Isabel Ibañez's debut is as bright and beautiful as Ximena's moonlight thread. Inspired by real events from Bolivian history, Woven in Moonlight follows the adventures of Ximena Rojas, the decoy Illustrian Condesa. When Atoc, instigator of the Illustrian massacre and ruler of the Llascans, asks for the Illustrian Condesa's hand in marriage, Ximena must go in the real Condesa's place to restore power to the Illustrian people. But the moment Ximena steps foot into Atoc's palace, nothing goes as planned. Ximena's friends are killed before her very eyes. After acting up in front of Atoc, she's sentenced to a month in isolation. And Ximena begins to warm up to the Llascans around her, despite her mission to get rid of the whole lot of them. Betrayals, secrets, and inevitable choices begin to fly in Ximena's wake: either she saves the innocent Llascans, or she betrays her best friend and the people she has ruled for over fifteen years. Encased in simmering ambedo and slow-fire romance, with its lavish description and emotion-filled narration, Woven in Moonlight is one of the most underrated YA novels of the decade by far.
Woven in Moonlight
By Isabel Ibañez
“A lush, vibrant feast of a book.” – Margaret Rogerson, NYT bestselling author of An Enchantment of Ravens
“A wholly unique book for the YA shelf.” – Adrienne Young, NYT bestselling author of Sky in the Deep
“A spellbinding, vivid debut.” – Rebecca Ross, author of Queen's Rising
Ximena is the decoy Condesa, a stand-in for the last remaining Illustrian royal. Her people lost everything when the usurper, Atoc, used an ancient relic to summon ghosts and drive the Illustrians from La Ciudad. Now Ximena’s motivated by her insatiable thirst for revenge, and her rare ability to spin thread from moonlight.
When Atoc demands the real Condesa’s hand in marriage, it’s Ximena’s duty to go in her stead. She relishes the chance, as Illustrian spies have reported that Atoc’s no longer carrying his deadly relic. If Ximena can find it, she can return the true aristócrata to their rightful place.
She hunts for the relic, using her weaving ability to hide messages in tapestries for the resistance. But when a masked vigilante, a warm-hearted princess, and a thoughtful healer challenge Ximena, her mission becomes more complicated. There could be a way to overthrow the usurper without starting another war, but only if Ximena turns her back on revenge―and her Condesa.
A lush tapestry of magic, romance, and revolución, drawing inspiration from Bolivian politics and history.