A review by its_eel
Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I got stuck reading this about halfway through. The book started really strong and was leaning towards being fast-paced until the second main part. I can’t tell if my reading was a bit off this month or it was the book, but once I got about halfway through the book, I flew through it. This book almost made 5 stars, but given that I put it down for a good several days, that goes to 4 stars for me.

The urban environment was a full on character in this novel. I loved the atmosphere of Victorian London and the world building was really excellent in this. I could fully envision each of the many settings in this novel. There was a surprising amount of well-roundedness and depth to all of the characters, and given how many there were, I’m impressed that no character felt superfluous.

I definitely felt like some of the dialogue lines and settings were little easter eggs from other fantasy classics, ie Lord of the Rings, The Earthsea Chronicles, etc. 

It may be awhile until I pick up the second book, but I definitely am hooked on this cast of characters and seeing how the story progresses in the next one!
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