I unfortunately had trouble getting through this with the typos and writing style. It looks like many enjoyed it though so I recommend giving it a try to see if you can get lost in the story in a way I was unable to

The premise of the story was good and it started pretty strong so I was liking it. But it slows down at the middle and I was getting bored because some parts of it was a little too much but it was fine. The story was pretty good all in all so I would recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy. I can say that as a debut book, this is a pretty strong one and I would want to read the next book.

Lilliana is a sweet and sheltered young farm woman. She has spent her entire life in her small village, yet she dreams of the world beyond the farm. One day she comes across the remnants of a gory animal attack in the forest. Blood and guts are strewn about the snow, and among the carnage she discovers a man who is inexplicably still alive, despite countless injuries. She resolves to bring the man home and do everything in her power to save his life. She dedicates her every waking hour to caring for this man, hoping that he will one day recover and wake up so that she can finally get some answers. But when he finally wakes, she finds that he has no memory of any of his life before the animal attack. Who is he? Where did he come from?

This book includes:
- a mysterious and handsome stranger
- small-town girl dreaming of the world beyond her farm
- really sweet and supportive male side characters
- threats of a demonic nature
- "nurse you back to health" trope
- cliffhanger ending

This is a seductive story. It is categorized as a fantasy romance, but I would say it's a bit of a slow-burn thriller with a dash of body horror. Immediately once I picked up this book, I was totally obsessed. It has great pacing, a solid cast of characters, and the suspense goes crazy. I am not much of a thriller reader because I tend to get spooked, despite enjoying the genre, but if you are a romantasy reader looking for a bit of mystery and suspense, this might just satisfy the itch. My only complaint is that book 1 ends with a HUGE cliffhanger and we are left with an unsatisfied build-up, but I guess that means I will be back for book 2.

I received this eBook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, D. S. McColgan, and A Tale of Ltd for the opportunity to review this book. This review is also available on my GoodReads - check out my profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863

Really enjoyed the setting and the atmosphere—although the cover initially made me think the vibe of the book was completely different. The start was a bit slow, but after the plot got into the swing of things, it became a very quick, enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

This book has a real cosy mystery vibe at the start and then we see the plot unravelled, revealing a much more dangerous, fantasy element. Now she must battle to protect those she loves most.

The characters in this are well rounded and easy to like. The author has a clever way of building both the world and characters in a way unlike any fantasy series or paranormal books I've read before.

I had to start and restart this novel a few times bc I just couldn’t get into it. The first half was very slow and the writing with choppy. I kept waiting for the romance and adventure, and when it finally “arrived” in the second half it didn’t feel very romantic or adventurous at all. If anything I was left with more questions than answers, and there isn’t enough of a connection between the characters (or between me and the characters) to want to continue with the series. Sorry, just not for me.

It took me a bit to get into the book, but once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed the journey it took me on. I can't wait to see what this author has instore for us next!

First of all thank you to NetGalley and D. S. McColgan for this ARC and beautiful reading experience.

I really loved the overall setting and atmosphere. This book was written really well where I felt like I was a part of the story. The imagery was wonderful and the character development was really well put together.

This is a fantasy romance with vampires and all three blend so well together. It’s definitely a slow burn but perfectly set up to make me want to keep reading the series.

I can’t wait for the next book in this series since this book was mostly building the story I’m excited for where it’s taking us.

A Tale of Something new has the potential to be the start of an incredible series, the plot of this book sounded amazing. Being an old tale of love and monsters, I found the potential right on top, however I felt like something was missing.

This is a well written book with an enjoyable plot that felt easy to follow. We have an amazing setting that feels cozy and while the beginning was slow, it gets to the right after the introduction to the fantasy elements of the story. I felt like the ending was a bit rushed and I wish we had a bigger world building.

Overall, it was a nice and interesting read and I think it will be better to a younger audience. It certainly has the potential to be a great series.

Thank you, NetGalley & the publisher, for approving me to read this arc and write this review.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for providing this arc.

The premise of this book intrigued me so much and the cover is gorgeous but sadly it fell terribly flat :(
I didn't enjoy my time with the characters. Some tropes just don't vibe with me and this book contained them..
Giving it 2 Stars. Sorry to the author, this just wasn't for me!

This book has the potential to be a really incredible series. We follow Liliana as she meets a stranger in the woods and nurses him back to health, all whilst trying to uncover a mysterious secret about him. A Tale of Something New is a very well written book with the plot being enjoyable and easy to follow. The setting is absolutely adorable and creates a really cozy and welcoming environment, This wasn't my favourite story with the plot line being a trope that I don't particularly enjoy but it was still a worthwhile read and whilst the book moves very quickly, it sets up perfectly for the next book in the series.

I did not enjoy the first 20 percent of the book I read, I found the typos and the way this was written to be very off putting.

I love the plot and tropes the book was advertised with all my heart but unfortunately I didn't enjoy reading it too much. The writing style was very repetetive and the story went on super slow (I'm one for fast paced books). I didn't find a way to connect with the characters as well, which made it hard for me to read.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The writing style of this book was not for me. It felt very flat, repetitive, and slow. I know who milked the cows and what other farm chores everybody did for every day of the first half of the book. Most of the first 40% of the book felt like lists of farm chores written in choppy sentences. By the time the plot finally started to happen I didn't feel that attached to any characters. The personalities didn't really come through for me, and the plot moved too slowly to hold my interest.

I feel like this book needs some more time to be reworked.
The pacing was all over the place. The first half moved at such a slow pace then when the fantasy elements were introduced, the story hit turbo, then slowed down again.
We didn't see anything fantasy-related until halfway through the book. When the vampires were introduced, no one was overly surprised, like they knew about vampires, why was the audience not introduced at an earlier point? I wish the vampires, or tales of vampires were introduced much earlier to keep us from wondering “Is this a fantasy book?”. The grandmother could have easily spoken of myths and legends to create this fantasy world.
The story ended very abruptly; I wish we had much more world-building. It’s clear these vampires are different than the common vampires, what makes them different? Why was El able to hide that he was a vampire for so long? What is their leadership built like? Why are others trying to capture Liliana? What has El been up to? I feel like some of these should have been answered in book 1.

There was an opportunity to build a wonderful story but this missed the mark.

I was hoping I would like this more. The first half was very promising in terms of it being a cute village romance with some underlying plot/mystery to keep it interesting. Unfortunately it was downhill from there. The rabies plot introduced never really panned out. They added a heavy supernatural element that didn’t pan out much either. The story felt incomplete and rather like 3 different books that were spliced together. It has some promising elements to it but I would’ve recommended some heavy edits and rewriting before sending for publication.

A huge thank you to NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review!

I thought this book was a quick and easy read for someone putting their feelers out to romantasy. I thought the plot was interesting to keep me reading, as there was a lot of twists featured. However I did not like some of the dialogue (I'm picky with dialogue). I am curious where the next book will take us, and what is in store for our FMC.

Review posted on Goodreads (3/14/2024)
TikTok review to be posted (3/20/24)
Instagram review to be posted (3/20/2024)

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced electronic copy of this book!

Overall this book was all right. It's got a very slow build until anything interesting happens (around the 45% mark), then slows down again until around 70%, but even the action in the end fell short for me. It's majority filler that could have been removed to advance the story a little further into the planned plot instead of ending where it did. It all just felt very drawn out.

The FMC is described as being 22, however, her dialogue and thoughts read more like she is a little girl for the first third of the book. I'm curious about the potential of the relationship between the FMC and MMC, and I feel as though it should have been explored more in this book instead of waiting on future books in the planned series. It didn't give me enough to be interested to see where it goes from here.

This digital ARC was obtainable via NetGalley for an honest review!

This was an interesting read. "A Tale of Something New" leans towards a young adult audience in my opinion. Around 46% of the novel, the plot thickens. I wish there was more romance. I didn't enjoy certain tropes in this book, but I definitely see the potential!

Very interesting take on a monster story. I thought the imagery and descriptions were beautiful and cozy but there were a lot of sections that were slow or repetitive. Once we got to the castle, I was expecting a bit more action but it fell a little short.

I did think the FMC and MMC were great and I loved seeing their relationship develop. I also really liked the FMC's family, they're lovely and adorable.

Overall, I am intrigued to see what happens next.

Thank you to netgalley and the author for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.