I loved the writing style of this book it felt very old folk lore to me. The cover is what drew me in to this book initially. But this was pure magic reminiscenet of the time when you were younger and just found a fantasy book you loved. It gave me all the nostaligic feels.

The fog changes the landscape and moves villages to or away from others. Children are immune to fog, so they patrol the walls of their village until they are 18 seasons old. The fog also speaks, moan,s and changes into figures and creatures.
On rare occasions, the fog would break, and during that time, if a village was in sight, it was a trade break when they would barter and trade with the other villages. Also, during this time, older kids would leave their villages to experience others and learn new trades.
Fogs and Fireflies is a unique perspective on fantasy and I did enjoy the story. I also liked the characters and their interactions with others in the village.

3.75 ⭐️s rounded up for Goodreads.
I read an e-ARC in tandem with an advanced audiobook.
Firstly, 5 Stars for that amazing cover! It's what drew me to this arc.
Secondly, Fog & Fireflies felt very unique. I really enjoyed the overall plot, the fog and monsters, the lore, the crucial roll of children, and the fear that comes with growing up. I was sucked in quickly. For me, it read lower YA/upper Middle Grade.
The pacing was a bit off for me. It slowed about 2/3 of the way through, then picked up again for the final act.
The audiobook is narrated by the author T.H. Lehnen, which I highly recommend. Lehnen has a melancholy, yet calming voice; perfect for the foggy and dreary setting and circumstances throughout Fog & Fireflies.

Thanks to NetGalley and Aspen and Thorn Press for an eARC and the audiobook!

This book had such a unique and wide cast of lovable characters! I would love to see this world brought to life. I went back and forther between the audio and the ebook for this one. I will say, i did enjoy the audio best just due to some formatting weirdness in the ebook.

Fog & Fireflies by T.H. Lehnen is a a unique and thought provoking debut novel about children who protect their village from dangerous fog and the phantoms within it. While this was kind of a miss for me, I think that is solely because it felt more middle grade than YA to me, making it seem like it's aimed at a much younger audience. However, I think the writing was wonderful. The world building was immersive and interesting. The plot started off strong and captivating but by the halfway point it did start to slow, making it easier to lose interest. However, I think this is a great choice for younger readers and even older ones that like YA and middle grade reads.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Listed as a YA this book had moments that felt more middle grade. With that being said, this book was magic. Melodically written and carefully pieced together to really feel the story come off the page. Thanks to the shorter chapters, this fantasy did not feel too overwhelming to consume. I picked up the audiobook as well and feel I enjoyed reading it more.

My Rating: 2 stars

CW’s: Violence, violence against children, blood and gore, child death and child endangerment.

Eh.

Honestly, I think the audience for this book just wasn’t me. I didn’t really connect with any of the characters and they all felt so young, I just think maybe this is one of those YA books that doesn’t have the crossover appeal that I need.

Ogma wasn’t a bad MC, not at all, she just was a bit boring for my tastes. The other kids were cute, and they kind of behaved like kids, but more so like kids in a kids’ movie, or a Disney film, there just wasn’t believability. And it wasn’t that this was a fantasy book, plenty of fantasy books have believable characterization, it just was this one that didn’t seem to fully connect for me.

I also didn’t completely understand why they have children as part of a guard, where are the adults? Why would people, in any universe, have kids on the guard like this? It sounds like there are adults, so why militarize children?

I do think having a deadly fog/bad fog is a unique concept, I just don’t know if I think it was really delivered on.

I just didn’t really feel that much about this book. I had to eventually start skimming just to finish it.

Just wasn’t for me.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance audiobook and reader copy of Fog and Fireflies by T. H. Lehnen in exchange for an honest review. This was a beautiful book about age, fear, friendship, and hope. I loved reading about Ogma and her adventures. There was also the underlying question, "why do we get more scared as we get older?" I think this question can be asked if real life too. Is it because we remember more the older we get, do we understand the world better or maybe we understand what to be afraid of better.

Thank you to T.H. Lehnen and Netgalley for this eARC!

This book gave strong Miyazaki vibes, from our main character being a 14 year old teen, to the atmosphere, to the fantastical creatures she meets along the way, and everything in between.

Ogma is one of the children tasked with guarding her town from the Fog, an otherworldly force that seems to change your perception and your actual surrounding once you're caught in it. For some reason, it only seems to be entirely nefarious towards adults; children tend to repel it to an extent. Everything seems as it should until one day, Ogma spies a person just beyond the wall in need of assistance.

From there, the story takes off in an occasionally hard to follow way (which I'm sure is by design, as you the reader feel as lost as the people lost in the fog do). I loved getting to know all the different characters, though I was a little surprised when I got to the end, as it felt like it was setting up for a sequel, when I'd thought this was going to be a standalone. That said, it doesn't end on a cliffhanger, and I felt mostly satisfied with how things ended up.

Maybe this was a personal problem, but I felt like parts of the story seemed a bit slow, especially around the 70% mark or so. The chapters are also long (for me and my reading speed, typically between 30-70 minutes long each), which can sometimes add to the feeling of slower pacing. But for the majority of the book, things were moving, and I was engaged and kept waiting to read the next part.

All in all, I give this 3.75 stars! It wasn't my favorite, but it has a lot of the right elements for a fantastic story. Also this was the author's debut novel! His writing shows promise and I'm excited to see what else he puts out in the future.

Fog & Fireflies is a mesmerizing and atmospheric work that beautifully captures the delicate interplay between nature’s mystery and human emotion. The imagery is vivid, almost cinematic, with the fog enveloping the landscape in an ethereal haze while the fireflies provide fleeting sparks of light, symbolizing hope and fleeting moments of magic. The narrative or thematic structure feels poetic, drawing the reader or viewer into a serene, almost dreamlike state. It’s a piece that lingers in the mind, evoking both wonder and introspection. A truly enchanting experience.

The power of this wonderful story is in the amazing world that the author creates, one in which the land has been altered by a wizards' war hundreds of year ago. Beasts twisted by magic roam the fog, snatching people from walled villages that are patrolled by children, who are seemingly immune to the fog's effects. The villages and the people inside are transported around the landscape when the fog rolls in, so that oftentimes people, and other creatures, can become lost in the fog.

Author Lehnen creates a wonderful cast of characters, both human and nonhuman, with endearing qualities. The charismatic Caravanners that travel the fog in their colorful wagons like gypsies, trading goods from village to village. The mysterious puppeteers with their blank faces and shadowy bodies. The Old Powers from long ago who are both diminished and ever powerful at the same time. And the wonderful girlchild at the center of it all, Ogma, whose relentless quest to return to her village and rescue its kidnapped children, brings all of these characters together.

This book is the beginning of a series, one that I will willingly follow when the author publishes more. Kudos for an excellent job!

Finally, my thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for this arc. My thoughts are my own, as always.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC. This story is so very balanced between dark and light. It’s a read that is both serious and fanciful. The worldbuilding is unique for me I’ve never seen it before. I gave this 5 stars.

Really good YA read similar to Uglies and other dystopia type novels that face a world without adults to protect them.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

Thank you NetGalley and TH Lehnen for this ARC!

This book.. Was a ride and a half.

The basics are that there are small towns in this world where they're surrounded by a carnivorous fog phenomenon that houses demonic creatures, and each town has the kids patrol the perimeter because fog doesn't go after children.

Our FMC, Ogma , is a really fun character due to her Persistency and curiosity - she really made this book a delight! The one thing about it though was that the story felt like it was 3-4 mini books In one volume - some of the events felt very random, but I did love the world building
That occurred throughout the book with the caravan and the residents in the other towns. I was disappointed when found it was only one book and not a series the ending left a lot unresolved in terms of Ogma and the kids in Ogma’s town, but I would highly recommend this book to anyone who may be looking for a fun YA fantasy read.

Oh this book is something special. I love this so much and as soon as I started I could not put this down. Ogma is an absolute force of a FMC and I loved how she just never knew how to quit. The Shepherds were absolutely fascinating and I loved how different they all were. This book has so many amazing fantasy tropes In it. Found family, portal magic, time travel, everything you could ask for! I am really hoping with the way that the book ended that there is going to be a second book if not for Ogma then hopefully more from this world!

I feel like this book lacked a cohesive plot and strong character development which really hindered my enjoyment for this book! I feel like it promises so much!? but it doesn't really deliver on it, It would have been so much better if it actually explored it more, the whole dystopian vibe could have done much better with a unique set up! for a fantasy book this felt very underwhelming the books structure felt very strange to read the constant plot jumping with a clear narrative felt very messy to read and the constant the change in scenes caused my reading pace to slow way too much than I would have liked. It was very disengaging and I think it I am being generous with this.

Dark folklore story with Ghibli vibes. I felt the pacing was off and couldn't really get into the book as much as I would have liked to. I think it was trying to be as atmospheric as possible but it ended up dragging on. I enjoyed the magical creatures and feel like this would be a better fit for younger readers.

My specific reason for requesting this book was the cover. Look at that beauty. How could you not buy it if you see it in the store? I'm definitely not gonna be able to stop myself.

It was a good story too but I felt a bit disappointed given my hopes were quite high. The story didn't intrigue me as much as I would keep reading it. In the end I had to force myself to finish it.

Nevertheless, the book has potential so I will definitely recommend it to people who like some YA fantasy.

Thank you Aspen and Thorn press and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Thank you to Aspen & Thorn Press and NetGalley for an electronic advanced readers copy of this novel.

Ogma is a young girl who lives in a community where children protect adults from the deadly fog, which was the result of a wizards' war. Raised to help, After an attack by an unknown group, Ogma finds herself caught in the fog and outside her normal comfort area of help.

Fog & Fireflies by T. H. Lehnen is an interesting tale of Ogma and her friends. It's definitely fantasy and the way it ends lends itself to a sequel. I enjoyed it but sometimes got the characters mixed up.

Fog & Fireflies is the first book in a YA fantasy series by indie debut author T.H. Lehnen. Released 11th April 2024, it's 380 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

The adventure story is well conceived and MC Ogma is an appealing protagonist trying to make the best of an impossible situation. Much of the characterization is spotty, however, and the world building which has huge potential is, at least in this first book, choppy and often disorganized. It's an indie debut novel and despite a lack of polish, shows a lot of promise.

There are some moderately graphic scenes of body horror (a gut stab early in the book with graphic descriptions), fighting, psychological horror, etc. It's the first book in an ongoing series (no current publication info available for book 2), so the author will presumably expand and explain some of the dangling unresolved plot threads from book 1; it could just be a while.

Three and a half stars. It would've benefited from a thorough/ruthless editing and polishing process, but it's entirely readable and enjoyable as it is. Recommended for dark YA fantasy adventure fans.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.