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suze_1624's review
4.0
Now I'm not a big fantasy/steampunk reader and this one is deep in those territories for me, but I did really enjoy it!
I think because it built slowly I was able to grow with the story, if that makes sense. Also having the ship diagram at the start (and reading it!) helped keep in mind where they were going. Also made me realise this wasn't set up in the moors!!!
The who was involved in the scam, what they were doing in starboard hall, what was going on with Uncle Gerard all kept me involved.
Neil and Leofa gradually came together as lovers but without much in the mind of either it did feel a bit light to me. However, they were not the main thrust of the story, so it didn't really matter.
I thought the imagination and story telling from the author was very good, kept me involved and wanting to read on.
I think because it built slowly I was able to grow with the story, if that makes sense. Also having the ship diagram at the start (and reading it!) helped keep in mind where they were going. Also made me realise this wasn't set up in the moors!!!
The who was involved in the scam, what they were doing in starboard hall, what was going on with Uncle Gerard all kept me involved.
Neil and Leofa gradually came together as lovers but without much in the mind of either it did feel a bit light to me. However, they were not the main thrust of the story, so it didn't really matter.
I thought the imagination and story telling from the author was very good, kept me involved and wanting to read on.
kraken_keeper18's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
tacoshark's review against another edition
4.0
Really fun, really entertaining read - I'd never read steampunk before but it was great. I'd definitely check out what this author does next.
vortacist's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
amalelmohtar's review against another edition
4.0
Tremendously enjoyable, with a gay lead character and an engrossing romance that's really hot. Hooray for good steampunk novels!
wodime's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
1.5
disclaimer: i do not tend to like steampunk. but i still wanted to give this a chance because, gestures at my reading history, i'll try nearly anything for m/m specfic. but. hmm.
this was not a great time. the first couple of chapters are a complete slog of lore, which made for a really rough start. and it never picked up for me, in terms of either prose or plot, and don't even start me on the characters and their flat dynamics. i mean, i guess it was pretty readable? but it never grabbed me and it DEFINITELY never made me feel anything.
this was not a great time. the first couple of chapters are a complete slog of lore, which made for a really rough start. and it never picked up for me, in terms of either prose or plot, and don't even start me on the characters and their flat dynamics. i mean, i guess it was pretty readable? but it never grabbed me and it DEFINITELY never made me feel anything.
tregina's review
3.0
I really enjoyed this, particularly with the good balance of mystery and romance elements, but felt like the world it existed in could have been more fully developed to make it feel more complete and unique, and not consisting of ideas pasted together.
ambientcrows's review
3.0
Not a review, exactly. There were quite a few typos scattered through the whole book which drew me out of the story to read over a line to clarify what it meant.
lauraadriana78's review
5.0
You know when you read a book and you KNOW, like deep inside of you that you are in on something amazing? That you are reading something important. That’s how I felt reading this book, like “Wow, I’m one of the first people reading this book, and this book is going to BLOW PEOPLE AWAY.” That’s what I was thinking throughout Highfell Grimoires, from the moment I started reading I knew I was in for something remarkable. Let’s start with the genre, the book is a Steampunk novel, and without exaggerating even a little bit I can say it is the best one I’ve read in this genre, full stop. Second, it channeled some serious Victorian Gothic magic, think Brontë, think Poe, think Dickens…Think BIG, because that is exactly what the writing in this novel was. The excellent world building, the intriguing characters, twisted and fascinating foes, vulnerable and noble heroes, the piercing look at class, inequality, justice, gender biases, misogynistic societal norms, hypocrisy, kindness, love, loyalty, friendship, higher causes, greater good…The whole enchilada my friends. This novel HAS IT ALL…And then THEN, there’s Neil, Leofa and their boys.
Where do I even start? Because seriously if I wasn’t a happily married woman I would have proposed to Langley Hyde about a third into this book. Neil Franklin’s life has been taken away from him. After his parent’s accidental death him and his sister are suddenly faced with a crippling family debt, and to repay it he agrees to leave the city of Herrow and his studies, to become a teacher at his uncle’s charity boarding school for boys. The school is up in an eatherium, estates that float in the air powered by aether. So he will have to leave his sister in the care of his uncle. As much as Neil loves those big floating ship-like structures in the sky, and the excitement of possibly taking part in forming young minds, he is low, because he knows he will never be able to pay the debt he owes, and his sister’a future might be in jeopardy as much as his.
Things get grimmer the moment he arrives at the school, the conditions there are less then optimal, and his students seems to be a group of disreputable urchins…And that’s not not the worst of it, the Nobsnippes, the family who runs the school seem to be pretty shady characters. Neil is not sure what he’s gotten himself into, but the more he learns of the conditions he is to live in the more he despairs. Then he meets Leofa, the “garderner” for the school who he is supposed to be roommates with (the horror), not only is the whole thing unseemly and completely below someone’s Neil social status, but Leofa makes him jumpy. He is all kinds of mysterious and confusing. He is a bit rough with Neil, yet so kind and gentle with the boys. He goes out of his way to feed them and care for them as much as he can…He is also big and beautiful, and that out of everything is the very worst part. Neil cannot have feelings for this man, it is not well regarded for two men to be “involved” and besides he’s not too sure if “gardening” is really what Leofa is getting up to wherever he spends his days…As a matter of fact some of the boys are going in there too and coming back hurt. None of this is Neil’s problem though, he cannot get attached to the boys or Leofa, what he needs is to find a way to get out of the situation he is in, the whole thing is beneath him. Not at all what he signed for, the Nobsnippes give him the creeps, they are nasty people, the boys are barely manageable and then there’s the sleeping arrangement with Leofa…Neil is in over his head, that is for sure!
From the voice (Neil is our narrator in first person POV), to the world, the characters, the toys, flying machines, intrigue, magic, secrets and romance this book was LUSCIOUS. Visually the world is gorgeous, my mind was working overtime to keep up with flying aetheriums, victorian dresses a la Tim Burton, and magical books secured with hazardous bloodlocks. Neil, like all the others, is a wonderfully developed character. He is so much a man of his time, but he has an ingrained sense of nobility and fairness, he is attached to his place in society and what it has provided for him, but he understands the injustices that exist in his world. When he is faced with the conditions which the boys he grows to care about are forced to live in, out the carelessness of others he struggles with that. He struggles with the reality that a good man like Leofa is forced to work for pennies by nasty people because of circumstances that were not his doing. It is an unfair world, and it shames him that he has never paid much attention to it before.
Then of course is what he finds in Leofa and those boys. He finds his heart and his purpose. What had never seemed important before becomes paramount, because soon he realizes that these boys and that man are important, not just to him, but they are important because they ARE. Strange things are happening and he fears they might all be in danger, nothing seems to be like he thought it was. Seems like Neil may have been living in the clouds before he got up on the aetherium, ironically, but he’s never been a coward and now is not the the time to start when his, Leofa’s, the boys and his sister’s fate are in the balance.
I won’t go into the mystery or magic because that was such a wonderful part of this book, that I will leave you to discover it yourselves. This story is nothing but goodness, the heroes are brave and valiant, the villains are twisted and grotesque…The archetypes are done exquisitely. The romance between Neil and Leofa is subtle and understated but no less was powerful and moving. I did not miss the erotica (although there were intimate moments), for me the big payoff for me came from getting to know them and their world. Not that there is not enough in their love story to make one swoon, because THERE IS! It’s a read like you don’t run across very often.
I cannot say enough good things, if I could I would make reading this novel mandatory. For steampunk and fantasy fans this is required reading. For fans of Victorian novels, also a MUST…And if you are fan of good books with good writing, go buy this book NOW.
Effusively and enthusiastically recommend. I hope beyond all hope there is a lot more from Langley Hyde coming our way in the near future, I especially hope that this one not the last form Neil, Leofa and their gang.
For a complete review and to see the recipe for some AMAZING Lemon Lavender Cakelets with Lemon Curd Filling I made for this book go to The Tipsy Bibliophile
Where do I even start? Because seriously if I wasn’t a happily married woman I would have proposed to Langley Hyde about a third into this book. Neil Franklin’s life has been taken away from him. After his parent’s accidental death him and his sister are suddenly faced with a crippling family debt, and to repay it he agrees to leave the city of Herrow and his studies, to become a teacher at his uncle’s charity boarding school for boys. The school is up in an eatherium, estates that float in the air powered by aether. So he will have to leave his sister in the care of his uncle. As much as Neil loves those big floating ship-like structures in the sky, and the excitement of possibly taking part in forming young minds, he is low, because he knows he will never be able to pay the debt he owes, and his sister’a future might be in jeopardy as much as his.
Things get grimmer the moment he arrives at the school, the conditions there are less then optimal, and his students seems to be a group of disreputable urchins…And that’s not not the worst of it, the Nobsnippes, the family who runs the school seem to be pretty shady characters. Neil is not sure what he’s gotten himself into, but the more he learns of the conditions he is to live in the more he despairs. Then he meets Leofa, the “garderner” for the school who he is supposed to be roommates with (the horror), not only is the whole thing unseemly and completely below someone’s Neil social status, but Leofa makes him jumpy. He is all kinds of mysterious and confusing. He is a bit rough with Neil, yet so kind and gentle with the boys. He goes out of his way to feed them and care for them as much as he can…He is also big and beautiful, and that out of everything is the very worst part. Neil cannot have feelings for this man, it is not well regarded for two men to be “involved” and besides he’s not too sure if “gardening” is really what Leofa is getting up to wherever he spends his days…As a matter of fact some of the boys are going in there too and coming back hurt. None of this is Neil’s problem though, he cannot get attached to the boys or Leofa, what he needs is to find a way to get out of the situation he is in, the whole thing is beneath him. Not at all what he signed for, the Nobsnippes give him the creeps, they are nasty people, the boys are barely manageable and then there’s the sleeping arrangement with Leofa…Neil is in over his head, that is for sure!
From the voice (Neil is our narrator in first person POV), to the world, the characters, the toys, flying machines, intrigue, magic, secrets and romance this book was LUSCIOUS. Visually the world is gorgeous, my mind was working overtime to keep up with flying aetheriums, victorian dresses a la Tim Burton, and magical books secured with hazardous bloodlocks. Neil, like all the others, is a wonderfully developed character. He is so much a man of his time, but he has an ingrained sense of nobility and fairness, he is attached to his place in society and what it has provided for him, but he understands the injustices that exist in his world. When he is faced with the conditions which the boys he grows to care about are forced to live in, out the carelessness of others he struggles with that. He struggles with the reality that a good man like Leofa is forced to work for pennies by nasty people because of circumstances that were not his doing. It is an unfair world, and it shames him that he has never paid much attention to it before.
Then of course is what he finds in Leofa and those boys. He finds his heart and his purpose. What had never seemed important before becomes paramount, because soon he realizes that these boys and that man are important, not just to him, but they are important because they ARE. Strange things are happening and he fears they might all be in danger, nothing seems to be like he thought it was. Seems like Neil may have been living in the clouds before he got up on the aetherium, ironically, but he’s never been a coward and now is not the the time to start when his, Leofa’s, the boys and his sister’s fate are in the balance.
I won’t go into the mystery or magic because that was such a wonderful part of this book, that I will leave you to discover it yourselves. This story is nothing but goodness, the heroes are brave and valiant, the villains are twisted and grotesque…The archetypes are done exquisitely. The romance between Neil and Leofa is subtle and understated but no less was powerful and moving. I did not miss the erotica (although there were intimate moments), for me the big payoff for me came from getting to know them and their world. Not that there is not enough in their love story to make one swoon, because THERE IS! It’s a read like you don’t run across very often.
I cannot say enough good things, if I could I would make reading this novel mandatory. For steampunk and fantasy fans this is required reading. For fans of Victorian novels, also a MUST…And if you are fan of good books with good writing, go buy this book NOW.
Effusively and enthusiastically recommend. I hope beyond all hope there is a lot more from Langley Hyde coming our way in the near future, I especially hope that this one not the last form Neil, Leofa and their gang.
For a complete review and to see the recipe for some AMAZING Lemon Lavender Cakelets with Lemon Curd Filling I made for this book go to The Tipsy Bibliophile
poultrymunitions's review
2.0
lovely odds and ends, but the plot's as crazy as a rat in a coffee can.
it's dominated by circumstances being revealed to the protagonist via convenient correspondence with characters we never meet. and the story falls flat every time the hero is faced with a challenge and meekly wibbles his way aside so as to take the path of least et cetera.
and about that "hero": ouf.
talk about limp biscuits.
dumb as fuck. takes him forever to figure anything out, and when he does, he takes weeks to actually do anything about it.
including his smoldering attraction to his bunkmate.
when i complained about the annoyingly twee and abortive sexuality through the first 90 percent or so, a friend who'd read it replied, "wait, there was sex in that book?"
my. point. eggs. actly.
so he takes forever to do anything proactive, and because of the aforementioned cray-cray plot, what he decides is so dumb and doomed to failure i was literally grinding my teeth in frustration.
because it only turns out okay with the aid of like four separate dei ex machinis.
honestly, even the beginning kinda drove me apeshit, pleasing mystery or no. i wanted hogwarts, but what i got instead was something out of dickens—the intensely upsetting suffering of innocent schoolboys—only to have it all conveniently resolved in two throwaway paragraphs in the final chapter.
grrr.
promising, but undermined by a fundamentally flawed plot and characters so thunderingly stupid they couldn't think their way through a turnstile.
i mean, really?
really, leo?
"why does hehave a picture of my mom on his desk ?"
really???
it's dominated by circumstances being revealed to the protagonist via convenient correspondence with characters we never meet. and the story falls flat every time the hero is faced with a challenge and meekly wibbles his way aside so as to take the path of least et cetera.
and about that "hero": ouf.
talk about limp biscuits.
dumb as fuck. takes him forever to figure anything out, and when he does, he takes weeks to actually do anything about it.
including his smoldering attraction to his bunkmate.
when i complained about the annoyingly twee and abortive sexuality through the first 90 percent or so, a friend who'd read it replied, "wait, there was sex in that book?"
my. point. eggs. actly.
so he takes forever to do anything proactive, and because of the aforementioned cray-cray plot, what he decides is so dumb and doomed to failure i was literally grinding my teeth in frustration.
because it only turns out okay with the aid of like four separate dei ex machinis.
honestly, even the beginning kinda drove me apeshit, pleasing mystery or no. i wanted hogwarts, but what i got instead was something out of dickens—the intensely upsetting suffering of innocent schoolboys—only to have it all conveniently resolved in two throwaway paragraphs in the final chapter.
grrr.
promising, but undermined by a fundamentally flawed plot and characters so thunderingly stupid they couldn't think their way through a turnstile.
i mean, really?
really, leo?
"why does he
really???
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