Well, this was definitely unlike anything I've read before!
While it's not the best book I've read, it was definitely enchanting and intriguing. I loved the main characters, especially Bray, Wes and Luca. I didn't like Brenik as much because he's just so self-centered, selfish and jealous, but I have to admit his chapters just drew me in.
That ending was pretty weird, the whole Luca part, but it is the perfect setup for a sequel.

This was such a unique story that I really enjoyed reading, the characters were great and I loved the plot from the beginning. I loved the siblings dynamic and felt for Brenik.

I received this as an eARC and audiobook to read for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and The Parliament House for giving me access.

Once upon a time I read the synopsis...Many moons later, I completely forgotten what this book was about. All I knew was that Candace Robinson is on my "Must Read Author List". So forgetting what this was about, I dived in.

And boy, what did I get myself into? Clouded by Envy gave me nostalgia. There was talk about Peter Pan, Hook, The Lost Boys, The Picture of Dorian Grey, and my favorite, FernGully. This was everything I needed in a story and more!

It was dark but wholesome (in its own way), relatable in the aspect of family and love, and gut-wrenching. I loved the relationships between the characters and the world building. Can's wait to start on the next book!

I read a lot of fantasy books, it's my favourite genre, but that can sometimes lead to a lot of books feeling like they cover the same subjects and it all gets a bit samey. This book was a breath of fresh air in that respect, with whole new creatures and magic I hadn't discovered in a book before. Brenik and Bray are Bats, a small creature from the world of Laith, but have been thrust into the real world in a bid for safety.

Alternating between Bray and Breniks perspectives, we follow their story as they adjust to life in the human world, after the one human they trusted passed away and left them alone. Bray has been blessed with the ability to transform to human form and walk amongst them, however Brenik is stuck forever in his bat form. Jealous and bitter about this, Brenik takes off regularly, for long periods of time, leaving Bray guilty that she can live a life so different to her brother, particularly when one time it begins to look like he isn't coming back.

Having struck a deal with the stone of desire, Brenik takes on human form, unaware of the enormity of the curse that comes with it. He begins to find his footing in the human community, trying to hid what he really is. Meanwhile Bray has met brothers Wes and Luca, moved in with them, and started living life with them. When a trail of mysterious attacks start plaguing the area, Brenik resurfaces and seeks help from Bray. Torn between keeping her new friends safe, and being loyal to her brother, Bray does everything she can to try and break the curse hes's had put on himself.

This book takes on the dark twists between good and evil, where Brenik falls into that grey area in between. His character is well written, showing how the jealousy and hate he had from the beginning of the book had warped his senses and caused him to make an irrational deal with the stone of desire. Determined to keep his youthful human form, he struggles to find a way morally acceptable way to keep living the way he needs to. The book as a whole is a very unique take on the genre and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it!

Clouded By Envy is a fantastic and entertaining book. It was quite a surprise that I wasn't expecting it to be so fabulous. Well written and interesting characters.

This new world that Robinson has created is one of a kind. The story of Brenik and Bray is just so fantastic that I could not put it down. The sibling rivalry in this title was done so well!! I can tell you that from personal experience! The author drew me in from the very start to the very last page. This is a new to me author but after this book she will be an auto buy author! Robinson did so well giving us this one of a kind story with a new voice. She did a great job giving this a young adult/new adult feel for us readers who wish to escape our daily lives! The start of this one started off so well and it made you care about the characters and their plight.

With humor, epic ness, and so much sadness this author kicks it out of the park!

This is one of those netgalley books that really take you by surprise. One I absolutely loved. Following a story of one of the most complex characters I've read since Nesta Archeron. This book really reminds me of modern fairytales with a mix of Dorian Gray, 90s references and vampires. Throw in a bit of romance and severe emotional complexes and you have yourself a winner. I really cant recommend this book highly enough. One I would definitely read over and over again. 5 star

<b>★★★★☆ 4 stars </b>

<I>*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review *</i > 

Clouded by Envy is a little bit of Holly Black meets Peter Pan and The Picture of Dorian Gray.   

The central characters are twins, Bray and Brenik, who are small fairylike creatures called bats. They are forced to escape their world called Laith to flee persecution and end up in Texas. The narrative switches back and forth between the twins' points of view.

While the twins look alike, Bray is kind-hearted and good-natured, while Brenik has a darker streak, and is  envious of Bray as she seems to have an easier time in life. He is bitter and envious, which turns him into a sort of monster.

 This book was thoroughly entertaining, and the emotions are written in quite a believable manner for the most part. However, the romance aspect was rather cheesy and predictable.

The end was rather unexpected to me!  I will definitely read the next book in the series to see where this goes...

84 points, 4 ¼ stars

Well, Clouded By Envy was certainly unique. And probably the weirdest things I read all year so far. I'm not exactly certain what I expected out of this when I started it, but it certainly wasn't what I got. Yet I really enjoyed reading it because it was just so bizzare. Also it had some really cool concepts I'm not certain I have seen before. Some I definitely haven't.

The uniqueness was really the best part of this book. It just had some amazing concepts. The main characters are twin bats from another realm, Laith, and they've come to Earth because their kind is being hunted to extinction. They're afraid and they don't really know how to function in this new, weird world. Bray and Brenik and they have two wildly different personalities and he book alternates the perspective between the two siblings.

The main conflict in the book is their two different personalities, even. Bray was born with everything, pretty much perfect. Yet she is still kind-hearted. She makes certain that Brenick, who was born with every disadvantage, feels accepted and like he is just as normal as she is. Brenick, on the other hand, is a jealous creature and blames every disadvantage he has on everything and everyone else. He is consumed by it his envy.

And did I mention they were bats? Because Brenick, consumed by jealousy, goes to make a wish that he would be human. The Stone of Desire grants his request, only it will come with a terrible curse. He'll have to drink human blood. MAKING HIM A VAMPIRE BAT! I laughed so much. So, so much. If Brenick doesn't drink human blood, he'll die. It also brought in a lot of the "old" vampire myths which I really liked.

While Brenick is off doing his vampire routine, Bray is making friends with a human family. Which was slightly weirding me out a little bit because it felt the entire time that the author was trying to set up a Bat x Human romance. Yet it was also cute to watch Bray learn to be happy without her brother to always take care of, and to watch her become her own person.

I certainly had a fun time reading this. Partly because it was so bizarre. The writing wasn't the best ever, but it was completely readable. There were some holes in the story and a lot of things that just didn't seem to make sense, since things just didn't always feel like they were explained cleanly and clearly. Yet despite this I just had a blast while reading.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Candace Robinson, The Parliament House, and Netgalley for providing the opportunity to review this copy!

Clouded by Envy is a difficult book to rate as it had both positives and negatives. On the plus side, the concept is certainly original, and the Dorian Gray connotations had potential. Unfortunately, the execution wasn't quite up to scratch. The world building was rather shallow; I wanted to understand a lot more about Laith and its creatures, and their abilities. I found it hard to connect to the characters, especially the humans who seemed to accept Bray without much difficulty after a first initial fright. The work also struggled to decide what it wanted to be. It read like a middle-grade fairy tale at first, only to veer suddenly into YA territory with more sexual content. The cover bugs me too. It's gorgeous, but I don't see how it represents the story. At no point did Bray turn into a tree that I can recall. Finally, I was a concerned about the issues with the prose. This is a published work, not a mid-edits ARC, but I spotted multiple instances of incorrect word use, incorrect punctuation and incorrect verb tenses, all of which pulled me out of the story. In conclusion, I am giving this three stars. The story had potential and was new and interesting, but it wasn't as well executed as it could have been.