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A review by deedireads
Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.
TL;DR REVIEW:
Ordinary Monsters is an imaginative, exciting start to a new historical fantasy trilogy: think Miss Peregrine meets Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrel.
For you if: You like low fantasy (stories that take place in our real, recognizable world).
FULL REVIEW:
Thank you, Flatiron Books, for sending me a free advanced copy of this book! It comes out June 7 and I can’t WAIT for more people to read it. I really, really enjoyed it.
The book, the first in a trilogy, is like Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children meets Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Set in the 1880s, mostly in England and Scotland, it starts with a runaway domestic servant who finds a baby who glows. Then it moves to two investigators who travel the world looking for children with “talents” so they can bring them back to a safe haven (called the Cairndale Institute), and finally finds itself wedged between a murderous ex-talent who’s allied with an evil dark force and the old scientist who runs Cairndale. (Tbh, with 675 pages, of course, there’s a LOT of story here. But those wary of worldbuilding, fear it not! It’s easy to follow.)
I enjoyed the whole book (lovable characters, imaginative premise, great mystery, lots of layers!), but IMO, where this book really shows off is in the action scenes. J.M. Miro bounces between narrators with precision, perfectly pacing it so we’re at the edge of our seat but in no way frustrated. Really impressive stuff. And the ending felt like the perfect balance between cliffhanger and resolution; I have lots of questions, and there are plenty of threads hanging loose in what promises to be a vast overarching plot, but I also got enough closure from this particular book’s story that I walked away feeling pleased and accomplished.
Also, I had the chance to listen to some of the audiobook as well, and it was very well done! This would make a great choice if fantasy on audio is your jam.
Anyway, don’t let this one’s size intimidate you. If you like low, historical fantasy novels, I think you’ll also like this one a lot.
TL;DR REVIEW:
Ordinary Monsters is an imaginative, exciting start to a new historical fantasy trilogy: think Miss Peregrine meets Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrel.
For you if: You like low fantasy (stories that take place in our real, recognizable world).
FULL REVIEW:
Thank you, Flatiron Books, for sending me a free advanced copy of this book! It comes out June 7 and I can’t WAIT for more people to read it. I really, really enjoyed it.
The book, the first in a trilogy, is like Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children meets Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Set in the 1880s, mostly in England and Scotland, it starts with a runaway domestic servant who finds a baby who glows. Then it moves to two investigators who travel the world looking for children with “talents” so they can bring them back to a safe haven (called the Cairndale Institute), and finally finds itself wedged between a murderous ex-talent who’s allied with an evil dark force and the old scientist who runs Cairndale. (Tbh, with 675 pages, of course, there’s a LOT of story here. But those wary of worldbuilding, fear it not! It’s easy to follow.)
I enjoyed the whole book (lovable characters, imaginative premise, great mystery, lots of layers!), but IMO, where this book really shows off is in the action scenes. J.M. Miro bounces between narrators with precision, perfectly pacing it so we’re at the edge of our seat but in no way frustrated. Really impressive stuff. And the ending felt like the perfect balance between cliffhanger and resolution; I have lots of questions, and there are plenty of threads hanging loose in what promises to be a vast overarching plot, but I also got enough closure from this particular book’s story that I walked away feeling pleased and accomplished.
Also, I had the chance to listen to some of the audiobook as well, and it was very well done! This would make a great choice if fantasy on audio is your jam.
Anyway, don’t let this one’s size intimidate you. If you like low, historical fantasy novels, I think you’ll also like this one a lot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Minor: Racism, Rape, and Sexual violence