what a fun MG story. Tuesday and Zed go on an adventure after their parents disappear and find out all kinds of interesting things, including how truly amazing the family dog, Nyx, is. Mysteriously wrong nursery rhymes lead then along their journey, and we can follow along with the children as they solve the riddles.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Cinnabar Moth Publishing LLC for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Relatively Normal Secrets is a fast paced middle grade that instantly captivated me. The author did a great job with the world building and it was so creative. I enjoyed both Tuesday and Zed and their portrayal was clearly recognizable. Tuesday, being the older sister, was protective and thoughtful before jumping into adventure. Zed, being the youngest, was bold and smart as a whip. Nyx, their guard dog, was by far my favorite in the whole story. I liked how the author incorporated nursery rhymes in the story. It was nostalgic and thought provoking trying to remember the originals with Tuesday and Zed. I'm excited for the rest of the series and will definitely keep an eye out for them. The narrator did a great job with the character voices especially conveying their emotions. Tuesday and Zed's voices were clear and was not too childish sounding. It can be difficult with a mix of children and adult characters to narrate both ages. She kept the story engaging and fun. I would definitely recommend this for anyone looking for an adventurous, magical, and sweet sibling story.

Really enjoyed my time with this book. There is a mystery, secrets, codes, a hidden realm, great main characters and everything I like in a middle-grade book. The writing was great with fun elements popping in every now and then.

I absolutely loved the story - which I would liken to somewhere where Percy Jackson Meets A series of Unfortunate Events, but for slightly younger readers. The characters are fun and the story bounces along very nicely with a great mix of fantasy and 'relatively normal'. However... I would strongly recommend buying the book and not the audio because, quite frankly, it was the most irritating narration I have ever listened to, and had I not been committed to reviewing I would have given up. Buy the physical book and enjoy the wonderful story without the weird distracting intonation and same over-exaggerated voice for every character.

My four star review reflects that this was the audio version of the book.
For the story and the writing, I would certainly give 5 stars, but the narration drags it down.

I received a free audiobook from NetGalley and Cinnabar Moth Publishing LLC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Tuesday and Zed are two "normal" siblings trying to navigate life with some not-so-normal parents, that is until their parents leave for a "business trip" and they are chased into a whole new dimension by soldiers who plan to kidnap them. Along with their "dog" Nix, they embark on a life-changing adventure.

This is a charming middle-grade read, I enjoyed it as an adult and I would have absolutely devoured it when I was younger. Falinnheim is a fantastical world that reminded me of Narnia with the addition of some sci-fi/tech elements that would resonate with today's youth. The story is fast-paced, and the resolution is satisfying while still leaving the doors open for more stories that I look forward to picking up in the future. For now, I'll be dreaming of Falinnheim and recommending this book to any middle-grade fantasy reader that I know.

<i> I received a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a cute story :) Would highly recommend it!

Tuesday and Zed are two precocious children who realize something, and Tuesday realizes something is odd about her parents. Shortly after she starts questioning them, the two children find themselves in an entirely different world desperately trying to find their way back to their version of normal. Adventure ensues for the two kids and their dog, and it's a wildly entertaining ride.

The audiobook narrator also gave a great performance!

<spoiler> I interpreted at least one of the children as neurodivergent and that was a great representation to see! </spoiler>

At first I wasn’t sure about this book, but it quickly picked up. I liked the alternate realm the children traveled to. The author did a great job of building the world and characters. I could picture it all as the story was told. The narrator was good too

Relatively Normal Secrets is an engaging chapter book that will draw the interest of a varied group of children. The main characters are siblings, and though Tuesday, the sister, is younger than Zed, the brother, she plays a strong role in the story. The book does a wonderful job of circumventing the possibility for it to follow a "younger sister/older brother" pattern due to the strength of Tuesday's character and her involvement in moving the plot along. The story itself follows the siblings as they find themselves separated from their parents and in a strange new dimension different from the world they know, protected only by their unusual and generally disobedient dog. As they learn about the world around them, they realize that their parents have not been entirely forthcoming, and find a series of secret messages that can only be meant for them. The secret messages, encoded in nursery rhymes, are an enchanting part of this book and one that stands out as unique and fun. Relatively Normal Secrets would be a wonderful read-aloud book between children and their grownups, as it provides an opportunity to work out the clues together.

A lot of the story happened to the children, rather than them taking charge of the plot and solving their challenges themselves. This was especially apparent in the climax and denouement, which moved along much more quickly than earlier parts of the book, and when the loose ends were wrapped up, it was told, not shown. The children did show a lot of agency, independence, and creativity throughout the book, and I think it was appropriate for a chapter book level.

Relatively Normal Secrets has a wonderful storyline that will feel comfortably familiar to children who have read classic books like A Wrinkle in Time and the Diane Duane Young Wizards series. The book has characteristics that appeal to young readers regardless of their gender and is written at a level that will challenge, but not overwhelm, growing readers.

So, great children's book. I will need to go back and re-read it in actual book form since I just couldn't finish it in audiobook form. The Narrator just wasn't for me. She may be great for most children's books but I think this book deserved a bit more mature of a sound and some who either reads it well enough to not need charter voices or do better characters. She tries but it sounds like a lot of high pitched yelling to me or ends up sounding like your local librarian at story hour for preschoolers. Again, great for really little kids but grating on a slightly older audience that I think this book would better suit.
Other wise, interesting newer take on the magical world of folk lore. Explores some new dynamics among lesser know faerie and demon types.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.

This story was light-hearted, adventurous, and fun.
I enjoyed the alternate universe setting and loved the concept of time literally being used as money!
<spoiler>The story did feel like it ended rather abruptly and I would've enjoyed the story continuing for a bit so we could find out what's next for Falenheim and whether the family ever returns to our world.
Maybe in a sequel?</spoiler>

I found this book to be very enjoyable! I loved the narration style, it made listening to the book a great option. It was a very adventurous tale of two siblings finding themselves in a new parallel world and I enjoyed going through that with them. Unfortunately towards the end I did find the book to get boring and it felt like their overall adventure ended kind of abruptly. I almost wanted this story to be longer and to include more details and backstory to this new place they discovered. Overall I think it’s a great middle grade book that a younger audience would love and for anyone older who loves middle grade books like me!

Tuesday and Zed thought their lives were fairly normal. Their dad goes to work, and their mom stays home with their weird dog, Nix. That is, until one day they were asked what their parents do for a living. They started questioning things, and the next thing you know their parents leave for a "business trip" and don't come back. After some menacing men show up at their house, they somehow get trapped in a magical place that they didn't know existed. With the help of their dog, and some misquoted nursery rhymes, Zed and Tuesday are about to find out what happened to their parents and why.

This story was super cute. I loved the atmosphere and the characters, especially Nix! I really enjoyed the idea of the economy. It was very clever and made sense. The plot twist was my favorite part! I did not see that coming. Usually I can tell what is going to happen, but this plot twist genuinely surprised me.

The narration was very good. The narrators voice was very nice to listen to, and kept me engaged. Some narrators are kind of boring and monotone, but this one had a lot of character.

All in all, I enjoyed this book, and would love to read the next, if there will be one.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC for the audiobook version of this amazing read.

Tuesday and Zed Furst are perfectly normal children with perfectly strange parents. Their father won't discuss his job, their mother never leaves the house without her guard dog, and the topic of the family tree is off limits.

Tuesday and Zed embark on an fun, fast paced adventure full of twists and turns and an over all great adventure to follow. This book was so gripping I finished it in about 5 days. This is a great read for Elementary and maybe middle school grades and is filled with new vocabulary for children to learn.

This was very cute. The narrator was okay, I liked the reading at first but it became a bit irritating quickly, but I loved a cute children's story.

We enjoyed this audio book with its fast paced adventure and mysteries to solve. The narrator had just enough character in her voice to keep us interested without distracting from the story. My granddaughter (8) really enjoyed it and thought that her friends would too. I think I this would make a great Christ!as gift.

Zed and Tuesday have always been suspicious of their parents' strange behaviors. When their parents decide to go on a "business trip", their suspicions are confirmed. Two strange men with shape shifting weapons come to the house and a portal appears to help them escape to safety in a new world. Thankfully they have their dog Nix to help them as they find nursery rhymes that provide clues for where to go. Falinnheim is a strange world, where everyone seems to be after them. Who can they trust? And will they find their parents here?

Zed and Tuesday have always thought that something was off about their parents, but the truth may be more far-fetched than their guesses. After a foiled kidnapping while their parents were away on "a business trip", the kids find themselves in a strange land with just their dog as chaperone. Although Nix, is more than an ordinary dog, as they find out. The kids find secret messages in the villages, that could only be meant for them, but don't know who is trying to help them. They do know that they must avoid all of the land's soldiers. Can they navigate a strange land, avoid being captured and find a way back to their parents? Read to find out.

*3.5 stars!!

This book is about two very inquisitive siblings Tuesday and Zed who after being asked a very simple question ‘what does your father do for a living’ Tuesday is unable to answer which leads the children to realise that they don’t know as much about their family as they should. When their parents go on a last minute work trip they decide to use that opportunity to find out the answers themselves. Before they can do more than get home from school they find themselves being attacked by shape shifting thugs looking for their father, with the help of their dog Nyx who turns out to be hiding some pretty big secrets they manage to flee but find themselves in a world that isn’t their own.

I listened to this as an audio book. It was fast paced book perfect for younger children and will keep them engaged. I did feel though that the ending might have been slightly rushed but I enjoyed it all the same. My favourite character was the dog Nyx she really added to the story I think without her I wouldn’t have enjoyed the story as much as I did.

I really liked the narrator she was the correct women for the job and should be the narrator for the rest of the series.

*I received a copy of this book from NetGally in return for my honest review.*

I have just had the thought that I'd like to find some books to read with my daughter and then I got this one. Very kid friends and I enjoyed it as well. It sucked me in with secretive parents and kept me interested with dogs that control fire. (Nyx was hands down my favorite character) I liked them all but come on!? She's the best. I feel like this will be a series and I can not wait to get my hands on the next one! Because I was for sure I had figured out who her parents were and I mean I was a little right but still I was so invested

Thank you so much for this audiobook. I absolutely loved it. It managed to pull me in really fast. I very much enjoyed the sibling relationship.