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A review by egbella
Orchidelirium by E.B. Roshan
4.0
This was a huge step outside my typical genres, but the author offered a complimentary copy and I was happy to give it a chance! And while it’s still not my preferred kind of story, I thought it was very cute, and worth the read!
First, the illustrations were a very fun addition to this little story (novella-length). They broke up the text well, and gave the story a middle-grade feel. Even the plot’s main mystery seemed to be on a smaller scale, something that younger readers could enjoy. That said, the characters’ dialogue wasn’t child-like. The setting was meant to be a Steampunk alternative to Victorian England, and the dialogue reflected that era, being older and more flowery.
The characters made for a fun cast of characters, with realistic sibling relationships, a couple of well-written antagonists, and a lot of dry wit and bits of humor from the protagonist. I had a tough time telling all of the characters apart at first, but figured them out pretty quickly. Even the bits of romance were short and sweet. In such a short story, the Steampunk elements of the worldbuilding didn’t show too much, but the setting worked and was easy to follow along with anyway. All in all, this was a quick, quirky, and entertaining read!
I would recommend this to middle grade readers (of any age!) that enjoy short, illustrated, and historical reads with a fun cast of characters and a unique mystery plot.
CW: some characters smoke, theft, but I can't think of anything else that would be considered tricky. It was very clean!
First, the illustrations were a very fun addition to this little story (novella-length). They broke up the text well, and gave the story a middle-grade feel. Even the plot’s main mystery seemed to be on a smaller scale, something that younger readers could enjoy. That said, the characters’ dialogue wasn’t child-like. The setting was meant to be a Steampunk alternative to Victorian England, and the dialogue reflected that era, being older and more flowery.
The characters made for a fun cast of characters, with realistic sibling relationships, a couple of well-written antagonists, and a lot of dry wit and bits of humor from the protagonist. I had a tough time telling all of the characters apart at first, but figured them out pretty quickly. Even the bits of romance were short and sweet. In such a short story, the Steampunk elements of the worldbuilding didn’t show too much, but the setting worked and was easy to follow along with anyway. All in all, this was a quick, quirky, and entertaining read!
I would recommend this to middle grade readers (of any age!) that enjoy short, illustrated, and historical reads with a fun cast of characters and a unique mystery plot.
CW: some characters smoke, theft, but I can't think of anything else that would be considered tricky. It was very clean!