Review: Serious Moonlight, Jenn Bennett

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There are no spoilers in this review.

For a contemporary lover just like I am, I couldn’t miss out on Jenn Bennett’s books. I have read The Anatomical Shape of a Heart a little while ago and, since then, have sworn I would read every book she ever writes, but… well, endless TBRs and all have brought me here, Serious Moonlight being my second book by the author. This experience only strenghtens my resolve to read ALL of her books because friends, this one was AMAZING.

A BLOOMING ROMANCE WITH AMAZING MAIN CHARACTERS

☂️

In Serious Moonlight, we follow Birdie, obsessed with mystery books and taking on a summer job in a historical Seattle Hotel, only to realize she will have to work side by side with the mysterious, very handsome Daniel with whom she had an awkward and kind of heated encounter once before.

To be honest, Serious Moonlight sounded like the perfect contemporary I would swallow whole and, despite its length (over 400 for a contemporary can seem quite a lot), I devoured it. Jenn Bennett’s writing style, her talent for taking me into Seattle streets, markets, hotels and seaside, coupled with the amazing way she has of shaping three dimensional characters I fell for… it just worked for me, a whole lot.

During the entire book, we follow Birdie as she struggles with finding her place, used to home schooling, being alone and living in her own fantasy, mystery worlds. Birdie was such a great main character to root for: she was not perfect and, more than once, she was even a little frustrating, yet I quickly grew fond of her and cared for her. Her passion for mysteries and mystery books shined in the story.

Daniel was such a great love interest just as well, charming, caring and overall adorable, yet with his own struggles and mysterious side, at first, too. The growth of their relationship, from a very rocky start to slowly building, the feelings slowly growing as they get to know each other better and the sex positivity in this book were really highlights of Serious Moonlight. I am all for an incredible slow-burning romance and here, I got everything I needed and more and it just made me swooooooon.

FAMILY ISSUES AND A TOUCH OF MYSTERY

☂️

Something I absolutely loved in this book is how, despite the romance being such a big part of it and obviously of the book’s marketing (look at that synopsis), there are such great places for other things for the reader to care about, too.

Let’s take the FAMILY, first. Birdie has grown with her grandparents, having lost her mother at a young age and, in her life, she also has her Aunt Mona, this eccentric, supportive, awesome side character to the story. Jenn Bennett explores family issues, from exploring and understanding Birdie’s mother’s past to understanding her own heritage, too. We also got to see Daniel’s protective, yet adorable side of the family and… well, you get a romance with the families on both sides and you got a win for me.

Let’s tackle the MYSTERY now, too. Slowly woven into the story, perfectly juggled with the romance and yet keeping me entertained too, adding a thrilling part to the read.

OVERALL

☂️

Jenn Bennett is making her way in my must-read contemporary authors slowly, but surely. With Serious Moonlight, she created such a great, realistic romance with characters I fell for and, if you’re looking for me, I’m making a list of all of her releases to get soon and all of her next books, too, because I want to read them ALL.

Final rating:  4,5 drops!

The biggest thanks to Simon Pulse for sending me an e-ARC of this book for review via NetGalley. This did not, in any way, influence my thoughts and rating.

Trigger warnings:  death of a loved one, grief, depression, mention of suicide, cataplexy / narcolepsy.

Diversity: One character is hearing-impared (Deaf in one ear, Daniel), one character has Puerto Rican origins (Mona), one side-character is a POC (Joseph).

Jenn Bennett, Serious Moonlight, Published on April 16th, 2019 by Simon Pulse.

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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.

Did you read Serious Moonlight? Do you want to? Any Jenn Bennett book I should read next?

What was the last YA contemporary book you’ve read and loved? Let me know in comments!

 

 

 

 

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Book blogger, travel blogger, writer. 📚 |🌍 | 💞 Writing & Communications Graduate. French. Living on love, wanderlust and ya books.

57 thoughts on “Review: Serious Moonlight, Jenn Bennett”

  4. This just made me even more excited to read this book! Jenn Bennett is really great; you should definitely checkout Alex Approximately, which came out a couple years ago. I loved it. I haven’t read Starry Eyes, which came out last year but I’ve heard nothing but great things

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Ahhh this makes me so, so, SO happy to hear! I loved Jenn Bennett’s books so far, and I can’t wait to read Alex, Approximately and Starry Eyes, both sound so good 🙂
      Thank you so much for your sweet comment!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  7. I’m so excited to read this one, it sounds so wonderful! It’ll be my second Jenn Bennett book too. I read Alex, Approximately last year and loved it ❤️ That one’s got great family relationships too! Lovely review ❤️

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  8. I loved this book too! Alex, Approximately is my absolute fave contemporary – read it next!!
    I read One Paris Summer by Denise Grover Swank last week, and it has some similar themes to Serious Moonlight and was really sweet.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Ahhh yes, it’s next on my TBR, I can’t wait to get to that one 🙂
      Oh thank you for the recommendation, I haven’t heard about this one before, at all, will have to check it out 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Too many books to read, too little time, haha 🙂 I hope we will both get to read more of her books soon, they all sound way too good to pass up! 😀
      Thank you so much for your comment, Kat!

      Like

      Reply

  11. This sounds like a brilliant book Marie (I’m really glad you enjoyed it as well). I haven’t read any of Jenn Bennett’s YA contemporary books but I did read some of her adult books way back when and I really loved her writing style and just her books in general. I think I have her YA releases on my TBR list, it’s just a matter of actually getting around to them one day. 🙂
    The fact that there’s a focus on family (one of my key-words when it comes to YA contemporary books, or any books really) and that Jenn Bennett is becoming one of your must-read contemporary authors means I need to get around to her books sooner rather than later! 😀
    Great review Marie. 🙂 ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  17. ooh I am even more interested in reading this one now after reading your review than I was when I added it to my TBR! I haven’t read Jenn Bennett’s other books, but have been interested in giving her a try. I’m planning to read this one on my vacation next week. Great review, Marie!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Oh I hope you’ll give her books a try, Mel. She is such a great contemporary writer, I’ve been loving her stories so far 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of this one! 🙂
      Thank you so much ❤

      Like

      Reply

  19. I cannot wait to read this book! I’m so excited that you loved it! I honestly didn’t know much about this book until I read this post, but since I loved Jenn Bennett’s other books, I didn’t even care. Now that I know it takes place in Seattle, I’m really excited to see if I recognize any of the places in this book since I visited a few years ago!

    Jenn Bennett’s book have made me so happy in the past and I’m glad to hear I should expect no different from this one. I’m going to be away for spring break when this book comes out, but I’m going to try to make sure I get my hands on this book somehow!

    I also think that you should read Starry Eyes as your next Jenn Bennett book. It’s arguably my favorite book of hers, and it’s giving me similar vibes to Serious Moonlight. (Which is part of the reason I’m so excited.) Great review!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. AHH that’s so exciting! I’m always so happy when I recognize places in a book, this rarely happens though given most books are set in the US haha, but well 🙂 I hope you’ll read this book soon, it was so, so good! ❤

      Ahh thank you for the recommendation! I can't wait to read Starry Eyes, hopefully I can pick it up soon! 😀

      Like

      Reply

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