Title: A Fable of Moonlight and Memory

Series: Dungeons and Legends #2 (standalone within the series)

Author: Ashley Evercott

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retelling, Romance

Rating: 4 stars

Review:

Quest Objective: Save her grandmother, brave the rot, and trust the man behind the wolf.

Mira has spent her life being dismissed, and it’s no different when her family’s nettles are compromised by black resin. While the Elders of Fablemoor ignore the poison, she knows something is terribly wrong. Mira’s anxieties prove true when her grandmother’s owl crashes into her window and urgently gestures for her to accompany him into the forbidden forest.

When she does, she finds her grandmother’s cottage empty. With no one else to turn to, Mira ventures deeper into the dangerous wilds to search for her grandmother, only to cross paths with the one creature her village fears: the Wolf of Fablemoor.

However, the wolf is a man. Falimir wields a forgotten magic her people buried long ago, and he reluctantly agrees to guide Mira through the rot. Together, they set out to cleanse the darkness and save the realm. But the deeper they journey into the forest, the more Mira glimpses the gentleness beneath his cold exterior, and the harder it becomes to ignore what’s growing between them.

Yet Falimir is hiding a devastating truth about the spreading corruption—and the closer Mira comes to saving her grandmother, the closer she comes to losing him. – summary from Amazon

*I received an ARC from the author, and all opinions are my own.

A Fable of Moonlight and Memory is an interesting Little Red Riding Hood retelling, with a unique magic system, a determined FMC, and a sweet romance!

I really enjoyed this book! It is definitely darker, atmospherically, than I am used to. I loved the setting and the atmosphere; it was unique and different. The forest was eerie and that shown through. The author did an incredible job of transporting the reader into this world! The author also did a really good job of showcasing how the character’s felt about the forest, and the love they had for it.

There were brownies! Brownies are definitely becoming some of my favorite mythological creatures and I was so happy they made an appearance in the story. Kipp was especially fun, and I loved his antics, as well as how much he cared for Mira and Falimir.

The magic of this book was really incredible! I don’t think I have read a book with a shifter in it before, so that aspect of the story was especially interesting to me. I wish it was discussed and shown a little more. Again, this book is inspired by video and RPG games, and I could see it in the way the magic manifested. The lore behind the curse and the magic was well done and intriguing. I loved how everything was set up and the history given to this world. The moonstones were interesting as well, and I wish there was more about them.

The village was interesting and played a key part in the history of this book. I did like how everything played out, but I wish the village played a little bit more of a part. I also love political drama and felt like the story could have benefited from a little more of this.

The characters were amazing! I loved Mira! She was so sweet and determined. She also was scared of things, but worked through her fear to do what needed to be done. She was a bubbly character and a nice match of Falimir.

Falimir was interesting and had a really intriguing backstory. I wish we got to see a little more of his backstory and gotten his perspective. I still really enjoyed him! He was very stern and he brooded a lot. He also carried a lot of grief and guilt over the past, and I liked that aspect of his storyline and him trying to gain peace and forgiveness.

The romance between Mira and Falimir was sweet! It was maybe a touch sudden, but they were really cute together. They got to know each other on a deeper level and fought to protect each other. I also really like how the saw each other as they truly were.

I enjoyed how the author incorporated aspects of the original story into this book. The grandmother played a small part, and I enjoyed how they rescued her. I also loved how the wolf was incorporated into this story.

A Fable of Moonlight and Memory is an interesting Little Red Riding Hood retelling with an eerie setting, a sweet romance, and unique magic!

A Fable of Moonlight and Memory releases on September 19, 2026.