I’d like to begin my review by apologizing to the author for not reading and reviewing Malamander back in 2019 when I received a copy from NetGalley. It was FANTASTIC! Probably one of the best books I’ve gotten from NetGalley, ever. So much fun! Loved Eerie-On-Sea, loved Herbert Lemon, loved the Grand Nautilus Hotel, the mermonkey, the entire world created in this book. I already reserved the next book in the series from my library. The illustrations are wonderful and add to the story.

This is a middle grade book but if you’re an adult like me who loves wonderfully written and creative kids books you will greatly enjoy this book. Recommended for lovers of A Series of Unfortunate Events especially.

*thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the e-arc I received in exchange for my honest review.*

A delightful and very nicely written book, very atmospheric with well-drawn characters and a captivating plot. There is a bit of Unfortunate Series of Events, a bit of just plain storytelling, and a real sense of creating sights and sounds and smells for the reader rather than just a flat narrative. You could easily imagine living in this world as you can almost smell and taste your surroundings. This is the first of three books so don't expect things to tie up neatly at the end.

I received this book for free in exchange for a review from netgalley.
This book was cute. I loved the character names being sea related...Amber Gris, Mr. Eels, Ms Kraken, etc. Herbie is the lost and founder st the Grand Nautilus Hotel and is now tasked with helping Violet Parma find her missing parents all while discovering the truth about the legend of the Malamander. Recommend

Malamander is a slightyly creepy, but fun middle grade mystery. I loved the "Scooby-doo like" dastardly villain and the atmosphere of the town. A really fun read!

Utterly charming and a thrilling yet confirming read for children and adults alike. Loved it and am eager for the sequels.

this was a lot of fun to read, i think that it has what children will be looking for. The art is beautiful and the storytelling is on point. I overall enjoyed reading this.

Spooky little tale that I think fans of Lemony Snicket will enjoy. I wanted more characterization of our two main characters though.

Rich in illustrative detail and the absurd, middle grade readers will become absorbed following along with Herbert and Violet as they try to figure out the truth of many things in the anything but bucolic seaside town of Eerie-the-Sea. Readers will be treated to a story that doesn’t pander to their ages and can give quite a scare. A rare treat for this age group.

Another middle grade, another solid <i>ok</i> from me.

On the plus side, I loved the voice of Herbie, one of our main characters and our narrator. It was quirky and light and made the story more fun to read than it might have been otherwise.

Violet, our other main character, was also a delight. A true do or die girl, her determination and smarts propelled the story from the get go.

The puns of the character's names was amusing if sometimes a bit obscure, and the whole town was drawn with a descriptive detail that brought the place alive. I really believed that going to this beach town in the off season was like slipping somehow into a world slightly off kilter from our own.

So why only <i>ok?</i>

Almost purely because of plot and pacing. I remember being ok with obvious misdirection and miscommunication in stories when I was in grade school, stuff that, if addressed when it came up, could solve the book a good 2-3 hundred pages early. But now I don't tend to like them, and in Malamander, I wasn't always even sure they were intentional. I felt like a bit too much of the book was taken up with the kids running around the town hunting for clues when they were ignoring the clues they had at hand. (Natural enough for their age, but still frustrating to read.)

All in all, I think as a grade schooler I would have been delighted with this book, and if you're looking for a middle grade semi-supernatural mystery adventure, you should definitely give this a try.

What a delightful adventure! Just what I needed to get me out of my current book funk. The majority of the characters have fun sea-themed names which just added to the cleverness. I highly recommend for the young and not-so young!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book, which I voluntarily chose to review.

Reviews from middle grade bloggers Charlotte and Alex put Malamander on my radar. It’s a title that would have completely slipped by me otherwise, and I would be worse off for it.

Over the years since A Series of Unfortunate Events (ASOUE) was published (the final book was released 14 years ago!), many books have been described as readalikes for the series because of their off kilter settings, cleverly resourceful protagonists, and/or useless grown ups. I have read a few of those books over the years. None of them impressed me, until Malamander.

Some of the similarities are surface level: orphan protagonists, mysteries about what happened to their parents, a child in a role they wouldn’t typically be in, a seaside town setting with that odd atmosphere I’m never sure how to describe. But Taylor takes these elements and makes them his own in Malamander. Herbie’s narration is quite different from Snicket’s in ASOUE. Malamander’s adults are also on the whole more pleasant and helpful, though their personalities would be right at home in ASOUE. And of course, there’s the pure fantasy element of the Malamander itself. Similarities and differences aside, the point I want to make is that Malamander hits the same notes (albeit lighter ones) for me that ASOUE did, which no other books have.

Herbert “Herbie” Lemon stands out as the narrator of this lightly fantastical tale. I often find middle grade protagonists blur together in my mind – how they speak, how they think, how they act. But Herbie’s first person narration was a highlight for me. His dry humour made me laugh more than once. He’s a bit of a troublemaker, thought not in an overt way. He reads almost more like a side character in his behaviour – somewhat reluctant to adventure, main plot is about another character and not him, etc.

Although Herbie tells the story, he doesn’t let the reader completely in. You get a good sense of his personality through the way he speaks and acts, not through what he tells you about himself. If there is one flaw I see too often in middle grade novels, it’s kid narrators who explain too much or tell you everything they’re thinking. (Well, perhaps that’s more personal preference than true flaw…).

“Amber, I swear to you, on my honor as Lost-and-Founder, that I will never, ever, pass up the chance to annoy that whiny old whinge-bag Mollusc. And I think you already know that.” - Loc 663

This is the first book in a series. I almost hesitated to read it because of that. But again I was impressed. Malamander should serve as an example of how to strike a perfect balance between telling a complete and satisfying story while leaving questions unexplored with room to grow. You can enjoy Malamander as a stand alone if you wish, one that explores the question of the Malamander’s existence. But if you want to learn about Herbie’s past, you will likely have to keep reading the series.

Certainly hand this book to fans of ASOUE (do kids still read it??) but also to those who can appreciate a great narrator and well-crafted story in an offbeat seaside town. ★★★★½

This is a slightly strange review to write, as Malamander didn't work for me, but I do think it's brilliant and will be well-beloved by many. I was expecting this to be a magical fantasy read in the vein of Rumblestar or Morrigan Crow, but it's more of a supernatural, slightly creepy book with a mystery feel, so not really my genre - but that's totally a personal preference and is meant as no comment on the book's quality! It's really well-written, with engaging characters and a smart storyline. It's quirky, doesn't talk down to kids, and should be really captivating for the right reader. It has some fab illustrations (though I think some were missing, due to this being an ARC, and illustrations in Kindle books never do themselves justice). The ending is a satisfying end to the mystery, but leaves enough open for a sequel. This will definitely be a hit among readers looking for quirky, creepy mystery for middle grade!

Cute & fun, quick paced from aclike a detective duo meets Series of Unfortunate Events. There was a mere moment of two, where I went, "but...what about...?", but that might just be the adult in me talking. I don't think the intended audience will have such doubts. I think this is the kind of book my daughter would have liked - if only she wasn't too old for it, being a tween and all now.

It's bitter cold winter in Eerie-on-Sea, a coastal resort town, and there aren't many guests staying at the Grand Nautilus Hotel, which means that Herbert "Herbie" Lemon, 12 and in charge of the hotel's Lost and Foundry, isn't terribly busy either. That is until Violet Parma, also 12, enters his life climbing through the window of his small cubbyhole in the reception lobby asking to be hidden.

Violet is being chased by a sailor with a boat hook in place of a hand that was somehow lost. On the other hand, Violet is looking for her parents who had disappeared while staying in the Grand Nautilus when she was a baby and now she's come to enlist the services of Herbie Lemon, who is, after all, the hotel's Lost and Founder. The only clue Violet has is a card with some numbers on one side and a picture of a mermonkey in a top hat on the other side. It's a picture Herbie recognizes and so the two set off for the Eerie Book Dispensary.

At the Eerie Book Dispensary, which is owned by Mrs. Jenny Hanniver, they run into Sebastian Eels, an author and a local celebrity. Mrs. Hanniver recognizes Violet's name because she used to know her father, Peter Parma, also a writer. At the Book Dispensary, the book choses the reader by feeding the mechanical mermonkey a coin, which then issues a card, similar to the one Violet already has, and by following the code on the back, the reader finds the book that has been chosen for them. A book called Malamander by Captain K is chosen for Violet.

The malamander is a local legend, a monstrous half man, half fish creature with hideous spikes and steely scales protecting it. The creature lays one magical egg every year on midwinter night, which is fast approaching. The egg is said to grant the dearest wish of whomever can get it. But to get the egg, the malamander has to be defeated, no easy task. And at the end of midwinter night, if a mate doesn't show up, the malamander eats the magical egg and seekers have to wait another year for another chance at the egg.

And there are a whole bunch of shady characters who would dearly love to get their hands on this magical egg, including a watery ghost, and they all seem to think Violet Parma has the secret to defeating the malamander, putting her and now Herbie in a very dangerous and most precarious position.

Malamander is a fun, quirky fantasy novel, narrated by the very lively and likable Herbie, who, like Violet is an orphan and has a story of his own, which we don't fully know...yet. The mystery of how and why Violet's parents disappeared keeps the action moving, mostly because Violet is fearless and determined and not above taking off on her own, despite the danger.

There are lots of plot twists and wordplay to be found among the adventures and different characters making the whole story feel very tongue-in-cheek at times. Adding to the fun and the idiosyncratic human characters is a cat named Erwin, who can speak when he wants to. He takes an instant liking to Violet, which proves to be a life-saving good thing.

Malamander is a fun fantasy for anyone who is looking for an offbeat mystery/adventure story that is the beginning of a new series.

You can find an excellent Teacher's Guide for the Malamander courtesy of the publisher HERE
You can find fun Activity pages to download courtesy of the publisher HERE

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was received with gratitude from Candlewick Press and NetGalley

Absolutely loved this book. Shared it with my students and they were obsessed by it. Incredible Story, vivid characters and a plot full of mystery and intrigue. Loved every minute of it and we are all excited for the sequel!

What can I say about Malamander? Ok, first let’s talk the cover. It is absolutely beautiful! The story itself was also fantastic! I finished this book in about a day and a half. It was fun, thrilling and full of fantasy! I do not want to give anything away so I am trying to keep it as vague as possible. I’m so excited to hear that there will be more books in this series!

Actual Rating: 4.5/ 5 stars

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This was an enjoyable middle grade read. I would have liked it a lot in middle school and will put it in the pile for my daughter to read eventually. I like the fairly unique legend, the cast of characters, the humor, the fast pace, and the drawings.

This book is amazing, well written and engrossing.
I loved every moment of it, making me go back in time to when I read books about young detectives and mixing it with fantasy elements.
It's an entertaining and gripping read, highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Eerie-On-Sea is a seaside town where folklore and legends are just part of every day life. Herbie Lemon at the Great Nautilus Hotel is the local Lost and Founder. He gathers items he finds and keeps them in his Lost and Foundery until owners come to claim them. When a girl slips in a hotel window and begs to be kept hidden from an old man with a hook hand, she asks Herbie to find her missing parents. They went missing on a cold winter's night years before and their disappearance might be related to a local monster tale. And so begins a very magical and awesome children's story!

I read middle grade books all the time as palate cleansers in between heavier adult fiction. This book was a total joy to read! The characters are charming....the story engrossing and entertaining....and the tale just sucked me in from the start! Fun read!

My favorite part of the story is the fact that during the tourist season the town is Cheerie-on-Sea....but when winter rolls around the first two letters on the town sign disappear -- Eerie-On-Sea! Made me laugh! :)

The front cover art is awesome! That monstrous eye peering out at me is what made me want to read this book!!

Wonderful story! I can't wait to read more by this author!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Candlewick Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

This is a very atmospheric book about legends and myths and what it means to be a monster. I enjoyed this book and plan to let my 8 year old read it next. This book is not at all what I expected. But this story was cute and the characters were incredibly written. The ending seems a bit open for another book or just the imaginings of what might come next. The mystery leaves me as a reader wanting to know more. But like violent and Herbie I may never find out. I would love to hear herbies tale next.