In a kingdom where dance is forbidden, a future high priestess must bend the rules to stop an ancient evil from destroying everything and everyone she loves, including the crown prince, in this sweeping romantasy graphic novel.

Eighteen-year-old Myra has spent her entire life training to replace her grandmother as High Priestess. But with the day of her ascension rapidly approaching, she’s not sure if she’s meant for this path. How can she become the herald of the god Alrun when he forbids the thing she loves most: dancing?

Her kingdom can’t afford her hesitation though. Not only is the emperor looking for Alrun’s wisdom ahead of a peace treaty, but forces of darkness are seeping through the barrier between worlds. The only source of light Myra has is her childhood best friend, the crown prince. Without his support and…love, she may not be able to stop what’s coming.

To save her people, Myra must delve into her kingdom’s forgotten history, even if it means defying the laws of the land. But the key to salvation may just require her to make the biggest sacrifice of all.

This is a beautiful work that holds special meaning for me as I used to be a ballerina, but middle age and lifestyle and health changes have ended that for me. But I miss dancing –it was such an important part of my life–so I completely understand Myra’s love for it, and how it pulls her in to doing it whenever she has a spare moment of solitude. Dance is a unique and incredible way to express yourself, but it can also bring people together, and that’s what I love about the message in this story–dance unites us.

Dance brought Myra and Prince Eyden together, ever since they were little children and reunite later in their lives. It brought the people together before the God Alrun forbade it due to his wife’s demise holding back the monstrous villain Burdat and his shadows from the world. Myra dances for herself, but her visions tell her that dance is very much for the people of her country, and that it will reunite the gods and bring back good things to the people.

I don’t want to go too much more into the plot, but other things I loved about this graphic novel are the sweet romance between Myra and Eyden; the multitude of unique characters; the incredible set and costume designs; the gorgeous art; and of course, the worldbuilding and mythic fairytale aspects to the story.

The publishers are marketing this graphic novel as a romantasy, which is a romance-driven fantasy. I think this might be the only thing I have contention with: the fantasy is what drives this plot, and while there is romance, it seems secondary to everything else going on with the story. Not that I’m complaining. I wanted Myra and Eyden to get together, and they do…although it’s off to an awkward but special start. The two don’t even realize they were each other’s childhood friends until later, because both of them have grown older and changed over the years!

They are well-suited to each other, though. I mean–Eyden is a musician and singer, and Myra is a dancer. What a perfect complement to each other!

Anyway, I adored this book and I plan to seek out its creators for more of their work, and I especially plan to add this to my permanent collection. I get such a nostalgic feeling from reading this–my own memories of dancing, plus the fantasy and romance–and it brought me great pleasure. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s Books for the digital ARC.

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To Dance the Moon and Stars is currently available for preorder directly from the publisher and will be printed in hardcover, paperback, and digital formats. You can also preorder the book from a variety of booksellers online. The release date for To Dance the Moon and Stars is slated for July 14, 2026.