I'm not sure what I think of this book. Like othe reviewers I found the first 25% rather slow going and although it picks up thereafter I found the violence and abuse made me uncomfortable and depressed. Also Ollie's negative self image and fat phobia, while easily understandable, did not make for pleasant reading. That is not to say that there are not some enjoyable and interesting world building but for me they did not make up for the unpleasant parts.

I read this book because in some reviews it was referred to as a new "Neverwhere" (which is a masterpiece, in my opinion), maybe even better .. no, not at all...it's not bad, but it's a book on average, it has a sometimes interesting plot, but it certainly does not reach the heights of Gaiman's work. Only two stars.

We follow Ollie, a young man who just lost his mom and is now living on his own. A fat main character is rare enough to be mentioned, but Ollie is on a weightloss journey, where he has met Nell, his friend who has now disappeared under weird circumstances.

It is a relatively fast paced story once you reach the nitty gritty of it, which is Nell's disappearance and the Neath. I really enjoyed the different descriptions of the space we're in and how it's constantly compared to the Brickside. I generally tend to gravitate towards books heavy in world building and this definitely felt like enough. I found the plot generally interesting. It isn't what you necessarily expect from the getgo which was a welcomed surprise.

Tera was one of the characters that held my attention the most, and I wish we saw more of her. I'm sure it'll come in the next installments. Same for Leonard, who I think has a lot of potential.

Now, one of the reasons this didn't earn more from me is because I was bored through most of it. We see the time constraints and yet, there's just no feeling of urgency or of tension. I only got some of that later on into the plot.

Then, as a fat woman, Ollie was an uncomfortable character for me to read. He was essentialized to food so many times. Food here, food there. We get it, he's on a weightloss program, he's a fat guy who hates his body and the space he takes in the world. It bothers me that this experience is described just like that, with nothing positive attached to his weight or his bodytype. It truly felt like a mockery at first. The feelings of inadequacy around fatness could have been explored especially in regards to Tera, because they are mentioned at first but never built upon. It might come in the rest of the series but I wish there was at least *some* in this. Ollie, other than that, was an okay character, besides, you know, the hero complex and all.

This, I know, is personal taste but the insta-love romance was too much for me to bear. I wish there had been more building up to it, even if it came later in the series. It felt just plopped in there rather than something organic.

Finally, some parts of this felt clumsy around the discussion of abuse, between revenge and forgiveness as if there isn't a whole world in between those two extremes. Herrick's End being filled with abusers of all kinds, I feel like that conversation should have been handled with more care, less of a black and white approach to the idea of justice. For a topic that is background to the entire storyline, it's surprisingly rarely *actually* discussed.

Overall, this was okay at best in my book. It didn't feel super innovative or thrilling. There are some cool aspects, some things I could see myself returning for, but other than that, I think I'm good.

Oh man, I really enjoyed this book, from the introduction to the main Character Ollie, to the world that the Author set up for us to explore. You can not help but empathise with Ollie, as most people feel as he feels, I mean who doesn't? Then you get swept up in his kindness and courage, which brings us on this ride which felt like a bumper car of emotions and new things to be impressed with.

I really hope there will be a sequel to this book, I want more of the characters and the world of Herrick's End, I feel there is so much more to explore there!

Thanks to Net-Galley and publishers for providing the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I really really loved this. The book is well written and the pace is nice. The world-building is great. It took me a little time to get into the story but once I hit that 25% of the book I couldn't stop reading.
I loved the characters. Ollie was self-aware and funny. I absolutely loved Tara.
There were a few places that weren't explained by the end - probably will be in the next book of the series.
So looking forward to it already!

Herrick’s End is a New Adult Urban Fantasy novel that follows Ollie Delgado on his search through a magical world called The Neath to find his missing friend Nell. This dark tale explores abuse in its many forms while Ollie himself deals with negative, occasionally debilitating, self-talk. Uniquely beautiful and heartbreaking, Herrick’s End is well worth the journey for those looking to explore serious topics through fantasy. This book is a little slow-going and heavy handed in the beginning, but it is well worth sticking it out.

At the beginning, Ollie Delgado finds himself at yet another “Lighter Tomorrows” meeting; a support group and program for people to lose weight (this world’s version of Weight Watchers). Long disillusioned by the program, Ollie’s main reason for attendance is getting to see his friend Nell. But for the last few meetings, Nell has been missing. Ollie suspects she was being abused by her new boyfriend, but when his only clue fails to provide any answers, he doesn’t know what to do. That is, until a mysterious letter shows up at Ollie’s work claiming to know where Nell is.

I adore Ollie Delgado and find him extremely relatable. He is a good, sensitive person who wants to do the right thing, but he is far from the ‘hero type’. Overly conscious of being overweight, he struggles with low self-esteem and negative self-talk. In both his internal struggles and journey to help Nell, Ollie shows that in reality, making a change is not as simple as just deciding to do it. It requires a constant struggle not only against external forces, but also against old habits and mindsets that lead to inaction. Most of the characters Ollie meets in the Neath have similar complexity and it was interesting to see Ollie’s slow development as he interacts with them.

Admittedly, I was a little taken aback by how dark this book ended up being. This book primarily focuses on various forms of abuse (child, domestic, and elderly) and internalized fatphobia, but features many other difficult topics as well. Though beautifully done, I think that the synopsis and categorization of this book can be misleading. It does not mention Ollie’s struggle with weight nor is there any indication this book focuses on abuse. Ollie’s age (19), the ways in which Ollie develops, and the serious topics tackled in this story are more indicative of a New Adult novel even though it seems to be marketed as Young Adult. I would definitely only recommend this to older teens.

Herrick's End offers such a fun, Coraline/Spiderwick-esque escape! I adored Ollie from the start, it was wonderful to read from a man's POV who doesn't have 'chiseled abs, strong jaw and full lips'. He was just a normal guy doing his best and thrown into a completely wild situation!

The atmosphere in this book is brilliant, as I said it really gave me Coraline vibes and I absolutely loved it. It was such a cool setting and could easily picture everything and everyone! Even with the wormwalkers I still want to go.

Whilst there was a darker side to this book in regards to abuse and torture, it was balanced so well. I'm so intruiged by the world and the characters and I just more!

Also, kudos for the acknowledgements at the end with addressing D.A.

***SPOILERS FROM HERE***


The moment when Ollie sees Tera's painting of them was definitely a favourite moment of mine. I thought it was absolutely beautiful reading Ollie looking at himself through Tera's eyes. Definitely brought a tear or two to my eye.

Lazlo is fantastic, I was a little suspicious of him at first, but he was such a breath of fresh air whenever he appeared!

The flip at the end with Ollie and Lighter Tomorrow was fantastic. The parallel between that and the starting chapter was perfect!

The unplugging of the children was a brilliant moment, I love how the message Herrick left was a gradual figuring out in the latter half of the book. 'Rivers don't freeze' reminded me of the classic 'there is no spoon' and I will always something that's even slightly Matrix-y.

I loved how when Ollie went back to Herrick's End there's no one trying to stab him in the back with 'the plan', I was worried there would be a betrayal which I'm a bit bored of reading at the moment!

This book was such a wonderful breath of fresh air from the intense world of fantasy bookstagram/booktok and I am very much looking forward for more!

Here's to my first NetGallery ARC and many more!

Herrick's End by T.M. Blanchet is the story of Ollie who is trying to find his missing friend. He retrieves a mysterious note explaining he will have to follow a trailer to the vast underworld in an attempt to find her.

The pacing worked well for me and I was intrigued throughout the novel. There were a few details that i particularly liked such as Ollie and the way Blanchet describes the eeriness that he is going through.

I wasn't a huge fan of the unresolved plot that felt like they were only used for the purposes of a sequel. There was severe disconnection that felt like it was being made to be too mysterious instead of acting for the plot. The violence was really hard to read in parts and left me feeling uncomfortable. This may have been a personal feeling that wasn't intended by Blanchet but the message left wasn't one I was able to get on board with.

The intriguing cover art shows a gondola powered by an oversize crow (Mrs Paget) on a river in a cavern. Herrick's End is a YA Urban Fantasy about a secret world underNEATH Boston, the world building is impressive. We are introduced to our protagonist the 19 year old Ollie at a Weightwatcher's style group called Lighter Tomorrows. Ollie is a reluctant hero, he is still reeling from the death of his mother to cancer the previous year. When his friend from the group, Nell, goes missing, he bravely decides to investigate. An investigation which will take him to a fantasy world, and the dark Herrick's End.

Ollie is a very relatable protagonist, it would be difficult not to root for him. The book is fast paced and there is a lot of action, despite touching on dark themes like domestic abuse, the book has a lot of humor and there are strong relationships formed between the central characters. The fantasy does have echoes of Alice in Wonderland, where some things are opposite to what they appear and there are some riddles to be solved.

I found it an immensely enjoyable read, it is the first of a trilogy but can be read as a standalone. I had trouble remembering the title, maybe a problem with my memory not the title itself.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an eARC, I leave this review voluntarily.

4.5 Stars

I really, really enjoyed my read of Herrick's End. From the get-go, I was intrigued by the premise and was so happy to receive my electronic copy. A dark underworld, a plus-size main character, Salem's witch trials... immediately yes.

I connected with the main character, Ollie, almost instantly. His struggles with weight, anxiety, and low self-esteem really hit home for me and it was refreshing to see the main character in a dark fantasy novel deal with problems that are so realistic and human. He had me rooting for him throughout his entire journey and it was so satisfying to see him grow. I loved experiencing the world through his eyes. Also, seeing him create a "found family" with the other characters—who are all interesting and lovable in their own right—was incredibly heartwarming.

The world-building was unique compared to other fantasy books that I have read and the vibes were reminiscent of the video game series "Bioshock" in a way that I absolutely love. There were so many cool elements introduced, ranging from the environment itself to the creatures within it. I was also really pleased with Blanchet's writing style and how skilled she is at setting the scene and creating an atmosphere that really sucks you in.

Additionally, I feel like Herrick's End addresses some really important topics. The power of people taking back control from their abusers is perhaps the most prominent, but there is also the message that standing back and doing nothing is the same thing as enabling those abusers. I also love the transformation of the prison under Leonard and the way it moves from a system of punishment to one of rehabilitation.

The book starts somewhat slow—not boring, just slow because of world and character building—but around the 25-30% mark, it really picked up and had me thoroughly invested. From then on, it was pretty fast-paced and I didn't want to put it down because I was so desperate to see how things were going to unfold.

There were a lot of questions left unanswered at the end, but considering this is the first installment in a series, I'm not displeased with that as long as they will be addressed in the second book.

Overall, this was an incredible debut from T.M. Blanchet and I wish her and her series a ton of success! I'll be eagerly waiting to see what else the world of The Neath has in store.

It has good pacing and reads fast. I like books with main male characters.

I felt the genre and goals kept changing from chapter to chapter and that made me captive.

It's dark and creepy, took me back to the first time that I watched Pinocchio and then a mixture of Dante's Inferno. Ollie goes to Neath in search of his missing friend, but then the journey changes again and again.

It is quite serious, focusing on violence (of different degrees), but it gets younger and younger as the plot advances bordering on childish for some solutions.

If the first part of the book is meant to be about punishment, anger, and revenge, the second is about forgiveness, redemption, and love (and/or friendship).

Once the riddle is introduced I lost a little interest (very personal opinion), Ollie was no longer in charge of his choices, the riddle and the answers to all questions we don't have at the end of this first volume were.

The action towards the end becomes faster and still retains its unique mood.
The prologue sets a promise but what we get at the end was not enough. (That's why this is a series).

It's well written and somewhat really different from what's trendy nowadays. It was also surprising in many ways including Ollie being an overweighted self-conscious and self-doubting-young-male-chosen-one- kind of the main character. Very cool character.

Gotta be honest I didn’t except much from this book and was hugely, pleasantly surprised!

Ollie has always been overweight and the target of many a bullies, sometimes even his own dad.

After his dad disappeared it was just him and his mom and they were happy until her death shortly after Ollie turned 18.

Now alone and struggling with his weight more than ever, Ollie sets off to help find a friend in trouble and ends up in a whole new world.

Can he find his inner strength and be brave enough to save those who need it?

I made it about 20$% into this book and it could not keep my attention. The world-building was random. I did really like the MC, Ollie, but not enough to keep going.

DNF'd at 15%

Sadly, this one wasn't for me. I really tried to push my way through to when the story would pick up but it just didn't seem like it would ever arrive. It was mostly the fact that every two sentences Ollie had to mention his weight in one way or another which turned me away from it. I understand that his fatphobia and his confidence are important parts of his development as a character, but its handling wasn't very graceful in the beginning and to be honest I didn't have much hope for it to get better.

Beyond that, there weren't any other elements in the story that seemed interesting or gripping to me. I wouldn't discourage other readers from giving it a try, though. It might not have been for me but it might be for you!

Favorite quote: “Evil cannot exist on its own…It requires a power source. In many cases, the power is simply…nothing. Doing nothing. Saying nothing. Enabling. Implicitly agreeing by lack of action. All of these feed abuse, empower it, embolden it. They make it monstrous, where it might have been meager. They make it live, and breathe, and thrive, and build in strength like a raincloud. And then, when the storm finally reaches you, you are confused. You ask: Why should I be tossed into the tempest? I am not to blame. I did nothing.”

From the start of this book, Ollie is established as a relatable character. His thoughts are thoughts so many of us have but rarely express. His insecurities and sense of isolation as well as his compassion make him a compelling protagonist. The world created in the Neath is remarkable in its vibrancy and uniqueness. It left me wanting more – more detail about how it came to be, how it functions, the minute details of day-to-day life.

This is the first book in a series and I hope for more character development of the group who rally around Ollie in the Neath. I applaud how Blanchet addresses complex issues in a way that feels accessible for all ages. Body image, domestic violence and intergenerational trauma, the justice system, apathy by those who witness harm to others, disparity in power and resources, exploitation of the vulnerable. This book offers a springboard for readers to engage in tough conversations. My one criticism is, again, wishing for more detail. I am looking forward to the next book in this series to see where Blanchet goes.

It’s no surprise that this YA Fantasy is right up my ally as my favorite genre, and boy does T.M. Blanchet deliver! With a relatable and lovable MC, a fantastical world, and a dollar coaster of emotions, HERRICK’S END is a must read!

I immediately got into the story and couldn’t put it down. It’s fast-paced with important themes of self-confidence, trauma, and abuse

This book had me rooting for Ollie and all the side characters that he meets along the way. Although it did take me a bit to get into the book, the pacing here made sense overall in order to world build and set the timing of events. It was about 25% of the way in when I became extremely invested in the book. I also enjoyed how the epilogue was included in order to give us a sneak peak of what is to come in the following book. I will be looking forward to hearing more about it.

I will say that this book could use content warnings since it does mention heavier topics for some including domestic violence and weight. Following that, I wish the book did more to address these topics a bit more where we see a clearer message. For example, the book started off really heavy introducing us to the struggles that Ollie faced including his weight and the death of his mother yet I feel like it was never completely built on. Personally, I would have also enjoyed the story more if there were more information on topics such as Ollie’s family, Nell, and more. It seemed as if last minute, so much was thrown at you just to conclude the book. I believe that if the ending was spaced out a bit more where we received more information and the events were better detailed and not as rushed, there wouldn’t be as many plot holes. Since there will be a second book, I really hope that the author takes the time to address certain matters that aren't as clear in the first book.

I was excited to read this book as soon as I read the synopsis. This story kept me engaged from the start and was thrilling. I did feel like I had more questions than answers at the end of this book. I do realize it's a series so hoping more is revealed in the next novel.

I read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is definitely a YA fantasy, with some adult themes.
I like that the author tackled some very touchy issues, such as weight, self esteem, domestic violence, the justice system, the witch burnings of old, and love.
It became much faster paced as the novel progressed. It’s probably not something I would personally read again, but I can see it becoming a favorite of younger audiences.
Ollie is a hero to admire.
3.5 stars

Hmmmm. I'm still mulling this one over and trying to decide how I felt about it.

Things I liked: The pacing worked well for me, I was engaged the whole time I was reading. I liked the characters and a lot of the details about the world. The main character was very likable and I was definitely rooting for him and the people he meets along the way. I liked the journey from Ollie feeling like he's going to be some sort of hero and rescue someone, to him feeling like he's going to stand beside someone and they will work to rescue one another. Also, I would die for Meatball.

Things that worked less well for me: So, this is the first book in a series. I'm not a huge fan of leaving a whole lot of plot elements unresolved at the end of a book, and this had a bit more left unsettled than I would have liked. I don't mind the epilogue that is basically a teaser for the next book, but I dislike that there are still so many aspects of the world left unexplained. Some things just didn't make any sense to me. There were a lot of elements that felt disconnected from one another, like it was just trying to tie in too many things.
There were also some plot points that seemed kind of silly? There's a thing with keys toward the end that I just didn't vibe with, it almost felt like it belonged in a children's book.
And there were some plot elements with Ollie's family that also really felt off to me and sort of unnecessary? But maybe that will be addressed in future book in the series?

Things I felt conflicted about: This was a lot darker than I'd anticipated, especially in the beginning. There's just so much abuse and violence and it's really depressing and was quite hard to read in parts. As it went on, the tone of the story didn't always match the seriousness of some of the topics it addressed? Like as a fantasy book I found this entertaining and interesting. But it was also touching a lot on the nature of abuse and most of those elements just made me uncomfortable here. I'm just not sure what the message was in regards to abusers and the people they have hurt.
And OOF. Ollie's internalized fat phobia and negative self talk were really hard to read. They are somewhat addressed as the story goes on, but not to the degree I'd have liked.

I enjoyed parts of this book for sure, but I probably won't seek out the other books in the series.

I'm not great at clocking CWs, but they weren't listed at the beginning of the book or anywhere on Goodreads as of the time I'm writing this and I definitely think they are needed, so I'll do my best:

Negative self talk about weight
Negative body image
Dieting
Internalized fat phobia
Physical and emotional abuse (including abuse of children and the elderly)
Death of parent from cancer
Graphic violence
Incarceration
Alcohol