This is a very quick paced book. Though it is very short book consisting of only 202 pages the story involves a number of characters. A lot of action scenes and a number of humorous plot twists shapes this book.

The writing style of this book is quite simple. All the characters too are well developed.

Overall, I loved the book and the narration too was well done in the audiobook.

Thank you NetGalley for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. This was a very curious and fun book to read with my kids and had them wanting to keep going on to the next chapter each night.

Such a magical read for middle graders. Loved the magical realm, and would definitely recommend.
Thanks for the opportunity to read!

Phoebe gets lost in the woods of West Virginia. While she searches for her way back, she meets a strange creature. This creature turns out to be goblin Gnish-Gnash. Soon, a whole new world opens up for Phoebe, one with goblins, trolls, wizards, and magic. On this journey, she also discovers something about herself.

This story was simple but the engaging plot kept me coming back for more. As a middle-grade fantasy novel I appreciated the positive messages and the pacing of the story.

This was a fun, quick-paced middle grade read. I love super whimsical fantasy and middle-grade books do that so well. The audiobook narrator was great, but I was a little confused because the main character was supposed to be from Illinois and the story takes place in West Virginia, but the narrator accent was neither. It didn't really bother me at all though. Overall, I thought this book was fun, but I don't necessarily think of it as something that'll stick with me.

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

This was a fun fun to see middle grade. I haven’t read middle grade in a very long time and I love fantasy books too so I thought this was a really good combination, especially when it’s of like middle age, children and finding out about the parent and about the egg and all about these little mystery light goblins in the world and travelling, and I think it’s just really cool and fun to dip into a different world that isn’t really really complicated or have a lot of political issues. I think middle grade fantasy does just hit different, especially as someone who isn’t in the middle grade category

A short fun read for middle graders! I really loved the Goblin Gnish-Gnash. A really great name too, i would say. Phoebe as the main character is fine. I think she would be a decent self insert character for younger readers. Especially since (speaking from experience) they really love creatures and animals in fantasy stories.

My only real complaint with this audiobook was that I do not love a male narrator for a female presenting character. It takes me out of the immersion a bit but I did think his narration was great overall just didnt love him for this book if that makes sense. He did do a wonderful performance!

Overall 3.75 stars

Thank you Net Galley for this ARC :)

Format: audiobook ~ Narrator: Adam Varah
Content: 4 stars ~ Narration: 4 stars

Phoebe gets lost in the woods of West Virginia. While she searches for her way back, she meets a strange creature. This creature turns out to be goblin Gnish-Gnash. Soon, a whole new world opens up for Phoebe, one with goblins, trolls, wizards, and magic. On this journey, she also discovers something about herself.

Simple but engaging plot, it's a middle-grade fantasy novel. It contains many positive messages, as befits such a book.

Thanks to Wild Rose Press for the advance copy and this opportunity! This is a voluntary review and all opinions are my own.

The narrator is the star of this story. Honestly, there is a lot to like, but it needed to be longer. Middle readers can handle a more complex story that is told over a long series. There are like, 10 adventures here that should have been spread out over 10, 200 pages books instead of crammed into one. It felt rushed.

This one is a mixed bag review. I think the arc holds a lot of potential but is in need of more extensive editing and development. There's a lack of emotional flow, almost choppily disjointed in relation to some subplot. Little to no real background of why Phoebe Grey is so unusual before jumping into the plot.

However, not everything is negative. The found family and community aspect is fantastic. Reminded me a lot of Labyrinth. And they work together very well when needed, protecting. Also the world and various kingdoms are well described. Easy to imagine throne rooms and battles, for example.

Thanks to Netgalley, Cole Poindexter and Wild Rose Press for the chance to read in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book. While I found the world of this book to be very interesting, everything moved too quickly for me to get an idea of what was at stake for Phoebe. It felt like new characters and creatures kept getting thrown in and a lot of the time I found myself asking what was the point of them being there in that moment? I feel like if we got the opportunity to get more world building and character growth that this could be a very good series. As a stand-alone book though I personally struggled to get through it.

"The Griffin's Egg" is a highly imaginative story that is improved so much in audio format. The characters come alive with the narration, adding to the fantasy story of a young girl who finds herself in an enchanted land fighting against an evil witch. I would gladly recommend this title to any child or adult who enjoys their fantasy world populated by fairies, elves, trolls, griffins, and so many other creatures.

Buy this book for the story, which reminds me of Cressida Cowell's books, but listen to it for the joy of listening and seeking deeply into the story. Bravo to the narrator and the author for this entertaining and meaningful message about caring for everyone and everything in our world, wherever we are.

A great little story that was fun and full of adventure. My daughter enjoyed the narrator and the pace wasn’t too fast or slow. Overall a really lovely story to have on during a drive

"Sometimes you'll start off on the wrong foot with those you meet, but that doesn't mean you can't become friends!"

That line of dialogue seems to sum up The Griffin's Egg quite well, as it's a children's story much in the vein of stories like Chronicles of Narnia, Wizard of Oz, The Phantom Tollbooth, etc. where a child goes to another world and solves its problems. The lead character Phoebe does this inadvertently through a walk in the woods, and once she's in the other world she becomes

But interestingly, The Griffin's Egg doesn't entirely withhold sympathy from its antagonists. While at first many are obstacles for Phoebe to overcome, she finds herself in the position to save and befriend most of them. Even the ultimate villain isn't quite with her moment of sympathy.

I quite loved the world-building details in this book, including frog-like kelpies described with bulging eyes, sentient lamps that speak in rhymes, fruit that makes children recall happy memories and laugh, and flowers that send others to sleep (once more thought of Oz). The series of tasks that Phoebe must accomplish also reminded me of the structure of the original Wizard of Oz book.

The plot itself moves at a clip and is likely to engage young minds.

A very fun middle grade read!!

I loved the fantasy and the setting. I thought Phoebe and Gnish-Gnash were so fun to read about.

I was rooting for Phoebe the whole time. The action was so exciting and I will be recommending this one to my students!

A magical story that my daughter fell in love with! I wanted to find something for my family to listen to in the car, and this audiobook version of The Griffin’s Egg was perfect! We were all hooked on this captivating novel that seemed to remind us how precious our world is, and that we must do our best to protect it. The characters are whimsical, and I love the added mystery of the magic cloak. My daughter gave the book a 9/10, but only because she had to ask what a VHS tape was (as referenced in the book). A must read for your family!

I liked the gentle pace of this story. Lots happens– Phoebe faces a sorceress who seems determined to steal and eat the Griffin’s egg and become all-powerful. The way the story is broken up, though, prevents it from building up a lot of tension. Phoebe faces lots of challenges, but most are resolved in some way in the same scene. The resolution leads to the next problem for her to deal with. That pace makes this a good pick for a sensitive reader who might stress over longer-term conflicts.

The characters also don’t hold grudges or have really complex reactions to each other. For example, when a character who first worked against Phoebe decides to help her instead, Phoebe welcomes them to her team. She might have a brief moment where she considers that they tried to hurt her or lied to her when they were on opposing sides of the conflict, but she pretty quickly rationalizes that they should work together and get along now that they want the same thing.

THE GRIFFIN’S EGG is a portal fantasy in which Phoebe goes through a magic portal to a fantasy world, leaving the forest of West Virginia behind. She only spends a little time at the beginning and end of the book in the real world. I couldn’t tell if her real-world experience was supposed to take place in the world we live in or if there was a reimagined history. Her grandfather, who was born in the late 1950s, had served in a war that he didn’t want to talk about. The book never specifies what conflict it was.

All in all, I thought this was a fun, sweet story that would be great for younger middle grade readers interested in fantasy stories.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.

This book was perfect. The story was well-written in simple, engaging language that's perfect for children, and the magic of the story pulls you straight in. It has everything I look for in a good childrens book: magical forests, magical creatures, powerful friendships, and a happy ending.
The story is fast-paced and grips you from the start - I couldn't put it down. The characters were fun and engaging, the plot line was great, and the action was captivating.
I listened to it on audiobook, and I thought the narration was fantastic as well.
This is definitely a book I would buy for my daughter!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC copy of this book

This work was quite linear, but it’s a MG fantasy so that’s not unreasonable. I enjoyed the simple story and the introduction of fun characters along the way. The trolls were surprisingly well written and ended up being some of my favorite characters. I did like that for the most part, the characters weren’t “good” or “bad.” Lucinda (the dark witch) was the most black and white character, which did make her feel a little cliché as a villain, but most MG readers probably won’t even notice this. Phoebe was a great protagonist and never felt too old or too young, and I enjoyed that she didn’t do everything on her own in this book – she always had help with the tasks/goals. I also enjoyed that while magic played a role, the aspect that made Phoebe so effective ended up being her kindness and empathy.

The setting of this work was well written, with cool descriptions and interesting fantasy creatures. The only thing I didn’t really care for was that the author used the “let’s not answer irritating questions” approach to keep an air of mystery surrounding certain aspects. This is not an approach that I like, but that’s just personal preference.

This fun fantasy adventure is a great MG read with a strong female protagonist. It is a standalone, though I think more books following Phoebe’s adventures would be fun.

This was a fun fantasy novel and t featured all of the cool creatures; Trolls, Goblins, Griffins, oh my! This middle-grade fantasy kept me engaged in the story and made it hard to put down. I am very much looking forward to reading more of Cole Poindexter's books in the future.

Adam Varah did a great job narrating this novel and I will look for more books narrated by Adam in the future.