May 26

May 26 Ordinary Monsters (The Talents Trilogy, #1)

Author: J.M. Miro
Publisher: Flatiron
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

Click above to buy this book from my Bookshop.org shop, which supports independent bookstores (not Amazon). You can also find it via your favorite indie bookstore here.

Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

Cover Description

A stunning new work of historical fantasy, J. M. Miro's Ordinary Monsters introduces readers to the dark, labyrinthe 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 lifetime of brutality, 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 two grizzled detectives are recruited to escort them north to safety, they are forced to confront the nature of difference, and belonging, and the shadowy edges of the monstrous.

What follows is a journey from the gaslit streets of London, to an eerie estate outside Edinburgh, where other children with gifts—the Talents—have been gathered. Here, the world of the dead and the world of the living threaten to collide. And as secrets within the Institute unfurl, Marlowe, Charlie and the rest of the Talents will discover the truth about their abilities, and the nature of the force that is stalking them: that the worst monsters sometimes come bearing the sweetest gifts.

With lush prose, mesmerizing world-building, and a gripping plot, Ordinary Monsters presents a catastophic vision of the Victorian world—and of the gifted, broken children who must save it.

TL;DR Review

Ordinary Monsters is an imaginative, exciting start to a new historical fantasy trilogy: think Miss Peregrine meets Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrel.

For you if: You like low fantasy (stories that take place in our real, recognizable world).

Full Review

Thank you, Flatiron Books, for sending me a free advanced copy of this book! It comes out June 7 and I can’t WAIT for more people to read it. I really, really enjoyed it.

The book, the first in a trilogy, is like Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children meets Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Set in the 1880s, mostly in England and Scotland, it starts with a runaway domestic servant who finds a baby who glows. Then it moves to two investigators who travel the world looking for children with “talents” so they can bring them back to a safe haven (called the Cairndale Institute), and finally finds itself wedged between a murderous ex-talent who’s allied with an evil dark force and the old scientist who runs Cairndale. (Tbh, with 675 pages, of course, there’s a LOT of story here. But those wary of worldbuilding, fear it not! It’s easy to follow.)

I enjoyed the whole book (lovable characters, imaginative premise, great mystery, lots of layers!), but IMO, where this book really shows off is in the action scenes. J.M. Miro bounces between narrators with precision, perfectly pacing it so we’re at the edge of our seat but in no way frustrated. Really impressive stuff. And the ending felt like the perfect balance between cliffhanger and resolution; I have lots of questions, and there are plenty of threads hanging loose in what promises to be a vast overarching plot, but I also got enough closure from this particular book’s story that I walked away feeling pleased and accomplished.

Also, I had the chance to listen to some of the audiobook as well, and it was very well done! This would make a great choice if fantasy on audio is your jam.

Anyway, don’t let this one’s size intimidate you. If you like low, historical fantasy novels, I think you’ll also like this one a lot.