Blood Moon Bride is a heartbreaking yet empowering look at how courage and resilience can challenge even the cruellest worlds. This dark fantasy standalone follows Rehya, a young girl who lives in a society where young women are forcibly married off to the highest bidder when they turn 16. The reader watches Rehya as she tries to navigate her way through such a world without losing herself.

Demet Divaroren’s worldbuilding and character writing go hand in hand to lend this book strength. Mennama Valley is a place soaked in suffering and greed, and this is palpable in all the people that inhabit it. The magic system in this book is also very well developed. Rehya’s magic is a lot more subtle than that of other YA protagonists, but it never stops being pivotal to her character and the plot.

While this is a fantasy book, the way it explores genocide, cultural erasure and gender-based violence as tools for the powerful to keep control echoes many real‑world events. Despite its difficult themes, the story never allows the reader to become complacent. Rehya and those around her are constantly fighting to improve their lives and those of all the people in the valley.

Make no mistake, this YA book is definitely on the darker side, but that just makes its underlying messages of justice and freedom ring out all the louder. Recommended for readers aged 14+, this book is perfect for fans of The Hunger Games and Children of Blood and Bone.