A special thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is told from the perspective of two narrators who are separated by nearly a century. It is 1975, and we meet single mother Lux Lysander, who lives paycheque to paycheque on one floor of a a three-story house with her son, Benno, and roommate Rhonda. Lux goes on a solo camping trip to Sonoma, also know as the Valley of the Moon and is transported through time during a full moon to 1906 by way of a dense fog. She ends up in a small, well-run farming community led by our second narrator, Joseph Bell. Bell is a Londoner that values men and women alike and has deemed all jobs as equal. He founded "Greengage Farm" in honour of his late mother who committed suicide after his father has her committed the second time. This community is stuck in time after an earthquake hits and leaves it behind a dense fog that you cannot pass through. Lux seems to be the only one who can pass through the fog and time and does so whenever there is a full moon.

Sounds hokey, right? Well it is, a bit. Some of the narrative really grabbed me, there was some great writing there. I loved the backstory of Lux and her father and wished that that was a standalone book. There were also many unanswered questions which as the reader, you must suspend your disbelief.

Chick lit meets science fiction in Valley of the Moon by Melanie Gideon. The facts of this story remind of an old story called Brigadoon. Both center upon a town that becomes visible and accessible only at certain times. Individuals from two time periods meet, and relationships begin. The concept is an interesting one, but unfortunately, this telling of that story is just not for me.

Read my complete review at Memories From Books - Valley of the Moon.

Reviewed based on a publisher’s galley received through NetGalley.

Valley of the Moon tells the story of a single mother whose heart straddles two worlds. Lux lives in San Francisco with her son, Benno. When Benno goes back east to visit Lux’s mother and estranged father, she goes camping and happens on Greengage, a utopian society that is stuck in the early 1900s, with no escape for its members. Lux is intrigued by the equality, the hard, fulfilling work, and the society’s leader, Joseph Bell. Lux visits Greengage again and again, always returning to the present to take care of her son. But on one tragic night, Lux misses the return window back to her world, wreaking havoc on her son’s life, enraging her parents, and causing her to re-evaluate the importance of Greengage in her own heart.

The strength of this book lies in its interesting people and plot. The writing, however, is not terribly elegant, and lacks the ability to find different voices for Lux and Joseph, who tell the story in alternate chapters. This book is a good escapist pick, or a beach or plane book.

5 helms

Please follow me on my blog :) Review originally posted on Vellum Voyages

Wow! I was entranced from page one & I couldn’t stop reading! I was hooked! I walked around in a trance when I wasn’t reading & my mind constantly kept drifting off to Lux & Greengage as I wanted to get back to them as soon as possible.This was a highly emotional rollercoaster of a book….I laughed, I cried, I hoped & I loved right along with Lux.

Lux is a single mom who is down on her luck, stuck in a dead-end job with a young child to look after until she travels back in time (while camping!) to 1906 to Greengage, Sonoma Valley. Her life is no longer the same, as she lives in-between two different worlds, balancing the old and the new while facing her own personal challenges of womanhood, motherhood & childhood.

“Valley of the Moon” is fast paced & absolute escapism. It is written with enough suspense that it makes you want to dive into its pages & shut yourself out from the outside world till you reach the end. Melanie Gideon also creates a wonderful world with Greengage & captures the beauty of the simple life much different to the busy world we live in now. There are strong themes of personal growth, love & second chances which are highly thought provoking as they make you reflect, cry & sigh for Lux & her story while reflecting within yourself.

A beautiful, bittersweet book that makes you close your eyes & savour its story long after you close the pages.

*Thank-you Melanie Gideon, Netgalley & Ballantine for the ARC & a truly wonderful & memorable read.

W bajkach często znajdziemy frazę "i żyli długo i szczęśliwie". W książce Gideon znajdujemy "żyli długo", natomiast odnośnie drugiej części - czy szczęśliwie, każdy czytelnik odpowiada sobie sam przemierzając kolejne strony tej długiej powieści. Pomimo jej objętości (452 str.), czyta się błyskawicznie, gdyż napisana jest bardzo bardzo nowocześnie - w zgodzie z duchem fb oraz "porad wujka Google'a". Na końcu książki miła niespodzianka do wykorzystania np. we własnym związku. Podsumowując - bardzo przyjemne czytadło.