Advance Copy Review — ORDINARY MONSTERS: The Talents Trilogy, Book 1 by J.M. Miro
A STUNNING NEW WORK OF HISTORICAL FANTASY, J. M. MIRO’S ORDINARY MONSTERS INTRODUCES READERS TO THE DARK, LABYRINTHINE WORLD OF THE TALENTS
England, 1882. In Victorian London, two children with mysterious powers are hunted by a figure of darkness―a man made of smoke.
Sixteen-year-old Charlie Ovid, despite a brutal childhood in Mississippi, doesn’t have a scar on him. His body heals itself, whether he wants it to or not. Marlowe, a foundling from a railway freight car, shines with a strange bluish light. He can melt or mend flesh. When Alice Quicke, a jaded detective with her own troubled past, is recruited to escort them to safety, all three begin a journey into the nature of difference and belonging, and the shadowy edges of the monstrous.
What follows is a story of wonder and betrayal, from the gaslit streets of London, and the wooden theaters of Meiji-era Tokyo, to an eerie estate outside Edinburgh where other children with gifts―like Komako, a witch-child and twister of dust, and Ribs, a girl who cloaks herself in invisibility―are forced to combat the forces that threaten their safety. There, the world of the dead and the world of the living threaten to collide. And as secrets within the Institute unfurl, Komako, Marlowe, Charlie, Ribs, and the rest of the talents will discover the truth about their abilities, and the nature of what is stalking them: that the worst monsters sometimes come bearing the sweetest gifts.
Riveting in its scope, exquisitely written, Ordinary Monsters presents a catastrophic vision of the Victorian world―and of the gifted, broken children who must save it.
Release Date: June 7, 2022
My ThoughtsNo review I write can do justice to my love of this book. Here’s my attempt, for what it’s worth.
Ordinary Monsters is historical fantasy that’s fascinating and dark\ and sad, while dropping bits of hope like a trail of breadcrumbs, and shaping reality so the story not only feels plausible, but real.
The writing has a beautiful literary quality without being flowery or excessive.
The setting is expansive, taking us to the US, Japan, London, and Scotland. All of these places came alive, so I felt as if I were there alongside the characters.
And let’s talk atmosphere! I was a captive and captivated reader, totally immersed, all my senses sparked, living and breathing this story.
This book is hefty, coming in at 650+ pages. Don’t let that deter you. Not one word here is wasted. Not once did I feel the urge to skim even one sentence.
Ordinary Monsters is the first book in The Talents Trilogy. While we do have the inevitable loose threads to pull for the next book, I was thrilled to find enough closure to satisfy me at the end. I wasn’t left dangling on a hateful cliffhanger, which I greatly appreciate.
Bring on book 2!
*My immense gratitude to Flatiron Books for the ARC!*
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