Book Review - Stephanie Burgis's Moontangled
Published by: Five Fathoms Press
Publication Date: February 3rd 2020
Format: Paperback, 71 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
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After a fraught beginning Thornfell College of Magic is thriving. The school is opening it's doors for a night of dancing and magic. The first ever class plans to dazzle their guests with a demonstration of their magical abilities after a ball under the stars. As for the school's top pupil, Juliana Banks, she has other things on her mind, other things that she is avoiding through denial and hard work. What's really on her mind is Caroline Fennell. Caroline and her have been secretly engaged for quite some time. Caroline has been trying to establish herself as a politician so they have sacrificed their own happiness for the moment to achieve their happily ever after down the road. But ever since Caroline's cousin Honoria fell from power in the Boudiccate Caroline's letters to Juliana have seemed cold and restrained. Is their love in danger? Now that Caroline no longer has her cousin's protection might she view Juliana as a liability as well? All these thoughts are racing through Juliana's head as her classmates primp her in an effort to show Caroline just what she's missing. The problem is, Caroline knows exactly what she's missing. She hasn't stopped loving Juliana, she's been distancing herself from her in an effort to not let the taint of Honoria's crimes effect her. Because if there's one thing Caroline can see clearly it's that Juliana is thriving at Thornfell. She has new friends and is excelling in her studies. How can Caroline force her to keep their betrothal when there's this whole new world at Juliana's feet and Caroline's prospects have been destroyed? Why force her fiance to stick to the plan when the plan is no longer possible? It would be better to just have a clean break. Both women are willing to do anything for the love of their life, but it will take a dangerous confrontation with a fey to get them to bare their hearts.
Moontangled is a short and sweet love story based around a tragic misunderstanding. It's basically Stephanie Burgis's The Gift of the Magi by way of Emmet Otter. Because, let's face it, Emmet Otter is the perfect retelling of The Gift of the Magi once you realize that Emmet's mother is totally selfish and didn't need that dress. And yes, this review has gone off the rails but I think I can get it back on track. Caroline and Juliana are both willing to sacrifice that which is most important to them to make the other happy. Sure it's not watches and hair or washtubs and tools, but they love each other so much that they are willing to do whatever it takes to make the other person happy all without grasping at first that all that matters is each other. As Doc Bullfrog says, "it appears to me that what you needed was each other." Their love is true because they are willing to sacrifice their own happiness for the other's. Thankfully though neither needs to sacrifice anything because all that was needed was open communication. All people get in their heads too much. They overthink and overanalyze to the point where they've worked themselves into a corner. They think they know the truth because how could they not after they've spent countless sleepless nights working through all the permutations of how things could go in their head. And who among us hasn't been derailed by things going differently than we imagined? Even getting to the point where we're not sure what we've said in actuality or in imagination. But thankfully in Caroline and Juliana's case they have fey intervention. The centuries-old fey guardian of the Harwood woods has vowed to watch and keep Thornfell safe. As she had experienced heartbreak she knew she had to protect the hearts of the inhabitants of Thornfell as well and therefore she staged an intervention and the truth did will out. Caroline and Juliana will have their happily ever after after all.
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