The Moonsingers: A Cozy Fairy Tale by Robyn J Pritzker - Review

About the book

Expected Publication Date: 14 July, 2026

336 pages, Paperback

Genre: Fantasy

Blurb:

In a quiet glen beyond the reach of the railway lives a peculiar family who knows the best magic is the kind found in ordinary moments.
When Ismay Gebhardt is dismissed from yet another teaching post after an unfortunate accident (which everyone survived!), she accepts a last-chance job as a private tutor in sleepy Glenmaidens village. The town is brimming with natural beauty, uncanny traditions, and earnest locals, none more unusual than her three young pupils—the Underhill sisters—and their puzzling father.
Determined to make herself useful after several catastrophic lessons with the unbiddable girls, Ismay writes to the transport bureau suggesting an extension to the train line, hoping to bring Glenmaidens into modernity. As usual, Ismay’s good intentions lead to chaos with the arrival of the bureau’s frustratingly thorough officer, Hamish Breck, whose railway plans threaten not only the glen’s tranquility, but also the ancient oak tree at its heart. Amidst a mess of her own making, Ismay unearths Glenmaidens’ enchanted secret: the Underhills, like many villagers, are fairies who settled in the mortal world in search of a gentler life, and the oak is their only bridge back to the moonlit realm of the fantastic.
As summer heat rises, Ismay schemes with her magical neighbors to prevent the extension, each day finding herself more entangled with the charming, persistent bureaucrat. With her newfound family, the way between worlds, and her heart all at risk, Ismay must decide how much she would bargain to finally embrace the wonder and belonging she’s always wished for.

ARC REVIEW

This book was given to be as an ARC by NetGalley.

The Moonsingers is a very original book. Not only is easy to immerse in it, the descriptions are vivid and meaningful, and all the characters are described in their unique way. The plot has high stakes and it's easy to follow. It was refreshing - a fairy book with no recycled tropes that felt special.

However, there are a few things that caught my eye.
The pacing was not consistent throughout the book, which may be because of the genre. It started off slow, showing the setting and making the reader dive into the village almost as if they were there. It started picking its pace after the appearance of Hamish, but the story was too long. I really believe the book would have benefited off being smaller and focusing more on the key points of the story.

For me, it was like I read two different stories. I was intrigued about the girls and thought the classes and mysteries with them were the main premise of the book, but when more mysteries started happening I felt like I was robbed of that original feeling. This might have to do with the subtle but hinting foreshadowing that the author did since the beginning with the girls' characters, as well as their father, which immediately hooked me. While all the plots connected and intertwined, I think the beginning gave a wrong idea of where the story was heading, possibly because it was so slow. Still, this was more of a side note since the main story completely stole my heart and these little things honestly weren't in the way of me enjoying the book.

Taking this aside, the mysteries were crafted perfectly and everything made sense at the end. I read the last half of the book fairly quickly because I had no idea on how they were going to fix Ismay's problem and more than that, what would happen to her dilemma; I was so intrigued. Even though the hints were there and you could craft your own ways of solving the 'mystery', the author surprised me with the twist to the situation and Ismay's character. I loved everything about her relationship with Hamish, it developed naturally and beautifully and the author can really capture each of the character's voices through their dialogue. Their relationship rather stole the girls' spotlight, and while it wasn't what I was counting on, it was a nice surprise and it was so well written, fitting into the story like a puzzle piece.

This is a refreshing book where the reader can try to figure everything out because they discover everything with the main character. It's a perfectly crafted mystery and dilemma with a logic solution that made perfect sense to its story and characters.

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Read: 15 January 2026 - 25 January 2026