As a book reviewer sometimes i don’t get to read them all and my husband reads books and gives me his thoughts and this was one he read and enjoyed.
A fantasy like read that captured him from start to finish. Not one I would have picked up I expect but he felt it was right up his street and enjoyed the way it was written. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review .

I'm not really sure what I've just read but you could have slapped me in the face with a wet kipper whilst I was reading The Gift Maker and I wouldn't have noticed. This is PURE escapism, more theology than fantasy but with a massive thought-provoking ending that left my mouth open catching butterflies.

Thomas and Liselotte are students who each have a strange blue box delivered in the middle of the night. Thomas wants to get back to bed so puts his box in a drawer and goes back to sleep, but Liselotte naturally opens hers straight away. When Liselotte shares the contents of her box with Thomas, he rushes back home to find his box gone. Enter Reynard (who I couldn't help but think of as the fox) and Thomas and Liselotte find their world spun on its head.

What follows would make Lewis Carroll wish he'd written it or Tim Burton wish he'd filmed it first. So jump down the rabbit hole with Mark Mayes and prepare to be amazed, astounded and gobsmacked at this fairytale style unusual story. The Gift Maker defies all genres and refuses to be put into a box, it's an absolutely magical, captivating story.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

Unfortunately unable to finish The Gift Maker after 130 pages, I tried to connect with the storyline and characters but unfortunately it just didn't come together for me and I couldn't continue with the book.

Late one night, Thomas receives a mysterious blue gift box. He senses this is no ordinary gift, and feeling afraid to open it, puts it away till morning. Then he finds out that Liselotte, the object of his desire, has also received one. When he sees the extraordinarily unbelievable contents he needs to open his own, but it is missing. These gifts set them on an adventure where no one is who they seem, not even themselves. This has never been truer of a book!
I don't think the book description does justice to this book and it did nothing to prepare me for the story. The language is a little more flowery than I'm used to and there is a lot of imagery which is not for the faint-hearted. I also felt that there was probably a lot of deep meaning to much of the book that might have gone over my head a bit. A book that needs further discussion with other readers.

A brilliantly written novel with a fantasy twist. Loved it from beginning to end. Unputdownable :)

My review: A curious mixture of humour and fantasy makes Mark Mayes The Gift Maker an interesting debut novel. Not normally a fan of fantasy fiction, I was drawn into this novel because of the story, the language and the setting.
The plot is well-managed and seamlessly interweaves the three stories of Thomas, Liselotte and Jo (short for Johan) as they are taken out of their own small world to a strange fantasy world where nothing is as it seems. Sometimes a beautiful dream, sometimes horrific and shockingly nightmarish everything is masterminded by the charismatic Reynard.
The writing is of a high quality earning its label of literary fiction, and the reader is challenged with a demandingly literary vocabulary – thank goodness for Kindle so you can click on a word you don’t know. Occasionally the writing strays into the ‘poetic’ in the negative sense of the word, but overall it is lyrical and musical. A pleasure to read.
The elements of folk and fairy tale are vividly drawn, with elements of the Brothers Grimm, Hans Andersen and Angela Carter. Wolf-like creatures, huntsmen, magic apples and old couples living in snow-covered mountains make the setting fascinating. I loved the inventiveness of the Germanic names and sinister politics lurking in the background. The world created here is well-drawn, and just slightly off-kilter to make it a fascinating place to spend time. I was strongly reminded of the best kind of children’s stories: The Snow Queen, The Box of Delights and Emil and the Detectives but written for an adult audience.
My only disappointment was the ending. Everything was resolved, and in a surprising way, but I would have liked to see the characters back in their university town, changed by their quest, but happily drinking Malzbeer. Maybe that says more about me…

Thank you.
Enjoyed it.
Will get copies for family and friends.

I ranked it 5/5 stars. I will give a full review on why, when February 23rd comes.

Literally, what is happening?! Nothing in this book makes sense, nothing.