Thanks to NetGalley and Lloyd Hall for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Firstly, this caught my eye because of the stunning cover. I was delighted to find that the book contains really beautiful illustrations as well.

This book really had potential. I liked the dystopian setting and the town on the edge of a frozen lake. I think this story could have been so compelling if only it had been longer and more fleshed out.

However, the characters felt very surface level and I didn't buy the relationship between Olivia and Ava. The plot was also rather vague, and there was no real conclusion to the story.

Furthermore, the dialogue felt awkward and what annoyed me a lot was the unnecessary abbreviations, e.g. 'ok', 'what're'.

In conclusion, I think this book is a good fit for a younger audience if they are interested in dystopian stories with a queer relationship, but maybe not for adults who are looking for more complex stories.

This book was not for me but I will start with some good things.
I enjoyed the setting of this book and some descriptions were well written. I feel like if the book was longer with more explanations it would have been good.

Now the negatives:
This book felt like it wasn’t the whole thing and it felt like there was something missing. It is supposed to be interconnected stand-alone that can be read on their own but this book had no explanations of anything and there was no world-building. It felt like the story just began and the reader was dumped in it with zero explanations or introductions.
Some of the conversations felt choppy and uncomfortable, and the romance came out of nowhere with no buildup. The characters didn’t seem comfortable with each other even the girl with her parents came across as awkward.

Possibly more suited to younger readers, I found the story too simplistic whilst also hard to follow due to a lack of explanation around the history and systems within the novel.

Not for me, but worth a look for MG/YA readers who are dipping their toe into the genre.

I really liked the premise of this book, I've not read any other books by Lloyd Hall and this stand alone from his series worked absolutely fine without reading anything else. The plot line was interesting, I enjoyed the dystopian/sci-fi elements very much but I feel like there was too much included in such a short book, which meant that both the character and relationship development felt really lacking. The dialogue also felt a bit stilted and unnatural in certain places and I found myself getting frustrated with both Olivia and Ava by the end of the book - and not in an enjoyable way. I think this book would have benefited by being longer, to allow more room for development of both plot and characters. Having said all that, I still enjoyed reading this book on the whole, it was a super quick read and I'd certainly give another book by the author a shot.

I quite like this book. First, the illustrations are gorgeous, and the story gave me this cozy and almost nostalgic sci-fi vibe, the type you get watching movies like Ghost in the Shell and stuff like that, almost like a slice of life sci-fi.
Considering this and the length of this story, this book could be a nice start for anyone trying to get into the genre.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc in return for an honest review!

Honestly I was very excited to read this based on the synopsis but I found it wasn’t my favourite thing. I found the characters a bit annoying and almost felt like they weren’t speaking genuinely? If just didn’t sit right with me. Also, the story seemed rushed almost. I enjoyed that it wasn’t a horribly long book but felt it could be refined to be stronger as a shorter book or should be a tad longer.

Overall, not my favourite but could be for someone else !

so, first off, i personally didn’t enjoy this (dnf’d in the fourth chapter) but that doesn’t mean others couldn’t. i’m sure there are people out there who’d have a better time with this than me.

i feel like there could have been some improvements made throughout the editing process that would have positively impacted the experience.
to me the writing seemed somewhat stiff, repetitive and meandering. the character voices weren’t distinct and there were no quirks or anything i found to latch onto and connect to. the descriptions lacked specificity in some areas. it mostly felt like the author was wandering through a cool place inside their head, which as a writer i can completely relate to, but there’s a good chance it hurts the reader. all of that can easily disturb the suspension of disbelief whenever it happens in any novel.

what i liked were some setting details like the icy landscape, the spire, the library, the lighthouse and items like the holo-recorder. those created a nice atmosphere.

i also really appreciated the included art. the style is lovely and it contributes a lot, in my opinion.

and finally the queerness; love to see it wherever, whenever. plus point.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley for providing this book for my review.

This is my first time reading any of Lloyd Hall's writing, and from the beginning I enjoyed the worldbuilding. The pacing is slow, but felt intentionally so, as the reader follows our main character Olivia through her first days in the artic city of June. I could recognize the gradually momentum carrying the story along as young Olivia discovers city life, school, a budding relationship, and then adventure and intrigue. Olivia's relationships, in fact, are my favorite element to this story.

That said, somewhere early in the second half of the book, Olivia's drive for adventure starts to eat away at those relationships. The incredible communication with her parents becomes strained, and by that point, she is increasingly reckless.

I enjoyed this story up until the key scene where this recklessness of Olivia's leaves an indelible mark on the world around her. Admittedly I may be missing some important lore, having not read the first two books in this series. But from that moment on, I struggled to rectify the gravity of that scene and how Olivia, or anyone, could seem to move on so easily. There are glimmers of acknowledgement, but I struggled to relate to her for the rest of the book.

Overall, this started out very enjoyable but ended up not being my cup of tea. I expected more sense of resolution by the final chapters, but it felt like new questions were being introduced until the end. I hope the next installment in the series delivers more clarity and closure.

I was under the impression this could be read as a standalone but honestly, there were a few moments that left me pretty confused and I didn't always enjoy the narration style. The book itself is quite short and feels a bit rushed at times because of it.
There were some very nice illustrations sprinkled throughout the text which I enjoyed. The book is clearly aimed at a younger audience and I do think it shows in the characters behaviour. But for young readers it's absolutely a nice starting point to ease into science fiction.

netgalley arc :3

i did really enjoy the setting of a second ice age while still being technologically developed with the androids, the world building added with the illustrations made it very easy to conceptualise and understand.

i do think that the characters and relationships lacked depth and there wasn’t much development wise - it seemed rushed? and a lot of the plot points that began within the book didn’t have a definitive ending but i’m pretty sure there’s supposed to be another book after this so maybe they’ll be resolved in that.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me this ARC for an honest review.

I wanna say good things about this book but I honestly can’t think of anything. I know that sounds very harsh, but I had a hard time reading this book since a lot of it felt very repetitive.

Every single thing described feels like the author wants you to imagine it a certain way, which led to stuff feeing over explained! No room for my own imagination!

The characters… I personally couldn’t connect to them. The way they were written felt off at times? I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who behaved Olivia but that might just be me.

And lastly, the plot & the climax felt very rushed and quite frankly not very well executed! I can see what the author tried to do and I hope it works out better for their next release.

One thing I did enjoy were the illustrations :)

1.5 ⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley and Lloyd Hall for the advanced review copy.

Edelweiss is a prequel to Wardenclyffe, but you don't have to read Wardenclyffe first, this book works as a standalone as well.

The narrative follows Olivia, who has just moved to June for her father's work. Olivia has a bit of a mischievous streak and enjoys adventures, exploring, and checking out what a mysterious woman is up to. She enlists her new friend Ava on her adventures.

This book is a straightforward read and while it is post apocalypse future, the science fiction element is minimally present and it's more cozy teen adventure than anything else.

My main difficulty with the book is the protagonist, whose affect is far too young for fifteen or sixteen. She reads closer to twelve and that reflects in the relationships with those around her and her fledgling romance with Ava, which is nothing more than holding hands and eating a meal together. This book feels closer to middle grade than young adult.

If you enjoyed Wardenclyffe and Mercury, you'll probably enjoy this book as well. If you enjoy gentle future sci fi aimed at younger readers, this series is for you.

I like the illustrations. Dialogue is awful, no one speaks like this. Writing feels awkward. The characters act as if they’re 8? 9? I refuse to believe these are 16 year olds. I did read the synopsis for the first book and I do think it’s super cute that this book is the recordings from the first book.

Lloyd Hall has a really creative mind. This book is a sort of prequel to his other two books, in this novella we see Olive move to June and make friends with Ava, Olive wants to explore her new town and the tunnels underneath it but those tunnels hold a multitude.
I've really enjoyed this series and the third book was a fascinating addition. I appreciate that each book focuses on different people and different eras but revolve around the same place and the same historic incidents.

First of all thank you Net Galley for this arc! I would like to start by saying this book was good. It wasn’t great in my opinion. From the synopsis I expected more than what got. The best way to explain is that I just needed more!

Book Review: Edelweiss by Lloyd Hall
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 out of 5 stars)

Lloyd Hall’s Edelweiss is a hauntingly beautiful YA dystopian novel that blends survival, identity, and quiet rebellion in a world reshaped by a second Ice Age. At its heart, this is a story about love—not just romantic, but the fierce love between sisters and the kind that survives even when the world forgets how to feel.

The novel follows Olivia, a 17-year-old girl living in a society where emotions are controlled and individuality is discouraged. In the snow-laced settlement of June, where conformity means safety, Olivia’s bond with her younger sister Ava becomes both her compass and her undoing. As secrets unravel and a forbidden romance awakens, Olivia is forced to choose between survival and truth.

What stands out most is Hall’s atmospheric writing. The world of Edelweiss is cold but never hollow—every frozen tree and watchful silence is drawn with care, giving readers a sense of both isolation and intimacy. The tension builds gradually, with a plot that leans more on emotional stakes than action-packed scenes. The romance—refreshingly queer and understated—is tender, believable, and a quiet act of rebellion in itself.

If there’s a critique to be made, it’s that some side characters lack depth, and the pacing can feel slow in parts. Readers looking for explosive dystopian drama may find the tone a little subdued. But what Hall offers instead is introspection, atmosphere, and an emotional truth that lingers long after the final page.

Edelweiss is a perfect fit for fans of The Giver by Lois Lowry or Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill—readers who appreciate dystopia not just for the danger, but for the questions it forces us to ask about love, identity, and what it means to feel.

There were moments where the writing felt a bit young for the themes it was reaching for, and I found myself wanting more emotional depth in some of the character dynamics. Still, I was charmed by the world and the slightly off-kilter tone. It reminded me of books that don’t mind being quiet, or a little weird, as long as they’re honest.

I’m not really sure where to start with this one.
The premise of the book was very interesting to me, and the cover is just gorgeous! But I found the story lacking, and while it was easy to read, there wasn’t much there.

** Slight spoiler warning **
The book needs to be another 100 pages to flesh out not only the story, but the characters. The characters spoke very similarly. Olivia and Ava both sounded much younger than sixteen, and I wasn’t sure why they were drawn to each other, as Ava didn’t have much of a personality, and Olivia was very immature, reckless, and displayed very little growth.
Some of the important moments in the story felt rushed, and I really would have loved to see the author slow down even a little bit more so we could really grasp everything there was to this world.
I was also confused by this world. It’s set in the future, they have androids, and holograms, but there doesn’t seem to be any form of communication—no TV’s, no cellphones, etc. I’m curious to know what the world really looks like technology wise.
** End of slight spoiler warning **

I really do think this book could be amazing if it was fleshed out just a bit more. It really was almost there, but it fell a bit flat for me.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the author, Lloyd Hall, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Intriguing concept! This post-apocalyptic setting, after major flooding really spoke to me. I enjoyed how we are thrown into this world without much preamble in the same way that our characters don't know much about their history.

I have not read the other books in this series, and don't think I will based on this book, but as a stand-alone in an existing universe I don't feel like this book was incomplete.

I read Olivia, our main character, as neurodivergent which may be a intentional characterisation. I do you think that goes some way to explaining other people finding her quite abrasive.

This is a YA sapphic romance, although I do feel like this book would have benefited from more time spent on the world building and plot, as one of the major reveals is visible from a mile away.

The reveal of where June is was great, I really enjoyed that! And I loved the illustrations throughout, really brought the environment and scale to life.

Thank you to Lloyd Hall for the ARC of this title on NetGalley.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to be an ARC reader for this book!

As a standalone story within a series this book was a lovely way to dip in and see if you enjoy the themes and characters enough to read the others.

Whilst I enjoyed the story I do feel like a lot of the more exciting plot points were rushed or glossed over which was quite frustrating, and I do worry the rest of the series is similar.

As an introduction to Sci-Fi for YA readers this is nice and neat, and has a cute relationship between Olive and Ava. This relationship is also not as developed as I would have liked, however I feel like it is enough for the target audience to enjoy and build upon themselves and doesn't overwhelm the rest of the story.

#wardenclyffeseries #NetGalley