Book Review: Tales of Lunis Aquaria by Tessa Hastjarjanto

The sun is setting. The bright blue of the sky changes in a warm orange before it turns navy blue. Twilight slowly turns into night and the voices of the birds fade away.

To the West, a moon shows itself, chasing away the clouds that block its light. The tree casts a shadow in the moonlight. On the other side of the tree another shadow appears. To the East, a second moon appears from behind the mountains.

The reflection of light reveals the surface of the moons moves. It’s hypnotizing, how the moons seem to glitter.

A meow comes from the bushes and a moment later a large feline with fur as dark as night sky jumps out. The silver spots on his fur have the same patterns as the stars above.

The air behind the feline moves and changes color. The ethereal image of a woman appears without becoming solid. Her lips move as if she wants to say something.

“Welcome to Lunis Aquaria.”

GENRE: Fantasy Short Story Collection

PURCHASE LINK: Universal Link

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Tessa Hastjarjanto is a Dutch/Indonesian writer from the Netherlands. She writes speculative fiction, and blogs at narratess.com about books, fountain pens, and writing.

From a young age, she imitated popular stories and games in creating her own worlds. This love eventually led to a master’s degree in media and game studies at the University of Utrecht. However a mundane desk job was enough to inspire her to follow her creative passion. The first fanfics were written in lunch breaks and soon original fiction followed.

With the support of her husband, she now focuses on her writing career while battling chronic pain. Swiss white shepherd, Shiro, acts as a therapy dog to keep her healthy and reduce stress through extensive cuddle sessions.

She’s the owner of the site and the social media accounts of Narratess. You can reach her at [email protected] or any of the social accounts.

Review

I was rather disappointed with the short story collection I read before this, though I wasn't really sure why... until I read Tales of Lunis Aquaria and easily got immersed in the world. I guess I just really enjoy collections with a more cohesive feel and an encompassing theme? Length is never an issue for me as I read and write short stories myself, so it's more about how satisfying they come together.

The stories in this book have a very fairytale feel. Whimsical, cozy, but with twists in the end that might be darker than expected (until you remember that the classic fairytales were like that anyway). The prose is easy to digest and understand but still evocative, which is befitting a magical world filled with fascinating creatures, and just something I prefer in my reads. I want to have fun, but it's not just about action and adventure, but also feeling.

I'm looking forward to reading Undine's Blessing, another story in the Lunis Aquaria world, as well as Tessa's other works.

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️️⭐️️

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Hi! I'm Marie, a Filipino fantasy author and book reviewer currently based in the UK. I’m the co-author of The Prophecies of Ragnarok, a Norse myth new adult urban fantasy trilogy, and I also have several short stories published in anthologies and literary journals.

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