By: Lindsey Rhoden
Genre: Romantic Fantasy
Publisher: Self-Published
Intended Audience: 18+ (due to mature sexual content)
CONTENT WARNIGS: This novella discusses themes of infertility, intense grief and loss, assault/abuse on page, and a scene of intense violence on page. Content warnings should be taken seriously and read before diving into the story. Please make sure you feel comfortable with these trigger warnings before continuing. Your mental health matters.
“There was magic there, a kind I’d never been able to experience before, when I slowed down enough to truly listen and look within nature itself. When I took time to see and feel and accept the world around me in a different way-a purer way…
This was living.”
Lindsey Rhoden, A Love Woven in Moonlight
A Love Woven in Moonlight, by Lindsey Rhoden, is the beautifully told story of how Aerie and Bastian, two lonely and broken souls, found each other and fell in love. This is a prequel novella to A Tether Through the Rift, Ms. Rhoden’s incredible debut romantasy, and Aerie and Bastian are two main side characters. They were endearing that I wanted to know about them and their relationship. This novella was all I hoped for and more. Ms. Rhoden tells their story with care, healing, trust, and especially love. It is not just the love between Aerie and Bastian, but the love Aerie has for her coven sisters, Bastian’s love for his brother, Vander, and Bastian’s love for the people under his protection as chieftain of his tribe. Bastian and Aerie could not be more different, as she is fae and he is the leader of the Talamh Earth Tribe, as well a wolf shifter. The fae and the different tribes are bitter enemies, but Aerie only wants to live a life of peace, having grown up with a cruel and brutal father. When Bastian finds Aerie wounded, he takes her back to his estate on tribal lands. As she heals from her wounds physically, the wounds to her soul run deep. Bastian is lonely, living on the estate with no one else, with Vander coming home very infrequently. They have suffered the loss of their mother, and their closest friend, Hazlenn is missing. As Vander searches for her, the care of the tribe has been passed to Bastian, and the weight of it all has closed him off to relationships. However, the more time Aerie and Bastian spend together, they begin to heal each other. And while some wounds run deep, a fated love will bind them together as nothing else can. I loved every moment of A Love Woven in Moonlight. I felt so many emotions as I read their story. Sorrow for what Aerie went through, pain for Bastian’s loneliness, joy as they began to trust each other, and overwhelming love that they found each other. I cannot recommend this book enough. I also highly recommend reading A Tether Through the Rift, where we first meet them. Both books are sheer romantasy perfection.
“I saw something in those pain-filled eyes, something different and soft. Something that got the best of my curiosity…She has a fierce kind of fight in her, a dangerously determined one, perhaps. But there was more that intrigued me: pain and guilt and love swirled in those bright blue eyes. Something worth saving.”
Lindsey Rhoden, A Love Woven in Moonlight
We first meet Aerie and Bastian in A Tether Through the Rift, which takes place 10 years after A Love Woven in Moonlight. They were so in love, I just knew I wanted to know more of their story, and this novella did not disappoint. Their characters were so well-written and had beautiful, complete arcs. Aerie is wounded not just physically, but in both her heart and soul when Bastian finds her in the burned cottage, she shared with her coven sisters. They were her found family, all of them brought together by tragic pasts, but they built a wonderful life together. A life of love, freedom, and a coven whose magic was grounded in nature. I loved that aspect the book, that it was filled with nature in most parts of their lives. This is true for both Aerie and Bastian. This passage filled me that love for nature that has always been a big part of my life.
“It was pure ecstasy watching her like this. The most unabashed version of her I’d seen yet. Something told me this, this right here, was truly who she was. Without all of the pain, without the grief and loss and haunting memories of her past. Tonight she was just Aerie, dancing beneath the moon and amongst the trees, her own small version of nature’s perfection.”
Lindsey Rhoden, A Love Woven in Moonlight
Bastian could not leave her in the burned cottage, and takes her back to his estate on tribal lands. It is dangerous as the fae are hated from a war that decimated the tribes years ago. Something drives him to save her, despite the danger it may pose. As she heals physically, she is still heartbroken at the loss of her sisters. Bastian is steeped in loneliness and sorrow from his own losses, plus the burden of being chieftain of his tribe, and taking care of his people. The more time they spend together, the more they are drawn to each other. Despite this, Aerie is convinced she must leave, and Bastian wants to convince her to stay, but neither gives voice to their wishes, only dropping subtle hints.
Whenever I was reading about Aerie, she gave off this aura of peace that I could feel through the pages. There was something both soothing and gentle about her, despite the horror she suffered at the hands of her father. She loves to garden, dance under a full moon, and using her fae ability and potions she learned from her coven. Aerie never hesitated to help anyone in need. She would ease Bastian’s pain or stress, when he felt overwhelmed with his responsibilities, or the sadness of losing his mother and Hazlenn. In turn, Bastian was a strong warrior, but also a kind and gentle man. He always wanted to make Aerie happy, as over time, he knew she was fated for him. They fit together perfectly, healing each other in body and soul.
“I cocked my head, viewing him for perhaps the first time through the eyes of loss and grief. I had to admit, in my short time here, I hadn’t given much thought to the reasoning behind the quiet of the estate…I wondered if has sent everyone away to give me privacy as I recovered. But maybe there was more to it than that. Maybe we were more alike than I thought.”
Lindsey Rhoden, A Love Woven in Moonlight
A Love Woven in Moonlight takes place in Tir Nadaar, the same world in A Tether Through the Rift. We only see a small part in this book, most of it takes place in Bastian’s estate or in the Dark Forest. Everything was brought to life through Ms. Rhoden’s amazing prose. We get to feel as though we are walking through the lonely, empty estate, and the feel the ancient magic in the Dark Forest. Aerie sees the neglected gardens and wants to begin taking care of them, to start planting and bringing new life to them again. Of course, in her mind, it is only until she leaves. I loved how everything was centered around nature and life. This reflected Aerie and Bastian’s relationship, one that was nurtured and grown, and brought to life through love.
“He just shifted me to the crook of his arm, wrapping me in his embrace and stroking my hair softly as we watched the sky above. I didn’t need him to speak, didn’t need him to confirm that he felt what I did just now. It was more than sex, more than just lust or attraction. It was as if here, beneath the moon and stars above, our souls were twining together, woven in a complicated tapestry made of need and grief and moonlight.”
Lindsey Rhoden, A Love Woven in Moonlight
The pacing was perfect. I was drawn into this story from the first page, where we meet Aerie and her coven sisters. From there, the story focuses on Aerie and Bastian, and their story of falling in love. There were the moments of Aerie’s initial fear of Bastian and being on tribal lands. Bastian’s unease around her as she is fae, and he simply does not know what to do initially to help her. I never had the impression that Bastian mistrusted or feared her. In the condition he found her in, she clearly had suffered serious trauma. He was alone for so long, that I felt he really did not know exactly how to live with someone in his home. Bastian was very charming, and truly adorable trying to make Aerie comfortable at the estate. There were so many emotions that I felt. I cried, I felt angry, sad, and happy. There are so many beautiful passages in this book, and Ms. Rhoden ran me through a gamut of emotions. In the end, the love story of Aerie and Bastian was an absolute joy to read and I loved every moment. I highly recommend A Love Woven in Moonlight, and A Tether Through the Rift as well. I know you will fall in love with these characters and the world as much as I have.
“I love you Aerie.” He reached out, running a hand through my unruly hair. “I want you to marry me, to start a life together here, to spend every day just like this.”…
I love you too, Bastian.” The words felt as easy as breathing as they left my lips. I thought I’d regret saying them, thought they’d bring only more heartache and confusion…I knew without a doubt in my mind that this was exactly where I wanted to be.”
Lindsey Rhoden, A Love Woven in Moonlight
BOOK SUMMARY
Buried deep in the shadows of the Dark Woods—nestled between the overgrown hemlocks—stands a humble cottage. A safe haven for the coven of witches that Aerie has learned to call her home. After escaping the horrific nightmare of her fae upbringing, the coven took her in with little questions asked and a whole lot of love. But when her past comes knocking, it costs her more than her secrets. Her entire life is engulfed in flames, reduced to nothing more than smoldering fragments and deep seeded pain.
Following the plumes of smoke deep into the Dark Woods, Bastian Darroch is looking only for one thing—any sign of his wayward brother amidst the trees. When he finds the wounded fae instead, he has no choice but to bring her back with him—inside the Tribe’s borders and into his home. Between the grief and pain that plagues him and the loneliness that comes with his new title as Chieftain, tending to a creature whose entire bloodline exists as enemies to the tribe is the last thing he needs to take on.
Thrown together under the most erratic circumstances, this unlikely pairing must decide if they can coexist amongst the other’s pain and prejudice. Will their pasts haunt them too deeply to allow them to look towards their future? Or could this be a chance given by the Fates themselves for something more—an opportunity to rest in the arms of another and build the family both of them long for.
A Love Woven In Moonlight, a prequel novella for A Tether Through The Rift, tells the story of Aerie and Bastian’s beginnings. Follow along as this runaway fae and unseasoned chieftain discover what it means to truly find love. Full of heartbreaking moments, witchy vibes, and all the leg kicks, you won’t want to miss out on this Halloween romantasy!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I’m Lindsey N. Rhoden and “A Tether Through The Rift” is my debut adult fantasy novel. I am so incredibly excited for my book baby to be out in the world! This story has been a labor of love, and I’ve had the best time diving into this world and building these characters. From the beautiful elements of nature and magic, to the heartbreaking moments of self realization, I hope y’all love this story as much as I do.
I’m a mama to four crazy kiddos, a full time homeschooler, and a part time writer with an affinity for all things herbal. I’ve spent the last several years as a birth/postpartum photographer and doula, specializing in herbal and Ayurvedic care. In the past year, I decided to take a step back from that line of work to focus on my family and make room for other passions.
I love exploring darker elements through my writing and focusing on the more taboo topics of mental health and what that kind of pure, raw emotion can look like. I try to bring my writing to life through elements of nature and descriptive language. My main goal in my work is to write real, raw emotion that the reader can relate to and can feel through the pages, whether that be love, excitement, panic, or pain.
I’ve been a writer for as long as I could hold a pen, but I’ve always struggled to give my writing the time it deserved to truly develop. I dove into the world of literature during college and earned my degree in English literature with a concentration in creative writing from the University of Central Florida. Authors such as Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Edgar Allen Poe inspired me to continue pursing my own writing. Motherhood had other plans, though, and I took a long reprieve after I graduated in 2018. In 2023, I decided to dive back into the world of writing and found out that apparently I had a lot to say.
My thanks to Lindsey Rhoden for an eARC copy to review.
Find out more about Lindsey Rhoden on her website: https://www.lindseynrhoden.com/
Review of A Tether Through the Rift
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