I enjoyed the world building and the human/faeire realms. The plot was a little slow at first but eventually picked up pace and I enjoyed the multiple POVs. The characters were complex and their plenty of room for more development. Not much was accomplished in general and there wasn’t really much romance. Assuming there will be growth in the next book.

Entertaining, mysterious and warm. Easy to sink into. With lovely characters and magic I wish to get more of. Overall, I really enjoyed it.

Rated 3.5 stars on Bookmarks and Stages blog -
Cutthroat assassins and wayward princes makes the book a little whimsical, but then what may grab you, as it did me is a little girl with a huge secret. That and the world-building makes this book just about gripping enough and then there's the action, which draws you in even closer.

Brannon is a grumpy, cold-hearted assassin. Not someone to be trusted.
Aeydin and Fae, who bring some romance.
Lydia and Tawney who have secrets and set readers off into this fantastical world.
Elwyn with the strange gift of un-remarkability, even though is a thief, but then would be quite useful for this. The problem is, Elwyn, who, in the world of the 'unseen' would love be part of the 'seen' world.
There are also the Tricksters to create mischief and mayhem.
On a deeper level it makes you think of society and how people are 'seen' and some are perceived as or feel like they are 'unseen' and also that of conjured up mystical imaginary friends.

It's a fairly entertaining read for around Christmas time, although it isn't really a Christmassy book, but the tone for it is there in some of the frivolity of it, and then there's the right amount of darkness, just twisting it up a bit

The book had already been released, and I was too late to read it. So, I will make sure to receive a copy and still write my review on it on my website. My standard rating is 3, and I will edit it as soon as I read it.

Rounding it up to 3.5⭐️

The world building was fantastic.
I enjoyed the story a lot, I read a lot of books around Fae and I hadn’t read a book that involved changelings in a long time and it was really nice to have that.

Elwyn, the runaway thief, Brannon the assassin, Lydia, the monster, and Aedyn the bored fae prince, due to weird turn of events end up coming together and forming a little family. All 3 come together essentially with the same thing in mind, wanted answers for Lydia.

That being said, I am usually one for multiple povs, love them, however I didn’t like that during a chapter we would change povs. At the beginning there was a lot of characters introduced all at once and I found myself going back to see who it was exactly, because I hadn’t had enough time to differentiate the characters yet.
I did enjoy the story, but it didn’t really suck me in until I was about 75% way through.

This book felt disjointed to me. There were so many POV changes and characters being thrown at me, it was difficult to get into the story.

It was left on a cliff hanger, so if that is not your prefere ce I would recommend holding off reading until the next book releases.

I didnt love it, but it wasnt so bad that I would not consider reading another book by this author.

The Unseen (The Reel of Rhysia Book 1), by author Lilla Glass
Genre- Fantasy
Book Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Spice Rating- None but still a good read if you're a hopeful romantic like me!

The Unseen is a dark and whimsical fae-filled fantasy book with just the right amount of horror, adventure, self-discovery, mystery, and a hint of romance that kept me turning pages!

The story begins by introducing characters both human and fae whose paths eventually cross, some friend and some foe. As their journey unfolds they realize they must work together to face the dangers lurking in and between both realms.

There's Brannon the cold-hearted assassin who has some serious daddy issues. He's grumpy, untrustworthy, and selfish but I couldn’t help warming up to him in the end.

Aedyn the Fae prince who is bored and seeking adventure at any cost. He’s a bit of a flirt but also a dreamy charming romantic who sees the good in everyone.

Lydia and Tawny, are two mysterious girls and the catalyst for much of the story so I won't go into many details about them but there are many surprises with these two.

And then there's Elwyn, a thief with a big heart and the gift of unremarkability. Even though she's trying to disappear she longs to be seen. Though much of the mystery of the other characters was revealed Elwyn is still a bit of an enigma that I can't wait to find out more about.

And finally, there's Luatha, a Piskie from the realm of the Unseen bonded to Elwyn for unknown reasons. She's exactly like I picture the Fae, a little sour, a little sweet. Her trickster-like dark & whimsical rhymes throughout the book were a joy to read and a testament to the cleverness and talent of the author's writing skills.

🖤🗡️🖤

Amidst all the intriguing characters I was also drawn to Gelah, Elwyn’s crescent-shaped dagger that sometimes emits a violet glow and rots the flesh at a touch. Not much info is given on it or how Elwyn came into possession of it but it's hinted that it has Fae origins like its name, Gelah, which translates to Moon in Rhysian. Of course, I felt inspired to recreate Elwyn's dagger with my depiction of runes on it and a pink amethyst and mother-of-pearl doublet that emits a violet glow similar to how I imagine Gelah did. The runes I found fitting and put on the dagger were ᛉ - Algiz for protection and defense. ᛈ - Perthro for fate, chance, mystery, destiny, and secrets. And ᚺ - Hagalaz for destruction, uncontrolled forces, and being tested.

Though the number of characters and different factions/houses within the different Fae courts was a little overwhelming at first, I couldn't help but appreciate the depth it gave the story once it all came together. The ending left me wanting more and I am looking forward to the next book!!!

I think you’ll enjoy this book if you like-
Fantasy
Fae Lore
Adventure
Found Family
Horror/Gore
Self-discovery
Broken Stabby Characters
Mystery

TWs: profanity, child abuse, violence/murder/death.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lilla Glass for providing me an ARC copy of The Unseen The Reel of Rhysia in exchange for an honest review.


I want to mention I also posted a review to my amazon account but it hasn't been approved yet so I included a link below to my amazon review page.

The Unseen is the first book in The Reel of Rhysia series. We follow Elwyn, a lonely thief described as remarkably unremarkable, trying to escape her past life. She is sooned joined by a bitter assasin, a strange child, and a deviant royal, as they set out to each save themselves but instead end up trying to save each other and the rest of the world.

I loved the multiple points of view, especially within individual chapters. I thought the continuity of the story was well maintained, even with multiple POVs within one chapter. I really enjoyed the speaking in rhymes. I was a bit thrown off by it at first because I wasn't quite sure what was going on, but once I figured out it was Luatha that speaks that way, I was able to better appreciate what she was trying to say and how she said it.

I felt the worldbuilding was a bit dense. At some point, I felt like the story wasn't quite going anywhere. I think the story finally picked up around 60%, when the heavy traveling was underway, but then the story also felt like it sort of fell down. We went from dense worldbuilding to everyday-ness without a good transition, considering the heaviness of the first 60%. I thought we had a good grasp of some of the characters but their transformations felt a little choppy, such that at times I didn't understand what was happening with the character.

The book also had quite a few typographical errors, which were hopefully fixed for publishing. I found a lot of these distracting because I couldn't figure out if there was a word missing, or if the wrong word was written and I would spend time analyzing what the paragraph really means or what it could mean with the missing word.

The story felt rushed at the end, especially considering the dense worldbuilding we got at the beginning. It felt like there were too many things happening and not enough resources were being directed to that.

I did enjoy learning about the characters' pasts via dreamt memories, and about the world's past via board game. The latter was a very clever way to give more background to the story without taking the story back to the past.

I know nothing of fae mythology – I'm not even sure if that's the correct way to refer to it – but this story felt like it had a lot more of the mythology intertwined than other books I've read. It actually made me want to look more into the mythology. I appreciated the glossary at the end of the book and the pronunciation guide for some of these words. I'm happy to see more of the actual mythology instead of just "fae are magical beings with pointy ears." It's refreshing.

I will definitely look for the second installment to see where the story goes.

The Unseen" is the first book in The Reel of Rhysia by Lilla Glass, following a group of misfits coming into their own across the human and fae realms .
This book has excellent world building and interesting character development. Pacing is a bit uneven with the first third feeling a little slow but it is worth it for the way it weaves this take together.

Who I Recommend this title for
Fans of Leigh Bardugo’s six of crows or Cassandra Clare’s shadow hunters may find this book particularly enjoyable.

Unfortunately this is a dnf for me. I believe this story and world have a bunch of potential but it did not hold my attention and I didn’t want to force myself through.

It was a bit slow to start but the world building was goodand and some of the character development have me wanting to know them more. The characters are on a journey self-discovery through out this book. They one way or another become found family. Elwyn She's a thief on the run. Brannon is an assassin sent to bring her in. Aedyn is a prince needing an escape/adventure. Lydia kinda in the middle of it all but has some secrets i cant say no big spoiler. Oh and elwyn bound to Luatha that has these rhythm i rather enjoy. It did have muilt pov so i did stop reading from time to time to keep up with them. Overall i did enjoy it the plot. And would be looking out for book2 to see what happens next.

"The Unseen" is the first book in The Reel of Rhysia by Lilla Glass, and it's SPECTACULAR!!

Lilla Glass crafts a thrilling, well-developed story rife with magic, mayhem, and spirited otherworldly beings. If you enjoy the works of Leigh Bardugo or Holly Black, you will find this book unputdownable!

This fantastic story is a romantic fantasy, but it's more of an adventure with a touch of romance that I would have loved to see more of. The characters are interesting and complex, with different personalities and motivations.

These are the primary characters:

Elwyn - the thief with a heart of gold

Luatha - the fierce piskie bonded with Elwyn

Brannon - the assassin trying to prove his worth

Aedyn - the meddling prince looking for a new adventure

Lydia - the darling little girl caught in the middle of it all

With the story unfolding through a large ensemble of characters, each chapter dedicated to a different one, you slowly witness this group of misfits grow as their journey unfolds. It's impossible not to root for them! I was pleasantly surprised by the cleverly woven and unexpected turns that caught me off guard throughout this enchanting tale.

I truly loved reading "The Unseen" - it's one of the best books I've read this year! I'm eagerly looking forward to the continuation of this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and City Owl Press for providing an advance copy of this book; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

First off this book is beautiful written! It’s incredibly descriptive and she has created a really interesting world. There is a great mix of characters and each one offered something a bit different.
I went into this expecting it to be more of a romance/adult fantasy book so it didn’t quite hit for me. If you’re looking for a great YA, six of crows style prose then this is great. It just wasn’t what I had expected based off the description so I found it a bit difficult to get fully into it.

Wow. This book actually impressed me. Mhm.. how to go about it, I wonder.

Let's talk about things I enjoyed first. The world building. Sure, I'll admit, at first, with the whole human and Faerie realms, it kinda felt a little cliche. But slowly, as the plot grew (as well the POVs unexpectedly), the more impressed I was. It felt epic at times (or maybe that's only me). The characters were also complex, not entirely bad nor good. I can already tell there's a lot of room to grow for these people. Oh and this book is written in third person, following mainly four characters with (maybe) another four POVs periodically. So yeah, a lot of characters to follow here.

Onto the cons:

With the many characters, I think it impacts the pacing a little bit. Because now that I've finished the book, I noticed that these four principal characters didn't quite manage to achieve a lot of things together. They just travelled one way and that's it. It probably worth it more if we got more bonding time between them. Other than that, I wouldn't say this a fantasy romance. Nope. No sirree. This is pure fantasy so far, with the most subtle romantic subplot. Very subtle.

All in all, pretty much had a good time with this one. Would recommend this.

(Review was posted to Goodreads on July 2nd 2023. Link:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5658633820?book_show_action=false)

I always try to give the first book in a series the benefit of establishing the world, the characters, and the overall plot, knowing that these things will eventually come together over the course of the series, but in this case, I had such difficulty finding the the point of the main POV character's journey's and purpose until closer to the end of the book.
While the premise of this story had me intrigued with the promise of adventure and found family, the majority of the book dragged for me, and it was struggling to keep my interest. It wasn't until the last 75% to 80% of the book where the plot finally revealed itself, and things started to pick up. I wanted to love the 4 main characters, but I felt there wasn't enough depth to them and their growing relationships with each other as a found family to make me care about them.
Unfortunately this book was a miss for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and City Owl Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book was a bit different but I enjoyed it. The first part was a little slow for me but once I got deeper into it I really loved it. I think this has the potential for a really awesome audiobook! I would give it 3.5/5 stars. It wasn’t life changing but it was good, thank you NetGalley for giving me to opportunity to check this out!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the multiple pov you get throughout. It has great world building without info dumping or being too confusing. I loved the main characters and learning about each individually. Each pov really helped the found family aspect come together beautifully. I couldn't put this book down and will be anxiously waiting for the rest of the series!

This story begins with Elwyn. She's a thief on the run from the shady organization that took her in as a child and trained her for dark deeds. She finally gets far enough away to try out having a normal life before a sadistic assassin, Brannon, is sent to bring her in to face harsh punishment for running away. When he finally catches up to her, nothing goes how either of them planned.

They get mixed up with the plot of two tricksters way out of their league when they try to nab a hidden treasure. Instead, they find Lydia, a girl with a secret, and a smooth-talking prince, Aedyn. The four decide to work together as they try to figure out what they stumbled into.

I love all of the characters so much. They are all flawed and nuanced and I think Glass did a great job of giving them all distinct voices and giving them space to grow. Also, Luatha, the piskie, is so fun and I can't wait to find out more about her.

The world building felt in-depth but not overwhelming. As the bigger mystery unfolds you're introduced to more backstory and characters rather than given everything all at once.

I was hoping for a smidge more of romance but I can wait for the next book.

If you love stories about humans, Seelie, Unseelie, plots, machinations, character growth, and a budding sense of found family, give this book a read. Thank you to Lilla Glass, NetGalley, and City Owl Press for this wonderful arc! #netgalley

Unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me. I really wanted to enjoy it but this was my second DNF for this year. I got about 110 pages in and decided to call it there. I think the story has a lot of potential but it wasn’t unique in any way for me. There were lots of characters but not a lot of character or world building.

This is a very promising start! Lilla has an exceptional ability to create characters that are very engaging and likable, and I love the rhyming of the little (I think she’s a faerie?) sidekick for the MMC Ellwyn. Unfortunately, this was a hard book to read because of all the characters - there are around 6 POVs and around 25 side characters. If the plot focused on maybe 1 or 2 main characters, the book would be much more digestible and easier to read and enjoy. I can’t wait to read more by this author as she grows!