This book is fantastic… like I don’t know what else to say.

This book combines old London and magic, murder, conspiracy and a Marxist gnome.

I had a blast reading this and finished it in one sitting, but don’t let the cover fool you, this is NOT a children’s book.

*I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

This is yet another backlist book that I requested and received a long time ago. It is a fantasy story that adds something different to the issues plaguing the characters: a capitalist economy.
Our leading lady is a half-vampire who escapes her mother's clutches with great difficulty. She is trying to get back into the world that she actually belongs in, but things have changed in the time she was locked away. Jane had a plan to get a job and make her life in Fairie, but things are not going her way. She is hungry, worried and forces an unlikely creature to help her. This relationship changes over the time of the narrative.
In the backdrop, we have changing times, where the human world is closely linked economically with the magical folks, but this leads to a lot more complications than many understand. There is also the mystery of what the werewolves are up to to investigate.
Overall it is a fast-paced story with added input being provided at a reasonable frequency to keep the reader's attention. The worldbuilding and the dialogues given to the different characters were entertaining. It could have been a shorter book, and I would have liked it even more!
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

I found this to be a pleasant read. The narrative was entertaining and draws in the reader, fully immersing them into a plot full of intrigue. I sped through this one in a matter of a couple of hours as a result of its enthralling twists and turns.

It took me a little while before I was able to read this story. It didn't catch my attention right away. However, I feel like it's more of a personal/taste-kind -of thing. The story itself is very funky and well written. The author has a fun way of telling unique things and is very creative. The plot is clear and makes sense in a weird way. Also adored the round characters!

This book was quit uniquely written for my taste. Like the aspect mystery and fantasy together.
Thank you netgalley for the e-arc but this in no way has effected my review.

In Victorian London, Jane, a half-vampire is released from an asylum. Half-convinced she is actually mad, she finds a way to the faerie realm Otherworld, meets a drunken, recently-unemployed gnome whom she converts to communism, gets a job at a newspaper, and the rest, they say is history. Amid orchestrating a workers strike in the Otherworld, Jane seeks to uncover the secrets behind the industrial werewolves rise to power and deals with the trickster Puck to do so. But is all as it actually seems?
This is a rollicking ride - sometimes funny, sometimes sly, sometimes disturbing - into Victorian London and the faerie equivalent. Thoroughly tongue-in-cheek and playing on many supernatural Victoriana tropes, The Great Faerie Strike explores more serious themes of economics, prejudice, privilege, mass production and the cost of power.

**I received a copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

The Great Faerie Strike is a really interesting book; Ellsworth does a fantastic job of worldbuilding, mashing early 20th century Great Britain with fantastical elements and characters reminiscent of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. Unfortunately, this would be where that comparison ends. Ellsworth's characters are difficult to understand and empathize with, which leads to a "who cares" kind of mentality whenever they're thrust into peril. It's probably not fair to compare things against a master like Gaiman, but that's where this novel immediately sent me. The story moves along with a few surprising twists and turns; I just struggled to stay invested with my lack of interest in the characters. Overall, The Great Faerie Strike is a fine novel, it just wasn't my cup of tea.

This book just didn't work for me. It started off silly and funny, but became less so as the book progressed. By the time we reached the drugged babies being killed to make doors to another world, I was no longer amused. Sorry, mine seems to be a minority opinion.

Disclaimers upfront: the author and I both belong to the same writers' forum (though I don't think we've directly interacted), and I received a copy via Netgalley for review.

This is, in part, a pastiche of Victorian adventure fiction (the format of the chapter titles makes that pretty clear). I'm therefore going to assume that the scene where a Convenient Eavesdrop is set up by Accidental Discovery of a Secret Passage is part of the pastiche, and not a terrible piece of writing that diminishes the agency of the protagonists for the convenience of advancing the plot. Likewise the fact (lampshaded at one point) that the two protagonists keep bumping into each other by coincidence. I am trying hard to work with the author here, and give him the benefit of the doubt, because normally I would call out shenanigans like this.

There's no working around the fact, though, that it needs another quick round of edits, for vocabulary, continuity, and a bit of punctuation (a couple of missing periods, a couple of misplaced apostrophes, a couple of commas that I personally would add for better flow).

There's a surprising amount of difference between the vocabulary of England in the 19th century and the US in the 21st, and almost every 21st-century American who tries to write 19th-century British English gets it wrong to some degree, even leaving aside the normal differences between the two dialects. In this case, the quite common error "hurtle" (to move very quickly) for "hurl" (to throw) appears three times; "balmy" (having a pleasant climate) is used for "barmy" (mad); the words "bunting," "callow," "visages," "milliners," and "conflagration" appear to be used incorrectly; and, most notably, the author uses "choleric" to mean "suffering from cholera," which it doesn't, and is almost certainly confusing cholera with tuberculosis ("consumption"), which made young women pale-skinned and bright-eyed, like the vampire protagonist. So "consumptive" is probably the word he is looking for.

The Irish character also uses the word "after" a lot, but I'm pretty sure doesn't use it the way an actual 19th-century Irishman would use it. And the same woman is referred to as "Mrs. Unsworth," "Lady Elizabeth Unsworth" and "Lady Unsworth," at least two of which must be incorrect, since Lady Elizabeth Unsworth is the daughter of a duke, marquess, or earl, Lady Unsworth is the wife of a knight or baronet, and neither of them should be called Mrs.

In terms of continuity, a five-pound note becomes several one-pound notes and then turns back again, a boat docks twice, and in a couple of conversations people somehow know things that their conversational partners haven't actually mentioned.

I've nitpicked a lot, but I did enjoy the book. The characters were determined to do the right thing and persevered through extreme challenges, the villains were as villainous as possible, the heroes as heroic as possible, and it recalled Victorian sensational literature at every turn while simultaneously critiquing Victorian capitalism and colonialism - and yet not making the characters into 21st-century people with a completely 21st-century way of thinking.

Above all, it was fun (despite the high body count), imaginative, and, barring the issues mentioned above, well-written. I would read a sequel, but it's not quite going to make it to my Best of the Year list.

First, I want to say: What a great cover! It’s so unique and full of fun and this image perfectly reflects the vibe of this fabulous story!
Jane is not MAD. And, Jane is not your ordinary kind of girl. After an extended stay in an Asylum, Jane is ready to break free and return to Otherworld. However, after a year of being away, she finds that everything has changed.
Charles is part of Otherworld, a constant part. He is a gnome. But unfortunately he does not live up to the gnomish standards of reliability. Also, he is quite rude! And, I must say, unbearably funny!
This fun and exciting tale combines an old London with the magic of Otherworld, which lurks hidden around every corner if you know your way. There is murder, conspiracy, rioting and, do not forget most importantly, Communism! Mixed in this equally hilarious and intriguing story are the amazing creatures of fantasy: Vampires, Werewolves, Gnomes, Pixies, Bogarts, Redcaps and more.
Do yourself a favor and read this book. I personally had a blast and found that this lighthearted and yet poignant tale was a perfect read for this time period.
Thanks for reading my review and happy reading!!!

Spencer Ellsworth shares a vision of a fantasy world that is creative, full of life, and brims over with characters from lore. I enjoyed this book as someone who appreciates science fiction and fantasy and would recommend this author to fans of these genres. The prose was clear and kept me motivated to read. I also acknowledge the publisher for sharing this review copy.