Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett Published by Simon Pulse on April 16th 2019
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery, Young Adult, YA
Goodreads
After an awkward first encounter, Birdie and Daniel are forced to work together in a Seattle hotel where a famous author leads a mysterious and secluded life in this romantic contemporary novel from the author of Alex, Approximately.
Mystery-book aficionado Birdie Lindberg has an overactive imagination. Raised in isolation and homeschooled by strict grandparents, she’s cultivated a whimsical fantasy life in which she plays the heroic detective and every stranger is a suspect. But her solitary world expands when she takes a job the summer before college, working the graveyard shift at a historic Seattle hotel.
In her new job, Birdie hopes to blossom from introverted dreamer to brave pioneer, and gregarious Daniel Aoki volunteers to be her guide. The hotel’s charismatic young van driver shares the same nocturnal shift and patronizes the waterfront Moonlight Diner where she waits for the early morning ferry after work. Daniel also shares her appetite for intrigue, and he’s stumbled upon a real-life mystery: a famous reclusive writer—never before seen in public—might be secretly meeting someone at the hotel.
To uncover the writer’s puzzling identity, Birdie must come out of her shell…discovering that most confounding mystery of all may be her growing feelings for the elusive riddle that is Daniel.
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SERIOUS SPOILERS AND DISCUSSION OF A SERIOUS TOPIC. READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION. SPOILER TAGS HAVE BEEN ADDED AS A WARNING.
I’ve read and loved Jenn Bennett’s previous novels so when I heard about Serious Moonlight, I knew I had to read it. While I did like the writing overall, I had some serious problems with one of the novel’s central elements, the mystery.
Birdie loves a good mystery. With the start of her summer job, she finds out that there may be an interesting development happening at the hotel she works for. Her and her handsome coworker, Daniel, take on the mystery of a regular guest and along the way, Birdie may have to uncover a mystery about Daniel as well.
I really liked the writing. Despite Serious Moonlight being a bit of a longer novel, it did flow really well and I felt compelled to read more. However some elements of the plot really rubbed me the wrong way.
View Spoiler »Overall, Serious Moonlight had serious potential but I was seriously disappointed. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)
I’m sorry this book was really disappointing to you. I didn’t read the whole review because I have this book for review but haven’t read it yet. Thanks for sharing your honest opinions.
Krystianna @ Downright Dystopian
Hmmm. I read the spoiler because I’ve kind of been on the fence about this book.
My ex-husband had seriously depressive tendencies and refused to get help, and in the end I had to realize I couldn’t help him anymore but had to help myself. (He also had a lot of other negative traits, not related to those, but that’s neither here nor there.) Which was complete torture…so I would kind of understand her taking time to think about it *for herself,* which does seem selfish but…eh, I haven’t read it so I can’t say for sure. It just…it is something to consider.
Liz @ Bent Bookworm recently posted…1st Quarter Reading Challenge Update 2019
I totally understand where you’re coming from. I think things like this aren’t as clear cut as my review perhaps made it out to be. I think in the case of the novel though, the situation was quite different than what you experienced. I felt that Daniel’s situation was added on as a plot device and didn’t really lend itself to a productive discussion of depression. I don’t really fault the MC for thinking about it but I do think the way it was presented was somewhat problematic. It was not so much about her thinking about it but rather the way it was discussed, if that makes sense. Thank you for taking the time to read my review, I appreciate it and thank you for sharing your POV.