Reviews

Tale of the Hidden Village: World of Heavenfall by K.C. Norton, Riley Rookhouse

sam_and_king's review

adventurous mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

3.75

Ngl I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. 

ashyyy's review

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

I wasn't engaged and found myself skimming half the descriptions. I almost DNfed but held on to find out the answer to the mystery...it was fine.

aaronjmeadows2's review against another edition

4.0

After a slow start, and after I figured out what was going on, I had trouble putting this book down. Definitely plan to read more by these authors.

wuxian31's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

hbeacon's review

adventurous mysterious 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

anastasiadreaming's review

Two pages in to chapter one and already everything is telling not showing…

readingbrocks's review

adventurous mysterious reflective fast-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

4.5

complexion's review

mysterious fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

halcyon_nights's review

adventurous mysterious sad 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? Yes

3.5

I think the cover was what initially pulled me to the book. Then the blurb sounded interesting (someone waking up as practically a newborn in the form of an adult?) and it was free so I got it. I never read anything by the author and never heard of this book before so I had no expectations. I was pleasantly surprised by the assured writing style and voice and absolutely absorbed by the mystery of the narrator's identity and who Emerald really was. If I were to rate the first half separately, I would have given it 4 or 5 stars. The only thing I did not enjoy was the resolution of the mystery and how the book ended.

General discussion of the device used but tagged as a spoiler just in case:

I just realized I'm not a huge fan of the all-is-well-in-the-end and then a last minute reveal or epilogue that shows that things aren't actually okay and they still have to deal with the repercussions. That's how series work and that's how some authors hook their readers to read the next one but it only convinced me that I was fine having read just the first book. I guess something about the book has not compelled me or made me curious enough to keep reading, despite enjoying the character dynamics.

Overall, I'm still glad I read it and would potentially be interested in reading other work by the author.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Xenophobia

Minor: Self harm

marissalupe's review

5.0

I have two questions for you dear reader...
1) Do you like fantasy?
2) Do you enjoy Sherlock Holmes?
If you answered yes to both, then you must immediately pick this novel up, because I promise you will devour it promptly.
✨The Tale of the Hidden Village, was such a fun read with a unique twist on the typical "who dun it" type of investigative mystery. The characters were fresh and vivid, and the story was fun, engaging and kept me guessing all the way to the very end!!