For Journey's Arcane I can not give a full review as I could not finish it. I read about 15 percent of the book but I just could not get into it. It does give a lot of detail about what is going on and I was curious to find out what was up with Leon, the beginning of the book just was a little long for me. I'm sure if you like great detail and don't mind a slow beginning you will probably like this book.

Journey’s Arcane follows the main character, Nora, as she stops in a small town in Canada to accomplish a goal with the intention of leaving soon after. Her plans change as she quickly begins to fall for the local bartender, Leon, who is hiding a mysterious past. Based on the book description and the book cover, I thought this would be a fantasy romance with gothic vibes but I was wrong. This book felt like it couldn’t decide on what it wanted to be and threw a lot of things together that didn’t really fit, giving it a very chaotic feel. Nora’s motivations and actions read more like a YA novel in their level of immaturity. Conversely, several scenes that warrant trigger warnings for SA, DV, suicidal ideation, and more litter this book but no trigger warnings were given. I feel strongly that this book should have a sensitivity read through and the addition of trigger warnings. The bones of the overarching plot were interesting but all in all this book was not for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atmosphere Press for the eARC of this book.

I will be posting this review to Goodreads and Amazon after the publishing date.

This book was such a captivating read with twists and turns around every corner! What a great debut novel for Eda Scott! Thank you Eda and Atmosphere Press!

TROPES/THEMES:
Touch her & die
Found family
Egyptian & Norse mythology
Mysticism
Second Act Breakup
Unexpected love
Multiple men fighting over FMC

Synopsis: Nora, a lighthearted goofy girl from Puth, sets out to leave behind her old life and make a new name for herself. First Nora seeks to stop her narcissistic family from ruining a historical castle that she grew up loving its history and its story of holding out for true love. This story has vibes of historical fiction meets paranormal romance and elements of mysticism and mythology. Along the way, Nora quickly finds unexpected love through a mysterious bartender, but it is not met without huge obstacles including overcoming the impossible, visions of King Leon’s past, threats to her mental wellbeing and life. Throughout the journey, Nora finds the family she always deserved. How far is Nora willing to go to fight for love and preserve the secrets of the castle and Journey?

Likes: Nora, Leon, the Hughes, found family, Journey’s small town community, the mysticism, the mythology

I was invested in what was happening in the story overall, it had that romance element perfectly and enjoyed how the world worked with the characters in this universe. I was engaged with what was happening and enjoyed the overall feel of how everything worked. Eda Scott has a great writing style and can’t wait for more.

Journey’s Arcane was an epic adventure with paranormal aspects and a sprinkle of mythology. Each twist and turn of the plot keeps the reader turning the page to find out what happens next! This story follows Nora as she decides to separate herself from her well to do family with less than desirable morals. She has one final task to complete to right another potential wrong that her family is planning. Once this task is complete she plans to find somewhere to start her life over. Her plans all change when she meets a mysterious bartender that captures her attention and her heart. This was an exciting tale full of dysfunctional family systems, gaslighting, mythology and a small town banding together to save everything.