I got this for my son and he had trouble listening to it at night because it was a little too spooky for his nighttime reading book. He keeps telling me he wants to finish it, but during the day.

Fog & Fireflies by T.H. Lehnen is an atmospheric read with a strong sense of place and a quiet, lyrical tone that drew me in from the start. There’s a dreamlike quality to the writing — at times haunting, at times tender — and the imagery of fog, fireflies, and the rural setting was beautifully rendered.

While I appreciated the mood and themes, the pacing was a bit uneven for me, and I occasionally felt a little disconnected from the characters or unsure of where the story was leading. There were some truly lovely moments, but I found myself wishing for more clarity or emotional depth in a few key scenes.

Still, it’s a thoughtful and creative debut with a lot of potential — and I think it could really resonate with readers who enjoy quiet, introspective stories with a touch of the surreal.

I enjoyed this story for what it was. However I think this is more for a much younger audience than myself. The premise was unique but I felt it needed to be more flushed out. I had a lot of “why” questions and not a lot of answer.

I loved the story! It pulled in mythical and older time worlds to me! Ogma had to find herself in one of the toughest ways possible. Great Story!

This was so cute! I loved the story concept (and to think this is a debut is seriously fantastic). The writing was poised and fit for the age group (almost reminiscent of Little Thieves by Margaret Owens or even V.E. Schwab's middle grade fiction). Lehnen has a way with dialogue and descriptive prose. All of the characters completely flew of the page, each with a discernible personality. The atmosphere was absolutely perfect, and the one thing that I think would take some points away would be the pacing. The pacing itself felt a little jittery where the motion of the plot was push and pull repeatedly. It took me out of the story slightly. Lastly, the narration was great! There were only once or twice where I could tell the narrator apart from the story (the narration of the story fell flat at times because the narration for the dialogue was so animated and fun, I wish there was slightly more feeling/emotion to the story as well even if it isn’t dialogue.)

Overall what a fantastic book, and there are plenty of regulars at my store that I know would love this story! Can’t wait to tell them.

This book was well written, the story was interesting and kept you engaged! It was dark and mysterious. I enjoyed it.

This one is dark yet youthful in prose and topic. Instead of YA, I think I would place it a little younger. It is reminiscent of the old dark movies for kids in the 1980’s and early 1990’s, like The Witches or Labyrinth.

This one is a refreshing take on a fantastical horror story. In a world where children are the ones who protect the adults (a CPS worker’s nightmare), we find our 14-year-old FMC who (with age) is starting to become more vulnerable to what bumps in the night. When children are kidnapped and our FMC seeks to find them and the reason for the fog, she is joined by a group of friends to help her get through the hardest parts of the journey. Riddled with themes of friendship and believing in yourself, the story takes a sinister turn.

If you love magic and want to be transported back to the dark fantasy stories of your youth, this one is for you.

As for the narration, I usually don't enjoy it when an author narrates their own books. But T.H. Lehnen brought the dark themes home on this one.

This book was ok, but definitely would have been something I would have enjoyed more as a middle schooler. I found that the story was hard to follow in the format I was given (it was an audiobook), and the voice actor did not differentiate between stories and what was real for the story and it got hard to keep track sometimes.
The plot was interesting, but the reveal at the end seemed really fast and overall I was disappointed by it. That there was time warping could have worked really well, but I felt that it was played up a bit at the end but nothing real came of it.
I did not like the idea of the puppets, it was something that creeps me out, but that is a me problem and not a problem with the book.

I find that the concept of the fog and the children being the only ones immune to it a fascinating concept, but it needed explored more and the background of how it came about to be explained. This would have helped a lot at the beginning because I thought there were no adults at all for a long time, and the society was just confusing for the first section.

This audiobook would have been well served by having a cast as well as some music/background to help differentiate stories/real life. This could have removed some of the confusion I had.

Overall a cute story for Middle Grades-High School.

I listened to the audiobook recorded by the author and found it eerie and compelling. The story is dystopian and faerie tale and childhood fantasy all in one. Vivid descriptions and compelling universe left me wanting more.

I was kindly given a copy from the author via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

the premise is what drew me in of the bleak post apocalyptic work. what happened? How did the fog come to be? Why is there only children? the atmospheric setting is exceptional with the description drawing me in.

unfortunately the prose is what made me score the book slightly lower with it's long descriptive sections I found I was somewhat lost at times.

the characters are well fleshed out and likeable in a sad growing up too soon kind of way.

the books picks up greatly towards the end and I enjoyed how it went along. Bleak in places and uplifting in others.

EDIT for the publisher and author. Thank you again kindly for the book it's something out of my comfort zone and was enjoyable overall. Best of luck for the book!

I have mixed feelings about this book. I will say, this book is not one of my favorite reads. That being said, I do think a lot of people will really enjoy it. I just was not able to connect to the characters and it felt quite repetitive at times. Don’t let my opinion deter you from checking it out though if it sounds like something you might enjoy!

I loved the concept of the story and the way it dove into topics like fear and growing up in such a tangible way. The characters were interesting and relatable, and I loved watching their growth as the story progressed. My favorite part of the book was the atmosphere, which was almost its own character in the story. I would have loved this story as a teenager. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a book with depth and explores the subject of fear, especially as we age.

The time of wizards and gods has passed and in a reversal of roles, the children must protect the villages since the adults cannot. One girl musters incredible courage as she adventures through her world battling horrific monsters while she searches for home.

Readers of both The Chronicles of Narnia and the tales of the Land of Oz will delight in this fantasy story set in a world not quite like ours but not unrecognizable either. Additionally, I appreciated the morally grey shades found in many of the characters offset with some that are simply good without being over-the-top.

Do yourself a favor and grab this book. There is even an audiobook edition!

I received this from Netgalley as an audiobook ARC.

If I could give this a half-rating, it would be a 3.5 for me.
I would've loved this book as a teen. I do still enjoy YA, and I enjoyed this audiobook, but I think that the idea of a world where Children are used as protection just didn't quite sit well with me as an older adult.
This book is written more as a high fantasy; world-building is key. The main character is key (but again, is a child, so personality isn't as established). The author also narrates in a pleasant, soothing voice. It is read as any story would be read to a classroom full of children, so narration with little acting. I just happened to LOVE storytime as a child, so no issues on that from me!

I am so glad I got to listen to this book. The way it is narrated makes it a whole new experience. The voice is almost hushed, it feels like I am being told a story while waiting in one of those towers with Ogma and the others. Sometimes it is calming, reassuring almost mesmerizing, then the story twists and turns and the voice with it, it becomes rushed, fearful.

It was however, a bit hard to keep track of all the different characters and thus the plot at times. Instead of turning me away from the story it just makes me want to revisit it. Now that I understand more about the world, the fog and its' inhabitants.

While the story has a few moments that are borderline gruesome, I think it is a dark fairy tale that can be shared with some brave children, ages 12ish and up. I know I would've loved it even when I was younger.

Heart pounding and so vividly effervescent in worldbuilding! I adore how much the author absolutely knows the world he built and I can feel that this author truly knows what he's doing in this story and adventure. Long review short; I am waiting eagerly for more of this story and where the fog will take our very lovable cast.

To truly begin, Ogma is an incredibly wonderful main character. While I do love a girlboss protagonist in the right setting, I applaud the author for giving us a refreshing character with bravery, courage, and ignorance who still feels fearful and needs help from her friends and is often very aware that she doesn't know everything. She's the kind of relatable protagonist that I feel more young girls need to see. Ogma knows her worth and where her strengths lie, she's smart and cunning but willing to learn, she's such a strong character and yet she asks for help over and over when she needs it. She fosters community in those around her and loves her relationships fiercely. She's a great role model and just someone you so genuinely root for.

However, Ogma isn't the only character that I came to love and hold close. We don't get to know Dunkirk very well in this first book, but we were fortunate to get such a perfect intro to him that I feel I do have an understanding of him and I can't wait to see how his part in this story plays out. Not to mention the colorful cast of shepherds that I still want to know more about.

This book works as a standalone. I have many questions about the world and how more will be fixed or changed. I want to see where Ogma takes this next, I want to know if the fog will eventually lift or if the people will find safe ways to traverse. But even with those questions and my curiosities about the other characters, this book actually works very well on it's own. I feel excited and hopeful and curious after finishing this book, knowing there is more to come is such a delight!!

I can't wait to continue this series and see where it takes our heroes. I highly recommend this to young readers or any reader just looking to get completely immersed in a new world for a little while.

After reading One Dark Window I was enthralled by this! I absolutely dove into the world thanks to the detailed descriptions. I loved that the children were immune to the fog and thus were the ones protecting the adults. It was so nice to see that dynamic switched and how it worked out because of it. Ogma was a great main character that showed off her strengths but allowed her weaknesses to exist as well.

An audiobook provided by NetGalley.

I read the description of this book and I had to read it, the story is truly magical. Its a world unlike anything I've read or seen before, and it was presented so well.

The story is centred around a girl called Ogma, and it doesn't take long for you to fall in love with this character. You feel her happy moments, you feel her pain, you feel like your right with her. Every friendship she had in this book is well thought out, especially the ones she makes on her journey.

There are many twists and suprises in this, some sweet, some painful, all keeping you on your toes.

The adventure doesn't finish with this book as I believe this is the first book of three, so I'm left hanging for this story to continue, so I'm definitely applying for the next one when it comes out.

Thank you NetGalley for this opportunity.

Rating 4.5 ⭐

This is the first book in a planned trilogy. Hundreds of seasons ago, a wizard's war scarred the earth, leaving a malevolent fog blanketing the land. The phantoms the fog creates are deadly to adults, so children must guard the walls now, and care for each other.

Ogma watches the fog from the walls of her windmill town. What felt like a game as a child becomes more of a creeping dread with each season she gets older, her town is attacked by aliens who plan to kidnap the children, and Ogma is lost in the fog. She must find hope, courage and her friends if she wants to survive and save the town.

The story is very entertaining and has all the typical fantasy tropes that one enjoys in such an eerie story, with some paranormal elements, I loved that children take the center stage in this story, that makes the story more interesting and fun.
The world is so interesting and the mystery is great. I really like the character development specially Ogma who we see reconsider what she thought in the beginning to be a game to later see it's something way more dangerous.
This really is a magical story of friendship, cooperation and self growth.

I loved how quickly I got immersed in such a different world, and the author's narration was a big part of what made it work. It's almost a trope, but I also love a foggy setting where you're always wondering what you're missing.
Ogma is a wonderful character as a child with so much responsibility trying to protect her home. This is for a younger audience but I enjoyed it as an adult.