time. Natasha is an interesting character. The author works to show her as resilient in the face of the things she is made to face from a small child moving forward. She has a destiny that is calling to her, but only she wants to do is discover her past, and her family. What she finds is something more...a lot more.
Moonflower is a standalone novel. Everything pretty much gets wrapped up at the end of this book, but there is definitely the potential for more. Personally, I feel that this story could have been drawn out to give readers more. More drama, more romance, more danger...just more of everything. Does that mean that the story feels rushed? Initially, it doesn’t come off as rushed. For the majority of the story, the storyline flows smoothly. The closer the book gets to the ending though things begin to take on a sense of the author looking to wrap things up with a nice neat little bow. However, there is the potential for more in the future if the author so chooses. We could revisit Natasha and peek into her life and see what is going on. The question would be, how exactly would that play out? We have a couple of ideas, but of course, that is not up to us.
For now, we bid goodbye to young Natasha and wish her well in her future.
4.5 out of 5 stars
Book can be found on Amazon
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