While I was vastly looking forward to this story from C.J. Merwild's art, it does, alas, suffer in the translation. As someone fluent in both French and English, I can see how the translator was at times too literal, leaving the English a bit garbled (but clear enough that I can imagine exactly what the original French term used was.)

This is also definitely NOT a YA book, for those who might be wondering. There's a fair number of content warnings - gore, sexual content (consensual and non-), etc., as other reviewers have noted. I made it most of the way though, but a personal intolerance for the graphic nature of the content eventually made me quit before the end. There is sadness. :( (Especially as this edition from Faecrate is /gorgeous/...)

I have so many thoughts. Some good, some not so much. Let's just start by saying that for a debut, it was okay-ish.

PLOT
It is immediately clear that this is a slow story, extremely character-driven, meant to develop throughout several books, just as the author promotes it. This can both be a good and bad thing. Personally, while I like character-driven novels, I also want some scenes that forward the general plot and we only get that towards the very end of the book. The premise the novel is written on works, but it was too slow for me to fully enjoy.

WORLDBUILDING
The worldbuilding is quite interesting, obviously it's not explained in great detail since the majority of the story takes place in a village, but I'm curious about where we'll go in future books.

CHARACTERS
The two main characters are ok, their thoughts are well explored and you can make a good idea of their personality. I managed to emotionally connect with them, which is very good, considering they are literally children fo the entirety of the book. While Gus and Domino are somewhat lovable, the real problem is that the secondary carachters have the depth of a thin sheet of paper. Not a single one of them goes beyond a couple of stereotypical traits.

WRITING
Now let's come to the real problem at hand: the author is French and wrote the book in English, and that’s probably the main factor that caused some major problems with the writing. The words chosen to describe certain scenes of the book are sometimes VERY weird and out of place, often too formal, sometimes not enough. English is not my first language either, so I'm willing to overlook that, granted it improves a little in the next one. All things considered, I fairly liked the writing style, even though at times the text was overburdened with the character's thoughs.

Overall, this book was not what I expected, but it was a pleasant read and I plan on reading the second one as well.

May 10 2022: Coco is still a goddess

Wow. I’m in absolute awe. That was such a horrifically intriguing roller coaster of emotions. I’ve stunned into silence...

The Nichan Smile was perfect. Absolutely perfect, and I’ll tell you why. It’s tailored for someone like me that enjoys heavily character-driven novels. This was very focused on both the internal and external growths and the journeys of Domino and Gus. Even though they are basically joined at the hip, I loved that their respective development felt very separate.

Domino was such a sweetheart. He’s literally the equivalent of a big teddy bear. He was just trying to survive and care for the human the he and his brothers had stumbled upon at the start. Throughout the book, I loved how he grew strong and more rebellious against the tribe who continuously suppressed him and Gus. And eventually, he grows into a man who—makes some questionable decisions—but ultimately learns develops a sense of independence and confidence.

Gus is such a tragic but loving protagonist. All he has done is suffer and all he continues to do IS suffer. Oh boy. What I realized, honestly, is that he comes full circle. I love that he goes from feeling alone and helpless, to learning to have a friend who he can rely on, to learning what it feels like to love, to being right back where he started; alone and scared but he finally realized that he deserved so much more than his life had to offer him so far. I ship him with his own happiness and I just want him to find it

First off the characters and lore in this world are masterfully made, and yes this book is slightly barbaric with a few pretty dark and slightly disturbing parts. The most annoying part of this is that I was really looking forward to more gayness. There is some graphic F/M fucking and one M/M dry humping scene, so while there was some, the amount was a bit of a bummer. :(

To be honest, Domino seems like a bit of an idiot..... (ok a massive one.) Hope he evolves out of that phase and soon.....

I do love Gus, poor tortured Gus, I absolutely adore his magic and can't wait to see how it evolves in a (hopefully done soon) sequel. I need to see them TOGETHER again. I JUST NEED IT.

The rather abrupt ending was really frustrating, I was really looking forward to having more interaction between Gus and Domino, their story really separates, which in my opinion is disappointing and what made the first chunk of the book so much better than the second.
The ending also leaves a literal mountain worth of cliffhangers and loose ends.

Note to self - read the book (again) and the sequel (when it comes out) you will not regret it!

TW: sexual assaults, pedophilia, child abuse, blood (and probably more that I can’t name due to having not read the book entirely)

DNFed it at page 151. I enjoyed the beginning, I won’t lie about that until part 2 basically started. Little Domino was annoying and brave and a child and things were good. I loved Mora and then learned some interesting things about his character while flipping through the pages as I knew I wasn’t gonna keep reading it.

Some weeks ago I found myself looking through some reviews for this book especially the low ratings and I ended up learning some disturbing things about the book and I felt sick to my stomach to even want to continue. Even before I found out about them, there was one scene in the book that messed me up. He was 16 if not younger and a 30+ woman wants to have sex with Domino. I was so confused because I kept going back to “it’s x year long jump and he still isn’t an adult” why she trying to bang him?” And people in reviews pointed it out too. I didn’t wanna read about a grown ass woman having sex with a minor, even though he agrees later and then wants to stop and she doesn’t stop. There were more disturbing and triggering scenes to follow, apparently. And they were quite graphic.

I also found out that the whole book was written in French and then translated to English. I thought she was writing in English in general but a big word was randomly thrown in the book when there was no need for it or could have used a different word. I found myself wondering why is that. So sometimes it was a bit but then again I didn’t notice much due to the fact that English isn’t my native language and it kinda read as any other book does. It did, however, need mode editing and a help of actual English speaking people not just French betas. The time between finishing the draft and publishing the book, it felt too short and rushed at this point. I hope she learns with the sequel though.

As much as I was looking forward to reading The Nichan Smile, I simply can’t condone the sexual assault, pedophilia and so much more on the dark side. I had hoped it wouldn’t be like that but what can I expect from someone who loves Captive Prince series? That condone exactly the same thing.

Freedom sometimes required one to look life in the eye and say, “I’m coming for you.”

3⭐️ for The Nichan Smile

✅ Dark Fantasy
✅ Shifter type species
✅ Dystopian
✅ BFFL to lovers (ish)
⚠️CHECK CW

I've been waiting a while to get to this book, mainly knowing it would be at least a trilogy and wanted to have the next to dive into. That said, I still managed to go in almost blind, with no idea what to expect from the plot, outside of it involving a somewhat dystopian world, it would be dark, and the promise of two ride or die best friends. Based on the latter alone, I was sold and didn't care about knowing any details.

Now, I am an absolute h0e for *anything* involving two people who put one another above everything else. That 'you and me against the world' kind of bond that can save and brighten a characters existence in even the worst of circumstances. And, that's what this is. Domino and Gus *live* in those worst of the worst circumstances - but who cares when they have each other? So... swoon, right?

It pains me but it cannot be denied... about 65% into The Nichan Smile, I started to drift. Despite my fav type of bond being very much present, I began skimming, skipping entire paragraphs (fine, even a page or two) because it just held no relevance to what it had FELT like the story was building to. Which brings me to my next point... WHY that happened.

For one thing, this book started out strong. The world building was there - not perfect, but enough that I understood the who / what of the MCs and the social hierarchy of the immediate surroundings, without being overhwleming. That said, as far as the rest of the 'world', any structure, alliances, types beings etc. well... couldn't tell ya. I do know there are Nichans, Vestige's (humans with a little something extra), and regular old humans who apparently travel the continent and try to 'purify' the 'abominations' caused by The Corruption aka a kind of taint that hit after the gods had been taken (or something like that).

The book opens with VERY young Domino, ~7 years old, finding an equally young prisoner Vestige (who would be Gus). INSTANTLY I was rooting for Gus and Domino and Mora. I needed them to come out on top. To establish themselves. Fight the good fight OR say F the good fight lets just be us and ignore the world, etc etc. But none of those things happened. Something was missing.

That missing thing was the antagonist / goal. That thing they are working toward or running from. Just merely surviving, which they were doing, without the goal of staying by each others side over everything else, a plan to escape, SOMETHING identifiable that would be uncovered in a big reveal. Each page felt like it was building, taking me closer to some THING, a big moment, the game changer.
That moment did not come. At all. Don't get me wrong, there is a TON of messed up and terrible stuff that happens - and almost every time it did (there was many) and I'd be all 'HERE we go! This is it!' only to find everything just going on business as miserable as usual by the next dang page.

WITHOUT THESE THINGS, THERE IS *NO* CLEARLY IDENTIFIABLE PLOT.
What are we working toward? Why should I keep going? I am not getting a clear picture of what we're working towards or fighting against aside from the same old stuff as before, that came rolling in like waves of a tide, not to be thwarted or fought - the characters just floated along this proverbial ocean. These kids are put through the wringer, face injustice, bullying, bigotry - but not once was there a light at the end of the tunnel or even a climactic 3rd act devastation - not that rivaled that of the already established perpetual devastating events. Gus and Domino are very much pushed around & have little choice in their lives - yes. Very true. But even in private, in situations where the opportunity to be decisive, do something - they just didn't. They rolled with the punches. No agency, not a single spec in at least 90% of this book.


Now, these are my immediate thoughts, and I hope it makes sense for now. I did get book two downloaded immediately, and I will read it. It's long, something like 600 pages I think. I plan on reading it between other things - hopefully that will chance and I will be pulled in by some great plot device - a change that has me absorbed in this messed up world again, unable to look away from the pages because I have a clear goal / resolution / action to root for and characters who have explicitly decided they will fight for.

Merged review:

Freedom sometimes required one to look life in the eye and say, “I’m coming for you.”

3⭐️ for The Nichan Smile

✅ Dark Fantasy
✅ Shifter type species
✅ Dystopian
✅ BFFL to lovers (ish)
⚠️CHECK CW

I've been waiting a while to get to this book, mainly knowing it would be at least a trilogy and wanted to have the next to dive into. That said, I still managed to go in almost blind, with no idea what to expect from the plot, outside of it involving a somewhat dystopian world, it would be dark, and the promise of two ride or die best friends. Based on the latter alone, I was sold and didn't care about knowing any details.

Now, I am an absolute h0e for *anything* involving two people who put one another above everything else. That 'you and me against the world' kind of bond that can save and brighten a characters existence in even the worst of circumstances. And, that's what this is. Domino and Gus *live* in those worst of the worst circumstances - but who cares when they have each other? So... swoon, right?

It pains me but it cannot be denied... about 65% into The Nichan Smile, I started to drift. Despite my fav type of bond being very much present, I began skimming, skipping entire paragraphs (fine, even a page or two) because it just held no relevance to what it had FELT like the story was building to. Which brings me to my next point... WHY that happened.

For one thing, this book started out strong. The world building was there - not perfect, but enough that I understood the who / what of the MCs and the social hierarchy of the immediate surroundings, without being overhwleming. That said, as far as the rest of the 'world', any structure, alliances, types beings etc. well... couldn't tell ya. I do know there are Nichans, Vestige's (humans with a little something extra), and regular old humans who apparently travel the continent and try to 'purify' the 'abominations' caused by The Corruption aka a kind of taint that hit after the gods had been taken (or something like that).

The book opens with VERY young Domino, ~7 years old, finding an equally young prisoner Vestige (who would be Gus). INSTANTLY I was rooting for Gus and Domino and Mora. I needed them to come out on top. To establish themselves. Fight the good fight OR say F the good fight lets just be us and ignore the world, etc etc. But none of those things happened. Something was missing.

That missing thing was the antagonist / goal. That thing they are working toward or running from. Just merely surviving, which they were doing, without the goal of staying by each others side over everything else, a plan to escape, SOMETHING identifiable that would be uncovered in a big reveal. Each page felt like it was building, taking me closer to some THING, a big moment, the game changer.
That moment did not come. At all. Don't get me wrong, there is a TON of messed up and terrible stuff that happens - and almost every time it did (there was many) and I'd be all 'HERE we go! This is it!' only to find everything just going on business as miserable as usual by the next dang page.

WITHOUT THESE THINGS, THERE IS *NO* CLEARLY IDENTIFIABLE PLOT.
What are we working toward? Why should I keep going? I am not getting a clear picture of what we're working towards or fighting against aside from the same old stuff as before, that came rolling in like waves of a tide, not to be thwarted or fought - the characters just floated along this proverbial ocean. These kids are put through the wringer, face injustice, bullying, bigotry - but not once was there a light at the end of the tunnel or even a climactic 3rd act devastation - not that rivaled that of the already established perpetual devastating events. Gus and Domino are very much pushed around & have little choice in their lives - yes. Very true. But even in private, in situations where the opportunity to be decisive, do something - they just didn't. They rolled with the punches. No agency, not a single spec in at least 90% of this book.


Now, these are my immediate thoughts, and I hope it makes sense for now. I did get book two downloaded immediately, and I will read it. It's long, something like 600 pages I think. I plan on reading it between other things - hopefully that will chance and I will be pulled in by some great plot device - a change that has me absorbed in this messed up world again, unable to look away from the pages because I have a clear goal / resolution / action to root for and characters who have explicitly decided they will fight for.

Having been a longtime supporter of C.J. Merwild’s art, THE NICHAN SMILE was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021 and one that I’ve been wanting to read for years. Now that I’ve read an ARC of this debut, I can say the wait was worth it. Before getting into this review, I want to remind readers that this is an adult fantasy which faces some difficult topics. Please check the book’s synopsis for the trigger warnings before reading.

The Nichan Smile follows Domino and Gus, respectively a Nichan (a sort of shapeshifter species original to this world) and a Vestige (a human with magic and peculiar physical traits). Domino and his brothers have been separated from their mother and seek sanctuary in their uncle’s Nichan clan. During their journey, they meet Gus and save him from abusive men who have taken him in their custody. From that moment on, the story follows Gus and Domino’s journey from childhood to adolescence through the development of their friendship and…more. Maybe. Who knows *insert cheeky face*.

The story in this first book was very character driven and its strength resides in its protagonists. Gus and Domino couldn’t be more different. Domino is the kind of character that I immediately warm up to and adore: he’s sassy, caring, protective, curious and—especially as he grows into a young man—reckless. Gus, on the other hand, is more reserved and distrusting, a consequence of the abuse he’s endured since childhood and the scorn he’s repeatedly subjected to with the Nichans because of his human nature. Despite their differences, however, Domino and Gus’s personalities were perfectly complimentary and their chemistry was off the charts. I know fantasy readers are all for the enemies to lovers dynamic, but I think there’s something fascinating and real about showing the development of a friendship and the way that bond can deepen over time. Gus and Domino are proof of that. Their banter was filled with moments of hilarity, sass and heartbreaking intensity, made all the more impactful by the years of friendship, devotion and absolute trust.

The Nichan Smile also counted on the support of an incredible cast of secondary characters. Every character introduced was complex, fascinating and morally grey (though there are a few who were absolutely dreadful and have no redeeming qualities whatsoever). It’s because of this complexity that these characters felt real, and those emotions shone through the page and tugged at my heartstrings on multiple occasions. As far as world-building goes, it was very original and though this first book only scratches the surface, you can perceive the vastness of the world and lore, and I’m sure we’ll see far more of both in the future installments.

Overall I really enjoyed the pacing of the story, although I felt it was a bit slower in the second half and I wasn’t as engaged as I was at the start. However, that’s also the part where we start getting deeper into the plot and putting the roots for the future installments, so it was still interesting to read. However, I adored the ending of the book, which felt like coming full circle in Gus and Domino’s journeys while, at the same time, leaving me desperate for the sequel. I can’t wait for everyone to be able to enjoy this read on June 1st!

Thank you to the author for sending me an ARC to review.

When I read this book last year, I enjoyed it because it was so different to anything I’d read before. I decided to reread ahead of the sequel release, and I found that my mind has almost completely changed about this book. After reading some of the low reviews I started realizing things about the book that I didn’t catch the first time around. And a year later, my opinion on the writing is drastically different. I don’t normally change my ratings of books like this - I trust my gut the first time around, and when I reread, the same review I originally gave it always stands because I still really enjoyed the book. So this is the first time my opinion has been completely changed about something like this, and it’s making me a little scared to reread some of the other books I loved in the past that I might not like anymore. I’m not sure what compelled me to give this book 4 stars in the first place, but I’m annoyed that I preordered the sequel before this reread, because I won’t be reading it.

-Original review: 4 stars-

I discovered this book through bookstagram and was immediately drawn in from the cover and the synopsis. This is certainly unlike anything else I’ve ever read before, a fantasy world that’s entirely unique and doesn’t remind me of any other book. I loved the bond between the two main characters, Gus and Domino. This book could benefit from some professional editing and there is a pretty big lack of significant world-building, but the plot was enough to keep me engaged, as well as the characters. The dialogue and writing could sometimes be awkward in the way it flowed, but it didn’t really detract from the story in a big way. I found myself really frustrated at the last 100 pages - but in a way that makes me really want the second book, which I’m sure is coming. So I’ll be interested to keep reading this series as it progresses and learn more about the world.