Title: Song of the Spring Moon Waning
Author: E.E. Ottoman
Genre: Fantasy, Trans
Length: Novella (106 pages)
ISBN: 9781620043004
Publisher: Less Than Three Press (15th January 2014)
Heat Level: Low – Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3 Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Blurb: Upon waking up one morning, Wen Yu is surprised to find a note asking him to return the song thrush given into his care while the owner was sick. The only problem is that Wen Yu was never given a song thrush.
Though he has no time for distractions from his studies for the palace examination, Wen Yu goes in search of the unknown Liu Yi who left him the note. What he finds is a beautiful imperial eunuch, a talking tortoise, and a collection of mysterious moon poems that force Wen Yu to question what path in life he is truly meant to be walking …
Purchase Link: http://www.lessthanthreepress.com/books/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=92&products_id=551
Review: Wen Yu is an honorable scholar student who is determined to live up to his father’s expectations of him, but when he finds a note asking for the writers song thrush returned it leads to a path that has Wen Yu questioning what he really wants. Liu Yi is an imperial eunuch and he has suffered from a mystery illness his entire life, when the Moon Poems are left in his care he believes there might be a cure hidden in the mysterious language. The two are brought together by a song thrush and a talking tortoise but can Wen Yu really help with the Imperial Exams so close, and, can he really reveal his dark secret to the eunuch he is falling in love with?
This is a wonderful little story that is filled with a slight whimsical fantasy thread, old world tales coming to life and a sweet love developing between two young people. Wen Yu has had his life planned out for him by his father, honor and family has been drilled into him from a young age, and his commitment to study is now engrained in him. Liu Yi is looking for his song thrush to be returned but meets a studious student instead, when he discovers that Wen Yu was directed his way he begins a tentative friendship Wen Yu and asks for his aid with the Moon Poems.
I must admit that I was drawn to this story from the opening scene, the Dragon of Jade Mountain and the Jade Rabbit of the Moon Palace, two lonely immortals, exchanging poems across realms but their chance to meet is lost and the Dragon sets off to recover the missing pearl. That scene does link in later with the main storyline of Wen Yu and Liu Yi and we are left wondering if there will be more to come at a later date. Liu Yi and Wen Yu’s relationship is a sweet one with both of them accepting the other and the storyline of the moon poems and the Dragon and Jade Rabbit are intriguing.
I became confused as to Wen Yu’s gender because I found myself becoming lost with descriptions and explanations… was Wen Yu a girl, made to act as a boy (Wen Yu’s explanation of his father’s secret) or was Wen Yu a hermaphrodite (sexual descriptions), I have gone over the book three times to see if I missed something, but I am left with the same confusion each time. Other than that I found the story to be enjoyable and liked seeing Wen Yu make his own decisions for his future, Liu Yi is a lovely young man who showed Wen Yu another future, a very cute couple who finally find the love they both deserve.
I recommend this to those who love sweet love stories, finding your own future, resolving a mystery, and an ending that is also a beginning.