2.5

Thank you for the opportunity to preview this ARC.

This was a miss for me. I was super excited to read it because of the description and title, but it fell short. The positives: the Night Market, the Nocturnals, the folklore, and the denizens that surround the Market. Beautiful, somewhat creepy, intriguing, and potentially an amazing world. Unfortunately not enough time was spent there.

The negatives: Oriana's age. A lot of the initial story was impacted when you remembered she is 8- too young and too wise, and it just didn't sit well. Due to that, and the pacing, it was a difficult read, even when you got to her teen years.

This story could be amazing; it just went in the wrong direction for me.

While the writing was intriguing and well plotted. I could not get into the world. I do plan on giving it another read and updating this review.

🔆Let me tell you a story..🌙

..but only if you promise to not believe a word of it..

Thank you so much to Saga Press & NetGalley for the e-book ARC for this awesome dreamy book! It's just what my heart needed!


I will admit that during reading this ebook, I got an email that the audibook was in audible and I had a credit to spare, so an immersive read was to follow! And I'm glad I did!

Heavily athmospheric in a dreamlike sequence, this was an awesome and immersive read/listen. If you are a Studio Ghibli fan, you need to run to read this one!

We follow the life journey of Oriana and her twin brother Oriano, children of renowned blacksmith, we follow the story of Oriana from childhood to adulthood in her path to forge her own destiny, that takes us in an unpredictable adventure through the day realm and the night realm where we meet new friends as well as foes.

This was adventurous, cozy, inspiring, and so immersive! I really recommend this for anyone who loves a cozy fantasy with a great world build.

I hope an animated studio picks this up. This would be an awesome movie or game!

This felt like stepping into a moody fairytale: dark, lyrical, and full of haunting folklore. The worldbuilding is super rich (almost too rich at times; I definitely had to work to follow the actual plot), but the vibe? Immaculate. Oriana’s journey was compelling, especially her fight against injustice and expectation.

If there was ever a collaboration between a Guillermo del Toro film and a Studio Ghibli movie, that is the world this book would take place in. The worldbuilding was whimsical and intricate, and I think the general coherence of the story was lost because of it. It felt like I had to pry the actual storyline out of the background, which made it difficult for me to connect with the characters. I really liked Oriana's tenacity and perseverance, though, and the ending was satisfying. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Saga Press for the eARC!

The Secret Market of the Dead by Giovanni De Feo
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Oriana dreams of being her father’s apprentice in the smithy alongside her twin brother. When they come of age though, her brother alone is chosen as an apprentice. Oriana turns to the power of the night immortals to help her challenge her brother for the smith.
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What I liked:
-There was something about the mix of gothic atmosphere and ominous destiny vibes to this story that made it hard to put down.
-Oriana’s situation hooked me from the get go. I love a good injustice storyline, and this story definitely delivered.
-This story went places that I didn’t anticipate and ended in a way that surprised me.
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Atmospheric and a little haunting, I’ve seen this book compared to a Studio Ghibli film and I can agree but make it a shade darker.

This book was solidly middle of the road for me. I loved the dark and moody vibes and the concept of the night market was really cool, but something about the execution of the story really didn't land with me. I struggled a lot with the age of the FMC. Connecting to an 8 year old and then a 14 year old was a challenge for me, and I had difficulty enjoying the story as a result. This would have been better if the FMC was a few years older. However, you'll likely enjoy this book if you like YA dark and moody stories, intriguing and unique immortal beings, gothic fairytale lore, unique world building, and complicated family dynamics.

Thank you Saga Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is a DNF review at 33%. The Secret Market of the Dead is a frustrating book because it is so technically skilled in some areas, yet still failed to hold my interest.

The worldbuilding is masterful, creating a richly atmospheric ancient Italy. The prose itself is polished and impeccable. On a technical level, it is a truly competent piece of literature.

Unfortunately, masterful prose cannot compensate for a lack of emotional connection. The main character felt more like a placeholder than a person, with no discernible personality. This had a domino effect on the plot; with no character to root for, the incredibly slow-moving story felt like a flat and meaningless string of events.

Ultimately, a book can be technically perfect, but it falls short if it doesn't make you feel. While the premise is intriguing, the execution unfortunately left me bored.

The Secret Market of the Dead is ideal for readers drawn to atmospheric, feminist-leaning historical fantasies that weave folklore and familial rivalry into a darkly enchanting struggle against societal constraints.

I was immediately intrigued by the cover and description of a young feminist set within a gothic 18th century historical Italian fantasy. And while I was really sold based on the synopsis I ended up finding myself struggling to fully enjoy this tale. My main issue was with the age of our main protagonist , Oriana as we follow her at age 8 for the first half of the tale and the second half as 14. Now don’t get me wrong I love some YA reading however the darker gothic energy I was hoping that this book would deliver definitely in my mind had a need for a much older FMC. I will say that I did get hints of Pan’s Labyrinth vibes which is one of my all time favorite reads. But when I kept thinking of the two I just keep feeling that this story didn’t hold up as well. The pacing was a tad off in my opinion as well. I did enjoy the books themes it had with its strange immortals, gothic fairytale style lore, unique worlds, and complicated family dynamics. And while these aspects were great, again the main issue for me was my lack of connection to the main characters. Overall this read while having an intriguing concept, world, and setting sadly just missed the mark for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Saga Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is right up my alley. Gothic fiction is my jam, throw in some fantasy elements and its likely to hit it out of the park for me. I loved the characters and loved the magical system. I would recommend this to anyone who likes things a little dark and moody.

I loved the idea of a historical fantasy set in Italy and indeed it was very good at setting a Studio Ghibli-like atmosphere, but it just wasn't the story I thought it was and in the end this just wasn't for me.

The story follows our young heroine, Oriana, first at age 8 when she encounters the Night Market for the first time and overcomes a challenge set to her by a supernatural creature, to 14, when she is struggling with her role in life given her society's oppression of women. I think a large part of my issue with this book had to do with her age. I aged her up in my head and that helped.

Oriana wants nothing more than to join her twin Oriano as an apprentice at her father's smithy, but it's illegal for women to do that trade. My other issue with this book was that only a very small part of the book was set at the Night Market, which was a very fun setting, and it was mostly about Oriana's challenge to her brother for the right to the smithy, which I found kind of boring. Everyone in Oriana's life was so cruel to her that it became tedious to read.

This book just wasn't for me, despite the delightfully charming scene with the Parliament of Cats.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a surprising tale. And it felt like an old school tale about fables and how they are born. The story of a girl, in a very patriarchal society thinks and feels differently. Her father, the blacksmith of the kingdom has an inkling she is different and is helping in his own ways - she has a tudor, to learn things other girls don't. She feels like she is supported, and her dream to become a blacksmith when the time comes seems plausible and possible. Was I surprised just as she was, that's not how this works. The delusion I lived through this girl, was unbelievable. And that's where we get the fable side of the book. She once entered the dead market, and made a deal with the blacksmith of the night. She went through a whole quest to not stay in the dark, but come back and live with the living. And the blacksmith now owes her a favor. She needs it to reach her dreams.

And in the end, that's how stories about someone special are born. They are tricked into believing things, and they never come back. But their legend lives on. This girl was the one who defied everyone, and she was that good to make this happen.

I loved being lost in this story. It was simple yet very well built, It was slow, yet filled with action and quests and danger. It was a story about family - the good the bad and the scary, And it was about survival.

Literally, grew up reading these kinds of fantasy stories, and I loved that it is not about romance, and earning some kind of approval from a love interest. It was about being the best, being different and doing things you love and want and not what is expected from you.

Thank you so much to Saga Press and Netgalley for an eARC of The Secret Market of the Dead! The marketing of this book really seemed like something that would be right up my alley, but unfortunately I have decided to def @ 32%. This book really just didn't work for me- there was a lot going on and a lot happening, yet I somehow wasn't sure what was going on at all! I think that this book will be someone else's cup of tea, but this one just wasn't for me.

I read the arc of The Secret Market of the Dead by Giovanni De Feo and I loved it. Do you like fairytales? I mean the dark fairytales before everyone believed fairytales had to have a happily ever after? This story is an Italian-inspired, dark, gothic, historical fantasy. We are following our FMC, Oriana. Oriana is a twin and she believes that she and her twin will inherit their father's forge and that when they are 15 they will be apprenticed to be smiths and that will be her career. But, the town is unique because of it's link to the market of the dead and the seven immortals of the night. And, Oriana believes that she sees an immortal - so not just stories, it is real. When they are 15, it is announced that Oriana's twin will inherit the forge and be apprenticed to become a smith - not both of them. Oriana does not want to just be married off which is the only option open to her. She challenges the ruling based on the fact that they are twins and are both the first born and there will be a competition to determine who will win the forge. Oriana goes into the night realm to learn to be a smith because the man who is supposed to be teaching her is tormenting her instead. This story had me completely engrossed and I stayed up late into the night to finish. So good. I have this preordered and I need more people to read it so we can talk about it! This book comes out on Tuesday, July 8, 2025. Go get it! Thank you to Net Galley and Saga Press for my advance reader copy! #sagasayscrew

Thank you to Saga Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, for the free
copy for review.

The Secret Market of the Dead feels like Pan’s Labyrinth, a Studio Ghibli film, Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, old, half-forgotten folklore, and a fever-dream all at once. Its otherworldly atmosphere is immediate and gripping—1700s Italian culture and customs are overlaid with a rich and ominous Night world that draws from Rossetti’s Goblin Market while remaining exquisitely its own. De Feo’s work is obsessed with space, shifting cities within cities and the thin, impermeable boundaries between them, and while I didn’t always understand Oriana’s reality, I was always right there in the thick of it.

This is one of those stories that will break your brain if you let it—every word matters, no line is thrown away, and meaning is found just as often (and perhaps more so) in the silences, what is NOT said, than what is spelled out on the page. The Secret Market of the Dead requires your full attention and will punish you for drifting off—on more than one occasion, I found myself going back to reread a paragraph or two when I, like Oriana, had wandered from my path. This is, of course, by no means a criticism. De Feo writes challenging, rich theoretical fantasy begging for literary analysis, and the moving and bittersweet ending is more than enough reward for those that see the story through.

I have some minor gripes with pacing and wish we’d spent more time with the Nocturnals, but all are quelled by the beautifully “other” prose and Oriana’s fierce determination to prove herself, surpass her twin brother, and earn her place as a female craftsman. If you enjoy ethereal, vivid, and folkloric worlds told with the precision and voice of a master storyteller, The Secret Market of the Dead is well worth a read!

This historical gothic fantasy set in Italy is certainly unique and has tons of interesting folklore. We follow Oriana, a young girl, through the injustices she faces growing up with her twin brother, who is allowed to do all of the things that she cannot.

Oriana wants to become a master smith like her father, but no one will take her seriously because she is a girl. When her brother is inducted as an apprentice, Oriana challenges him to a competition to decide which of them should actually become the first apprentice.

This book certainly has intriguing moments and a unique story, but I found myself skimming large chunks of it due to every single thing being overly described. I also found the fantasy aspect to be a little too surreal and difficult to wrap my head around. But I'm sure other people would thoroughly enjoy that type of writing, so definitely don't count this one out if the premise sounds interesting.

Thank you to Saga Press and NetGalley for providing me with a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for my review.

Sadly this was a DNF for me. It started well, but the constant injustices against the female protagonist became really frustrating (especially as she's only 8 at the beginning!) and aspects of the story just seemed off or illogical to me. Disappointed, as this sounded good, but the description of the book was very different to what I was reading.

3.5 stars rounded up. I enjoyed this standalone historical fantasy and all of its dark weirdness. It has Alice in Wonderland & Pan Labyrinth vibes with fever dream-like characters, mazes, riddles, trials, etc.,

Ultimately, it is a story of a young girl’s perseverance against gender roles in society. There is sibling rivalry with her twin brother when he is announced to become the apprentice of his father's smithy (something that the MFC wants, but because she’s a girl cannot have). This sets into motion a series of trial competitions between the two involving smithery. The character development throughout the book was so well written. I think a big ding for me was that the MFC is eight throughout the first 40% of the book, and it was just very unrealistic to me. The rest of the book she’s 14-15 and it was still a little unbelievable to me. But hey…so is Alice in Wonderland. Haha I just didn’t feel like she behaved or spoke like an 8 year old so it had me feeling disconnected. Otherwise, a very unique and interesting tale!

One day, Oriana, the young daughter of a smith in 18th century Naples, slips into the realm of Night. There, she discovers men with cloaks made of eyes, cats masquerading as humans, merchants selling curses, and gods offering dangerous bargains. It’s very imaginative, very folkloric.

This is a magical book, and all of the comparisons to Ghibli or Nemo in Dreamland are definitely onto something. But this is also a very dangerous dreamworld, and the whimsey and the mystery of the Night are harshly contrasted to the casual misogyny and cruelty Oriana experiences during the Day, both as a child when we first meet her and then as a teenager.

I loved it. A few minor qualms. I found the timeskip somewhat awkward. And more concerningly, without spoilers, I found the book really depressing even how little control Oriana has over her destiny.