"For in this world, the truth is often a slippery thing, and the secrets we keep can be the most dangerous of all."

GENRE: Fantasy
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐/5
FORMAT: eBook Arc
Would I recommend to others?: Its a fast paced fantasy book that has noble families fighting each other and certain political aspect to it! I'd recommend it to those looking for a fantasy, fast paced book!

Review:
This was definitely a fast paced Fantasy book that you can read in between heavy books. Usually, this falls under a 3 star rating for me. I definitely liked how Fox built a world where noble families are fighting and it comes down to a few members to save the day. The story was straightforward and you could see development and growth in the main character, Hermione.

Hermione has grown her entire life focusing on her marriage proposal and how that will contribute to her family. Yet, when it comes down to it, she is left to save her family and others from a war that has been brewing for many years.

I definitely enjoyed the conversation between Hermione and seeing how she developed. I also really enjoyed meeting some of the characters in their younger versus older selves. I did think the book could have gone deeper into some of the themes. However, I will definitely be reading a book two if it comes out!

Thank you to NetGalley for an Arc for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this! This gives of Harry Potter vibes while you read it (especially as the main character is called Hermione) and this immediately had me hooked. For me, this was a really fast-paced book which I found to be a quick read as I didn’t want to put it down. It’s also really refreshing to read a book that has no romantic undertones in it with Hermione & Christian being siblings.

Only the past is always present. A brisk summer’s night, in a state of mundanes, a peculiar train leaves the station, its heading, a hidden borough of magic—and magicks. As Hermione explores this dark, unfamiliar world, pursued by murderous villains, she soon learns to save her future, she may have to destroy her past.

A spellbinding novel about the lengths one goes to protect family, how far your willing to go to save your future and what you would have to give up from your past. This novel was filled with adventure, family history and magic. It was an incredible read that takes you back in time, to a world you once knew brimming with magic, political intrigue and family drama. One wrong turn could have you destroying the Padt but saving the future.

Thank you to Victoria Editing for an advanced reader copy via NetGalley of The Eleventh Hour by Aminah Fox

3.5 stars rounded up

Harry Potter meets the Sopranos! Hampshire, a magical borough in upstate New York, home to several noble families, and invisible to mundanes, aka non-magical people. A long-brewing war between the families has reached its pinnacle and courted death and destruction in it's wake. In a last ditch attempt to save her father and restore order, Hermione Mandrake and her half-brother Christian take up their grandfather's time trinket, with a plan to steal away into the past in order to redirect the future. But with enemies still on their tail, can they truly turn back the hands of time?

When I first began reading, I had difficulty staying engaged. The characters, even the MC, felt a bit flat and one dimensional. And I had a hard time keeping all the different families straight, not to mention all the children (and bastards) Alfred Mandrake fathered. Fortunately, the latter was rectified by a family tree of sorts at the back of the book, and I eventually came to realize that it wasn't as important to remember ALL the families, just a few key ones, which began to stick with me after a little while. By about the 30% mark, I was sold and began to enjoy the ride. The story itself was unique and magical, and if you like the thought of magical mafia-like families, waging war with wands and on dragon-back, then you should really enjoy this.

I did feel a few inconsistencies with the MC Hermione however. For example, supposedly she was no good at charms, yet she bested several magicians trying to abduct her, often taking on 2 or 3 at a time, after just a week or so of training. I also never really warmed up to her that much. It was hard to grasp what she was really all about. The only real feel I got from her was her devotion to her father and her family, but she felt a bit shallow beyond that. Fortunately, once they traveled into the past and the action picked up, I forgot about some of those things and became invested in how everything played out.

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and 22nd Light LLC for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.</i>

#TheEleventhHour #NetGalley.

I absolutely love the cover of this book. One aspect that I particularly enjoyed about this book is the setting. The author has done a fantastic job of creating a vivid and immersive world for the story to unfold in. The descriptions are rich and detailed, allowing me to easily visualize the surroundings and feel like I was right there alongside the characters.
Reading this book was a truly enjoyable experience. The pacing was well-balanced, keeping me engaged and eager to turn the pages. The plot had enough twists and turns to keep me guessing, and I found myself becoming emotionally invested in the journey of the characters.
The world-building in this book is exceptional. The author has created a unique and believable world,
In conclusion, I highly recommend this book for its beautiful cover, captivating setting, and great world-building. It is an enjoyable read that will transport you to another place and leave you wanting more.

TLDR Review: The magic of Harry Potter combined with the gang lifestyle of Peaky Blinders! Fun read with low-level tension.


Spoiler Free Review:

I really enjoyed this book.

This book was so different from anything I’ve ever read before. It wasn’t so tense that I couldn’t put it down, but I did enjoy reading it. Fox does an incredible job of writing the emotions that dictate the actions of the main character, and she does so in a way that makes her relatable to any audience. Fox also does a great job with the world-building element of fantasy. She establishes the main things you need to know in the prologue and gives you more as the main character learns throughout her journey. Because of the gang-based lifestyle of the magic world, there are a lot of families and a lot of individual characters to keep up with, and that does get complicated in many parts of the book.

In all honesty, this book isn’t going on my favorite-reads-of-all-time list. The world-building is great, and it wasn’t my favorite world that I’ve traveled to in a book. However, it was a low-stress read that I really did enjoy. I think readers of all ages would enjoy this book. It’s tagged as adult dark fantasy, but I could easily see this being used as a YA read. I teach high school English, and I would definitely include it in my classroom library. It checks a lot of boxes, and I do recommend reading! Enjoy!

Review with Spoilers:

While the overt Harry Potter references were a bit much in many places, this book was a fun read. The prologue establishes a lot of important world-building context, as well as introducing a lot of names of characters that become difficult to track along the way. The mafia-style gangs of the magic world are established quickly, and goes into a lot of backstory focusing on illegitimate children and how the heads of each family address those children. While the information was helpful, the heavy focus on the fact that the heads of these families have multiple illegitimate children does not seem necessary. As for the time travel, there are some minor plot holes that aren’t fully explained. For example, when the main character is forced to travel from one alternate timeline to another without her brother, she promises to come back for him. While in that timeline, she manipulates the events she wanted to, and then suddenly wakes up from a dream a week or so prior to when she originally time-traveled. After waking up, her brother has suddenly caught back up with her, without her going back for him. The timey-wimey bits of time travel aren’t fully explained in the book, but it doesn’t damage the plot too badly.

Overall, this book is good, and if a sequel focusing on Hermione Mandrake is published, I will definitely read it as well.

I appreciate the opportunity to read this but unfortunately this one is a DNF for me. I made it to about the halfway point and felt like nothing happened. There also wasn't much world or character building imo.