Thank you for this ARC!

I felt there was a lot to be desired with this read, not enough world building, character development… there were cute ideas that were not fleshed out fully.

I am thankful to have had the chance to read an ARC by the publishers and Netgalley. This is my honest review.

If you are a fan of fantasy romance books about the Fae world this might be a book for you.
Not as fast-paced as I would have hoped for a book with more parts to come. At times I found myself losing interest and some aspects of how the men were romanticized in some actions were hard for me to read but other than that was fun to read. I am intrigued to know what happens next but there is definitely room for improvement and character development. In addition, I found the Little Women but turned fantasy/fae aspect of it quite fun as well.

Overall the magical elements in the book and how the atmosphere was set up were enjoyable.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I love fae stories and this didn’t disappoint. The world building is expertly done and the visual descriptions are stunning. Verve is an excellent main chat and she’s both well written and fully fleshed out. Both Dacre and Fenn and great characters too and I loved the mystery and intrigue.

Verve is strong willed and this doesn’t falter throughout the story and her love and devotion to her family is excellently portrayed.

It was a great start to what I expect will be a gripping series.

-thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for this digital ARC-

-4 stars-

This is my favourite kind of fae.
Not the muscular, attractive, human-like ones, but the ones that feel so unworldly, so impossible.
Yes, they may be beautiful, but it’s a kind of untouchable beauty.
And that’s perfect.
There are many reasons why I liked this book, (and a few things I didn’t like) but what I loved was the way the fae world was described.
It positively gleamed with colour—and made the mortal world look dusty and grey.
Speaking of mortal...
I liked Verve from the start.
She’s not a fighter, but she’s kind and caring, and would do anything to protect her family.
She did feel a little too proper at times, but if you factor in the time period—it’s accurate.
She was thrown into this adventure, so it makes sense that she’s reluctant to continue, and just wants to go back to her family.
The pacing is a little slow, and with how short the book is, I probably would have liked it a little more if it was a little faster.
But the story continues well, and I never really felt lost—I was just enjoying this sweet little read!
And one of the thing I loved was all the mentions of fae folklore.
Think of three beliefs about fae...and they’re probably here!
It made me so happy, catching those little mentions and snippets.
You know a fae book is done right when you’re slightly scared but also attracted to them...
I’m not going to comment on the romance, but I would say it’s a little rushed...but still cute!

Brittle was a surprising novel. I’m not sure if there will be another installment, but I enjoyed reading it and finished it in a few short days.

Verve has always tried to be the responsible middle child, and has also always been close to her father, who is away at war. However, when he returns in the middle of the night to talk to her and tells her that there is a secret hidden war being fought and not to trust anyone, not even those she knows without verifying who they are, she’s a little stunned. He tells her he will explain and to meet her at a neighboring farm. When she follows his instructions, she finds herself face to face with her father’s dead body in the barn, which disappears before she can bring anyone else to the spot.

Soon, strange events begin to happen, and neighbors and family become…something else. And when Verve is taken far from home and into another realm entirely, it appears that the secrets that her father imparted upon her may reveal a dangerous, fae-killing weapon at the center of a tremendous power struggle.

As she works out a way to escape this strange land and strange, ever changing mansion she finds herself in, she realizes that her captor may be interesting in more than just the secrets that Verve is hiding. Fae fall in love quickly, and it seems he is no exception. But he’s not the only one interested in her and what she’s hiding, and she soon finds herself stuck between warring factions.
She may be the key to victory for either side, but her survival and family mean far more to her. She must keep her head in the game and her heart far away if she’s going to come out on top…but that may be harder than she thought.

This was a totally different fae romantasy than I am used to. The romance was not the prominent theme, and it was far more on the lore and the fight than it was on matters of the heart. This one's not high on the romance scale, but for a dark fantasy story, it's very well done!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an e-copy of this book in exchange for this review. The opinions are entirely my own. To be posted on 7/25/23

Verity (Verve) is the second of four daughters who is the only one who believes her father has been murdered. Not long after this act of violence, Verve is whisked away into the land of the Fae where adventure, danger and prophecy await her.

This book is a combination of Little Women and ACOTAR and while I loved that concept sadly this time around the prose just wasn’t connecting for me. I found it quite hard to click with the author’s writing style. We are also repeatedly told that Verve is Not Like Other Girls, from not wearing a hoop under her heavy skirts, to never learning how to sew. As a girl who is very like other girls, this is one of my least favourite tropes so it really didn’t agree with me.

This is a little slow to start but it definitely picked up in the second half after we meet Fenn.

My thanks to the author, Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for an ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and FlameTree Press for allowing me to read this early!

I feel like this book as a lot of potential, but it didn’t hook me immediately. I never really felt like I connected or cared about the characters. The premise is really cool and I think this could do very well, it just felt as if it was lacking something.

Really good! I absolutely loved it. The story was amazing and the characters were wonderful. Lots of action and adventure. I couldn't have asked for a better story.

Verity is the only one who knows that her father is dead. The rest of her town doesn’t believe her that he’s been killed by faeries seeking a cursed blade that can end immortal life. Yet when she’s swept away to Faerie by a fae lord intent on discovering the location of the weapon, her life changes for good and her grand destiny unfolds.

The author spent more time reminding the audience that the main character “wasn’t like other girls” and enumerating all the traits she didn’t have to the point where the FMC was never developed. Not being like other people isn’t a personality and it certainly shouldn’t be used as a character in 2023. This isn't early 2000s YA that is still exploring the genre: a book claiming to be New Adult should know better than to fall into such an overused and underdeveloped trope. Verve (yes, that was her name---I wish I was kidding), made so many stupid decisions that it was hard to feel bad for her when she had to deal with the consequences of her own actions. She was stuck in an unknown world full of risk but refused to learn anything about her power and preferred to take the “If I can’t see it, it can’t hurt me” approach.

Additionally, two random faerie lords were magically in love with her, even though she had barely a conversation with either of them. The male love interests were horrible copies of Tamlin and Rhys from ACOTAR---if Maas’s characters lacked personality, motivation, depth, and any likable traits. No one in this book had any reason to do anything they did and every conflict wrapped up way too easily. The writing wasn’t particularly good either: the dialogue was obvious and cliche yet somehow managed to lack any substance or believability.

The plot barely existed (which is saying something since there wasn’t much else to Brittle). Reading it felt like the author had read the back of A Court of Thorns and Roses, decided to combine it with Little Women, and then failed spectacularly on both accounts. The random pseudo-historical human setting didn’t work with the colloquialisms or fashions, while the Spring Court-esque Faerie setting lacked clearly defined rules. The magic system (if it can even be called that) made no sense while the conflict of the story was also never explained. It also relied on the main character being a middle child yet never explained why that mattered. Why did this random prophecy matter? Where did it come from? Even the author didn’t seem to know.

I sincerely wish I could find something nice to say about Brittle. The only thing that comes to mind is that it was under 300 pages and was therefore over quickly. It was easy to read, mainly because the main character was as confused as the audience. Overall, if you’re looking for a good fantasy romance, I recommend checking out Carissa Broadbent, Raven Kennedy, Jennifer Armentrout, and Danielle Jensen.

So! First thing's first, the first chapter drew me in incredibly well and I loved that interesting hook. Verve is a character willing to give up everything for her family while her father is out at war, but doesn't realize that the war has likely just started. For people who liked ACOTAR, I feel like they will like Brittle. It has similar elements. There are misdirects about who is good and who is bad, there is intrigue, there are interesting uses of glamour (one of my favorite fae abilities), and a love triangle that honestly is more a greater than sign. While I feel like the ending was rather rushed. I enjoyed Fenn's character and how he always listened to what Verve had to say and tried to reassure her. In contrast, Dacre drove me nuts after the first little bit with him because of how controlling and i know best he tried to be. I'm not sure where the series is going to go next, and I am curious about it, but I'm not sure what conflict we're going to hit in the next book. Other than the little tidbit left at the end that I won't share.

There are times in the book where it slows down quite a bit and Verve, at times, can be a little annoying. But who wouldn't be in this situation? So I felt that was a really relatable and kind of reminded me of Nesta from ACOTAR. If you like Fae stories, like dramatic misdirects and prophecies, then give Brittle a try!

This book was so good thanks so much for the copy I really enjoyed this so much along with the writing definitely will recommend

A whimsical take on the good old "kidnapped and taken to Faerieland" bit. This was short, and interesting enough to keep you reading until the end.

What I liked:
- The plot was engaging
- There were possessive males which is fun
- The trees. I really liked the trees
- The writing style lends itself very well to imagery and paints a nice picture of the world

What I wasn't as impressed with:
- The magic system had no rules at all. To even call it a system is an overstatement.
- World-building (aside from descriptions): there was too much in the human realm, like the first 4 chapters were very slow and a struggle to push through. And not enough once we left the human realm.
- The hugely anticlimactic "fade to black" scene. It was not even fade to black it was just entirely random and there was no tension or build up or emotion. It was like someone turned on a tv and then turned it right back off again and then asked how you liked the show... like umm I didn't.

Overall, though I did enjoy the characters and had a good time reading it, I do think that this book desperately needs some new or unique elements to keep the story alive if it is to be a series. I can tell the author knows how to write and she has the potential for so much more creativity so I look forward to seeing the next installment.

*Thanks to Netgalley for the copy in exchange for my honest review*

Easy to ready, entry level fae fantasy story! Perfect for new fantasy readers to dive into a world of humans, fae, and magic. The dialogue at times can seem a little stiff and hard to envision the two characters actually saying that to each other in those words. Additionally, some of the “rules” of faerie seemed a little too convenient and introduced just to push the plot along. I have some remaking questions that I hope will be answered in books to come!

This read was definitely a fun time!! I know it's been said in some other reviews, but the vibes of this book were definitely akin to a Little Women/A Court of Thorns and Roses mashup. The atmosphere of this book was really strong, but I wish that the plot and overall world building was a little bit stronger because there were some really interesting concepts that were hinted at and could have been developed so much further!! The beginning of Brittle was a bit slow, but the plot sped up as the fantasy elements became more prevalent. I also wish that we got more of Verve's love interest earlier in the book! I did really enjoy his character but I feel that a slower, more developed relationship would have been super beneficial. I do acknowledge that all the time without him was a good build up to his entrance and to establish Verve's character on her own. Overall, I did really enjoy this book, but felt as though some elements throughout could have been more polished.

Loved every second of this book
I was actually surprised by it.
I really loved the cover so that’s the main reason why I requested it and I was not disappointed
I binge read this in one day

Brittle was a good quick read with enticing characters, magic, and intrigue. It is incredibly correct to compair this book to those of Carissa Broadbent as they weave the same sort of magic that captures the reader.

This felt just like a very overdone and reused take on Fae and the Fae world. I love fae stories, but nothing about this felt all that unique, and I've just seen this film before and don't particularly care. It was very much a carbon copy of Sarah J Maas, more specifically with ACOTAR and Throne of Glass, and it just wasn't for me.

I totally went into reading this book knowing nothing, but what the synopsis told. I was positively surprised and very much fallen in love with Brittle! Loved it!!

This book smoothly blends fantasy and romance together with the fast plot, rich character developement, interesting world building! It feels semi-dark, yet remains hopeful, while untangles the mystery Verve (the main character faces).

If you are a fan of faes and all the twisty things coming with them, you are going to enjoy this story so much! I was sucked in the story right after chapter 2, where Verve gets a very crazy sounding message from her father - about a creature that can appear even in the exact form of your close loved ones. Then, all goes down to a disaster, where she needs to navigate in a court she is not familiar with. Verve is kind hearted, witty and i loved how she always thought through the rights-wrongs of an act.

Cannot wait for book 2!

Read it if you are looking for:
- Beautifully written scenes
- Little romance without smut
- Loveable characters
- Mental health rep
- Witty banter
- Fast plot and interesting world building
- Unique voice
- Throne of Glass and ACOTAR vibes

Thank you SO MUCH Flame Tree Press/NetGalley for this advanced reading opportunity!

Thank you to Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for and advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I want to start off by saying I did really enjoy this and I think I would've rated it higher if it weren't for some issues I had.

I want to start off with the positives, Overmyer's writing absolutely wonderful. It's easy to understand and is quite whimsical. It feels reminiscent of Diana Wynne Jones who wrote Howl's Moving Castle, with just the specific way the magic is described and how the characters interact with one another.

I definitely think this book is an acquired taste, as it's fairly atmospheric and relies heavily on whimsical magic that doesn't always make sense and is based upon feeling and gestures instead of a concrete system. I personally like magic systems like that when they make sense, and with this kind of fantasy setting, I think it works perfectly. This book gives you cozy vibes instead of high action.

I definitely enjoyed the slight Little Women mixed with fantasy vibe. It's like what if Jo March was kidnapped by the fae? It's an interesting concept and I think for the most part, it's an enjoyable and easy read. Fenn was a lovely romantic interest, though I hate to say it but I like Dacre maybe a bit more? Sue me, I like a man who manipulates you....

I think Verve's trauma of being trapped in the well is honestly a really great element for her character. Her fear of being trapped, is interesting and really says a lot of how she feels about her own freedom.

Now my critiques. I think this story lacks good pacing, it feels some moments happen way too slow and then other things are incredibly rushed. For example: the beginning (about chapters 1-4) are painstakingly boring and dragged out. Once we get to Dacre's mansion it's more interesting. But then the pace of that is also really slow, we're constantly going about a confusing day to day life of Dacre who is sweet but also kinda weird and putting the moves on Verve really fast (though it's explained later fae fall quickly. Which feels like a copout to have insta-love in your story.)

The second part of the book is fairly fast paced, so it's definitely a bit jolting when you go from a slower and leisure pace to boom, boom, boom. Just everything happens so much faster, though part two is significantly shorter than part one so it would explain why Overmyer started shoving in important things. This is always my biggest complaint when authors do this, I agree fast pace can be needed but my god slow down cause sometimes you go so fast I didn't even realized we moved from inside a house to outside until we're moving again.

I think to Verve and Fenn are lacking a bit in character development. They're fairly flat at this moment and I'm still entirely confused on this whole prophecy thing with a fire queen. I guess maybe that will be answered in the next book. Though the ending of this book feels entirely too abrupt. We reached the climax of the story and then were slammed down to the resolution instead of leisurely and gracefully getting there.

Also the fade to black was not fair after being teased!

OVERALL though, I did really enjoy this and I think if you like atmospheric magic based books and you like Howl's Moving Castle (the book), then I'd say give this a try when it's released in August.

Brittle tells the tale of Verity 'Verve' Springfield, a young woman who is thrust into the world of the Fae when her father entrusts her with a dangerous secret. Unfortunately, though Overmyer has the fairytale style of writing down pat, there are many issues that make this book a confusing read. There is a distinct lack of connective tissue between scenes, with jumps all over the place making for incredibly odd pacing, and references to events and rituals that are never explained at all, things hinted at but never explored. Beyond that, the prospective romances both leave much to be desired; shaky in terms of informed consent on all sides, and with all the trappings of isolationist abuse across both 'relationships' it is hard to imagine rooting for either.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for access to this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.