Another Beast's Skin

I received an eARC of this book from GenZ publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed are mine alone and other than the free book, I was not compensated in any way.

This book is a fantasy filled with intrigue, peril and romance. Neysa is a divorcee who travels to England after the death of her father. She rents a cottage to get away from Los Angelas to get over the feelings of being devastated and broken. While visiting a pub she meets Silas and Corra who are brother and sister. They introduce her to their cousin Cade. Neysa finds out that they are all Fae warriors who enlist her help to solve the problem of a failing veil. Whithout her help, the failing veil could have catastrophic consequences to the human world.

I LOVED this book. Everything about it sings to me. The world building and magic system were very well don and it made me want to be in the story. I literally could not put this book down! Neysa has been through a lot and I love how she does not feel sorry for herself. She is strong and wants to live her life without feeling destroyed all he time. This book is NA or adult for the violence during some battles. There is a romance aspect to the book but it does not overshadow the main story. This is the first book in this series and does end up in a semi cliffhanger. The story does have a conclusion but flows nicely into he next book.

Man, oh man, I loved this book!!! I honestly don’t understand the other poor reviews. But, again, we all like different things! Cheers to verity . . . and commas . . . and exclamation points!!!

But really, I honestly loved this book. It is in no way perfect, but the story is on point and it met my five-star requirement by keeping me up all night reading. There were a few moments in the first 30% of the story where I did think it was a little information overload and slow. But this only happened a couple times and for only a couple pages at a time. It was never unneeded information either; first book world building and all that.

Glover’s imagination to create this story is on point. I just love the uniqueness of it, and I am a complete sucker for when urban fantasy meets high fantasy.

So can we talk about Neysa? She is our MC and such a relatable character! (Side bar, I LOVE WHEN THE MC IS OVER 30!!!) One thing that was not 100% clear for me in the book description was if it had a love triangle or not. Since I am not a fan of them, I am happy to report . . . not really? HA! There are aspects that could be considered a love triangle, but at its core it is decidedly NOT A LOVE TRIANGLE! Thank the heavens.

But that ending is making me twitchy and I need book two NOW! So, can yall go read it ASAP so we can talk about it?

I loved the fantasy elements and the characters. and overall, was a really fun read! I’d highly recommend

Thank you to Netgalley and GenZ Publishing for the eARC of Another Beast’s Skin. This review is my personal and honest opinion.

I absolutely loved this book! The ending shocked me. I can’t wait for book two! I loved the science and crystals and elements. I thoroughly enjoyed Neysa’s relationships. I enjoyed the pacing and the whole plot. I really enjoyed the romance in this book. Neysa has a past and her reluctance to have another romantic relationship is realistic. The build up to her love interest is swoon worthy.
The beginning was a bit slow; there is a world to build and a magic system to explain. I haven’t read a book with this kind of magic system before. The science intertwined with magic kept me going throughout. The title of the book is a bit confusing for me; I understand it, but it doesn’t stand out to me.
Overall, I highly recommend this book!

This story is not what I expected and I needed a few days to process that. I thought at first it was a fantasy with a bit of a warrior-woman theme, and a lot of adventure.

But, Neysa (our MC) is not Xena Warrior Princess, nor is she Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She is a woman on the road to self-discovery with some kick-ass abilities that predated her discovering she was fey. Neysa is in her thirties, just out of a divorce, and courageously vulnerable. She’s moved back to her homeland of England. That’s where everything starts.

Neysa is befriended by some locals at a pub who turn out to be much more than they seem. For the fans of fantasy romance, there is plenty enough here. I was personally more invested in the world-building which by itself is intriguing.

It would be easy to say that Neysa discovers that she is fey in the first few chapters and that's the premise. I think there's more depth to her. She already had mad sword fighting skills. She already wore her heart on her sleeve. Neysa's past, and her memories of her father, were complicated before the magic. They all now lead her into an adventure that may be tied to destiny.

This was an imaginative debut. I look forward to reading more by Glover. I received a free copy of this story from NetGalley for this review.

Lately I've been really into books with fae and I am happy to say that this has made it into one of my favorites of this year. I can't wait to see what comes next!

I have to say, this book really surprised me! I am very particular about my fantasy novels and have an extremely small list of favorite authors in this genre, but Jessica Grewe Glover has made the list with this book. It opened on a bit of a sad note, as the main character, Neysa, was describing the grief that brought her to the small coastal village of Barlow Combe in England. For this reason, I found myself doubting if I would enjoy the rest of the book. However, my initial impression could not be more wrong! This book was well-written and world-building, on point. It exceeded my expectations with every chapter!

The author did an amazing job of portraying the main character in such a manner that made her extremely relatable, yet intriguing. Her backstory gave depth to her character and disposition as well as helped the reader better understand her motivations. The supporting cast was crucial to the story. They helped Neysa along the way as well as taught her about love, friendship, and family.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good fantasy novel that is packed with intrigue and sprinkled with steam. The story takes you on a grand adventure throughout Europe and into the fae realm of Aoifsing. It is fast-paced, action-packed and will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire way! I cannot wait to see what happens next for Neysa!

#AnotherBeastsSkin #NetGalley

Thank you to Netgalley and GenZ Publishing for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another Beast's Skin by Jessika Grewe Grovel was an interesting fantasy romance. It followed Neysa who moves to coastal England following a divorce and the death of her father. She quickly befriends Corra, Silas, and Cade and learns they are from a Fae realm. The Veil between the realms is failing because the crystals that kept it secure went missing, Neysa and her friend's journey to find the crystals and repair the Veil.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and the use of the crystals was an interesting concept. It had a really fun world-building and magic system however the world-building was interesting all though at times a little confusing. I found the first portion of the book to be a little bit of an information overload that had me skimming over things. However, the second half of the book really picked up in the action. Admittedly, I am confused by the ending, and a few things went unexplained, but I hope this will be clarified in a sequel and thank god the ending wasn't a devastating cliff-hanger (I've had enough of those lately!).

The main character, Neysa, was a decent protagonist however throughout the book it felt like she was younger than her mid-thirties. It felt like she could have easily been in her early twenties. She has a job but never seems to be working, and generally behaves similarly to protagonists in YA or NA stories who are 18 - 22 years old. The other characters were also enjoyable to read however, there were 2 chapters at the beginning where it jumped to their point of views which just felt a little out of place? Like that scene could have been done just from Neysa's point of view, although I understand the author probably wanted readers to better understand the characters' emotions and thoughts, which is why she probably used their POVs.

The story does have a little bit of a love triangle in it however it refreshingly wasn't dramatized, it didn't take up the whole book. In fact, it was resolved quite quickly. It was barely even a love triangle, more just the acknowledgment of someone else's feelings towards her.

It was a very good read, one that I can see myself rereading in the future and recommending to people who like Fae Romance stories. I am very glad to have gotten the chance to read this.

I have never read a fae genre story before, so Another Beast's Skin was a new experience and a fun read! Neysa is a perfect character to undergo the challenges she faces in the plot. Having been hit by both a recent divorce and the death of her father, she is in an emotionally vulnerable state and trying to rediscover who she is, something many of us can relate to. In Another Beast's Skin, her experience of moving forward from her torrential emotional state is told in a fantastic allegory that combines the real world and a fae kingdom in an action-packed story. I appreciated that 35-year-old Neysa is able to enjoy casual, steamy relations without getting hung-up about it, even if those around her do. The romance was spicy with an enemies-to-lovers vibe. I also thought Glover's ability to describe natural settings in particular was beautiful. Overall, Another Beast's Skin is a fun foray into the world of fae, blending romance, action, and magic with an anchor in the real world--though I was happy to leave for a little while and roam Aiofsing instead!

I received an eARC of this book from GenZ publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Did I enjoy it, it was good. I wasn't a fan of pacing in the book, especially in the beginning, and I struggled a little with the writing style in general. That said it has fae, some steam, the world is interesting and creative. I really appreciated the fact I wasn't reading about a teenager and Fae men, once again, it's refreshing to have an adult character in these types of books! Quite enjoyable!