It is always difficult to decipher between what is easy and what is right. It is even more difficult to understand that the cause you might be fighting for is more complex than you once thought, where you aren't always in the right. Justice is not black and white. In this vibrant fantasy novel, inspired by Bolivian politics and history, all motivations are called into question as the people of Inkasia hunt for their rightful leader. One character in particular seizes the night in her fight for what she believes, until dawn breaks and she realizes what her fight is truly about. Ibañez weaves a tale of courage and heart, in which nothing is truly as it seems. And maybe Ibañez herself says it best: "words empowered by justice can never be silenced."Isabel Ibañez was born in Boca Raton, Florida, and is the proud daughter of two Bolivian immigrants. A true word nerd, she received her degree in creative writing and has been a Pitch Wars mentor for 3 years. Isabel is an avid moviegoer and loves hosting family and friends around the dinner table. She currently lives in Winter Park, Florida, with her husband, their adorable dog, and a serious collection of books. Along with being a writer, she is also a designer and illustrator, and illustrated her own visually stunning cover for her debut novel, Woven in Moonlight. This is her debut novel, and her artwork can be explored more on her website, or you can find her on social media @IsabelWriter09.
Ximena is the decoy condesa for the Illustrian people, who lost everything when the usurper, Atoc, used an ancient relic and drove them off their lands. When Atoc demands the real condesa's hand in marriage, Ximena is duty bound to go in her stead. She relishes the chance, as Atoc has been reported without the ancient relic, and Ximena believes that now is the time to defeat him, and return the Illustrian people back to their homeland. Using her special magic, she weaves tapestries with messages hidden inside to be sent back to her people. But as she hunts the castillo, her desire for revenge driving her, she meets all sorts of the Llacsan people she's sworn to hate. A masked vigilante, a warm-heated princesa, and a thoughtful healer challenge everything Ximena's ever believed, about her ancestors and herself. But what will she choose: a way to make everything right, or her condesa?
Ximena is a well-written and well-designed main character. She's goal-driven and relatable, in that she's stubborn, determined, and yet curious about what's going on around her once she's introduced to the Llacsans's world. Who wouldn't be? One of the most interesting things to note is how she always stays true to herself, even if she doesn't believe that's what she's doing. Ximena is pretending to be her condesa, and yet her every thought isn't focused on that. Rather, she stays true to herself by staying true to her mission, not caring so much as to uphold a rosy royal image if it doesn't benefit her goal. Ximena, in the thick of this political plot, is pulled in every direction, but always by the same guiding question: what is best for my people? Her answer to that changes several times throughout the course of the novel, which is exactly the reason she's such a relatable character. She also doesn't act like a condesa, and she realizes this when she understands that Llacsans don't all act like the Llacsans: violent, dirty, or uncaring. In her revenge-motivated fury, she has forgotten that they're all human. As the story progresses, Ximena finally understands the complexity of this problem, and how both sides, Illustrian and Llacsan, have their justifications and fallbacks for desiring the throne. Ximena is a character readers just can't help but cheer on as she fights, and learns, and fights again.
The Illustrians and the Llacsans are as different as night and day . . . literally. Illustrian magic is fueled by the moon, fondly called Luna, and it is only at night that their powers shine. Ximena can weave with thread made from moonlight. Catalina can actually read the stars. But Llacsan magic is powered by the sun. Illustrians prefer whites and neutrals. Llacsans are a riot of color and sound. It is hard to believe that they'd ever gotten along, Ximena thinks as she's introduced to the Llacsan people. In the castillo, she finds herself wrinkling her nose at color, and what it stands for, until she's sitting in front of her loom with colorful wool. She's never had the chance to use colors in her weaving, and she feels as if she's betraying her people by longing to use it. This is how readers come to understand the gorgeous and yet grotesque nature of the setting. Readers might never have described colors as being gaudy within themselves, but the way Ximena describes color is both disgusting and awe-inspiring -- forbidden. And yet, when she makes the leap and weaves with color, she finds her magic becomes something more. Something she never would have discovered had she not used color.
Sometimes, fantasy can feel dense or difficult to read as readers need to be introduced to characters, as well as customs, history, and magic. Yet, Woven in Moonlight is a different kind of fantasy novel, one where readers are both eased and thrusted into the world of Inkasia. It is easy to understand the customs, history, and magic, because Ximena was single-minded at the beginning. As the world got more complex, so did Ximena's way of understanding it, so readers felt like they were right there with her as Ximena learned more about the Illustrian and Llacsan people. The steady progression of events of the beginning helped humanize the history in which this story was inspired by. And then, it all led up to the dramatic finale in which readers rooted for Ximena. This was fantasy that didn't feel tricky (or like a trick) to read. It was easy to follow, which meant there was more time for a gorgeous setting to develop, for cohesive character development, and a stunning ending left open for a companion novel. Once it was over, all I wanted to do was relapse right back into the lush world of Inkasia.
There's something for all of us to learn from this novel, whether it be to stand up for ourselves, for our beliefs, or for others when they cannot. Maybe one of the most important lessons is that we can always change. Humans, and thus human beliefs, are never set in stone. With time, stories and truth, we can find ourselves shifting, until we see new ground underneath our feet and we think, "yes, this is my foundation now." And, like Ximena, we will find that this change was best, for others and for ourselves.
*This review is also published on my Goodreads page*
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