Isabel Ibañez is the author of Woven in Moonlight (Page Street), which received two starred reviews and earned praise from NPR. She was born in Boca Raton, Florida, and is the proud daughter of two Bolivian immigrants. 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. Say hi on social media at @IsabelWriter09. You can find more of my reviews of Isabel's work here.
Catalina Quiroga is a condesa without a country. She's lost the Inkasisa throne, the loyalty of her people, and her best friend. Banished to the perilous Yanu Jungle, Catalina knows her chances of survival are slim, but that won't stop her from trying to escape. Her duty is to rule. While running for her life, Catalina is rescued by Manuel, the son of her former general, who has spent years searching for allies. With his help, Catalina could find the city of gold that's home to the fierce Illari people and strike a deal with them for an army to retake her throne. But the elusive Illari are fighting a battle of their own--a mysterious blight is corrupting the jungle, laying waste to everything they hold dear. As a seer, Catalina should be able to help, but her ability to read the future in the stars is as feeble as her survival instincts. While on her journey, Catalina must reckon with her duty and her heart to find her true calling, which is key to stopping the corruption before it destroys the jungle completely.
I was so excited to see more of Catalina after only a few of her appearances in Woven in Moonlight. Like me, readers of the first novel have an idea of Catalina and the kind of person she is. I was pleasantly surprised to see how Ibañez kept with those preconceptions about Catalina, and also the ways in which she revealed new information about her. Her arc started slow but then accelerated quickly at the beginning, and I found that to be really reflective of a stubborn main character. Even though I felt like the ending appeared quick, everything resolved wonderfully and logically--not a single choice of Catalina's felt out of place, and I'm glad that her journey took her the way it did. I was especially pleased with how Catalina and the Illari defeated the blight, and how that demonstrated Catalina's growth of character. I think we all have a lot to learn from a main character like her, and I'm glad Ibañez decided to give Catalina space to tell her story.
The romance between Manuel and Catalina is steamier and more complicated than that of Catalina's decoy, demonstrating the strength of Ibanez's new ability to create more dynamic relationships. Catalina and Manuel have a happy history (at least in Catalina's eyes), versus an unhappy or enemy-like history. I appreciated that the romance was more convoluted than friends-to-lovers as well, with what Manuel's grief and his decision to remain true to his honor. Manuel's flicking back and forth between allowing himself to want Catalina or not was splendid, because it truly highlighted how complicated feelings are, especially for young men in young adult literature.
The novel is full of action. Even in just the first few pages Catalina meets some of her greatest enemies: the plants and creatures that pack the jungle. Even though the setting is vastly different than Ximena's castillo, there is a very lush and dangerous vibe to Catalina's story. Ibañez extends the mythology of her fantasy world, showing us how the magic works, who the gods are, which makes the fantasy world she's created feel more accessible. I'm glad we got to see the mythological makeup of the world in this one, which juxtaposed the jungle setting--it proved a point that faith knows no bounds,
It's impossible to entirely separate Written in Starlight from its companion Woven in Moonlight. The way the two novels speak to one another, almost as if in conversation, makes for a very dynamic type of companion novel. The two main characters are, essentially, learning the same thing about the world they inhabit, but do so in very different ways. The parallels with the language between the two novels is also fascinating to see. Despite their vastly different main characters, it's intriguing to me to see how both of these women sometimes similarly navigate or narrate the path they're on.
Lastly, the appearance of Rumi in the beginning and end was fantastic. It just means that if someone were to read Written in Starlight before Woven in Moonlight, a very crucial mystery that makes WiM enjoyable would have been revealed to them. So definitely even though this book is a companion novel, read Woven in Moonlight first if you plan on reading both!
Ibañez is working on more projects, including an adult romance novel, and I'm so excited to see where the wind takes her! For more of my reviews of Isabel's work, you can find them here.
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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