Ahh I have tried this author before but wanted to give him anther chance- same. The book just wasn't for me but I am sure his followers will love it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!

I really liked this story. It was a fun idea and well executed. The characters were well fleshed out and the story was cohesive and well planned. It was definitely hard to follow at times and IMO will only appeal to true sci/fi readers but I liked it.

The Curator
Written by Owen King
Read by Marin Ireland
Genre: Fantasy
Format: Audio/Digital, ARC
Pages/Time: 480/14hr 19min
Published: 2023
Rating: DNF @ 22%

"If immortals don’t eventually long for their own deaths, they must surely long for the deaths of fellow immortals."

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to give into mood reading. This is going to require me to DNF books that I am just not feeling. Unfortunately for The Curator, this is a book I was just not feeling. I could not get invested in these characters. I didn't find any of them interesting to read and that their dialogue was clunky and obnoxious. This one just wasn't for me.

The plot of this book seemed like a great fit for me. Unfortunately, the writing style was overwrought and slow paced. I could not finish it.

DNF.
This title really wasn’t my style. Started off really slow and was confusing to me. There were too many societies and entities introduced at the very beginning for me to even grasp what was going on. I had high hopes because of its description but I never felt like I got a footing in the world created. Maybe if I had stuck with the book would have been everything that I wanted.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review. I apologize that it just was not for me.

I absolutely loved it. I love Owen Kings novels in general and specifically the Swann especially with Cat as God’s. he just keeps getting better and better with every novel.

The author has crafted a peculiar, untamed, and, I must emphasize, occasionally delightful Dickensian narrative.

Initially, I found myself disliking and struggling to comprehend the book’s content. However, it wasn’t until I was almost halfway through the story that the pieces of the puzzle began falling into place. Suddenly, the actions and motivations of the characters came into focus, and I found myself enjoying the tale from that point onward.

Within the pages of this book, Owen King has bestowed upon us a world where the boundaries of possibility are stretched, and the unexpected reigns supreme. If you have an affinity for Dickensian themes—orphans, the clash between determination and adversity, and the spectre of revolution—then there’s a good chance you’ll find something to appreciate within these pages.

3.5 stars rounded upto 4.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF-I think I made it to 10% on my third attempt of this.

I received an ARC of this through Netgalley and was very excited. I loved Sleeping Beauties, the book King wrote with his father, and had high hopes. I liked what I saw in the summary-"Dickensian fantasy of illusion and charm where cats are revered as religious figures, thieves are noble, scholars are revolutionaries, and conjurers are the most wonderful criminals you can imagine." This seemed to check all the boxes of something I liked.

And it just..wasn't. I attempted to finish this prior to release date in March. I made it a few chapters in and just wasn't connecting. It felt pretentious and I was overall bored. I waited a few months and attempted the audiobook and after listening for a while realized it was just background noise for. I tried one more time with the audiobook today and I just can't justify sending myself into a reading slump to finish this.

Thank you Negalley for providing this ARC to me!

This book was awesome! Sorry for the late review.

This book was spooky and entertaining. Which isn’t a surprise based on who wrote it.

Thank you for the advanced copy!

While I was looking forward to this book, I ended up DNFing it fairly early on. When I wasn't reading the book, I had no sense of urgency to pick it back up. The writing felt pretentious, and not in an endearing way, more like in a try-hard way. The worldbuilding and plot were confusing, meandering, and all over the place. From what I've seen from other reviews, these things do not get better as the book progresses. For these reasons, I decided to stop reading the book.

I wanted to like this book. Based on the preliminary information, I expected to, but as I started reading, I really don't like it. There is little character development, They are flat, emotionless. The worldbuilding was somewhat interesting but not enough to save the book. I read the first half and quit. It is seldom a book hits my DNF list, but this one did.

***Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book to review.***

This novel had such a promising premise--magical kingdoms, political intrigue, and mystery. Unfortunately, the writing was hard to digest and the characters felt two-dimensional.
I would recommend trying Double Feature or Sleeping Beauties if you're hoping to try an Owen King novel.

This book was a bit difficult for me to follow at times, but had an interesting premise. I didn’t feel connected to the characters as much as I would have liked to but I was interested in the outcome. It’s a fantastical story and I am intrigued enough to want to read the authors other works.

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our list for order next year and will recommend it to students.

The language in this book was a bit too flowery for me. Descriptions were complicated and long winded causing me to often loose focus on story and my mind to wander.

I had high hopes for this book but, unfortunately, ended up DNF'ing it. I struggled to connect with or even understand the storyline. The pacing felt a little off for me and I just couldn't get into this one.
I'm so grateful for the opportunity to read this book and sad that it just wasn't for me.

No one is more bummed about my 1 star review than me. I wanted to love this, I did. I read and read and hoped to pull a story together. But I just couldn't find a way to tie the stories together or find a plot to really follow. There was such a huge cast - and each new intro'd person we suddenly got the next chapter of their POV. It was confusing and I kept losing who were my main players and what we were fighting for. Each section felt like a different story and, even now that I've gotten to the end, I'm not sure I ever pulled it all together. I will definitely give this one another go again, since I own the hardcover, but my first go through was a disappointing.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

This just wasn't a good book for me I guess. I couldn't follow what was going on and just felt like there was too much all at once.

Oh my. This was so far off from what I expected that I didn’t even really understand it to be honest. Not for me. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for review