DNF. I just couldn’t get into the book. It was too wordy. It seemed like a very interesting premise, and I really wanted to give it a go. But it didn’t work out for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC of this book.
The promise of this book hooked me and the cover is stunning. I had such high hopes for this book. In the end, I had to DNF it as I just could not follow the story. Things were repeated unnecessarily and I felt as though I was rereading the same thing over and over again and still not understanding what was happening. Lots of potential in this book, but not sure the execution is there right now.

I didnt like this book. It felt like a parody of a million other books and the writing was average at best. Not a fan.

Overmorrow by Lancelot Schaubert is a bold and poetic exploration of grief, time, and the surreal landscapes of the human mind. There’s no doubt Schaubert writes with ambition—his prose often reads like a fever dream, drenched in symbolism and layered with meaning. For readers who enjoy experimental narratives and literary risk-taking, there’s a lot here to unpack.

That said, this book won’t be for everyone. The structure can feel disjointed, and the abstraction—while sometimes beautiful—often veers into confusing territory. There were moments of brilliance and emotional resonance, but they occasionally got lost in the stylistic flourishes. I found myself needing to reread passages to grasp the intent, which slowed the momentum and made it harder to connect emotionally at times.

Pros:
• Gorgeous, poetic language that aims high
• Original concept with philosophical depth
• Will appeal to fans of literary and experimental fiction
• Emotionally raw in its themes

Cons:
• At times too abstract or opaque to follow easily
• Narrative structure feels disjointed and hard to ground in
• Characters often felt like vessels for ideas rather than people
• Pacing can be inconsistent and dense

Overall, Overmorrow is a cerebral, artful novel that’s more about mood and meaning than plot or character. It didn’t always land for me, but I respect what it’s trying to do. Readers looking for a straightforward story might struggle, but those willing to sit with ambiguity and unravel layers will find something intriguing here.

I received an ARC of Overmorrow by Lancelot Schaubert from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The cover is what got my attention. It looked very Moby Dick meets Peter Pan. As with most fantasy novels it does start off rather slow. Once it starts to build, I feel like it truly hooks you and that you can't put it down.  Ellies brother goes missing and she enters this new to her magical world to attempt to find him. The whole novel is a coming of age journey for Ellie and you feel transported right with her. I do hope there will be more to come

First got the chance to discover this book in September 2024. I haven’t reviewed it since I knew it was but on work again, and I wanted to wait and give the book a second chance! I am thankful for the work that has been put in so the story could be better!
Sadly, I just think this book isn’t made for me ): The story has so much potential and I truly believe it is amazing! But the writing style isn’t made for me, i just get confused, it’s a bit frustrating ): I see the effort and the second read was definitely better (from my memories of the first read..), so I am sure this book will find its public <3 I am kinda sad i couldn’t fully enjoy it, so i hope others will!

This book had a lot of pontential. The main characters, despite being kids, were turning out to be complex. There was a new and original world-building. Also, the main motivation for Ellie's journey was well established. Even since the first chapter you can feel empathetic for her. But, I couldn't keep reading the book after the first few chapter because it became really confusing. I literally didn't know what was happening or who were the new characters that were introduced, which is a bummer because the book seemed intriguing. Perhaps a glossary with certain terms of at the beginning of the book could help as a guide. Aditionally, the content or the events could be better organized and the comparisions were odd. Anyways, thanks for the opportunity for reading Overmorrow, even though it wasn't the boook for me. Best luck on the release day.

Lancelot Schaubert’s Overmorrow is a dazzling, high-concept fantasy that blends urban magic, sibling devotion, and existential stakes into a wildly original adventure. When Ellie—the pragmatic middle child of diplomats—discovers that her brother has been kidnapped by Oblivion, a monster that consumes memories, she plunges into a hidden New York where enchanted rain (Overmorrow) awakens ordinary people to the wonders and terrors lurking just beyond their perception. Armed with a “seer’s sight,” Ellie races to recover the stolen source of the rain before Oblivion erases humanity’s awareness of monsters altogether, leaving them defenceless.

Schaubert’s imagination is the star here. The premise—monsters thriving in forgotten gaps of collective memory—is both clever and haunting, riffing on modern anxieties about distraction and historical amnesia. Overmorrow’s magic system feels fresh, with its luminous rains and bureaucratic “megacosm” of unseen forces, while Oblivion makes for a chilling antagonist (think The Nothing from The NeverEnding Story with a digital-age twist). Ellie’s voice crackles with wit and determination, her failures making her quest feel earned rather than destined.

That said, the novel’s ambition sometimes outpaces its clarity. The rules of Overmorrow’s world can feel nebulous, and the pacing whiplashes between contemplative and frenetic. Still, Schaubert’s prose is lyrical and precise, particularly in quieter moments where Ellie grapples with grief or the weight of being a “normal” girl in a mythic struggle. The thematic depth—how forgetting enables predation, how wonder demands courage—elevates this beyond mere whimsy.

DNF at 40%.
Life is too short to stick with books that you really aren’t enjoying, and that’s what was going through my head from about the 10% mark. I enjoy an interesting and unusual writing style —- I really like 2nd person —- but this was really not enjoyable for me. It was inherently confusing, with so much happening at once but also nothing at all. Things were over explained but I still found myself confused about every little thing in what I read. The first chapter was interesting, and I was onboard with the confusion I was feeling there, but when it continued and got even more vague and convoluted, I realised that I had to let the book go. I had no idea who any of the characters were, nor what they were dealing with or what they were thinking.
Unfortunately not for me.

Lancelot Schaubert’s Overmorrow is a vivid and lyrical dive into magical realism that blends childhood imagination with mythic stakes and modern allegory. At its heart, this is a story about memory—how it shapes identity, how it protects us, and how dangerous it is when stolen.

The novel centers on Ellie, a perceptive middle child caught between diplomatic parents and a missing older brother. Her world fractures when she becomes convinced that a being called Oblivion has kidnapped her brother to use him as a sort of human hard drive—a chilling metaphor for the burdens we sometimes force others to carry. Things shift from strange to surreal when Ellie is touched by Overmorrow, an enchanted rain that grants her a seer’s sight, allowing her to see the magic and monsters hidden beneath the mundane skin of New York City.

The beauty of Overmorrow lies in its imagery and depth. Schaubert doesn’t just build a fantasy world; he overlaps it with our own, turning city streets into mythscapes and rain into revelation. The magical rain isn’t just whimsical—it’s a symbol of awareness, a call to remember what we’ve let fade into obscurity. And when Ellie discovers someone has stolen the source of the rain, her quest becomes urgent: without memory, there’s no defense against the monsters that once lived only in our nightmares.

What elevates Overmorrow beyond a simple hero’s journey is Ellie’s failure. She stumbles, over and over, and each setback forces a deeper reckoning with grief, doubt, and responsibility. The novel’s central conceit—that forgetting monsters gives them free rein—is a powerful commentary on denial, trauma, and cultural amnesia. It’s a warning wrapped in metaphor: we must remember even the painful parts of our past, or risk being devoured by them.

This book is not always an easy read; its dreamlike logic and shifting rules may challenge readers looking for clean resolutions. But for those who appreciate layered storytelling, emotional resonance, and a protagonist with equal parts heart and tenacity, Overmorrow is a haunting, rewarding journey.

Verdict:
A richly imagined and emotionally intelligent tale, Overmorrow reminds us that memory is both shield and sword—and that even magic rains can’t wash away what we choose to forget.

Ellie believes that a monster called Oblivion has kidnapped her older brother to use as a back up memory of sorts. She gets the gift of a sort of magical seers sight for. The Overmorrow, a magical rain, and attempts to save her brother against great adversity but discovers that the monsters are trying to make people forget them because people can be easily devoured by the monsters once they forget the monsters exist. All of this adds up to a grand and almost lyrical adventure, a fight between good and evil. It’s a good book, very reminiscent of Narnia or perhaps a Wrinkle in Time in many instances.

I want to start this review by saying this book has so very much promise, but this version is ultimately not for me. I would be willing to read the new version when it comes out later this year. The whimsy is present as is the passion for the story but the presentation is very disjointed. I had a hard time following where we were and how we got there and the children just didn't seem like children. All in all it was full of beautiful ideas but not for me.

I’d like to thank Lancelot Schaubert, Net Galley and Vale Publishing for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overmorrow follows Ellie and her two younger siblings-Levi and Annie- on their journey through New York and the magical place of Overmorrow to find their missing older brother. While on the quest to find their brother they learn someone has been stealing the magic rains, and they believe the person involved is also behind Charlie's disappearance.

I would like to start out this review with a note that I received an email saying there will be a republishing of this book in fall of 2025 when edits have been made and I would like to reread it then.

I think there are so many great ideas in this book, I could feel the ideas of whimsy, but sadly I didn't get immersed in them due to the weird style of writing. I can tell the author has a lot of passion for his story and his craft, however I think his thoughts about life and the world are projected into the story through the mouths of his characters in a way where they have no personality. The children do not act their age at all, and they say very strange things, not just weird magical realism things, but simply things a child would not say.

In addition to that, there are characters that pop up out of nowhere, plot devices that are brought up and dropped without a second thought or having ever gone through the entire arc. There were so many things that should have been edited, five times over even. Which is why I say I'm interested to read this after it gets republished, because I can see how amazing this story would be if it had just a bit more structure. It was a lot of tell not show, because many things were overly explained and detailed in a way where you forgot what originally was going on and it made it so hard to follow, I spent most of the book confused.

I also can see the influences and inspirations in this book, and would possibly change a few things up in that sense so it doesn't feel like a copy of those, which in most cases it doesn't but this isn't a retelling of anything it's an original idea and story. I would like the characters to have more personality, because they felt like empty vessels to explain the authors thoughts and feelings of society and how things work. There were also pages and pages of ramblings about unimportant things that had nothing to do with the plot, and dialogue sections that are absolutely not needed.

All this being said, I can tell Schaubert had a great idea and a lot of passion for this story, and maybe didn't have the best follow through, and a lot of it can be fixed with some good editing.

Trigger Warnings I Gathered: kidnapping, addiction, underage drinking, alcoholism, abandonment

So, I was really looking forward to reading this book—the cover and description promised a gripping magical story. But in reality, I had to take a few breaks while reading because it was hard for me to get into the story. There was just too much going on, and it was very easy to get lost in the characters and events. Unfortunately, Overmorrow wasn’t for me.

This book was not for me. The premise sounded interesting: a mystery mixed with magic. I could not connect with the characters. The prose was overly complicated, and the random shifts in POV seemed unnecessary. There were also moments when the author seemed to break the 3rd wall and add in their opinions, which took me out of the narrative. The main goal was not achieved, and it didn't seem like a lot happened to get the heroes closer to their goal. This felt like a lot of exposition and rising action.

I'm sure this is a lovely book, but I just couldn't get past the first chapter. It felt too convoluted for a children's book and did not pull me in a way that I would've liked. Love the cover art though!

OVERMORROW - LANCELOT SCHAUBERT

I read Overmorrow a few weeks ago, and something that still stands out is how inventive and unique this story felt.

There's a lot that I liked about the book. As the synopsis suggests, Overmorrow has our world coexisting with a magical one, one on top of the other. Most people can't see this other world until a magical rain called Overmorrow reveals it, along with the magical beings who live there. I also appreciated the main character Ellie and her instinct to find out what happened to her missing brother.

The writing style, for me, created a barrier that stopped me from fully investing in the narrative. Time and space are loose concepts here, which made me feel disoriented and confused much of the time. Although I get the reasoning behind this choice, as the children would likely feel as discombobulated if they suddenly encountered all these magical beings and events. But it makes for a more challenging read, no matter how good the concept is.

However, there are plenty of people who enjoy this style, which is dreamlike and heavy on exposition. If you love the idea of a crazy, imaginative fantasy world that's written in a similar vein, then Overmorrow is the ideal book for you.

Release date: 2 September 2025

Review score: 3/5

TWs: addiction, injury detail, d*ath, abduction

I read this book back in 2024. I completely forgot i read it. I actually enjoyed reading this i recommend reading it. Its well written.

I was gifted this book by the publishers at NetGalley and as much as I wanted to like this book and was curious about it, I just have an extremely hard time of getting myself to push through reading this book. There is a lot of back and forth, twists, a complicated world. The main character, Ellie, is more of an adult than her own parents, her parents have no idea what is going on, and the rest of the siblings are relying on this girl in hopes to find their older brother in the world of Overmorrow. If you like complex worlds and characters with a mix of magic in the real world, you'd probably like this book!

This book was very confuluted.
It's currently being revised. Will come back after a reread. I can't wait to see the changes