Without The Moon: Act One

Without The Moon: Act One by Larissa C. Moyer

Larissa C. Moyer’s Without the Moon: Act One is not a light read—and it’s not meant to be. This is a dark, emotionally intense story that dives deep into trauma, survival, and the ways people either confront or avoid the pain of the past. It’s about two people, shaped by similar beginnings and a shared catastrophe, who grow into very different versions of themselves.

Paige and Linc have been best friends since childhood. Both were poor scholarship students at an elite private high school, bonded not only by circumstance but by a deep mutual respect for each other’s dreams. Paige is a talented singer and actor; Linc, a gifted videographer. Their friendship grows stronger over time, eventually evolving into a romantic relationship during high school.

The story is told in two timelines. One follows Paige and Linc as children and teens, showing the evolution of their connection. The other picks up seven years after a traumatic event that drove them apart. In the present, Paige works as a dancer at a private burlesque club, and Linc has become a recluse. When fate unexpectedly reunites them, both are drawn back into the unresolved mystery of what happened seven years ago—and why it shattered their lives.

The dual timeline structure adds emotional depth, but it can sometimes be disorienting. There are moments when it’s unclear whether a scene is from the past or present, especially since we get alternating perspectives from both Paige and Linc. This narrative style requires a bit of patience, but ultimately enriches the storytelling by showing how two people can experience the same event in drastically different ways.

As the first book in a series (though it’s unclear how many are planned), Act One feels like a foundation—laying the emotional and narrative groundwork for what’s to come. Some scenes felt like they could have been trimmed or saved for future installments, but overall, the pacing builds tension effectively.

“Enjoy” doesn’t feel like the right word for a book that deals with such heavy subject matter. Horrific things happen here—things that should come with serious content warnings. (Please check the author’s website for a full list before reading.) That said, I was deeply invested in Paige and Linc. Their bond, the pain they carry, and the hope for reconciliation pulled me in completely. I genuinely want to know what happens next, and I’ll definitely be continuing with Act Two when it releases.

This book is not for everyone. Your mental and emotional well-being should come first. But if you’re in the right space for it, Without the Moon offers a raw, unfiltered look at what it means to survive—and the fragile, stubborn hope of healing.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice Level: 🌶️

Blurb:

“Till the end.”

Paige Michaels & Lincoln Morrow.

Lifelong friends.
First loves.
And their ending came as most often do. Unexpectedly.
Seven years ago, a vile experience tore the two of them apart, leaving them shadows of their former selves.
Ghosts to each other. A haunting.

A haunting so deeply embedded that Linc now lives a reclusive life—hiding out in the Santa Monica mountains with his only friend, Ellis.
A quiet existence. Without her.

Paige has barely made it through the loneliest year of her life. Without him, and now, without her Gram. After moving to Hollywood last year, she spends her nights dancing at LA’s most exclusive burlesque club, with only the memory of his dark hazel eyes watching her.

When Paige and Linc’s lives unexpectedly collide at the club, they quickly realize their memories of what happened all those years ago are not the same.

But the gravity of seeing each other again is a crushing weight, and the years of separation have given their trauma nothing but time to fester.

Though one thing is clear, even through the blurry, fractured memories . . .
What happened to them sure as hell wasn’t the end.