the first half of this book was so good. i was drawn in, i was curious as to what was going on with El, his recovery, the missing people, and the relationship between El and Lilliana. i was so excited to keep reading to figure everything out.

but when it's revealed who El is, the story completely deep dives into a drawn out telling of what's going on with Liliana. i think it was necessary to follow Liliana's story but for the majority of the back half of the book? it just seemed really drawn out and i only kept reading because i assumed El would come back at some point.

then she gets kidnapped to the castle, its all very interesting until she gets to the castle and again.... nothing. days of her doing nothing, El not visiting her? that doesn't make sense. not for that long. again, it seemed drawn out. then she plans her great escape which was again interesting but frustrating since the book was ending in just a couple short chapters.

El and Liliana finally reconnect but there's just nothing there. we can't tell how he's feeling. she barely discussed how she was feeling. at least give me a juicy fight, something!!!! it's just all fairly vague in the back half of the book. at the end there's a mention of El struggling with getting her up the stairs and i had to assume its because she has her own blood all over her and he doesn't want to hurt her. but that's me assuming, its not clear at all what's going on.

the ending was underwhelming. for the last 40% being about the marriage and Lilliana's new life, we should've gotten at least an extra hundred pages of what's going on at the castle and what's going on with El. there's so much unanswered that it kinda is lacking a plot. we never get to figure out why El ended up where he was in the forest and why people are after him or Lilliana. and to me, that feels like the main plot.

overall, i really really did enjoy the first half of this. and because there was so much that was left unanswered, i'd be interested in reading the next book just to see if it goes in better direction with more detail, answers, and romance.

Thank you so much to D.S. McColgan and Victory Editing for providing this eARC for review consideration via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an electronic copy of this book in exchange for a review!

Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable read! The two halves of this book felt incredibly different, but connected through the trauma that our fmc experiences at about that point. The first half read like a slice-of-life story, where we followed our fmc through her life as a farmer's daughter and the marriage expectations placed on her. The second half of the book is a story of survival and how far a mother would go to protect her child.

I found the matter-of-fact writing style to be a downside to this. I usually prefer more descriptive, flowery language. This may have something do to with the translation of this work (which I believe was written originally in German) so I'm suspicious that some of that writing style I enjoy may have gotten muddled between the two.

I feel as if I have just read two different books. I was hooked from the very beginning and it got my attention for sure. I couldn't really figure out where the story was going until a bit over halfway through the book, and then it sort of became obvious from there. I saw I feel as if I read two different books in one because the first 3/4 of the novel feels as if it is in a completely different world than the last 1/4 of the book.
In my opinion, there could be a bit more substance to this book. After finishing it, it kind of feels like the author is just using this whole story to gear up for a second book, so I found myself rushing to finish it because I was feeling a bit impatient. I think there could have been a bit more romance between El and Liliana, especially while he was staying with her family. Instead I was just really confused by their relationship and couldn't tell how he was feeling or even how she felt at times.
The parts where she marries Peter and has Annie feel a bit drawn out. I think this could have been shortened or maybe even cut completely so we get more time with Liliana on her journey and then in the castle towards the end.
On a positive note, I read this book pretty fast and wanted to know what happened next! So the story has somethin that was a bit addictive for me and I wanted to know more. I would potentially read a second book if there was a bit more to the romance and if some of the questions were answered: Who is El? What's his attachment to Liliana? Why was he half dead in the forest at the beginning? What is going to happen to Liliana's family? Is Annie half vampire?

I was thoroughly intrigued by the premise of this debut novel and had high hopes for it as I dove in, which unfortunately were not met.

From the beginning, the writing made it hard to be drawn in with the characters and their world. It was a bit dry and statement-heavy, rather than descriptive and insightful as you'd want a "romantasy" to be as the author is transporting your imagination to a made-up world. I appreciated the characters and the ideas behind the story, and while I think this book has a lot of potential to be a unique story in an overloaded "romantasy" genre, this wasn’t the right read for me.

Thank you NetGalley, A Tale of LTD, and D.S. McColgan for the arc. All opinions are my own and honest.

A Tale of Something New by D.S McColgan is the epitome of "well I did not see that coming!" and I really should have guessed from the title!

I don't usually gel with 3rd person pov, but in this case it worked and I zipped through. It's not my usual jam in respect of the tropes but that doesn't detract from the fact that it was a quick, fun read with just the right blend of romance and fantasy. The character development and world-building was on point for the first in a series and I am pretty sure it will do well

Thank you to Netgalley, A Tale Of Ltd and the author D. S. McColgan for this ARC. My review is left voluntaily and all opinions are my own

I liked the premise of this novel and the relationship between El and Lil. However the novel felt like it was missing some detail and it made me struggle to get invested. The chapters read very factually and there was little inner monologue or scenery descriptions, which made the plot rely heavily on actions and dialogue.

╰► 2.5/5 ⭐️ 0/5🌶️

I've been given an arc by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I'm giving the book 2.5 stars, rounding down for my reasons below.

There were parts of this story I really enjoyed. I liked the connection between El and Lilian, I think the life on the farm was well thought out, and the dynamics between everyone was fun. However, there felt like there was something missing here. There needed to be more internal dialogue of some sort, and some more descriptions of everything. I felt like I had to create most of the descriptions of things in my head. (This next part is a spoiler, don’t read on if you're not wanting a big part spoilt) I really don't enjoy pregnancy tropes, and it came halfway through the book and threw me off from where the rest of the storyline was heading. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the right read for me, but it might be for someone else out there.

My rating system:

⭐️: Not my vibe at all.
⭐️⭐️: I finished it, but I didn't have a good time.
⭐️⭐️⭐️: Yeah, that was fun. I enjoyed myself. I probably won't reread it, but it was fun.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: I loved it and want to read more from this author.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Perfect, amazing, everything I love in a novel!

A different take on an old tale of love and monsters. I loved this book more than I expected to. The FMC is believable as a herion with the decisions and choices she has to make, and doesn't fall into the "But he's a good man, Jessica!" trope that we tend to see. I can't wait to own a copy of this book for my collection and read future installments from this author!