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Joanne Harris's moody, evocative fairy tale, The Moonlight Market, follows a London photographer who becomes entwined with rival kingdoms of supernatural beings separated by tragedy. Tom Argent has always suspected that the world holds realities beyond what he can see--especially after his parents forbade him from reading fairy tales as a child. When Tom meets a mysterious woman named Vanessa, he finds her both dazzling and oddly familiar, though he can't always remember her face. As Tom searches for Vanessa all over London, he steps back in time, visiting the titular market and other obscure places where, he discovers, Vanessa and her compatriots are fighting a centuries-long battle with an enemy kingdom.
Harris (Chocolat; Peaches for Father Francis) weaves an atmospheric story of the Moths and the Butterflies, two kingdoms once joined when their rulers fell in love, but torn asunder when their prince--half Moth, half Butterfly--was lost. As Tom delves into the mystery of Vanessa and the complicated history between the two kingdoms, he begins to understand the ways both groups can manipulate memory. With help from the enigmatic mage known as Spider and a quick-witted Moth girl named Charissa, Tom tries to make sense of the new world he's fallen into. But his actions--even simply taking photographs--may have a bigger impact on the war's outcome than he imagines. The Moonlight Market takes readers on a haunting journey of loss, fragmented memories, and characters who will go to any (supernatural) lengths for love. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams