Review: Fog and Fireflies by T.H. Lehnen
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fog and Fireflies is a beautifully atmospheric novel that combines lyrical prose, small-town intimacy, and a touch of magical realism. From the very first pages, Lehnen creates a world that feels both familiar and otherworldlythe kind of place where secrets linger in the mist and fireflies carry more meaning than their glow.

The characters are what made the story shine for me. Each felt grounded and flawed in ways that made them easy to connect with. The protagonist’s journey was heartfelt and authentic, filled with both quiet grief and moments of joy, and I appreciated how relationships both romantic and platonic were given room to develop naturally.

The pacing is steady, more of a slow burn, but it suited the reflective tone of the novel. The writing is vivid and poetic, often painting scenes so clearly that I felt like I was walking through the fog myself. If anything, I sometimes wanted the plot to move a little faster, but the atmosphere more than made up for it.

Lehnen balances themes of loss, resilience, and self-discovery with an almost dreamlike quality, making this a story to savor rather than rush.

Final Thoughts:
Fog and Fireflies is perfect for readers who enjoy immersive, character-driven stories with a magical edge—fans of Alice Hoffman or Sarah Addison Allen will feel right at home here.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. I don't even know where to start with this one. The academic potential is outstanding and I would love to one day teach this novel. Foreshadowing, allegory, symbolism, color symbolism, the moral implications... it would be a phenomenal academic text. I had the honor of meeting the author at my Barnes and Noble and he was as delightful as his novel. The premise is dark: children must protect the adults since a mysterious fog is lethal to adults. But what is causing the fog and what happens when the children get caught in the fog?

What I loved: the symbolism, the bravery of the children, the premise that growing up and getting old is scary, the ending!

Ogma is one of the children who has to watch the fog for beings in the fog that sneak in and kidnap the children. The towns are constantly moving, so when Ogma gets stuck in the fog, she doesn't know if she will ever make it home to her friends.

I liked the pacing of the story, the audio version may have helped with that. It kept at a good pace, and I found myself "talking to" the characters as the story was being read to me. I can definitely recommend the audio version., although I haven't tried the written text. This is the first book of a planned three part series. I am interested in reading the next in the cycle and see what happens with Ogma and her friends.

I was given the opportunity to listen to the audiobook version of this book by NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great concept and it was a good listen, but the way it was written made it feel choppy and there was a lot of jumping around to keep track of things. The audiobook was ok. The dialogue parts were the best parts of the audiobook, but the nondialogue parts were not as exciting.

2/5⭐

Fog... a lot of fog

This could be very good for some but for me was so boring that it took me ages to finish it because I was uninterested in what will happen. Not that I knew what is happening - I felt so confused all of the time.

I would rate the narrating as 1⭐ - probably the most unengaging one that I have heard recently.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

📚 Format: ALC via NetGalley
Fog & Fireflies is a whimsical, eerie, and atmospheric read that feels like it could sit right between a Miyazaki film and a C.S. Lewis classic. It’s marketed as YA, but it often reads closer to middle grade—with a timeless, folktale quality that makes it accessible for a wide audience.
The worldbuilding immediately stood out to me. In this story’s universe, human settlements drift through a mysterious fog and must be protected from the strange creatures within it. The twist? These settlements are guarded by children on “night watch,” who must ring bells when danger approaches. As people age, they become more susceptible to the fog’s influence—a concept that cleverly ties into the contrast between childhood fearlessness and adult caution.
We follow Agma, one of these young watchers, as a sudden attack by the creatures forces her into the fog on a dangerous journey to find her missing friends. Along the way, she uncovers secrets about the fog’s origins and faces unexpected twists—especially toward the end.
The book’s strengths lie in its atmosphere and its almost folkloric storytelling style. It’s imaginative, strange in all the right ways, and feels like the kind of tale you’d hear around a campfire. That said, the middle section did lose a bit of momentum for me, as new elements were introduced faster than they were developed. Thankfully, it picks back up, leading to an intriguing finale that sets up future installments.
If you enjoy:
✨ Folklore-inspired fantasy
✨ Narnia-style adventures
✨ Whimsical yet eerie worlds
✨ Audiobooks with rich atmosphere
…then Fog & Fireflies is worth picking up—especially in audio format, which adds to the story’s dreamlike quality. I’m curious to see where the series goes next.

Thankful to be getting this ALC through NetGalley and Aspen & Thorn Press publishing

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC.

I loved the concept behind this book, but couldn't really get into it. It felt very slow paced to me. The world building is interesting. I really wanted to enjoy this one, but ultimately it felt like the pacing of the story was dragging. The ideas are fantastic, but I didn't feel like they were used to their fullest potential.

A beautiful, captivating story, where children are the ones protecting the community from a mysterious fog.

I found the aspect about children being the ones protecting the adults fascinating. The moments where adults forgot how it felt to be young and protecting the village remind me a lot about adults forgetting that children have whole lives of their own, struggles and fears and dreams. Adults often look at children as unfinished, unaware, free of any real problems.

Overall, the premise was intriguing, and I was hooked from the beginning. I'd gladly return to this world. If the book ever gets translated to my language, or when my god child learns English, I'll be sure to purchase it for her.

I also very much enjoyed the narration by the author. Lehnen did a great job of portraying the world and the characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me a copy of the audiobook.

This was an audio ARC that was a debut novel. It was also narrated by the author - T.H. Lehnen. I have learned in the past that it is always a hit or miss kind of thing to have the author read their own story. Sometimes it is just awful and can ruin the entire thing, while other times it seems to be just what the story needed since the author knows the story so intimately and can correctly guide the story in the way it was written.

In this case, I think he did a great job. The story itself is told from a young or children's POV and the story was narrated with a very soft and smooth voice that felt calming and soothing. One thing I will say is that if I did not know it was the author, I would have thought it was a professional narrator so that is the best compliment I could give it.

The story itself is a haunting story dealing with a world where the children are the protectors. It took a while for me to settle into the world and there were several times when I was confused with exactly what was going on. This happens to me sometimes in the fantasy genre when I am listening to a book versus reading it. For whatever reason, it can sometimes be harder to build the world in my mind when I am listening - but that's a me thing.

I did enjoy this book, but I think that this story is better suited for a younger audience. It is a very lyrical story with a magical and haunting setting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aspen & Thorn Press for the opportunity to listen to and review this Audio ARC. This book was out for publication on February 15, 2025.

Overall this would be an interesting middle grade read. I am definitely not the target audience so it feels weird to have some of the criticisms I do. Parts of it were slow but the idea is unique and executed quite well at different points.

I really enjoyed the Fog & Fireflies Audiobook. It was great to hear the author tell his story the way he intended. His voice was pleasant to listen to and pulled me into this unique world. Although it took me a while to imagine the setting — which might have been easier if I had read the book — I was always curious to see how the story would continue. The story itself was interesting and engaging, and the characters were well-written. Overall, I enjoyed the book.

Fog and Fireflies is a beautifully haunting tale that blends atmospheric storytelling with deeply heartfelt emotion. What I loved most was the lyrical prose that captures the quiet magic in everyday moments, paired with characters who feel genuinely complex and relatable. The book balances themes of healing, connection, and self-discovery with a touch of wistful nostalgia that lingers long after the last page. Lehnen’s ability to weave mood and emotion together made this a truly immersive read.

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.