Whisper of the Moon Moth by Lindsay Jayne Ashford

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

*I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Whisper of the Moon Moth is enjoyable historical fiction based loosely around details of the life of Merle Oberon and several people she came in contact with or worked around historically. Having never heard of her I was intrigued. In the blurb I read before requesting the book I understood that this was a fictional account of her life so I wasn’t expecting the details of the book to be accurate so it didn’t detract from my overall rating. I think if you go into the book with some knowledge of Merle it might change your rating of the book because it does delve into her life and the psychology of various details in the cultural and professional context she did live in. If you take the book as a work of what amounts to fan fiction, I think it can be enjoyed.

The book itself is 3.5 stars for me. I enjoyed 75% of the book but was less satisfied with the resolution of the story because it fit as a happy ending in a fictional context but felt too light for the historical and contextual reality of the setting and characters. I would easily and enthusiastically recommend Whisper of the Moon Moth to friends who enjoy romance novels and women’s fiction. I enjoyed the writing and character development but I don’t know that the resolution would appeal as much to readers of historical fiction because it leans more on the fictional side than the historical side.

I did think this was a clever way to bring attention to a less well known actress. It’s worth a read and now I’ll be looking into watching Merle’s work and learning more about her.

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