Holmberg never disappoints. This was so unique and so captivating from the start. You can’t help but feel pulled in by the magic of the machine, intrigued by Heartwood and so curious to find the answers for Pell. Would definitely recommend.

I received an advance review copy for free from the publisher via Netgalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Here’s one thing I know; I can rely on Holmberg to write unique, one of a kind fantasy books with strong lead characters.

Here’s another thing I know. If she writes it, I will read it.

Still the Sun is set in a dystopian type world. Pell - an engineer, digger and key community member - spends her days searching for, finding and repairing mysterious artifacts (machines big and small) left behind by the Ancients until a mysterious stranger recruits her to fix the machines that make up the mysterious tower just past the town.

I’d say the first half, at least, of the book are her trying to understand the mystery of the machines and the two strangers living in the tower. It felt a bit tedious and I almost didn’t stick with it BUT, hear me out, I think it was actually really intentionally written that way to give us a sense of Pell’s circumstances and state of mind.

She starts having visions and, as she does, the book picks up speed and the reveals and action pick up. The layers that make up the characters are interesting and found myself really enjoying the second half of the book a lot.

I also found myself wishing I was more mechanically inclined. I do ok but Pell has skills!

Pell is an engineer and digger by trade—unearthing and repairing the fascinating artifacts left behind by the mysterious Ancients who once inhabited the sunbaked planet of Tampere. She’ll do anything to help the people of her village survive and to better understand the secrets of what came before
the story was intriguing and well-written. with very interesting characters and creative world-building. its was a very interesting story but i a little slow and hard to get into at the start of the story

This one was a slow burn romance so just know that if you decide to grab this one. Nothing really happens with them until around 60%. That being said I loved this one. The characters, the romance, and all the world building did wonderful with the story. It worked so well. I loved every page.

This was a fun read! I was pulled into the world building and the characters. I wasn't quite sure what to expect as it began but each page kept pulling me deeper into the story and connected me with the characters. Lots of twists and turns and surprises and I loved them all.

I enjoyed having this fun dive into a fantasy, sci-fi style story. I felt the heat of the land the characters inhabited and felt enshrouded by the fog as well. It was very fascinating reading about Pell, our main female character, and coming to see the workings of her mind. I loved all of the mechanical elements and the ancient artifacts and seeing how it all comes together.

The beginning was a little slower for me but that's just because of reading and learning about the world that the author was creating and setting up the backdrop and slowly revealing the backstory. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough the further I got into the story.

Content: PG-13 There are some mild swear words scattered throughout. Some kissing and some fade to black intimate moments between a couple, nothing is described but you know something happened between them. Some moments of peril, death, and talk about multiple gods due to the world the author has created.

I received a copy from the publisher, 47North, via NetGalley. But I also purchased my own copy. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

This book further cements for me how much I enjoy Holmberg's writing.

The story started off a little slow, but picked up speed by the middle and by the end I was practically speed reading. Following our main character, Pell, as she goes on this familiar yet confusing journey by trying to fill in gaps of a larger story she knows is surrounding her was engrossing. The cast of characters felt real and the slow burn romance in the background was heartbreaking.

The ending was satisfying, but also please write a sequel! I absolutely need more of this world in my life.

Thank you to NetGalley & 47North for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Alright, Charlie N. Holmberg, alright! This author’s standalone’s romantasies can differ vastly from each other, and I would probably put this one in the same categiry as Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet: Weird secondary worlds that throw you into a surreal reality, somewhere between fantasy and sci-fi. The romance is kept to a minimum, the love interest remaining a mystery for the most part. But so does the reader’s understanding of the worldbuilding. It will all be revealed to you, but mostly you'll sit through it with a deep frown edged into your forehead - maybe permanently.

In Still The Sun, Pell serves her small desert community as a gravedigger - although she is good at unearthing things only because of her fascination with the ancient artefacts she excavates whenever possible. Mechanical parts, pieces some bigger apparatus, she is sure, although no one knows who the people who left them behind were. As the village's resources keep dwindling - there being no distinction between night and day, only periods of scorching sun or fog - she turns her eyes to the horizon, where an endless wall looms and a tower without entrance stands vigil.

When a stranger knocks at her door, an outsider when where there is no "outside", inviting her inside the impenetrable tower and asking her to fix a series of intricate machines in exchange for any scrap metal she might have use for, her dreams of engineering suddenly come true. But who is the foreign-looking man and why is his companion acting so distant? What are the fuel-less machines inside the hulking building for? And most importantly, who destroyed them?

Though I deeply admire Holmberg for her inventiveness and the craft she displays in all of her books (this time giving off huge Skyward Sword vibes), I get why many readers were put off by the descriptions of machines and mechanics. The locations are limited, and those we get descriptions for seem bleak. It all seems a little far-fetched, even once all questions are answered - but you gotta hand it to Holmberg, I personally could never have come up with it.

If you don't mind a practical heroine and are looking for something truly out there, I suggest you give this book a try! And if you don't, but you are a fan of Holmberg's works, it's a must-read anyways.

I loved the mix of ancient technology, mystery, and slow-burn romance in this book! Pell’s curiosity and determination made her such a compelling character, and her chemistry with the enigmatic Heartwood had me hooked. The world-building was rich and intriguing, perfect for fans of romantic fantasy with a dash of sci-fi adventure!

_Still the Sun_ by Charlie N. Holmberg is a leisurely paced and character centered fantasy romance read. Engineer and digger Pell lives in a small village where resources are scarce and sunlight is eternal. One day she is called upon by strange visitor Moseus to fix machines made by the ancients in a long abandoned tower. The stranger is joined by Heartwood, another mysterious outsider that Pell believes is somehow connected to her. Pell must endeavor to fix the machines to reveal the truth of her people’s past. It’s a slow-burn book for readers interested in mystery and fantasy.

Rating: ⭐⭐
Themes: Fantasy, Action, Romance Fantasy
Author: Charlie N. Holmberg
Book Publication date: May 29, 2024
Page Count:
Book publication date: July 1, 2024
Audiobook publication date: July 1, 2024
Audio length: 9 hours 34 minutes
Narrator: Natalie Naudus
Book Cover first thoughts: The book cover is beautiful

Story Review / Summary:
I unfortunately felt very bored with this book. Within the first few chapters I thought it was promising but it fell short. The majority of the book was about this mysterious thing and the reveal was not until the last part of the book and it was just very lackluster. Still unsure what it is? I had more questions than answers when reading the last chapter.

Narration Review:
All narration was completed Natalie. Narrator's voice was fine

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Thank you to NetGalley and 47North for the ARC (Advance Reader Copy) of Still The Sun #StilltheSun by Charlie N. Holmberg, narrated by Natalie Naudus. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is July 1, 2024. This review will be shared on NetGalley and Goodreads.

Charlie N. Holmberg sets her tale on a walled land with a small village that is barely surviving. The sun stays directly overhead with mists coming to darken the land at what would be night. Pell tries to understand ancient artifacts and designs the tools the village needs. Then one mist night two unknown men come to her for help in rebuilding the machines in an ancient tower she had long thought sealed. But at the heart of this puzzle story is who built the machines, the tower, and set Still the Sun (hard from 47North). All of the devices were built with a dangerous reason, and Pell is oblivious because she is falling for one of the two strangers. This is an intense puzzle tale well worth reading.

This book was a fun, unique experience once you get into it. I had to start several times because the first couple of chapters were not sticking with me. However, once I got going - I was gone. Personally, I felt like this was a blend of Holmberg's Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet and The Fifth Doll with the best parts taken from both books. The mystery of the machinery and Pell's memories were the most intriguing parts. As the book unraveled, I made some guesses but none were correct. And I loved that I was wrong. What this book is truly about is way more interesting than any theories I had made.

As in true Holmberg fashion - the characters were outstanding. Pell was funny, kind, serious, and stubborn in all the best ways possible. I have definitely read enough of Holmberg to have immediately known who the love interest was going to be. And the slow burn was there as it always is. I really enjoyed Pell's revelations of what was happening. It was enjoyable discovering the truths with her and the ending was so well done. When you look back on the book, it doesn't seem like much happened but this is not an action fantasy book. It's all about the discovery.

Overall, Still the Sun by Charlie N Holmberg had a slow start but once you get going, be prepared to go. I thought the mystery behind the machines and Pell's memories were interesting. These aspects wanted me to keep going until I discovered what was going on. Pell's personality was so enjoyable in this book. Her cleverness and sharp tongue made her memorable. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy mystery fantasy novels.

Still the Sun takes readers on a unique journey filled with intriguing characters and otherworldly elements. While I found myself intrigued by Heartwood and the story’s mystical aspects, the heavy focus on machines and the slower pacing in the beginning made it a bit challenging to stay fully immersed. However, the latter half of the book did pull me in, and I appreciated the creativity behind the world-building. As a new reader of Holmberg, this was an interesting introduction to her work, and I’m curious to explore more of her stories. 3 stars.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It started off differently than most other novels, and was enjoyable to solve the mystery with Pell. The story was definitely a slow burn, but it deftly kept me enthralled and sucked in. What was going on with Pell? Was Emgarden really the only city on this whole planet, and why were they doomed to just barely get by? Just when you start to figure Pell out, we meet Moseus and Heartwood, with a whole other level of mystery.
I've learned you can't go wrong with a Charlie Holmberg novel. The twists and turns just keep you guessing and then, at the end, there's a completely bewildering element that ties everything in.

Charlie does it again! (I feel like all my reviews of her books start that way 😂)

Still the Sun was a stunning fantasy book. Pell was a fantastic heroine and Heartwood and Moseus were so mysterious and intriguing. I loved all the machinery involved, even if I didn't really understand it. 😅

This book felt like a puzzle that I kept trying to piece together, and once it all clicked it created such a surprising finished work that made me want to read it again from the start to see if I could pick things out that I'd missed before.

I don't know how Charlie keeps coming up with such unique and interesting worlds and magic systems and characters, but I will be here to devour them as she continues churning them out.

A big thanks to NetGalley and 47North for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I think Holmberg is slowly becoming a favorite author.

Still the Sun by Charlie N. Holmberg is a YA fantasy novel all about memory and preserving the past. Pell is an engineer and digger by trade—unearthing and repairing the fascinating artifacts left behind by the mysterious Ancients who once inhabited the sunbaked planet of Tampere. She’ll do anything to help the people of her village survive and to better understand the secrets of what came before. Heartwood and Moseus are keepers of a forbidding tower near the village of Emgarden. Inside are the remnants of complex machines the likes of which Pell has never seen. Considering her affinity for Ancient tech, the keepers know Pell is their only hope of putting the pieces of these metal puzzles together and getting them running. The tower’s other riddle is Heartwood himself. He is an enigma, distant yet protective, to whom Pell is inexplicably drawn. Pell’s restoration of this broken behemoth soon brings disturbing visions—and the discovery that her relationship to it could finally reveal the origins of the tower’s strange keepers and the unfathomable reason the truth has been hidden from her.

I have no words. I just loved this book so much. And I think everyone needs to read it.

]StS started as your typical post-apocalyptic story: barren lands, limited human population, lost technology. Pelnophe (a reference to Penelope?) also seems like your typical post-apocalyptic MC—a scavenger/tinkerer/digger of ancient devices. Then everything changed when she stumbled upon a machine from a lost time.

This book crept on me during the last half of my reading. I was about to give it a 3.5, but when the plot threads finally unraveled, it was hard not to give it a 4. I like how the story has sufficient lore for one book—it's quite self-contained in the sense that it doesn't need another volume but is still rich enough to be interesting. However, I felt like it took me forever to reach the juicy part of the story. Pell's inner monologue was also sometimes distracting--I didn't know which part was the present, which part was a flashback. That said, I devoured it in three days.

*thank you to NetGalley and 47North for a copy of this eARC in exchange for my review*

This one is for the nerdy girls, the problem solvers, the thinkers and feelers who have long felt the need to prove their worth to the world. Pell is the heroine written for those of us who are endlessly curious and feel that there’s always something else out there for us.

In complete honesty, I struggled to connect with the story in the first 15%, but the plot rushes at you after that, and it all makes sense in the end. The pacing, the unanswered questions in that first 15%…it’s worth it.

I love it when an author can keep both the characters and the reader curious and learning what’s happening at the same pace. It’s a refreshing experience. Once the plot got moving, I was hanging on every clue until I got to the next and the next… This book is by no means a mystery, but our main girl (Pell) is a problem solver, and the problems she has to solve are quite mysterious!

Heartwood is *chef’s kiss* tortured boy, and we love to see him lose control every now and then, don’t we?

I really enjoyed the complexity of this plot and world-building. I occasionally got bogged down in the technical descriptions, but it was fun to stretch my imagination in a totally new way! While I’m not sure I have a full grasp on how I feel about the characters, I really loved this story, and it’s another Holmberg win for me! I feel a reread in the not-too-distant future is in order!

I was really excited about this book since Charlie N. Holmberg is one of my all-time favorite authors. But this book didn't quite hit the mark for me. The idea of an ancient machine with secrets sounded super cool, but the way it played out wasn't great.

The characters felt kinda flat and didn't have the depth I usually love in Holmberg's books. Pell's engineering skills and love for ancient tech should have made her an awesome lead, but her interactions felt awkward and her character didn't really grow.

The story had a lot of potentials but was slowed down by pacing issues. It often felt sluggish, and the romantic angle between Pell and Heartwood just didn't have the spark that could've made their relationship interesting.

All that aside, Holmberg's world-building is still top-notch. The sunbaked planet of Tampere and the mysterious tower are described so vividly, creating an awesome setting for the story. But even that couldn't make up for the other flaws.

Overall, it was a letdown for me, so I'm giving it 2.5 out of 5 stars. I'm hoping Holmberg's next book brings back the magic that made me a big fan in the first place.