Today on Julie’s Bookshelf, Julie Davide posted her review of Eye of the Moon, as well as a synopsis, short excerpt and other goodies. We were honored to have her join us for the book blog tour. Her review is below.

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When Johnny was just ten years old, he lost his Aunt Alice under mysterious circumstances. Twenty years later, Johnny and Percy are reunited for a long weekend at the Rhinebeck estate from a celebratory dinner after many years of no contact. Together they seek to find out the secrets of what happened all those years ago and are taken on a journey as they uncover the many mysteries the estate holds.

I am surprised to know this is Ivan’s debut novel. Ivan’s storytelling is very well written, and his words flow seamlessly. At 500+ pages this novel may be one readers who enjoy books that are less lengthy would possibly turn their cheek to. However, judging whether or not you should read this novel due to its length would be an utter mistake. With its length one would expect fluffed pages and unnecessary add ins to lengthen the story, but none of this is found here. Each word Ivan used was used with purpose, and this is something I truly appreciate when done.

While the story started off at a slow pace, it picked up rather quickly and was an enjoyable adventure until its conclusion; with multiple twists and turns delivered along the way. Some novels endings fall flat, but Ivan Obolensky offers his reader a fulfilling and satisfactory ending. Though this ending does leaving on a bit of a cliffhanger, I feel Ivan doing so make his reader wanting to explore more of not only this story but his future works.

Ivan also develops realistic characters not only through Johnny and Percy, but the additional characters met along the way. While I did not find myself relating to any of these characters, they all were very likable, and I did find the characterization intriguing. What is interesting to note is a novel on the topics found within would often times give a reader an ‘on edge’ feeling, but Ivan’s creative telling gave me a very unexpected relaxed and cozy feel which I really enjoyed. I also found the Egyptian inclusion to be very interesting. The Egyptian culture has always been of great interest to my older sister, so I will be forwarding my copy for her enjoyment in this story as well.

With its mixture of mystery, romance, drama and splashes of humor, Eye of the Moon has a lot to offer readers of all types. I’m unsure if Ivan has any plans to make this novel into a series, but I would enjoy hearing more of Aunt Alice’s story or the continuation of this story.  Either way, count me in.

Many thanks to Ivan Obolensky and Smith-Obolensky Media for an advanced reader’s copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review and request to join its blog tour.