It starts off with a treehouse meeting with Zed and Tuesday, discussing another “Paranoia Lecture” involving their dog Nyx. To them, “adults are weird…always losing their car keys and wake up every morning looking like zombies.” Evidently Tuesday thought there was always something not normal with their parents. She goes off on her wild theories and Zed makes note of them along with some plausible explanations. You’re almost like a detective yourself here.

The narrative was simple and rather engaging, although it was pretty slow and mediocre. Not much happens until they encounter home intruders with transforming weapons and end up escaping to a bizarre land—a sci-fi Wonderland, if you will. From that point, it’s a frantic race to find out the truth once and for all. But what were they looking for exactly? Their parents? A way home? The secrets of their family? It’s not very clear what they’re looking for as you try to sort the hyper—often clever—dialogue of the characters. I liked the fantasy adventure and the mystery aspect, but getting into the details of the journey were a little complex for a middle grade story.

Overall, this was a fairly good read and a unique story.

Relatively Normal Secrets by C.W. Allen takes readers on a journey that includes family secrets, deciphering riddles, negotiating with smugglers and bandits, and exploring a new world, all through the perspective of two siblings guided by their mysterious dog. This is a wonderful adventure, perfect for readers at the lower end of middle grade. It cleverly involves the reader by having riddles that can be solved by children, which is especially satisfying given the fact that grown-ups in the story are unfamiliar with nursery rhymes.

The audiobook narration by Ivy Tara Blair, whose reading style and enthusiasm are bound to engage young readers and add to their reading experience.

This was a fun, mid grade novel that I blew through in a day! I loved the world and all the fun futuristic magic that existed in Falinnheim. It was such an exciting place to explore with Tuesday and Zed!

I adored Nyx! The dog was such a fun, exciting guardian to have during all the adventures, and I loved seeing all of Nyx’s amazing talents!

Tuesday and Zed were both kind, clever characters. They were so strong and smart throughout the book, and I enjoyed watching them unravel the mysteries their parents left behind when leaving Falinnheim.

Overall this was a fun, action-packed book full of puzzles, magic, and mystery, and I give it 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ !

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher/author for providing me with an ALC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was exactly what I wanted it to be! I loved it. I will make sure to check out other books by this author. When I requested this I was just intrigued by the concept of it and I loved how it turned out. This story had a great plot and if you have read this and enjoyed it, This was so much. It was such a great story. I would say give this one a try. I will continue to follow this author. Way to go to this author for not letting me down.

I highly enjoyed the narrator of the audiobook. Kept me listening.

This audiobook has a good narrator and a relatively interesting story for middle grade pupils. The premise is linked to the secrets that the parents have kept from their children, When they are called away for work one sibling suspects that there is more to it while the other believes it. This leads to some investigation and them finding out more…

3.5 stars rounded to 4 stars

An unexpected story. Twists and turns. Not at all what I thought this book would be about. Good narration. Would consider reading a sequel to this book.

Relatively Normal Secrets
by C.W. Allen
Inquisitive Tuesday and her brother Zed are convinced their weird parents are hiding something, and when they leave together for a “business trip” the siblings are determined to look for clues. But their lives take a sudden turn when strangers with shape-shifting weapons come looking for their father and their very unusual dog Nyx (who normally never leaves their mother’s side) protects them. With Nyx, the kids are transported into a different world, a strange cross between medieval and modern, where they learn that their father is a fugitive and the secret police and soldiers of the brutal king hope the kids will lead them to their father. Their strange dog Nyx is known as a Gabriel Hound and continues to safeguard the children as they attempt to navigate this extraordinary world. Gabriel Hounds are much feared for their intelligence and surprising abilities, including the power to transform.
Tuesday, with her exuberance and impulsivity, is a sharp contrast to Zed, who is cautious and analytical. Despite their radically different personalities, they work together in this fast-paced tale. The story is full of surprises as they collaborate to navigate this strange new world. They must find food, find their way, attempt to make sense of what they learn, avoid soldiers and others, and untangle disparate clues.

Replete with secrets, codes, and magic, this is a terrific middle-grade fantasy with intriguing twists and side plots to engage the reader. The audiobook narrator does a wonderful job and is a delight to listen to.


I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for this honest review

3.5.. I honestly got to the end and said "that's it?" Lol. So I must have been really invested in the story. Really cute story line. Fun characters, great world building, loved Nyx! I hope the author revisits this world as this would be a wonderful series.. plus the ending just felt a bit to abrupt for me.. hope to get more!

Great YA fantasy/mystery book. This came across really well as an audiobook and was skilfully narrated.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.

A cute fantasy about family. I liked the writing style but I didn't really get a grasp on the fantasy world the kids enter. The plot was entertaining enough but nothing exactly new.

Thank you to NetGalley and Cinnabar Moth Publishing LLC for an audiobook copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.
This was a fun adventure story where as we have seen before , children learn that they are more than what they were raised to understand. Tuesday and Zed Furst seem like normal kids until their parents disappear and they are left to survive on their own.
Good book for kids , yes, similar to Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, where these kids are finding out family secrets and surprising powers but yet it is it's own story.
Recommend for young listeners, it's entertaining and more than just a fluff story.

Relatively Normal Secrets was a light hearted fantasy, science fiction combo. Tuesday and Zed Furest are completely normal children leading completely normal lives, but they're both convinced something is just a little bit odd about their family.

When a "business trip" takes their parents parents away, these two children end up transported into an alternate dimension where they experience new places, technology, and creatures never before seen. C. W. Allen leads our young adventurers along a journey with friends and foes where Tuesday and Zed have to navigate their way to the ultimate destination.

The pacing of this book felt slow for the amount of plot and character development that occurred, but I loved the coded messages embedded in nursery rhymes and the element of Zed keeping a log for posterity. While I would not incorporate this text into my Social Studies classroom I can imagine many uses of it in an English & Language Arts classroom where teachers could use the examples of Fallenheim and Earth to compare key aspects of society or the coded messages could be used to discuss rhyming patterns, word choice, and figurative language!

I would recommend this to any young person who likes puzzles, magic, and books like the Phantom Tollbooth or the Mysterious Benedict Society.

In C.W. Allen’s middle grade audiobook, Relatively Normal Secrets, middle grade readers are introduced to a fun, new world. A great mashup between fantasy, science fiction, and mid evil times, younger readers will probably find themselves introduced to a new genre while reading through the comforts of a favorite genre. Sucked through a magic portal, Tuesday and Zed Furst find themselves in a faraway world where danger lurks, and renaissance magic collides with robots and nursery rhymes in the best of ways. Mysterious messages, dangerous henchmen, and their beloved (but extra weird) hound lead them on a grand adventure of mystery that no one will believe the ending to!

It took me quite some time to finish this audiobook, not that it wasn't interesting, it's just it was only on my mom's phone's NetGalley app so I could only listen rarely... anyways, I liked it.
The book cover looks so GOOD! It looks mysterious and intriguing. It's a cute fantasy story about these siblings whose parents go on a "business" trip and then they just get zooned into this other world Alexandria if I'm not mistaken... And then they have these clues and stuff and figure some stuff. Some people seem to be after their parents and them and they try to figure out why. There are these nursery rhymes that are changed, and only they understand. Then they also have this big dog who apparently has some powers. It's a creative and unique story, I give it that. The sibling dynamics were nice, and I liked Tuesday's guts, Zed was nice too, he was pretty clever. I guess it was a big generic MG fantasy at some parts, but it was nice. I don't understand why on the cover Tuesday looks much older than Zed when in the book they seem to be pretty much the same age... Anyways, it was nice, the narrator did a pretty good job, and it sounded so well in 1.5 or 1.75 speed, even 2x so I liked that! I'm happy with this one!!!

This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review. But I wasn't able to listen to it as it was archived.

Cracking bit of fantasy. A pair of siblings, suspicious of their parents secretive behaviour, find themselves in a parallel world that's part medieval, part sci-fi... and all mystery. 🐺

Relatively Normal Secrets is a middle grade book following Zed and Tuesday Furst, two perfectly normal siblings with perfectly strange parents, and a perfectly normal huge dog. When their parents go away on a business trip, Zed and Tuesday encounter some bad people on their doorstep and are forced to flee their house and arrive in Falinnheim, a whole other land. Little by little, Zed and Tuesday unravel their parents secrets. But how will they get back to their perfectly normal house on Earth?

What a masterpiece this audiobook was! The narrator did such an amazing job narrating Relatively Normal Secrets. The story is incredibly captivating and I didn't even see all the twists coming. It's fun and quirky and I love the world building.

Zed and Tuesday are two incredibly strong-willed characters. While Zed was trying to keep some order in their investigation, Tuesday tended to take the plunge head first and was a force to be reckoned with. But characters had their strengths and weaknesses, but they completed each other as siblings and I loved that.

The only reason I'm not giving Relatively Normal Secrets a full five stars, is the ending. It felt a little rushed and it was quite abrupt. I honestly don't know if there will be a sequel, but I'll definitely read it if there will!

Relatively Normal Secrets by C.W. Allen is an adventure story about two siblings that manage to get lost in an alternate world.

Tuesday ad Zed Furst are beginning to suspect their parents are keeping secrets, and then become even more curious when their parents are suddenly going on an uncharacteristic business trip. Once they are gone, life takes an even more unexpected twist when two big soldiers show up at the Furst front door and try to kidnap the kids only to be thwarted by the family dog who burst into flames and saved the kids. When Tuesday and Zed go to their family meeting place of a tree, they then find themselves transported into a different world where their adventure to find a way home and to find out if this is connected to their parents leads them into scenarios they never would've dreamed of.

This was a fun story that was easy to listen to. My 8 and 10 year old children got a kick out of it, and as a mom listening I was able to enjoy it as well. I recommend for a family looking for a kid appropriate adventure book to listen to together. I suspect this aimed to be the beginning of a series, so don't expect all your answers to be wrapped up and the end of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Cinnabar Moth Publishing for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* really good but kinda felt like it ended quickly, not really a cliff hanger imo but almost, good kids book tho

Tuesday and Zedd are normal kids. But his parents, not a lot. One day, the parents go on a "business trip", the children decide to get to the bottom of it all.
They end up in a fantasy place. With things they never imagined and very "strange" characters. They get into conflict when trying to decipher rhymes.

I know, it may sound very funny or weird, but it was a good novel. The truth is I did not expect much from this audiobook, I heard it in an audiobook, but I ended up being complacent.
The characters, aaaa description and the personality of each character is so clear in this book. I love authors and books that do this. I want to congratulate C.W. for this book. It really is very good.
The narrator entered the story, it was the most magical thing to hear her voice narrating this story. I personally don't like to read aloud or listen to someone reading aloud. And they made me like it.