Overmorrow had its moments, but overall, it was a bit of a mixed bag for me. Schaubert definitely has a way with words, painting a vivid picture of a future that's both hauntingly beautiful and unsettlingly bleak. The ideas were thought-provoking, and there were some genuinely striking passages that stuck with me. But honestly, the pacing was a bit of a slog at times. It felt like the story got bogged down in its own complexity, and I found myself struggling to connect with the characters. There's potential here, but it didn't quite hit the mark for me.

This book gave me quite a hard time getting through it. It felt to me like there were too many details being spat at me and it was getting hard to see what actually was necessary for the story line and what were just details around it. So often I did not know what the storyline was at all.

The addiction part in the book was really interesting to me - it felt like this had not too many details in it, plus the vagueness of the book fitted the feeling of being under-influence. These chapters about Charlie kept me reading. But that was about the only part of the story I really understood.

There were plenty of nice statements and philosophical thoughts in this book, but there were about 5 each page, so none of them really kept hanging. I think the pacing of this book was not it for me.

The world building was really interesting, but quite complicated. What helped was that the kids were also new to this world - made me feel less dumb for not getting how it all worked XD.

I felt quite weird with the age of the main characters, however. They had really complicated thoughts and more adult-like problems, even though the oldest was only 12. I also felt like they were using too complicated of words for >12 year-old kids -- but that could also be a non-native English-speaker thing. I think the book would've appealed to me more if the characters were older though, because of this.

I’ve had an email to say this book is going to be re-edited, so will wait until it is rereleased to give feedback.

I’ve been made aware there will be a revised version, so luck forward to reviewing it when it’s available.

Due to an email from the publisher dated 6 September, I will not be reading and reviewing the book for the time being. Malea kindly pointed out in the email that there were voices from the circle of reviewers/ gamma readeers that made it necessary to revise the story. I think it's great that the publisher and the people concerned are so involved in the project and want to take it forward and also seek the support of another author for the revision!

I will happily come back to this book with the new version.
Thank you for your hard work and transparency!

Email received from Malea that this book will be revised and released hopefully towards the end of next year. Due to this I won't read the current edition I received in fairness to the author and the team. Looking forward to reading the revised novel next year!

I got an email from Malea Rasalan, PR for Lancelot Schaubert, stating that this book is delayed until at least Fall of 2025.

I will not be reading this now, but will wait until the updated version comes out.

I was not a fan of the writing style of this book. It had huge huge potential but I got so lost. Almost like jumbled thoughts on paper. I liked it enough but it was a book that I really struggled through

Sorry this is not for me. Over descriptive, saying the same thing three different ways, made it difficult to read and get i to the story. A very confusing beginning.

Reading this book was like entering a whole new magical world and I loved it!
I have to admit that I had some trouble getting into it (it felt long) and getting attached to the characters, at first, but once I did, I could not put it down. The writing is detailed and beautiful and in my opinion, the whole magical world is also very well built and developped enough. I really liked it!

I am looking forward to the changes being made to improve this book. I've seen the updates via email. I think this story has so much potential and I cannot wait to see where it will go. Thank you for letting me be part of the journey there!

This is the first book I have read from this Author and I really enjoyed this book and the characters as well. The plot was well written and This book had me going. I will definitely read more book from this Author.

I struggled to understand anything in this book. From the very beginning, I found myself lost, unable to grasp the main points or follow the author's ideas. Maybe the issue is with me; that's a strong possibility. It’s likely that the writing style or the themes just didn’t click for me, but I was genuinely confused throughout the entire experience. I kept hoping things would become clearer, but they never did. I think the book is probably intended for a very specific type of reader, someone who can appreciate the nuances or understand the context better than I can. Unfortunately, I just don’t think I’m part of that intended audience.

I haven't finished reading the book (page 96 of 269):
The introduction - which in my understanding was intentionally confusing - mixed with the creative use of the language did not keep me reading at first, so I read in intervals. When the real Story began my interest also began to rise but I noticed that there is a focus on the view of the children which is not my favorite kind of books. This again kept me from reading further as the book is not captivating for me in the way it is written but the story is intruiging enough to always start again.
English is not my native tongue but I was sometimes confused: "... sat down ... too close between she and Annie". (I would have expected "her" and again I'm not sure if this is written from a childs view with a childs language intentionally, then I would have liked it better if this is only done in direct speech; or my English is just not good enough.)
I will continue to see where the story goes so this is just a first rating.

A wonderfully imaginative magical book. A bit different from the norm in its setting and tale. An excellent read.

Wow :)
What a well crafted world (and book cover) that really draws readers in! The writing doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is good for a chill fantasy book.

All in all, I was really here for the vibes and I stayed for the vibes. Vibe scale off the charts.

Thank you for the ARC!

Instead of opting for “Will Not Give Feedback”, I decided to tell you what I really think of Overmorrow by Lancelot Schaubert. First of all, let me tell you that I am probably not the right audience for the book. I think it would appeal very much more to a young adult audience or even younger. Vocabulary might be a problem, but individual differences there are enormous.

I have been a voracious reader of sci-fi and fantasy for more than 50 years, but tend more towards sci-fi. I was attracted by the cover and I read up to 61% (Chapter 19, The Process of Investigation). My problem was mainly the stream-of-consciousness style of writing. I prefer something much more straightforward. I just could not get into the characters at all and it was a struggle every page. I liked the story itself. Of course you wonder what really happened if nobody can give you any details and especially when people claim to have lost their memory. I read what other people wrote about the book and realize that I am probably more of an outlier. I won’t write about this particular book elsewhere, but only here. And of course, thank you NetGalley and Lance Schaubert for sending me a review copy of the book.

I deeply wanted to love this book. I have read all of the fantasy books that form part of Overmorrow's inspiration. I could see allusions to multiple works--there was a moment between Ellie, the main character, and her sibling that was reminiscent of Madeleine L'Engle. A situation involving slugs falling out of the mouth reminded me of a scene in Harry Potter where Ron Weasley also spits out slugs. There are some allusions to Narnia as well as a brother is tempted away and drinks a beverage given to him by a magical character (almost like Edmund and the Snow Queen with the enchanted marzipan, centaurs and such, Macbeth's witches, and a whole cast of events/happenings that feel like a nonstop series of mimicry of well-loved books. Except that these events are not at all with the same degree of warmth, connection, heart and cohesiveness that these works have. Meg and Charles' relationship is profound and their telepathic connection important. Their world contains a series of rules and scientific principles that are allegorical in nature. Narnia's four children have a close relationship where they stick together, care for each other and love each other in a way that allows them to conquer over evil. Even the story of Alice had a plot--she fell down the rabbit hole and she reasonably questions what she finds and tries to cleverly invent a way out of it. The plot through Alice's coming-of-age perspective made sense.

Stylistically, the feel of this book is rollicking and a bit nonsensical as though it is imitating the style of Lewis Carroll. While I love Lewis Carroll, I did not love the style of narrative in this book. I struggled to emotionally connect with the characters, whose emotions, motivations and sudden decisions fluctuated very quickly and unpredictably. At times I felt like I was reading a series of shifting plot events without being able to experience any kind of character development at all. I resonated with the opening scene--felt a bit like the opening scene of Harry Potter--but then the parents disappeared, leaving the kids behind. The kids then are frolicking about the park as if there is really nothing frightening or unusual. Their attention is taken up by random turns of events. Sometimes these events come in quick, rapid succession. One minute Ellie is telling her sibling to look at something, and then is questioning why her sibling is looking and what they are expecting to see. They encounter people and have random maladies occur every 2 seconds some of which are unexplainable and confusing as the Mad Hatter's tea party. They do not see panicked or emotionally concerned as they experience some of these things. It's as if they just blink and say "Curioser and Curioser." I do believe that this was a choice the author made, not just a side effect. I just happened to not really like it.

The "Maker" and the "Creator" operate under certain rules, but these rules emerge far later on and it's unclear why anyone is there to begin with. I believe this was a philosophical and allegorical choice, but it was frustrating. It didn't allow for any navigation or clear picture of the world. These children are, in essence, alone and placing themselves at risk. The grown-ups abandon them to their own devices and they are pretty much left to figure it out on their own. The adults in the room might even stare at them unconcerned even when something is happening that is quite disturbing. The older brother, yes, is gone and the plotline to go and find said missing brother is there, but there are many many aspects of Overmorrow in terms of world building that is a huge mish-mash of many different fantasy works that it becomes impossible to imagine it or understand the principles of the world. It's a world of Lewis Carroll contradictions, it seems, a kind of rabbit hole of opposite land and contradictions. The list of characters is enormous and enormously confusing. The plot is scattered to the wind and random.

So I was really doing my best to work through the book, trying to understand its intentions. There are philosophical moments of contemplation and imagination. Sort of "what if reality is different than we thought" moments. The humor can sometimes be clever and tongue-in-cheek. The problem is that I really wanted character development. And I really wanted to imagine the world of Overmorrow and understand some clear principles. I wanted to emotionally experience the magical world and imagine myself in it, which I think is why most teenagers also read fantasy. Instead, more and more and more characters, random events, rules, strange behaviors, surrealistic philosophizing happens, all without any real connection or (from what I could experience, anyway) purpose.

While there are some original things about Overmorrow--the rain, for instance--the book feels like it is jam-packed with allusions and very self-conscious writing. I felt like I was experiencing the author's taste in books and the author's sense of humor and philosophical questions more than I was really experiencing a book with a focused plot, characters that I cared out, and a reasoning behind it that allowed me to connect and put the pieces together.

As a YA book, I cannot imagine an adolescent trying to read this book, which feels even more meandering than Life of Pi. I've read many many YA books, having worked with teenagers throughout my life, and also having a teenage daughter myself. It doesn't really have the real excitement of these well-loved books. Sometimes simpler is just better. I had to put it down and admit it was not my "cup of tea" (And yes, that was an allusoin to the Mat Hatter's tea party.) With apologies to the author, who clearly loves his craft, it's a pass for me.

I really love the idea of the this book. I found it hard at times to keep with it. I enjoyed how the story unfolded but it did take me to ouch myself to finish it sadly. Thank you to NetGalley and the author for giving me a chance to read it

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book. I'm sad to say that I didn't enjoy it. The writing is very irritating, especially when the author feel the need to explain everything, even mundane things, in detail. Trust your readers, man! I DNF:ed it after 150 pages.