Into the Misty Ruse was a wonderful coming of age story. It’s full of magic and mischief. I read this along with my 11 year old son, and we both enjoyed it. It was enchanting and whimsical, and I would recommend to many ages.

This was a very cute book! I loved the plot. I tend to be picky about writing and writing style but I had no issues with it in this book. Very easy read.

This was a super fun read with fast pacing, interesting magic and lovely characters. I do understand that it is for middle graders and I feel like if I read this as a kid I would have absolutly loved it altough I did find some of the vocabulary to be a bit too advance at times for middle grader level. This is absolutly a book I would give my nieces/nephews.

Although this book is categorized as a YA one I think it's one most adults should read as well if they want to rediscover the meaning of fantasy and imagination. The collision of both magical and nonmagical worlds is just beautiful. I was able to immerse myself in the main character's mind, experiencing everything he was. It's a kind of fantasy world that I've never read of before and is well done. The characters are fun and well-thought-of, it makes you feel as if you were 12 years old again, exploring new worlds and instead of imagining fantasies, living them. I truly enjoyed this book and can't wait for the second book in the Harmonycan series.

It's a very well-written book! I am in awe of the author's imagination! To create this world and all the creatures in it takes a big creative mind. I truly enjoyed this story and can't wait for more books in the series! I think this book is perfect for a middle grader or an adult. I enjoyed this book immensely and highly recommend it!

Into Misty Ruse H.A Growler is an upper middle grade/lower Young adult fantasy novel containing everything I love to find in the genre.
What I loved
-Forbidden magic
-Strong dialogue
-excellent pacing
-nice additional art
What didn't work as well for me
-Characters especially the main character sometimes read slightly older than intended
-The wait for a book two is gonna break me
Who Would I recommend this title for
Fans of writers such as Tamora Pierce and stories such as those found in Avalon Web of magic will have a great time reading Into Misty Ruse.

This book was a 20/10! I loved the storyline, the characters, the drama, the cliffhanger! I was so encaptured by this book and I couldnt put it down. I 1000% recommend it.to everyone! Can't wait to see whats next!!

nto Misty Ruse is the first book in The Harmonycan Chronicles and I thought this book was fun and very creatively written. Even though it was aimed at a much younger audience, I was immediately engaged by Zyk's story as well as the story building. To be honest, I had a hard time putting this down and pretty much read it in one sitting. I

Zyk is a great main character and I loved following him on his journey as he becomes stuck in a magical settlement due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Making the best of a difficult situation, he is treated with kindness by those who find him as he learns to navigate a world very different from his own. The secondary characters are as engaging as Zyk and I developed a huge fondness for Pitch and Eva as well as all of the others we meet.

There were a lot of important themes running through this book, ones that I think would make great discussion topics in a classroom or with your own child, such as loneliness, loss, grief, friendship, acceptance, racism, judgment, pre-conceived notions, growth, separation, and consequences to one's behaviour. There is a huge emphasis on different does not mean something to be destroyed, but that co-existence is necessary for everyone to thrive. With that in mind, the way Zyk was treated as a newcomer to the society was used as a way to develop these themes, and I enjoyed all of the situations in which he found himself, from dealing with dangerous plants to dealing with difficult students and adults. Everything was done with compassion and care.

One of the things I particularly enjoyed was the discussion around plant life as Zyk was very interested in plants, especially magical ones. He has a huge affinity for them and this is one of the ways his magic first manifested without him realizing what had happened. I thoroughly enjoyed his predicaments when he got entangled in situations where he assumed plants that looked fine turned out to be extremely dangerous. The creative names given to these plants and the scenes involving them kept me riveted to the page, sometimes laughing out loud. I thought the whole magical system was quite whimsical and creative. Personally, as a kid, I would have loved to visit this place.

Into Misty Ruse was a delight to read, and I loved the magic, the story, and the characters. I was captivated by the world-building and enjoyed the descriptive storytelling. The characters were well-drawn out, each with their own unique personalities, and thought the mystery was perfect for a book for this age group. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good story, and I am definitely looking forward to the second book when it is released.

Thank you to the author & NetGalley for the review copy!

A great middle grade/lower YA novel that took me back to when I was a kid learning to love reading .

Would absolutely recommend to anyone looking to relive a little childhood memories reading about magic.

The main character felt like he spoke/acted slightly older than he was supposed to be but overall this was super enjoyable and would be a fun book to read with a younger child.

Fun book. Very creative and I would imagine this is a fun read for kids. Recommend it 100%! Clean language. Life lessons that would be great topics of discussion for kids with parents and teachers.

This was a great start to the Harmonycan Chronicles series, it had a great overall concept and glad I was able to read this. The characters had a great overall feel to them and worked in the genre. H.A. Growler has a great writing style and I look forward to read more in this world.

4.5⭐️'s.
I was lucky enough to be sent a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Into Misty Ruse is a wonderful introduction to the fantasy genre for young adults.
This is book 1 of a series.
It is a beautiful journey of self discovery and courage that leaves you feeling light & warm inside.
Into Misty Ruse follows the story of Zyk (pronounced zeek, like seek).
Zyk is living in a town where any association with magic & magical creatures is forbidden, circumstances lead to Zyk being transported into Misty Ruse which is a town filled with magic & magical creatures. Zyk soon starts to question why he is being led to believe that magic & magical creatures are forbidden when he has been opened into Misty Ruse with such warmth & open arms.
Zyk is very curious about magic & gets to learn about magic in Misty Ruse.
This story is wonderful & will be enjoyed by a varying age group of readers.
It is a YA Fantasy & whilst it is quite ya, as an adult I enjoyed this thoroughly.
The time & care that has gone into the quality of the physical books is to be applauded, from the sheer weight of the book, the quality of the paper & all the wonderful additions to the book inclusive of artwork & a pronunciation guide provided at the back.
As this is book 1 of a series, questions from the blurb are left unanswered, however I know from the ending they will be explored in book 2.
This is a wonderful book to read to & or with your children & grandchildren.
It has left me feeling so warm inside & I'm excited to see how the rest of the Harmonycan Chronicles are explored.
I highly recommend this book!

Into Misty Ruse was an enchanting read for me and especially for my daughter (12) as we read it together. The feel of this book was similar to other fantasy novels I read when I was between the ages of 12-14. Although aimed towards a younger audience it still sucked me right into the story. It was fairly fast-paced and easy to read. This book is full of captivating world building, fun and brilliant young characters. The descriptive writing made me feel like I was inside the book and walking through the story alongside Zyk. My daughter also loved and appreciated the artwork in the book so she could truly picture the scenes she was building in her head. It is the first in its series and the cliffhanger left us both desperate to find out what happens next!

This was a fun middle grade novel that I would have DEVOURED when I was a child. I feel like 4th-8th grade is an accurate range for the target audience, depending on reading level.

Zyk is a 12 year old human who lives in a time where utilizing magic is completely prohibited and has dire consequences. A couple of years after Zyk’s father disappears, Zyk happens upon Misty Ruse - a magical settlement beyond the dangerous mist that covers the outskirts of his village. Zyk finds himself stuck in Misty Ruse for a while and grapples with his desire to freely learn magic in this magical land.

I am a sucker for magic systems and academia within a magical setting, and this book delivered. I do wish we could have spent a little more time learning about the magic in the coursework Zyk takes, but I think this book did a decent job given the grade level of the novel.

There is a lot of world building which was fun, but I do feel like some of it could get a tad confusing at times. However, my middle school self would have taken notes to study the various aspects of this world, so I’m not too bothered by it.

I love the vocabulary that is thrown in every so often. It did not feel out of place and honestly, I expect a good book to help build vocabulary.

I do feel like this book left a lot unanswered without even hints towards what could potentially be an answer. And the climax was a bit rushed (I think it lasted half a chapter?). I know this is just the first book in a series so I hope more progress is made towards those answers. But all in all, those were my only complaints!

OMG!! This was such a breath of fresh air! Such a charming, well written book! It does contain younger characters than I am use too. However, that is NOT a bad thing! Very knowledgeable dialect/conversations. Author has some background of sorts in plants, and I found myself learning something from that. Loved the “magical” system. I think this book is great for younger readers, and adults! I’m almost 40 and enjoyed it! Give it a read, or if you have a young teen, this would be great too!

This was a fantastic magical story the way the author really makes you feel like your in the story is amazing I really think a lot of kids will love this story Zyk getting into the forest and ending up in misty muse and how the author really describes like the food the trees explains how this world is so different the best part is the flitterflies with how the mail woks and the furniture like shrinking the furniture to help with storage like I had so much fun reading this book and I can’t wait for book two

I was sent this book in exchange for an honest review.

Having just finished. I can say "Into Misty Ruse"
Is an enchanting read that's blends magic and science into a captivating adventure, offering a delightful escape into a world where the boundaries of reality and fantasy blur. The vivid descriptions and engaging plot kept me turning the pages.
The illustrations were an added bonus. I really enjoyed this book.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. My teenage niece and I read this book together. And we both loved it!

It's a whole new world, like nothing we've come across before. The magical beings in the book are completely new, creatures I've never come across before and so unique! We liked the TOMBs aka CCOMBs the best. The humans call them TOMBs while the magical community calls them CCOMBs. They are these magical plants that have all these strange and unusual magical properties, some of which were quite deliciously horrifying. Like the TOMB that produces fruit that punches through the roof of your mouth to take over your brain and control you to walk until it finds the perfect spot to sow it's seed. lmao. This is not a horror book, I assure you. That was probably the scariest plant in the book, and nobody is directly affected by it. At the end of the book, the author explains that many of the plants are based on real-life plants. A few examples are given, but I wish there was more explanation of which ones are based on real-life plants. Kids who are into science would really enjoy that imo.

There's a little artwork in the book, and we really enjoyed that. It helped visualize this intricate world that has been woven.

Overall, I give this book five out of five stars. If your middle-grader likes fantasy, I would recommend it to them for sure. It's no thriller, but it's fast-paced and very easy to read.

Rating: 3.5/5 Penguins
Quick Reasons: fast paced, entertaining read; a small case of the magical "fix ups"; these kids have QUITE the vocabulary; intriguing, mysterious magic; good world-building; what even happened at the end?!

HUGE thanks to H.A. Growler and Netgalley for sending a free galley of this copy my way in exchange for an honest review! This in no way altered my read of or opinions on this title.

Overall, this was an entertaining, engrossing read. While a fair amount of the technique was bordering more on telling than on showing, I was intrigued enough by the action and story telling that this was not as big an issue for me as it may have otherwise been. This story is fast-paced and pretty easy to follow, with a ton of action-packed, breath-holding scenes. The characters and their mysteries are also compelling, though I found myself questioning a fair amount throughout. Things I questioned: why was Eva so willing to stay behind? (this got answered a little bit later on in the text); why didn't Zyk fight harder to send any messages to his mom?; how do these kids have such thorough and WIDE vocabulary? (they use BIG words sometimes!); exactly how long have they been in Misty Ruse? (it seems like FOREVER when reading, but I think maybe only a few months?); how do they always seem to magically have the answers they need at the very last possible second? (I think this might have been more a case of the magical "fix ups" than anything).

Still, despite the questions and my sometimes inability to suspend my disbelief, I really enjoyed this read. There were a lot of weird and/or big acronyms throughout, which I'm going to be honest, I struggled to remember what they stood for (I know CCOMB is....some type of classified plant that is ranked on a "danger" scale but like...?!?!?!) H.A. Growler put a lot of imagination into creating the world AND it's creatures, going so far as to spin new beings out of their mind and bring them fully onto the page. The mystery, coupled with the magic of a wholly new world just lurking outside our own, made this an intriguing journey! Did I mention there are illustrations?! (at least, in the ebook version) The art is cute, sometimes a bit of a stretch, but helps to better "paint" a picture of the world and the characters. The ending, though...as a warning note, the ending IS a cliffhanger and it comes rather unexpectedly.

I definitely recommend this to lovers of mid-grade (parents, this is a fabulous magical story for your kids to "fall" into), mysteriously magical worlds, and creatively crafted creatures. H.A. Growler is bound to ensnare young readers and adults alike in this tale. Can you find your way into Misty Ruse, Penguins? Keep your wits about you, if so--not everything is what it appears.

Into Misty Ruse is a story where fantasy abounds, where we discover there's growth to be found, for a little boy trying his best to be strong and a strong-willed girl who tries too hard to do no wrong.

Not what I expected, but it was really well-done. Loved the world-building and the characters.