I really love a lot of the ideas in The Canopy Keepers. The themes around climate change, destruction of native ways of life and humanities endless need for more feel very current and were written well in this book.

Having previously been aware of the mycelium network, I thought this was an excellent and unique concept to being into the fantasy realm. It’s absolutely fascinating on its own and the author really breathed life into it for the story and did it justice.

I personally felt that there was too much time spent topside - the entire first third of the book was basically all set in the ‘real world’ and I think readers would benefit more from an earlier introduction to the fantasy element of the book. Romelo is central to the plot of the story but he, as a character, fell flat for me. I needed more of how he came to be who he is and how his extreme views were formed because he felt like a plot point rather than a fully developed character.

There were also a few continuity issues with the writing which, whilst minor, were noticeable. One of the bigger ones was the MCs feelings for Taron. At one point she’s saying she knows that she’s being used by her but them almost immediately after, she’s calling her a friend. I felt the MC contradicted herself a lot during the book and it took away from the story.

Also, what happened to Ochai? There was so much urgency to save him from his fate and then that just petered out to nothing and the plot point was left untouched after that - no closure.

Despite the issues I had, this was a book that I wanted to read. The ideas really are excellent and the writing style is enjoyable. There’s just some kinks that need ironed out, some character development needed and some plot points tied off.

Thank you to 47North for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5 stars

This book was an incredible read with a critical message all should listen to. The book does an excellent job of creating a society that exists beneath our own. The Rhiza way of life had me hooked from the beginning. Henry's worldbuilding pulls you in and doesn't let you leave. I enjoyed how she modeled the Rhiza society after humans, giving them conflict and struggles instead of making them a perfect group with all the answers. Romelo was the perfect anti-hero, and his familial bond with Syrah was well-written.

I LOVE Henry's focus on familial relationships instead of romantic ones in this book. Syrah and Dane, Romelo, and her adoptive parents. Taron and Romelo. All these relationships were complex and heartbreaking at times.

I had some complaints about pacing. The beginning of the book felt very slow and then rapidly increased in pace towards the middle/end.

This book is incredible, and I will be checking out more of Henry's work. Thank you again to 47North.

This book was a real surprise and with that a bit of a hidden gem for me. When I read the blurb I thought 'possibly a good Sci-Fi book' but aside from fulfilling that expectation it was very thought provoking and stayed with me as a reader longer than the last page.

The reason for my 4 star rating is the characters. While the plot concept was multi-layered and in my opinion great, the characters needed a bit more depth to make it a 5 star read. Syrah is very passionate in in my opinion the best character of the bunch, as the reader gets to learn about her motivations and emotions, but Romelo, the villain in the book, seems to not have received the same depth and attention as her.

All in all I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Sci-Fi plots but also in the human effects on nature and possible outcomes of our actions today for the future. I think this book is a very good book and recommendable.

(A comment: a review of this book will be published on my instagram account @anns.book.chronicles on pub day as well)