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rosyapple's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
somewhere between miss peregrine's home for peculiar children and China Mieville's kraken. a medium amount of horror
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, Torture, Police brutality, and Murder
Minor: Child death, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury
anns_storybound_sanctuary's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I love this book. Another 5/5 this year.
What impressed me the most was the story telling, the world building, the characters and how the author achieved it to give every character their own voice. The diction, punctuation and grammar is different for every character which gives them even more depth.
The prose is also just gorgeous. The way J. M. Mirow describes each scene, setting the mood before diving into the action. This for me makes the storytelling even more immersive
The story itself is set mostly in Vicotrian England, at the end of the 17th century. This gives this book a dark academia feeling even though half of the cast of characters is under the age of 18. The story is written in a lot of different POVs which contribute to the immersion.
I wouldn't rate this book as a YA novel as which it was marketed here. There is a lot of violence and loss in this book. Which I as an adult reader appreciated but is not fit for children.
What impressed me the most was the story telling, the world building, the characters and how the author achieved it to give every character their own voice. The diction, punctuation and grammar is different for every character which gives them even more depth.
The prose is also just gorgeous. The way J. M. Mirow describes each scene, setting the mood before diving into the action. This for me makes the storytelling even more immersive
The story itself is set mostly in Vicotrian England, at the end of the 17th century. This gives this book a dark academia feeling even though half of the cast of characters is under the age of 18. The story is written in a lot of different POVs which contribute to the immersion.
I wouldn't rate this book as a YA novel as which it was marketed here. There is a lot of violence and loss in this book. Which I as an adult reader appreciated but is not fit for children.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Torture, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, and Death of parent
redsflicker's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I really liked the thought behind the book. Though the characters i think could have had more to them, and i really disliked the run on sentences. I appreciate what the writer was trying to do and i liked it. Not sure if i will read the other two books though because the run on sentences were driving me crazy. Also there is a crow on the cover but a crow was only referenced once.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Torture, and Blood
eli_deatherage's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Felt a little slow here and there, but man it is worth it! Intriguing and mysterious world that never feels quite safe.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gore, Racism, Self harm, Torture, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
catch__up's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Gore, Miscarriage, Racism, Self harm, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
carol16's review against another edition
too many good books to waste time on this violent, dark, depressing book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Rape
natyourusual_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
This book was beautifully written at certain points but painfully slow. It was a struggle to read it despite the cool magic system and general concept BECAUSE of the pacing. I love the idea of children with magic/special talents that are taken to a “school” of sorts for development and protection while there’s a big bad putting the world at risk. It’s a solid premise. Add some vaguely steampunk-ish elements and ensemble cast, and I’m sold! However, I found that the plot twists were too predictable, the pacing was absolutely abysmal (even for a more epic-style story), and a lot of plot points/character portrayals were a bit… uncomfortable… to say the least. I really wanted to love it and the more I read the more I realized that this author was fantastic in the more condensed chapters and the story truly could have benefitted from condensing the narrative a bit more. If you do not mind major spoilers, my more specific critiques will be below:
Okay, so in terms of the problematic parts of the story, there is the portrayal of England as this haven of inclusivity and diversity during the Victorian period that felt a little odd. Like, Charlie Ovid is a black character that was saved from being tortured for eternity in America. This is fine and makes sense given American history, but they don’t keep the same energy for when he reaches England (which was definitely not a beacon of inclusiveness at the time either). Like Charlie is (obviously) scared of white people and he’s told something along the lines of “you’re safe, you’re not in America anymore, we’re not like that here” and nobody so much as looks at him funny, when we all know that’s some weird England apologist nonsense. Also, there’s a lot of telling us that Alice Quicke is a hardened badass without showing us nearly enough. Apart from that, I feel like some of the violence against women (especially sexual violence) was sort of added in as a way to make the story darker without any real commentary or care shown about the subject, which was a bit upsetting.
Moving onto the actual plot points:
- Jacob Marber being a morally gray character who’s not the REAL villain might have landed better if he had been written better. It was predictable but the excuses made for him seemed a bit contrived and almost like an afterthought given the scale of what he did and all the material Miro had to work with. Frankly, his character arc could’ve been resolved if he just communicated with people after the druhgr seduced him. I’m sure if he told Coulton “everyone is evil, we gotta do something about it and make sure the orsine is closed forever” the man would’ve helped him. Same with a lot of other characters. Tbh, he could’ve bided his time and done things differently and maybe it would make more sense if he actually tried to do things the “right” way but lost his way at some point. It also could have been good to see him be betrayed/framed for some things so it could be more ambiguous as to whether he’s eighth or wrong.
- Dr. Berghast being evil all along was also predictable as was his using the missing children as experiments to replace/fix the glyphic. Frankly, I was shocked he wasn’t outright sacrificing them and using their blood for something given the way the book was going, though I suppose what he did do was just as bad.
- By the time we find out who Marlowe’s mom really is, I didn’t really care and I think that’s a testament to how unnecessarily complex the author made the story and how painful it was to get through.
- Coulton becoming a litch was also very predictable given his hatred/disgust of them, the way he died, and then how his body wasn’t collected when he died. While I’m on the topic of litches, we didn’t need to constantly be reminded what they look like. We know. We got it the first two times. The needle-like teeth don’t need to be restated every scene. We got it.
- The final fight (in the last couple chapters) was incredibly convoluted. I missed Walter Laster and Jacob Marber actually dying (which I’m calling it now that Jacob isn’t dead and they’re gonna try to make him have a Zuko-style redemption arc) because it was so convoluted and awful.
- Switching POVs and time jumps started off fun but became a drag to read after a while. I love a good flashback situation but sometimes the steps back and forward were too often or the POVs switched at weird times. There was even a section around chapter 39 where they changed POVs like 6 times on the same page. I’m glad it was only a one time problem but that was really annoying and halted the flow of the story a lot.
- Some parts, for all the over explaining throughout the story, got glossed over at weird times. We still don’t know much about the weir bents or the old artifacts but we know they were integral parts of the story that characters with POV sections knew a lot about, so why over explain the way a litch looks and how Alice is totally a badass with no nurturing to her despite her being primarily a mother figure the whole book, when really we needed real plot-specific world-building explanations?
Anyways, I wanted to love this but just felt relieved it was over in the end. I don’t see myself continuing the series. I’m sure it’s a book for someone, however, that someone isn’t me. If you start reading the book and find that it’s dragging too much for your liking, just know it doesn’t get better in that regard. I think the author is great when he feels the need to be concise and brevity is what this novel lacked overall in many aspects. Also, well-written women. There weren’t a lot of those either…
Moving onto the actual plot points:
- Jacob Marber being a morally gray character who’s not the REAL villain might have landed better if he had been written better. It was predictable but the excuses made for him seemed a bit contrived and almost like an afterthought given the scale of what he did and all the material Miro had to work with. Frankly, his character arc could’ve been resolved if he just communicated with people after the druhgr seduced him. I’m sure if he told Coulton “everyone is evil, we gotta do something about it and make sure the orsine is closed forever” the man would’ve helped him. Same with a lot of other characters. Tbh, he could’ve bided his time and done things differently and maybe it would make more sense if he actually tried to do things the “right” way but lost his way at some point. It also could have been good to see him be betrayed/framed for some things so it could be more ambiguous as to whether he’s eighth or wrong.
- Dr. Berghast being evil all along was also predictable as was his using the missing children as experiments to replace/fix the glyphic. Frankly, I was shocked he wasn’t outright sacrificing them and using their blood for something given the way the book was going, though I suppose what he did do was just as bad.
- By the time we find out who Marlowe’s mom really is, I didn’t really care and I think that’s a testament to how unnecessarily complex the author made the story and how painful it was to get through.
- Coulton becoming a litch was also very predictable given his hatred/disgust of them, the way he died, and then how his body wasn’t collected when he died. While I’m on the topic of litches, we didn’t need to constantly be reminded what they look like. We know. We got it the first two times. The needle-like teeth don’t need to be restated every scene. We got it.
- The final fight (in the last couple chapters) was incredibly convoluted. I missed Walter Laster and Jacob Marber actually dying (which I’m calling it now that Jacob isn’t dead and they’re gonna try to make him have a Zuko-style redemption arc) because it was so convoluted and awful.
- Switching POVs and time jumps started off fun but became a drag to read after a while. I love a good flashback situation but sometimes the steps back and forward were too often or the POVs switched at weird times. There was even a section around chapter 39 where they changed POVs like 6 times on the same page. I’m glad it was only a one time problem but that was really annoying and halted the flow of the story a lot.
- Some parts, for all the over explaining throughout the story, got glossed over at weird times. We still don’t know much about the weir bents or the old artifacts but we know they were integral parts of the story that characters with POV sections knew a lot about, so why over explain the way a litch looks and how Alice is totally a badass with no nurturing to her despite her being primarily a mother figure the whole book, when really we needed real plot-specific world-building explanations?
Anyways, I wanted to love this but just felt relieved it was over in the end. I don’t see myself continuing the series. I’m sure it’s a book for someone, however, that someone isn’t me. If you start reading the book and find that it’s dragging too much for your liking, just know it doesn’t get better in that regard. I think the author is great when he feels the need to be concise and brevity is what this novel lacked overall in many aspects. Also, well-written women. There weren’t a lot of those either…
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Child death, Miscarriage, and Sexual assault
sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
Too many different plot lines introduced without sufficient cohesion and context. And if I’m not invested in any of the characters by the first 100 pages, I tend to DNF.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Violence
Moderate: Death, Gore, Torture, and Murder
Minor: Confinement, Rape, and Death of parent
lc_books's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
If you loved the Penny Dreadful series, this book is going to satisfy your want for something similar!
Ordinary Monsters took a tight hold of me from the very first page and it would not let go!
In this gothic, victorian inspired world there are children with extraordinary gifts, primarily with enhanced regenerative cells. For example, there is a boy who can completely heal himself no matter the injury, and another girl can make herself entirely invisible. These children are called The Talents.
Agents hunt down these talents and take them to a British Estate where they learn to control their gifts and are protected from outside forces, especially from one Jacob Marber - a terrific, chilling villain with so much depth and a great past you can't help but love and hate!
J.M. Miro is a world building master. His descriptions of certain places are beautiful and gritty and painful. He's taken inspiration from all your favorites and collided them together successfully.
Magic school for mutants? Check! Lovecraftian horror? Check! Dickensian conditions? Check!
And the author has taken his time to introduce every character and make you care about them. But don't get too attached because this world is dark and unforgiving.
All in all this was a great first read from a new author and J.M. Miro might be a new favorite of mine. I look forward to the second book.
Ordinary Monsters took a tight hold of me from the very first page and it would not let go!
In this gothic, victorian inspired world there are children with extraordinary gifts, primarily with enhanced regenerative cells. For example, there is a boy who can completely heal himself no matter the injury, and another girl can make herself entirely invisible. These children are called The Talents.
Agents hunt down these talents and take them to a British Estate where they learn to control their gifts and are protected from outside forces, especially from one Jacob Marber - a terrific, chilling villain with so much depth and a great past you can't help but love and hate!
J.M. Miro is a world building master. His descriptions of certain places are beautiful and gritty and painful. He's taken inspiration from all your favorites and collided them together successfully.
Magic school for mutants? Check! Lovecraftian horror? Check! Dickensian conditions? Check!
And the author has taken his time to introduce every character and make you care about them. But don't get too attached because this world is dark and unforgiving.
All in all this was a great first read from a new author and J.M. Miro might be a new favorite of mine. I look forward to the second book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Gore, and Torture
Minor: Child death, Racism, and Blood
clarabooksit's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Colonisation