This naturalistic exploration adds freshness to the plot and keeps the reader ever guessing, hinting and teasing at hidden depths just out of reach sometimes to the reader and sometimes to the character. I love the way they dance around a connection throughout the book like a complicated Argentine Tango. Alfie and Finn are an intensely interesting pair, the reluctant prince and the thief without a face but certainly a past. As they discover about each other and the plot unfolds they recognise in themselves about their pasts, their feelings and flaws. The pacing is also exceptional, instead of being bogged down in minute details or elaborate backstories, information dumps etc the backgrounds of our two protagonists are explored on the hoof alongside the developing plot. Yes, there are magical words, spells and concepts but it just flows easily and feels rooted in a context of magical realism rather than High Fantasy even if it is in a Fantasy world. By this I don’t mean that it’s simple or childish, I mean that whilst there is this fantastical setting and magical system, it doesn’t feel forced or compelled to be ‘fantasy’ bedecked and speckled with mystical oddly spelled words and names nor the ‘mundane’ becomes over-exoticised. There is the ease and flow of contemporary or middle grade fantasy which makes it an accessible and enjoyable read for all.
When Alfie ends up unleashing an ancient evil that consumes every soul in its path and takes root in an old enemy it is down to Alfie and Finn to save the kingdom and the world from an eternal darkness. Reluctant to be King he has spent months tracking and tracing the darkest and most forbidden of Magical books in an attempt to find his brother where he crosses paths with Finn, a shapeshifting Thief with a dark past. Prince Alfie hasn’t been the same since an attempted coup that saw his elder brother the Crown Prince swept into a dark void by a mysterious woman and some of the highest ranks of society unmasked as traitors to the throne. This is Maya Motayne’s debut and is an awesome own voices story that is just wonderful storytelling to be embraced by all. I am absolutely head over heels with this sweeping majesty of a fantasy with its cinematic narrative and heady sensory immersion with the scents, sights and flavours of a magical Latinx kingdom. Nocturna is exactly the sort of YA Fantasy i want more from, it’s not presenting as complicated High Fantasy which I can struggle with, but it’s still got incredible rich world building and rounded characters with magic that is compelling and exciting.
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