Reviews with content warning for Racism - Ordinary Monsters

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Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro

30 reviews

khakipantsofsex's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

4.0

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krysley's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense 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? No

3.0

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.

This is how I've been describing this book to people: it's a mashup of Harry Potter and X-Men with an historical fiction setting. Honestly, I think that's pretty accurate.

J.M. Miro creates some incredibly likeable and interesting characters, from Charlie to Alice to, yes, even Jacob Marber, as well as great atmosphere. However, the story gets bogged done with a back-and-forth timeline and an excessively long story. As an audiobook, I was just waiting for it to be over because it didn't seem to be moving along.

The narrator, Ben Onwukwe, has an absolutely beautiful baritone that fits perfectly in the time period. The issue is that he has atrocious voices for women and children, which often sound like gravely southern American accents for some reason. I got used to the weird voices, but it didn't exactly add to my enjoyment of the listening experience.

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novelshire's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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moiralyle's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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? No

4.0

First, thanks to the publisher (Flatiron Books) for the eARC of this novel. I was quite excited about being asked to participate in a blog tour for a book that was being marketed as "A Dickensian X-Men.” I mean, if that's not my reading vibe, then idk what is? (I mean, it's lacking the Victorian aspect, but Vicious and Vengeful anyone? We all know I loved those!) I am also kind of glad I got it as an eARC, even though I will die a "physical book" reader, because it meant I didn't know how long this was before starting. And not that I'm afraid of big books or anything, but this 600+ page chonker might have intimidated me more if I'd seen it in IRL before starting. That being said, I absolutely got on hold for it at the library too, so that I could legit eventually hold it in my hands too.

Ordinary Monsters is the first book in a trilogy about a group of children called Talents, those who are born with special skills (kind of like the X-Men). As the story progresses, we meet, among others, a girl who can become invisible (Ribs), a boy who can heal himself (Charlie), a girl who can manipulate dust (Komako), and a particularly special boy who glows blue (Marlowe). All of these children have been brought together from their respective original homes (as it were) to an estate in Scotland called Cairndale, a refuge and gathering place and educational home for the Talents of the world. However, there are secrets at Cairndale that make it not *quite* the safe space for Talents that its proprietor Dr. Berghast and assistant Mrs Harrogate advertise (and believe). There is a power threatening to breach the walls of Carirndal and unleash the world of the dead into the world of the living, assisted by a "turned" Talent, Jacob Marber. The children, Mrs. Harrogate, and two grizzled old detectives (Coulten and Alice Quicke), must work to save themselves and the world from this dark power incarnate.

Well, this book was all about the vibes. From the very first page, the reader is plunged into a deeply gritty, violent underbelly of the world we think we know (starting with a murder and rainy night escape and foundling babies). From Victorian London streets to a midwest traveling circus and the deep south in Reconstruction-era United States to Meiji-era Tokyo to the countryside outside Edinburgh, this novel served atmosphere. It was in the seedy settings, gloomy descriptions, mysterious Dr. Berghast/Mrs. Harrogate and hidden purpose behind Cairndale, in the creepiness of the monsters (all the unnaturally pale skin and skittering-crawling movement, ooof), the slow reveals of true intent and covered-up details, in the quality of the Talents gifts, the gory violence, the small details like the clockwork bonebirds, and the bleeding through of the world of the dead into the world of the living. All in all, just a wonderful dark and gothic supernatural feel that, despite how long the novel was, I couldn't get enough of.

As far as the plot....I mean wow, this novel covered a lot of ground. For all that it was over 600 pages, I never once felt like things were dragging. Getting the backgrounds of all the characters and gathering of them all together, along with the setting of the scene, as it were, was a large chunk that spanned a great deal of both time and distance. And at not infrequent intervals, there were scenes of conflict and violence and drama that kept the reader on their toes, including a very fun (in the "I enjoyed reading it" sense) train battle scene and quite a bit of build to the mystery of Cairndale and our secretive Dr. Berghast's motivations. I was expecting was expecting a sort of “dark magic school” situation and while Cairndale did act as that, it did not spend much time in that role, specifically, within the plot. I actually loved that misdirect, as magic schools are a trope for a reason, it definitely fit this story better to hold space as more of a setting for other conflicts, as opposed to the "education" taking place there as its primary role. I was also into the kind of winding path to get to the bottom of the real "big bad." First, because for the most part our character perspectives are just as clueless as us as readers, like Alice Quicke (new to her role with Cairndale) and the young Talents, so it made sense for their puzzling through the details they have and dawning understanding to be slower. Second, because that sort of high action, slow mysterious reveal, fit the book's overall vibe spectacularly. Related, I loved the guessing of who was actually the “bad guy.” That so many things happened to make picking any side mean rooting for some level of bad/evil...big yes. I am so here for those grey spaces and morally questionable characters. Spot on plot-character development in combination.

I have to be honest here and say that there were a few points from which I wanted more. This may sound contradictory because I just said that I liked the slow unrolling of the "truth," but I have to say that a few times, I felt like more background/detail was necessary. There were a few times that characters, particularly Mrs. Harrogate and Alice, went from being confused and knowing nothing to being confident and in control over the space of one scene/POV transition. I just felt like their seemingly sudden understanding and capability felt a little too easy at times, without what even felt like enough time passing "off-screen" for them to have worked through/tested what it seemed like they had figured out. This was particularly apparent in regards to the keywrasse (who, as a character, I deeply hope we see more of, though that is not the point at hand here.) Also, while I felt that all the characters were individually really well developed, I wish I had been able to buy into their connections with each other a bit more. Perhaps this is because I was just reading so fast that the time passing didn't seem like long enough for robust connections to grow. However, though the book was long, there was also a lot of action and I am not sure that much objective time actually passed. Anyways, I felt like it was worth mentioning, to be transparent. (And because based on where it ended, with a reasonably wrapped-up cliffhanger situation, I'm hoping the next book is able to delve even deeper into this off-the-wall, found family, interpersonal connections aspect.)

Well, this was a fantastically unique and entertaining mix of old-school penny dreadfuls, X-Men, and found family. There were twists and turns, myriad locations and action scenes, mysteries raised and solved, and a great supernatural dark gothic atmosphere in this (unexpected for its length) page-turner of a start to a trilogy. If you like a novel that serves major vibes and enjoy getting lost in a story, then I would definitely suggest giving this book a try.

“Justice is just a bucket with a hole in the bottom, as my father used to say.”

“She’d seen too many kids in that chair, hurt over and over by the world, until their hurting and their being hurt no longer seemed shameful at all. Those were the ones that worried her.”

“Scared is just your head telling your heart to be careful. It’s not a bad thing. It’s what you do with it that matters.”

“Your Dr. Berghast wishes to preserve the world as it is, the powerful in their interests, the meek in their place. But I…I do not believe it has to be the way it is. Do you know why the dark talents are called dark, Jacob? Oh, it is nothing to do with good or evil, with righteous or its perversion. It is because they make it possible for the weak to conceal themselves, to live like the strong.”

“Difference, children, is not monstrous. It is nature at work.”

“Anything different from the normal appears monstrous. But it is not. It is not.”

“If you live long enough, you cease to be human, you cease to understand anything that fills the human heart. For the heart is made of time, and consumed by time, by the knowledge of its own eventual death, and Berghast could not die.”

“Thing is […] you waste al this time dreaming of where you came from, cause you know no one comes from nothing. And you tell yourself, if only you knew, then maybe you could see a reason for how you got to be the way you are. Why your life looks like it does. But there isn’t any reason, not really.”

“Tick-tick-tick went all the gears in all the clocks in all the world.”

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poetry_shaman's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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mmccombs's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

This book was like if X-men, The House in the Cerulean Sea, and maybe Stranger Things had a baby who was alive in the 1880s. The magic and fantasy elements were quite unique and complex, it all made sense mostly and made the backdrop of 19th century London even more dark and spooky. This was almost a horror book in some ways, but the kids definitely balanced out the darkness of the rest of it. There were probably too many characters but I thought all of their talents and backstories were really compelling. I am of the opinion that most books (especially books in a series) do not need to be over 400 pages long, so in some places this story did feel quite bloated. I liked this story enough to be invested in the next books, but I do hope they will be a bit tighter. I would definitely recommend this one for a fun, kind of eerie, low-fantasy adventure!

Thanks for the ARC, flatiron!

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aglittercobra's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

***5 Stars***

Overall,

I received an audiobook of this from Netgalley and the first thing I can tell you is that it was long at 672 pages. I generally prefer to read longer books because I can read faster than I can listen. With that said I really enjoyed this book. It was incredibly original and interesting and pretty dark at times. It is a bit slow paced at parts and there are a lot of POVs with a lot of characters thinking and doing different things. This is where the audio really helped because the narrator did a phenomenal job of distinguishing between characters.

It is kind of difficult to describe this book without adding any spoilers but I will give it a shot. The overall story takes place in the late 1800s, mostly in the UK but there is travel to the US and Asia. It consists of two young boys (talents) who are rescued by “detectives” who belong to a school in Scotland. The school is a refuge for Talents, that is the name given to people with unique abilities. Throughout the book the POV shifts from several adults and some of the children depending on what is happening. They are being chased by a bad guy who is a very strong talent and his motivations are unclear. The story does answer a lot of questions by the end but still leaves you hanging on what will happen next. I have seen some sources count this as dark academia, I would not. While there is a school it is barely a blip in the overall story.

Narration

The book was Narrated by Ben Onwukwe, who, like I said before did a phenomenal job. I listened to most of the book on 1.3x or 1.5x speed, and that has nothing to do with the narration, that is just my preference. If you like Audiobooks and are unsure of this book I would definitely recommend this audio, it was well done, I could (and did) listen to Bens voice for hours.

Cover

The cover is kind of plain and to be honest I am not sure why there is a raven (or crow?) on it. However, it does get the vibe of this book pretty well.

Recommendation

Please check trigger warnings before reading this book, there is some child abuse, racism and violence in this book and if that is not for you then I do not recommend it. For those who love original stories, and dark fantasy set in the real world I would recommend this to you. I hesitate to compare this book to others because in my opinion there really isn’t anything that comes close enough to it. I really loved this book, and I believe J.M. Miro plans on a trilogy, which I am excited about.

**I received an Audio ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my free and honest review. Thank you Flatiron Books and MacMillian Audio Production for the opportunity to read this book.** #Ordinary Monsters #Netgalley

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deedireads's review against another edition

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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.

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evafantasy's review against another edition

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5.0

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
An ARC was lent to me by my local bookshop.

This was spectacular. Perfect balance between dark and gritty and a flicker of hope and warmth. All the characters are so engaging, all of them so complex and compelling. The writing is a pleasure, fluid as a river. Loved it !

I started reading and then Heartstopper and OFMD put me in a reading slump, I wasn't even in the mood to finish it anymore but I did, and I enjoyed it immensely ! So to tell you, it was good xD

TW - , implied rape, miscarriage, death, beating, racism, misogyny, murder, self harm, parental abuse, gore

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