The Victorian world is one of strict rules and class distinctions. Then there is the world beneath, the world that isn't spoken of but which makes the other one possible. That world is centered at the Institute. It's stated purpose is to collect children with unusual talents and educate them to make their way in society. The unstated purpose is to guard the gateway between the living and the dead.

The children come from all over the world and have varying talents. Charlie is an American who heals. He has been a slave, imprisoned and executed but he is still here. Ribs is a girl who can make herself invisible. Oscar can make companions from meat so he is never alone. Komako is a dustmaster and can collect and use dust to obscure or tighten around others. Marlowe is the youngest. He was found as a baby in a boxcare with a dying woman and then adopted into a circus. He can glow blue and either rend or mend flesh.

But some talents get corrupted. Jacob is one such. He is also a dustmaster and the one who finds Komako in China. But he gets involved with the other side when he attempts to visit there to find his dead twin and is changed forever. Now he only wants to take down the Institute and take Marlowe with him. He also wants to destroy the scientist who instead of helping the children wants to use them in his own battle against the Drucker, a creature of the dead. Jacob came once and almost succeeded in capturing Marlowe as a baby. Now that Marlowe is back, Jacob is ready to mount another attempt.

I listened to this novel and it will definitely be one of my favorite books of 2024. I loved the Dickensian writing style and the slow unraveling of the plots and counterplots at the Institute. The relationship between the children is fascinating and the way they complement each other's talents and their ability to form a united front is key. I listened to this novel and I must mention the narrator, Ben Onwukwe. His deep voice lends menace to the story and accentuates the slow unraveling of the climax of the book. This book is highly recommended for fantasy readers.

I'm not sure if there is a genre for fantasy horror, but this book doesn't fit into classic, grimdark, sword and sorcery, or urban fantasy. It is it's own genre. Maybe this could be considered a dark academia fantasy? Anyway, it is unique yet not too convoluted to follow. The writing is good and the world feels fleshed out. The story is draped in the shadows of a mystery which drives the story forward. It is long by page count, but didn't feel long in the telling. I recommend the audiobook. The narrator did an excellent job. I bought the physical book for my collection. Thank you net galley for the audiobook arc

Can you truly say you didn't like a book if you catch yourself always thinking about it? Yeah, that's what happened with this book. I didn't think I liked it very much but I can't get the story out of my head. It was a train wreck and I can't get myself to look away. Now, do I want to read the next book? I guess we will find out.

I loved the 1800s setting of this book and the promise of a new fantasy trilogy. I felt like the character depth was present with all main characters but at times the plot felt hard to follow. It is one that I will need to listen to again if I want to continue the trilogy.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book. I unfortunately didn't get around to reading this chunky book before it was published and a special edition had shown up at my door.

This book started out really promising, but it is SO long. This could have been easily hundreds of pages shorter because it just seems to drag on and on and I am so bored. Unfortunately I am DNF'ing because even with the audiobook, I don't think this is something I will rate any higher by forcing myself to continue.

The beginning is nice. The synopsis sounds wonderful. But the pacing just is making this not work for me.

The audiobook narrator was not a good fit for this story in that he could not differentiate character dialogue without making the children (of which there were many) sound like demons, which was distracting and also difficult to understand. Also, I was much more interested in the past timeline (of which there was little) than the present, where most of the characters were less interesting.

It was slow to build and there were a lot of things that we didn't understand and that there was no effort to explain in the first HALF (and when the book is 670 pages long, that's a big investment). It could have been trimmed significantly and we could have gotten much more answers much quicker with more flashbacks.

Also there was a lot of repetition. Like an entire conversation was repeated verbatim instead of... Not doing that.

A towering achievement. A Dickensian classic told through the lens of today with supernatural horror lurking behind every corner. A tale of suspenseful intrigue as two magical children on the run, end up at an Edinburgh estate where more magical children are being kept. Mysteries abound building to a thrilling conclusion.

Loved the narrator. Great premise , a bit long . Not sure I’ll continue the series but I did like it. Rated 4 for enjoyment , writing style and narration. The length felt just a bit much in this book.

This was such a unique gothic fantasy, to the point where I truly cant think of a book to compare it to as it is so uniquely its own. I think if you are a fantasy lover like myself. you will find yourself completely lost in the pages. I do think that this book did however run a bit long, and I do wish it was a tad shorter but overall it was something that I still think about to this day.

This was complex, dark, and utterly captivating. Miro's characters and their stories already interesting and compelling. I cannot wait to get more into this world.

In Victorian England, a pair of boys with strange abilities are being chased by a man made of smoke. Charlie Ovid doesn’t have a single scar on his body, despite the brutal life he has lived. Marlowe has the ability to melt or mend flesh. When a pair of detectives are assigned to escort the boys north to safety, a chase begins from the busy streets of London to an estate in Edinburgh, where other magical children, known as the Talents, are being gathered. There, the boys learn the nature of their abilities and of the man chasing them.

This dark fantasy story unfurls slowly, clocking in at over 25 hours for the audiobook. Ben Onwukwe did a nice job with the narration. <i>Ordinary Monsters</i> is the first book in a trilogy about the Talents, and you can feel the length of time spent setting up the world in this book. It was an interesting story that would be made better with some editing to trim it down.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

This book didn't quite live up to my expectations, but was enjoyable nonetheless. I'll definitely check out this author again.

This is a case where I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. I think if I had researched the book a little more I wouldn’t pick it up. The audiobook was great however this was just too long and slow paced for me.

For me the most difficult part of this story, was the narrator. For such a long story, it wasn’t easy to follow while listening. Reading it was definitely easier.

This one failed to live up to my (admittedly very high) hopes for it. The atmosphere is wonderful, you really get the whole sensory experience of each location you're in -- from the gas-lit gothic vibes of Victorian England to the damp Scottish countryside, and alllll the types of mud and stench encountered along the way.

The female characters were compellingly crafted and felt like they had unique and real personalities, rather than falling into stereotypical roles. It's true of all the characters actually -- our heroes aren't without flaw, our villains have motivations we can understand. Alice Quick is a delight, and makes me want to wear trousers and fist fight men in saloons.

But it was much too slow and much too long for the pay off. 350 pages (give or take) before we even make it to the Institute? I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes a horror-fantasy overlap, doesn't mind difficult things happening to children, and is willing to dedicate two books worth of time to a single narrative. For me, it didn't click and I won't be reading the next in the series which may be the best litmus test.

I listened to an audio version of this book and the narrator, Ben Onwukwe, was absolutely superb!
His deep dramatic voice was perfect for this dark Victorian Penny Dreadful type drama.
I felt the author had channeled Charles Dickens when writing about the plight of Charlie and Marlow and the other "talented" children picked up for the institute.
However, I do not think I can read another book from this trilogy - it took me so very long to finish listening and the narrative is very dark and oppressive

Historical fantasy is not my normal genre, but the gothic appeal drew my interest. I loved everything about this book. Very well written, characters were believable, amazing plot, and such a page turner - and there are some pages to this one.

Ordinary Monsters is a unique, and enthralling adventure of two young boys whose lives are intertwined in stopping an evil from coming into their world from the land of the dead. The story was a little slow to start, but quickly built up to a quicker pacing full of intrigue, twists and turns, and found family. A unique monster story that had me wanting more. I seriously can’t wait until book two releases. This was the audiobook version, and I enjoyed the narration. The voice inflections and tone were really easy to listen to.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced audiobook review copy of “Ordinary Monsters” by J M Miro. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

I saw many encouraging early reviews of this book so I decided to give it a try. However, when I started this book I then had to put it down for a while as the beginning was so bleak and sad. I wasn’t sure I could push through such a long book if it was going to be that sad the whole time. That does speak to the talent of the author to create such emotion, but it didn’t make me want to put the book aside until I could be in the right headspace to pick it up again and I just don’t think I’m going to be in the right headspace to push through this book.

I went into Ordinary Monsters after hearing a lot of really good things about it and I was not disappointed! This historical fantasy follows Talents in England—specifically two orphans Charlie and Marlowe who are potentially the key to opening the secrets of a world beyond. But in the quest to learn more, they’re in danger from a man trying to stop them as well. This is gritty and dark and captivating. For an almost 700-page story, nothing feels superfluous or drawn out. It is action-packed from start to finish! And the characters are so good! Marlowe is just a gem and I loved learning about Charlie and then there were all the characters helping them and moving them along and the villain Jacob Marber were all so well developed and interesting! The magic with the talents too felt so unique! I got a sort of Umbrella Academy/Night Circus vibe from the story and the back drop of England in the 1800s felt so perfect! There is a lot of darkness in this book but it’s offset well with the innocence from the children who lead the story. Such a wonderful fantasy read!