kerryiscurrentlyreading's reviews
361 reviews

I don't really know how I feel about this book.

I was interested in it, the Romanesque premise was fascinating but I really felt like I was missing a lot from maybe a previous story although I don't think I am. Its not quite a "Fantasy" - More like Political Thriller will Magic.  Helena was an interesting narrative voice, her naivety was sometimes a little hard to believe, but on the whole the book was good..ish. Pacing felt glacial, the villian a little under baked.

I would read the second book, but it wouldnt be top of my TBR

 This is why we watch the fog....

Oh Ogma. What an adventure we went on. I found this book perplexing and wonderful.

Perplexing because I found it really hard to picture the characters and understand the world and I think its because it was just so different to anything else I have read... I think ever. The world is intriguing, fascinating and terrifying and I want to go back.

Wonderful because its such a topsy turvy ride. I was invested from the moment the shadow puppets appeared. I loved how the author left the children as children. Still little and unsure and innocent but also with this monumental weight on their shoulders to keep all the adults safe. It made it so believable, and it made the stakes higher. So well done

There are some issues with pace and character development - Some characters that appear later in the book, you feel you should be more invested in but you just aren't because there isn't enough development to have that connection.

On the whole, a brilliant read and I can't wait to pick up this author's next tale.

Just one thing that bugged me - A LOT - The whole way through the book. At the beginning of the story, we learn Ogma has only ever eaten meat once and its not something that is readily available and a note is made that they are basically vegetarian. IF that is true - Where did the butter and eggs come from? Because they had a bakery...and Pies were mentioned but how? It just really nagged at me all the way through the book. Was it vegan pastry? Did they not use eggs? WHERE did the butter come from. I'd still like to know.....

p.s. Thank you T.H Lehen, the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free review copy of this book 

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

There was a lot going on here and it was telling. I think there is a very good foundation and the author's prose is quiet good, my issue is the balance between the level of detail and the actual benefit to the overall plot and world. 

At the end of this, I still have no concept of what it means to "Find something in the light" - There is an expectation of suspending belief for fantasy, and the fantasy author asks their reader to buy their version of "Magic" - Authors that are most successful with this give readers enough information that they can justify the existence of magic. Unfortunately, the author does not achieve this and it took me a long time to get through it,

I would normally read a 400 page book in 3-4 days. This book took me over 3 weeks.

 Thank you to Netgalley, H.J Reynolds and CamCat Publishing for providing me with a free copy of this book.

What a lovely story, the pacing was great, Adlai as a character was well realised and believable. The world building was alright but could have been stronger, some aspects were muddy but not in a deliberate way, if felt like the author was a bit lost - Is this a middle eastern type world and are we as the reader supposed to be picturing Aladdin? Is so, why is Adlai golden haired? Not that she cant be, but we need an explanation or it stands out as an error. Also - We have a ceiling fan? But torches? Is there electricity or is it magic? Or is there a water wheel outside turning the fan? Small aspects like this can really take a reader out of the story. It also felt like we raced to the ending at breakneck speed, but got a bit off track and the pace slowed down but the plot end felt rushed.

I would be happy to read more by this author 

 Thank you to Margie Fuston, Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced copy of this book.

Not bad, but also not very good.

Firstly, the pacing of this book was just.... off. Like a car ride with a Learner Driver who forgets which pedal is the clutch and which is the brake. Stop start, stop start. The world building is lacking and the overall plot is thin in places which makes it hard to follow. The plan for the games was so convoluted and yet underwhelming. I think the author got caught up in their own cleverness with this one and then didnt know how to get out of it.

Generally not a fan of a cliffhanger, but this one wasnt bad per se. Some characters were really under realised (Emerson) and so felt like they were weighing the book down. I would read book 2 but I would also DNF book 2 fairly quickly if the same pacing was in it. 

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

"Luck? What is that, but a crutch for mediocrity?" Opon The Cook

This was such a frustrating book. The last 10 Chapters or so changed this from a rage read to a "Oh, now I need to know more" read. In the end, I did like it. And I would read the next one - But I would hope some of these issues get addressed.

Ultimately, I can't help but feel that the author has spent so long with this world in their head that they just know it inside and out, unfortunately, they have forgotten that the reader doesn't have the same context. Changes to timelines, and colours etc, might seem small and petty, but as a reader, they bring me out of the story every time because, I have to stop and think "But wasn't it night time on the previous page? Why is it afternoon?" - This feels sloppy.

This would actually have been a 5 Star read for me if the editing had been better.

The setting itself is ambitious - it gives steampunk meets sword and sorcery but neither is very successful.

The first half or more of this book is slow, and not due to the usual World Building you expect in a "High" Fantasy. Its slow because it feels like the author has simultaneously lost the plot and is hunting around for it, while also trying so hard to "Tell" you into believing Philem is good at his job and sees' his staff as family.

And your honour, I for one am not buying it. The author needed someone to pull them back, there are a lot of things in this book that a seasoned editor would have pushed back on (and perhaps, they did but the author was so enamored with their vision, that they forgot about readability, and pesky things like time making sense)

Obviously, this is a review and just my opinion, but the story was so disjointed that I couldn't get "lost" in the pages, I kept getting pulled out by irritants like:

- The Awful Lorianas "Creed" - Which is nether profound nor funny, and is referred to so often, it becomes annoying. Its no "May the odds be ever in your favour".

- The Author needs to pick a lane, are we dispensing with modern concepts altogether? i.e. Leagues instead of Kilometers, Turns instead of Days, Calls instead of hours? If so - You CANNOT in the same sentence use "Cyanide Gas" and "Other Magic Poisons"

- If its a Venerdeer and a Venerfox - why is it just a Bear and not a Venerbear?

- Family, family, family - The thing that makes the found family piece so successful is that usually, the reader will realise it before the Main Character does, and that is usually because the author shows. This book tells, it does sooo much telling and in the end, uses the word "Family" so often, that by about 15 Chapters in, its meaningless. I don't believe it.

- The are silly mistakes in continuity and timeline. In chapter 7 for example, there is a section where the lights core is bright orange, and then its blue. Granted, this could be an orange and blue light, but as that is never explained, it feels like a mistake.Oh, and then the lights are green, and then some different lights are used because torches wont work but then later the torches work….

- Again, Page 93 - Philem talks about schooling with Warden (who later becomes Worden) for 10 turns. But when they meet - Its clear they don't know each other

- Sillium Dore makes no sense either, at one point the author mentions only 2 at a time attend, but them talks of "all the students"

- Passage of time is also an issue, especially in chapter 14 - 3 hours disappears like magic, and then the suckling pig goes from Blue to Purple or was it purple to blue? And the method of cooking is different but not because of a conscious choice (i.e. Philem doesnt say "Oh, we should cook this different next time", it just is different.

- Finally "Her eyes TREMBLED"???????? Really? really?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the arc of this book. The below is definitely my opinion freely given.

I cannot overstate how much I disliked this book. 

The dialogue was uninspired and juvenile. The author should look into a thesaurus and a better wardrobe for her character ("My thin tshirt fluttered in the breeze" - Why are all her Tshirts so thin?) 

I think my mine gripe of many is thats its first person. And there is a reason that not many authors end up going with a first person narrative. It makes it much harder to show and not tell. All this book does is tell. And its tells in a boring, predictable way. 

Its the worst kind of insta love going....I bought his favourite beer....HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT HIS FAVOURITE BEER IS MA'AM? You have only had 3 conversations.

Shes so weak willed and ridiculous. He says one mediocre line to reassure her and he 'slips past her defences?' What defences? She only just thought of the concern (with zero evidence 🙄) and he says one thing and its all good? Infuriating 

The fact that this is marketed as a cozy fantasy is offensive. Theres as much fantasy in this as there are aliens in The X Files. The magic is as ridiculous as the premise of the mystery.

Her 'investigation' amounts to a bunch of gossipy and overheard conversations and a few trips to the woods. 

If I was a teacher and this was homework, it would be a D- with the comment 'Did you even try'.

Grrrr. This made me angry. I definitely rage read to the end. I should have dnf'd when the author used the phrase 'in broad daylight' about 4 times on one page and not ironically.

The prose was frenetic and hard to follow, it was so hard to get into and then it moved at an absolute glacial place taking the reader "all around the houses" as my gran would say. It just became meandering and nonsensical and the thought of trying to finish the book actually gave me anxiety. 

A real pity because the premise was fascinating.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I really wanted to love this book but I just couldn't. I liked it but there were a few issues. Mainly, the author was weaving sooo many subplots together that it appeared like they sometimes forgot about one and then it was very clumsily woven back in, e.g. The Patrick subplot. I get that author was trying to convey a chaotic "everything going wrong all atnonce" pace but the weird filler bits that did not need to be in the story at all (Lucys brothers in the bar or the side trip to the deli) and thin plot in some places somehow made this book with a lot of very exciting things happening feel very slow. 
I did however, really enjoy the premise and the overall story and would come back for the next. Hopefully book 2 has a stronger edit as I suspect that would help book 1 by a mile.

Thank you to Melanie K. Moschella and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book. The below is my honest review, freely given.

This was a lovely read! Theres a map (always a good sign to me) and a great FMC. The story was fast-paced enough that I read it in just over 24 hours, but had enough depth that I feel like I know the world well at the end of this story and I can't wait to carry on with it.

Meera feels like a slightly unreliable narrator at the beginning of this story and its hard to believe her motives for working as a kitchen made, but as the story develops, you start to see the picture of this young woman who is completely lost without the anchor of her father, experiencing loneliness for perhaps the first time in her life. She resonates with me because of that. Its that driving need to be a part of something and to be wanted and loved that gets her into the situation she finds herself in : Caretaker to the enemy and a Spy. 

What happens next is a lovely story of loyalty and friendship and "being a good person". There is some lovely representation in this book, and I hope to see more characters like Cook in the rest of the story.

Can't wait to find out what happens next.