"Why do we grow more scared as we get older?"
"Because we know better."

Every now and then you come across a new release that feels like you’re reading a modern classic. Whether it be the themes, the writing itself, or how reminiscent it feels of another classic; there’s a certain charisma to these stories that makes them feel special. This week I’ve had the pleasure to read not one, but two of these stories. One of them, Impossible Creatures, has already garnered plenty of well-deserves praise and love. The other is an upcoming indie title, that I’m therefore even more excited to put on people’s radar.
With vibes of The Neverending Story, a world reminiscent of Miyazaki, and a story that feels like a folktale told at night around a campfire: this is a release to keep your eye on.

The Story:
In a world blanketed in a never ceasing fog inhabited by nightmarish creatures, humans are confined to isolated settlements that sail the fog like ships. Ogma lives in one of these settlements, and is part of the team of children guarding the walls and sounding the alarm whenever one of the fog-phantoms approaches. Her job is an important one, and one only children can do, as the older you grow, the more susceptible you become to the fogs treacherous calls.
One day, Ogma’s town is attacked by shadows from the fog. In an attempt to save those she loves, Ogma sets off on a journey into the unseen, where she must rely on her wits and her friends in order to survive.

What I loved:
The immediate standout here is the quality and depth of the worldbuilding Lehnen put into this story. From the setting of the fog-drowned world with its floating settlements, to the fearful creatures that inhabit it, to the history and lore of the wizard-war that created this situation: it feels like Lehnen knows this world inside out, and is excited to take you on a journey through it.
The plot offers a good balance between action and character interaction, and Ogma and her traveling band make for great companions on this trip. I especially love how Ogma was a strong female character, that isn’t afraid to recognise that she still needs help and support from her friends (something that unfortunately is quite rare in Young Adult fiction).
Another element that made the story feel similar to modern classics like The Neverending Story is how well it translates to different age-ranges of reader. I would classify the story somewhere between the upper-end of middle-grade and the younger side of YA (12 to 15 years), but it’s core-themes of friendship, fear, growing up, growing older and growing apart translate perfectly to adult readers as well.

What I didn’t love:
Fog and Fireflies is a debut novel, and has some struggles typical of that. Most notably, it struggles a little around the half-way point. After a fascinating beginning, there’s a bit of a drop in pacing, as well as a very quick expansion on the world and magic-system that doesn’t quite feel like it gives the reader enough time or information to adjust. Although the author seems to know the lore of his world inside out, he struggles at times to keep the reader up to pace. I hope the next book in this series will expand further on this worldbuilding and fill in the gaps that were left in my understanding.
That brings me to my second point of critique: I wish the Goodreads page and marketing had been a little more clear about the fact that this is the start of a series, not a standalone fantasy. To me, this wasn’t a problem, but know before going in that this is a satisfying story in its own right, but it does have some open ends after you flip the final page.

As a final aside, I’m happy to let you know that I had a great mailexchange with the author, in which he stressed how much he values accessibility, and an audiobook is in the making so visually impaired readers can enjoy the story too. If you know me, you know how deeply I appreciate an author (especially indie!) thinking of such things.

Many thanks to T.J. Lehnen and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was so so so good!!! It’s not something I would normally read but I was so gripped from the beginning! And it’s short I read it in one day!

3 stars for this book. I was expecting something different from this story. It was a good book but could be so much better.

I really enjoyed this story. This story is truly found family done right. The characters were enjoyable. The pacing could be a little on the slow side— but that builds towards the plot.

Thank you to the author & NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this e-ARC.

I absolutely loved Fog & Fireflies! It's less of an open and shut plot and more adventures and vibes. Reading it felt like a mix of The Maze Runner, The City of Ember, and Howl's Moving Castle or other Ghibli works. I was super captivated by the world and characters, and the writing was super poetic and flowed nicely. My only complaint is that there wasn't more, I was really sad when I got to the last page. Also, I have questions about Ogma's town, the state of the world, and what happens next!?

In a word -
Sentient fog
Strange and fantastical creatures
Imaginative
Found family

Wow. I wasn't sure what to expect when I first saw this as a spotlight through netgalley, but the idea of Sentient fog drew me in. There are super strong themes of Parentification as we follow Ogma on her journey. I love the world building and all of the fantastical creatures we get to meet. The pacing was fine throughout each leg of the story (I saw that mentioned in another review). My only draw backs were the translation in the first few chapters (you don't have to translate, but I couldn't not), and the chapter lengths. It fits the story, but also felt funny to stop in the middle of an hour long chapter! Can't wait for the book to release so everyone can enjoy it as much as I did!

This was my first fantasy read for 2024 and it was pretty good. I would recommend this read to my fantasy reading friends for sure.

I LOVE the cover and premise for this book. Also, Studio Ghibli vibes? Pan's Labyrinth comparisons? It seemed right up my alley!

The writing style is easy to read and the plot hook, with the story centering around kids, is sure to resonate with readers. Personally, I found the structure a bit disjointed/confusing-- there are so many characters and it seems like Ogma is going to be our main protagonist that we closely follow, but we end up weaving in and out of an omniscient narrator and different characters.

Still, a fun and original fantasy novel, and I know readers will enjoy it!

I love reading fantasy books, especially ones that have an epic and unique story. This book is a great example of such a story, where the author has created an incredibly immersive world with complex timelines, creatures, and emotions of young children. The book is dark and takes you on quite a journey primarily following Ogma, but also giving glimpses of different characters. When the big reveal comes, everything ties together. However, at times, I found myself confused about why things happened and how they occurred. Though some things were explained, like the fog, I'm still not 100% sure why.

Despite being a YA book, my young reader, who is almost 8, was reading over my shoulder. We would talk about what was happening in the story, and he enjoyed it quite a bit. The story involves kids who look after and keep adults safe, humans, and people who aren't people, and have unique characteristics despite their parentage. The whole world is engaging, intriguing, and magical. I would love to know more about this world, like Dunkirk's story before meeting Ogma or the war that started it all, or even about other characters. It's all very intriguing and well worth the read.

“The thing about gods and demons is they all call themselves gods.”

I loved this story and the way that it felt like a fairytale. I feel like this is a classic I could have been told as a child and grown up to still love. I think this is a book that would be enjoyable for all ages. The descriptions and the world-building were amazing.

I do think there was maybe too much going on in the plot. There were several directions I thought it was going in and then it completely shifted a couple times. There were pieces that felt very important at first and then ended up being things I feel could have been left out (i.e. I thought the boy Ogma finds in the fog was going to be the entire story and then he only plays a small role). I also felt like the first 3/4 was very detailed and then the last section was rushed and I could have used more explanation.

Overall, the writing was great and I enjoyed the unique new fairytale!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Fog and Fireflies begins brilliantly, in a world where children patrol and fight against mysterious and dangerous fog monsters that attack adults. There's a great set-up with the kids on watch and in their dormitories, when an outsider arrives, apparently from a different time, and as their community nears a band of travelers--the cities and towns "float" through the landscape, which is altered by the fog. But then things kind of go to hell, and the protagonist gets lost, falls in with gnomes and a dangerous, confused king, and there's mayhem and time travel and the childrens' hero turns out to be a bad guy and it's all a big mess. It's a shame, because I really wanted to know more about the world, and how the children were raised, and how the travelers survived, and more.

I would like to thank Netgalley for providing me with an ARC copy of this book. I was intrigued into reading it because of the cover photo. The story has a very unique storyline and I had a great time Reading it.

The writing skills of the author are flawless and I was engaged throughout the book without getting bored. I enjoyed reading it while drinking a cup of coffee. The character developments were interesting and the world building was quite unique and captivating. I could visualise myself in the story with the characters.

I will highly recommend this book. Grab your copy today and you will definitely love reading it as much as I did.

#fogandfireflies #NetGalley

For anyone craving a nostalgic, coming-of-age fantasy with a touch of darkness, reminiscent of Pan's Labyrinth and The Neverending story, there is finally a fresh tale for you in Fogs & Fireflies. The world is fascinating from page one; we are introduced to Ogma, a child, approaching her teenage years at most, patrolling the walls of her town, looking out for phantoms in the malicious fog outside the walls. Why are children in charge of protecting the town? What is the fog?

"Why do we get more afraid when we get older?"

I was delighted by the cast of brutally honest but charmingly individual children who are so resilient in the face of such darkness. The way they are both petty like young children often get, but will band together and protect each other when faced with adversity is so real. It is something that we lose as we grow up, along with the wonder and fearlessness.

I do wish the chapters were shorter; the currently extremely long chapters can definitely be parts instead that can then be split into a few chapters, especially considering the young readers that can be very interested in this book. Even as an adult, I would've enjoyed the book more with less lengthy chapters. Further, the story is split into clear arcs as Ogma faces different obstacles and travels distinct settings.

Thank you NetGalley, Aspen & Thorn Press and the author for this advance review copy, I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This reminded me of a mashup of several popular movies that have almost cult -like followings.

You are kind of tossed into the story and just expected to know things. A glossary of terms, etc may be helpful to readers. Some of it was a bit choppy and it started to lose my attention a little bit I got back on course and over all enjoyed the book.

There were several phrases and words that were hard for me to understand. I’m not 100% sure who the targeted audience is. But I average about 60 books a year and my age is 22 in april. This was a little above my reading level. For example in the first chapter when you’re describing her age and you say 14 seasons, that’s a little confusing to me how old she is. Is she 3.5 years old because there are 4 seasons per year or is she 14 years old with 1 season being one year? Just little stuff like that that the wording tripped me up.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

This story is set in an amazing and unique world. It's covered in a fog that shifts the world around, even towns relocate as the fog appears. Only children are immune to the dangers of the fog and are thus left in charge of protecting the walls. This dark and dystopian world shaped the story but gave enough bright moments to keep the reader hopeful.

The biggest thing that I missed was the direction of the plot. In the beginning, I noticed that things happened — the story had started — but I missed a path that the plot could take. It was just lost in the fog.
Eventually, problems arose that the characters wanted to solve, but the plot kept feeling distracted. The characters were more or less thrown around without little agency. Where that fits with the theme, I prefer my stories a bit more structured.

Ending on a positive note, I did find the reveal at the end satisfying — it made it worth finishing the book.

Thank you NetGalley and Aspen & Thorn Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

You lost me barely a few pages in. The writing was choppy, repeating words in a way that was fatiguing rather than poetic. Way too many ands as well.

I wanted to read this book because the name and cover attracted my attention. This was such a cute story. It was pure magic. I enjoyed it cover to cover. It made me think of The Labrinth, The Neverending Story, and even a bit of The Princess Bride. This ya fantasy is all about innocence, magic, adventure, and being brave. I will definitely add this paperback to my collection once its available.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The dark fairy tale vibes of this story had me intrigued from start to finish.
The author has a fantastic ability to create a vivid scene without having to go overboard with unnecessary details. The characters. the theme, everything about this book was so well thought out. If you enjoy a good heartfelt fantasy packed full of adventure, mystical fog creatures, and world building that will genuinely blow your mind, I definitely recommend giving this book a try!
This is easily one of my favorite reads so far this year, and I really hope there is a sequel, because I'm not ready to let go of Ogma and her world.

the book cover got my attention. the idea of the book was written really well. the book started off really great but lost my attention around halfway in the book. some people might enjoy this book but it’s just wasnt for me.

thank you netgalley for the arc!