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A review by nikereadsbooks
The Crack at the Heart of Everything by Fiona Fenn
4.5
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
With a mix of dystopian settings and magical lore, this book blended into a fantastic world that is full of mythological creatures, technology, and intriguing concepts. I loved how it then permitted the author to use both magic and its creatures simultaneously as electricity, cars and planes - which in the end made for such an interesting world-building. There were references to many things from our present day, as well as ancient myths and names inspired by them.
Orpheus, the main character of the story, was such a fresh breath of air, and I don't say that lightly. He knows very well that he is not a good person, his creations were followed by consequences - one of them being a curse he accidentally placed on himself while conjuring up an army for his best friend-turned-the Empress. The conflict he had with this - knowing that there's not long before he succumbs to the curse, the way he feels about himself and his position at Lore's side, and how these two things are even more intense because of his traumatic past - was an extremely well written inner monologue. He doesn't make excuses for himself, and that's something I found to be such an important part of this book. Orpheus is hard on himself, but he also works, after seeing the world after Lore's conquer, to make things better. Even though he has a part in the destroyed reality, Orpheus, deep in his heart, knows that the Lore he knew as a child changed, and he has to overcome the fact that she is, in fact, wrong.
I feel like this book made me think a lot about the way Orpheus evolved as a person during his journey, but at the same time, stayed true to himself. He was afraid to face the truth at first, blaming himself for trusting Lore and then Fenrir. And it was cool to watch his solo journey.
I liked that the romance was a secondary aspect of the book, but still prominent enough to allow Orpheus to go through the highs and lows of realizing his feelings. His rivalry, at times intense, at times not so much, with Fenrir at the side of the Empress, was funny to watch. They really disliked each other at first, and their interactions really showed off Orpheus' feelings about Fenrir. This is something that I enjoyed a lot, because sometimes in rivals-to-lovers stories, the rivalry is rather bland. But not this time, thankfully! And as Orpheus spent more and more time with Fenrir, their interactions stopped being so stingy but still kept being interesting to read.
With a mix of dystopian settings and magical lore, this book blended into a fantastic world that is full of mythological creatures, technology, and intriguing concepts. I loved how it then permitted the author to use both magic and its creatures simultaneously as electricity, cars and planes - which in the end made for such an interesting world-building. There were references to many things from our present day, as well as ancient myths and names inspired by them.
Orpheus, the main character of the story, was such a fresh breath of air, and I don't say that lightly. He knows very well that he is not a good person, his creations were followed by consequences - one of them being a curse he accidentally placed on himself while conjuring up an army for his best friend-turned-the Empress. The conflict he had with this - knowing that there's not long before he succumbs to the curse, the way he feels about himself and his position at Lore's side, and how these two things are even more intense because of his traumatic past - was an extremely well written inner monologue. He doesn't make excuses for himself, and that's something I found to be such an important part of this book. Orpheus is hard on himself, but he also works, after seeing the world after Lore's conquer, to make things better. Even though he has a part in the destroyed reality, Orpheus, deep in his heart, knows that the Lore he knew as a child changed, and he has to overcome the fact that she is, in fact, wrong.
I feel like this book made me think a lot about the way Orpheus evolved as a person during his journey, but at the same time, stayed true to himself. He was afraid to face the truth at first, blaming himself for trusting Lore and then Fenrir. And it was cool to watch his solo journey.
I liked that the romance was a secondary aspect of the book, but still prominent enough to allow Orpheus to go through the highs and lows of realizing his feelings. His rivalry, at times intense, at times not so much, with Fenrir at the side of the Empress, was funny to watch. They really disliked each other at first, and their interactions really showed off Orpheus' feelings about Fenrir. This is something that I enjoyed a lot, because sometimes in rivals-to-lovers stories, the rivalry is rather bland. But not this time, thankfully! And as Orpheus spent more and more time with Fenrir, their interactions stopped being so stingy but still kept being interesting to read.