This book took me a lot longer to read then I had anticipated.

This was unlike anything I have ever read before - the premise was super unique, the characters were all interesting, and story was spell binding. My only issue was that I wish it stuck to a single perspective more, but alas, not all books can be perfect. Sorry for the late review - and thank you so much for the ARC

Thank you to NetGalley, J.M Miro and Penguin Random House Canada for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

So I had seen this everywhere for a while and how everyone was still thinking about it so I requested it. I did not realize it was almost 600 pages long. I am terrified of long books and I generally get bored halfway through; so it’s a testament to this book that I read every single page. It was so interesting and I NEEDED to know what happened to Charlie and Marlowe. I’m sure I’ll need the second one and find the next story!

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for this e-ARC of Ordinary Monsters in exchange for an honest review. This book took me A LONG time to get through and honestly, I liked it and at certain times, I loved it. Overwhelmingly, though, it was sitting in "I liked this" but it wasn't always that I NEEDED to keep reading, or else. Historical fantasy is a genre I have come to love, and Ordinary Monsters is definitely something I would recommend to an already immersed fan of the genre and perhaps not my go-to for one who is just starting out. The setting is a classic for historical fantasy and I think it fits in well and does it justice. The magic system was also something I really did enjoy.

This is a CHONKY book. Massive. SO many characters to keep track of. An immersive world- and I LOVED it.

I understand why this is not for everyone. It can be a bit confusing to keep track of everything, and it is very dense. It is NOT for beginners into fantasy/high fantasy. But if you're ready to commit to an expansive world, characters, and plot- this is the novel for you.

It is not perfect, I think other reviewers who gave this 5 stars understand its faults, but like them I could look past that and not only push through but embrace it and ADORE it. I do agree it didn't have to be that long, but I did not mind at all.

I loved the writing style, world building, and most (most) of the characters. It was not one of those books I 'couldn't put down', but I did find myself engaged with the story when I did pick it up.

I really enjoyed this book. It had a gothic historical fantasy vibe with interesting characters and premise. While it is almost 700 pages long, it didn't feel like a slog at all. Can't wait for book 2!

DNF

I will not be giving a star rating on this title as I don’t t believe it’s fair to do so having DNFed it. I tried SO hard to get into this book and like it, but it just was not for me in the end. I’m not entirely sure what it was, perhaps the style of it, maybe I just could not get invested in anything with it, but after trying very hard to force my way through it, I realized I really shouldn’t have to feel like I’m forcing myself to finish something because it was just making me enjoy it even less.

I fully believe this is a book that many others will love, it just came down to a matter of personal taste for me and an inability to get sucked into the story as a result.

I even attempted to listen to the audiobook to try to give myself a different method of taking the story on, but this didn’t work for me either. A huge thank you regardless to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book as I wanted so badly to like it, and I really did think it was right up my alley.

I quite liked this one. I am excited to see the author this month for a talk on historical fantasy as I thought they did the setting and integration quite well.

This was an engaging read, and I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fantasy and/or stories of children with 'special talents.'

The characters, plot, and setting are all beautifully drawn in a way that allowed me to disappear inside of the story, and I'll be sure to pick up the next book in the trilogy when it's available. My only quibble with it is that there were times when I felt the length could be trimmed.

Thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for the opportunity to Ordinary Monsters in advance of its publication.