Moira (The Witness Journals Book One) by Nix Damon is a fantasy fiction story set in New Mexico in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s (Anti-World 42) about a teenage girl who finds herself on her own as soon as she turns eighteen. But Moira Angela Starling has been fending for herself a long time, even before her aunt abandoned her without warning or explanation. After Moira is attacked when she is out for a run, she meets a man named Rafe. But is he friend or foe? Suddenly, Moira is thrust into a world of magical beings and unexplained mysteries and danger. Will she be able to find a way to survive?

This was a fun story to read. I liked Moira’s snarky wit at the beginning of the story. The author’s vivid descriptions of her characters really brought Moira and Rafe to life for me. It was interesting to learn details about the different anti-worlds and the witnesses, and Moira’s abilities and the secrets of her true identity. I liked the addition of the author’s playlist at the end of the book, which allows readers to listen to the music that inspired Moira’s story. One of my favorite aspects of the book was the interactions between Moira and Rafe. I enjoyed reading the parts of the story where Moira and Rafe were together more than the sections when he was gone.

The story line is a bit drawn out with several years passing. The book starts with Moira in high school where she doesn’t fit in, and this section felt very much like a young adult fantasy story. But then Moira is out of school and we see her working several jobs and trying to conform to be a more “normal” adult, which seemed counter to her personality, but the juxtaposition and development felt more like real life. But the fantasy element of the novel wavers in this part while we’re treated to a more grounded story. It didn’t feel like the two sections belonged in the same book since they were disparate. but then Rafe reappears in Moira’s life and takes her to his home, and the fantasy aspect of the story becomes much stronger again and I was reeled back into this riveting story.

The author leaves the reader with a lot of unanswered questions at the end of the story and Moira’s fate is uncertain. Hopefully, these questions will be answered in Witness Journals book two. Moira is an enthralling coming of age novel filled with magical realism that kept me furiously flipping pages.

Pages: 383 | ASIN: B0829FH2RX