The Crack at the Heart of Everything by Fiona Fenn is an emotional and complex story of redemption with LGBTQ romance in a fantasy setting with dark magic. From the very beginning I was intrigued by Orpheus, his snarky attitude and the way he pushed others away. As he opens himself up to love, he finds hope and healing, the only question will be if its enough to save himself and his world.
One of the writing tools the author uses that I love is intermittent flashbacks to Orpheus and Lore’s history, their childhood and eventually his meeting with Fenrir. The story slowly develops Orpheus’ relationship with Fenrir, the slow burn of chemistry between the two and tackles the trauma of Orpheus' life. I also like that the author addresses the price of magic, the consequences. I found the world rich and inventive, a blend of old and post apocalyptic, rich and complex with history. But most of all, I loved the theme of healing and love that it showed, that even those terribly damaged can learn to love.
If you like dark, emotional and complex fantasy stories with LGBTQ romance, this one is a beautiful story full of love and hope, with a wonderful ending. The characters are complicated, damaged but also open to redemption. I loved the rich and emotional storytelling from start to finish.

The Crack at the Heart of Everything by Fiona Fenn is an absolute masterpiece! From the first page to the last, I was completely captivated. The slow-burn romance had me hooked, and I found myself shipping Orpheus so hard. His pessimistic outlook and struggle to believe anything good could happen to him only made me root for him more. In the best way, Orpheus is a baby we must protect—and even Fenrir agrees with me on this one!

What makes this book stand out is that it’s told from the villain’s perspective. Orpheus feels like a reformed villain in the making, and I loved watching him grow as a character. Seeing this guy evolve, despite all the odds stacked against him, was such a satisfying journey.

Fenn’s magic system is fresh and intricate, blending seamlessly with a world rich in technology and compelling characters. The monsters and hellish creatures? Perfection! They added just the right amount of intensity and danger to keep me glued to the page.

If it weren’t for adult responsibilities, I’d have binged this story in one sitting. I’m already crossing my fingers for more books in this universe because I need to see what happens next, especially with Fifi and their love interest. Fiona, please don’t keep us waiting too long!

Highly recommend to anyone who loves a beautifully written, villain-driven fantasy with a touch of romance and lots of heart.

I actually have no feedback except that this was amazing .. I will be owning this for my bookshelf!!! I’ve never read a villain story and let me tell you I was enthralled!!!! 🫶🏻

I have to admit the book caught my attention first with the tittle and second with the cover... The story was just amazing.. This is a perfect paced book, it can be a little slow yes but I think it is important due the characters building and to know the story properly.. I liked the villain idea because the MMC's is not really the villain but it was perfect

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the author to allow me read this story´
Orpheus was amazing

This was a charming and cozy book that explored the question "what if the villain regrets everything at the end?"
I had a great time with Orpheus and loved this shy and grumpy character with conflicting feelings and touch-starved attitude (yay!)
The relationship between Orpheus and Lore ended up being my favorite and love how that was explored in flashbacks.
The pacing of the book was slower than I thought and it wasn't till the end with the final battle that I got hooked. Fenrir also felt a bit one dimensional as a character and I wasn't that invested in the relationship since the book had already established their feelings for one another in the background. I felt like as the audience I was missing out on how and why Orpheus disliked Fenrir and why Fenrir likes Orpheus in the first place.
Maybe with the relationship fleshing out a bit more I would have enjoyed it just as much as I enjoyed Orpheus and Lore's complex friendship.

Overall I thought this was a fine debut and enjoyed myself towards the end. I think if you're looking for a simple queer romantasy with the hurt/comfort trope that doesn't delve too deeply into world-building then you would enjoy this one.

This book was so twisty and clever; what I started the book believing had completely warped by the end of it as we learn more about the characters, especially Lore and Orpheus!

If you like hurt/comfort, you need to read this book!

"The Crack at the Heart of Everything" is a very interesting (post-apocalyptic?) fantasy romance. I really liked the writing style and the main characters, but the world-building was a little wonky at times. Also, despite being marketed as the villain of the book, it becomes clear very quickly that Orpheus was never really the villain, so if you want a villain romance, you might be a little disappointed.

This was such a fun book!

The characters were absolutely charming. I fell in love with both Orpheus and Fenrir. Their banter is top tier and by the end of the book I cared a lot for both of them. This book was far more sweet than I was expecting, which is a good thing! I was not expecting a wholesome Romantasy, yet here we are, and I am not even disappointed. I will admit I enjoy Grumpy x Sunshine immensely and this story was a perfect example of that.

The plot and pacing were interesting but I would characterize this story more as a character driven book and would recommend this to anyone who enjoys good characterization with well developed characters and growth.

Overall, a very enjoyable book I will reread time and time again.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own and I am posting them voluntarily.

This book is really good, heartwarming also tense and dark. Even tho, this is not a high stake sci-fi fantasy, but the natural narration about the world-building is quite well-described. All the characters are lovable. I think the genre is heavy in romantasy than fantasy itself. Sometimes, I get bored because of the pace. But, the writing is nice that has me impressed.

Thank you Netgalley and Tiny Fox Press for providing the ARC copy of this book, and thank you to Fiona Fenn for writing this book!

I love this. Orpheus and Fenrir have such a sweet relationship. I tend to get bored of books with a slow romantic build up but this is the exact pace for me. Not too fast but not awfully slow. I love the flashbacks to Orpheus as a child, they really help me understand and connect with his character. Orpheus is an unreliable narrator done well. I love how expressive and alive he feels.
The worldbuilding is fabulous. It dives more into the history of the world in the second half of the book but it was easy to follow. The writing was also very good and descriptive, and there wasn't any info dumps which I appreciated.

Orpheus is an accidental mage who after seemingly plagued by a death curse is unceremoniously banished by his bestie from the palace.

In flashbacks we learn about the brutal childhood Orpheus and his friend and Empress, Lore, experiences. They were tortured, abused, and neglected by scientists searching for a solution to a problem at the expense of thousands of children.

Orpheus has helped Lore rise in power, but at great cost to himself. After his banishment, his least favorite person, Fenrir, a lead general for Lore, follows him. On their journey Orpheus learns hard truths about Lore's actions, solves the mystery of his curse, and discovers how brave and soft he can truly be.

This is definitely a romantasy, but it's not a smutty one. It's surprisingly sweet and endearing. I love the slowburn and character growth.

➸ 4.5 stars

“For every villain who died while trying to become better.”

𓍢⊹ ࣪ thank you to netgalley for the arc!

🔮 redemption arc
⚔️ hero’s journey
🔮 grumpy x sunshine
⚔️ dark wizard x knight
🔮 hurt/comfort
⚔️ lgbtq+ representation
🔮 banter + humor
⚔️ character driven

“Alone. Abandoned. Banished. His only companion a man who he hated, the world beyond an unknown he wasn’t ready to face.”

I. loved. this. book. I knew from early on I was going to be amazing!! the story was so captivating and the characters so complex with so many layers and everything was written so beautifully.

I loved reading about orpheus’ journey! he is such a strong character. starting off as the ‘villainous’ and dark wizard who’s exiled from everything he’s ever known to his long hated rival tagging along with him.

the banter between orpheus and fenrir was top tier!! I loved grumpy x sunshine trope along with all the teasing and banter was everythingggg I loved it so much!!!

throughout this story, we get to see who orpheus really is. perceived to be evil when he is a misunderstood character the world has been cruel to. he hides himself in the fabrication of his own making because it is better than the reality around him. he craves and aches for physical touch, comfort, growing up without ever having it, no one ever bothering to. and most of all, he yearns for love. to be cared for, and truly loved for who he is.

orpheus and fenrir’s development together was AMAZING. one thing I absolutely loved was how fenrir always gave small light touches to orpheus; his arm around his shoulder, their hands touching for brief moments. orpheus never lets anyone in that close, but fenrir pushing in without ever crossing any lines and orpheus slowly warming up to him while feeling comfortable and at ease brought tears to me eyes.

another thing I absolutely loved was HOW WELL THEY COULD READ EACH OTHER!!! fenrir literally always knew what orpheus was thinking or what he was going to say before he even said anything just by a look UGH I LOVED IT SO MUCH!!! and orpheus knowing whenever fenrir was silently asking him a question as well ARGHH I LOVE THEM.

FULL IN-DEPTH REVIEW IS AVAILABLE ON MY GOODREADS!!!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)

Fiona Fenn’s The Crack at the Heart of Everything is a delightful, character-driven LGBTQ+ fantasy that flips the villain trope on its head. With snarky humor, slow-burn romance, and a redemption arc that’s both heartfelt and satisfying, this story is as swoon-worthy as it is entertaining.

The Premise:
Orpheus is a dark sorcerer who’s really stepped in it this time. After raising an army of hell-beasts and aiding his childhood friend’s conquest, he accidentally curses himself and gets exiled to the very wasteland his magic destroyed. Not great. Things get even more complicated when his annoyingly charming rival, a former general, keeps showing up to save him from imminent disaster—and insists on dragging him toward something disturbingly like heroism.

What Worked:

Orpheus. He’s a wonderfully complex protagonist—snarky, self-deprecating, and grappling with guilt, betrayal, and the possibility of redemption. His emotional journey feels genuine and well-earned.
The romance. The chemistry between Orpheus and his rival is off-the-charts. Their banter sparkles, their tension is palpable, and their slow-burn connection is full of emotional depth.
The humor. Fenn has a sharp wit that shines through Orpheus’s inner monologue and his exchanges with other characters. This adds levity to a story that also explores heavy themes of guilt, redemption, and love.
World-building. From the barren wasteland shaped by Orpheus’s magic to the intricacies of political alliances and magical consequences, the setting feels rich and immersive without overwhelming the character-driven narrative.
Why It’s 4 Stars:
While the story is thoroughly enjoyable, some of the pacing feels uneven, particularly in the middle as Orpheus’s growth occasionally stalls in favor of witty repartee. Additionally, secondary characters, while engaging, could have been fleshed out more to deepen the stakes.

Acknowledgments:
A big thank you to NetGalley, Tiny Fox Press, and Fiona Fenn for the ARC. This is a fantastically fresh take on fantasy, and I’m excited to see where the series goes next.

Final Thoughts:
The Crack at the Heart of Everything is perfect for readers who love a snarky antihero, a good redemption arc, and a romance that’ll tug at your heartstrings. If you’re a fan of The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue or The Priory of the Orange Tree, this one’s for you.

I truly appreciate the chance to read this book.
It has a lot of great elements to it, the magic, the moral character arcs, and the portrayal that you may be useful/do everything for a person & kingdom yet be thrown away as the slightest moments was a great parallel to the demands of work and connected with my personal journey too.

However, I couldn't fully get into the story sadly. I loved a lot of it but two things felt missing to me, 1 is a slight lack of dimension in certain story parts and the other... honestly I couldn't tell but it felt like I was missing something else from the story that would have hooked me.
I still would highly recommend it as I know plenty of folks would will love this and just because it doesn't work fully for me doesn't mean I won't promote the heck out of LGBTQ+ Fantasy stories!

This was a really nice and sweet, yet also tense and dark book. The premise - the empress' mage is exiled after the end of the war because he had a death curse placed upon him - is already quite interesting, and was, in my opinion, also executed well in this.
The world that it is set in kind of reminded me of The Locked Tomb series, as it also takes place in our solar system in the wake of some initially only vaguely defined apocalyptic event that is related to magic, though this book is much less high-tech sci-fi and actually tends more towards a steampunk-ish vibe. The world-building felt very natural and did not stick out as obviously being world-building, which is always nice in an SFF book.
Overall, the characters were all very loveable, the main exception to this being the empress Lore, who is revealed to be the villain at some point. However, it was pretty clear from the beginning that Lore was not gonna be a good guy. In other books, having the main character not realise that their 'friend' is not actually their friend and also not a good person, while the reader can already infer these facts can be very tedious. The insertion of the flashback chapters did go a good way to helping the reader understand why Orpheus has not let himself come to the same conclusion as the reader. It would have been nice if their relationship had been a little more fleshed out, because as is, the big emotional moment that ends the story doesn't quite hit as hard as it should have. Additionally, some of the love story also felt like it could have been fleshed out more, because while I did really like the dynamic built up between Orpheus and Fenrir, their romance scenes fell a bit flat for me.

I think this is a strong debut with a lot great elements, but unfortunately most of it just wasn't for me. I really enjoyed the world and the setting and would have loved to learn more about it in this book. I also enjoyed the romance and interactions between Orpheus and Fenrir. However, there are several things I did not enjoy. One thing I think this book needed was a final pass though an editor or proof reader, there was a lot of repetition of words and phrases (the infamous 'breath that hadn't meant to be held' appears), some events repeating, and some really difficult typos (all of these were found in the eARC, but checked and confirmed to be in the published version as well). Another thing I wish happened was diving more into the world building and magic system which I feel like were glossed over or only lightly talked about in this book. Lastly, I wish there had been some more character and relationship development specifically from Lore. I would have loved to see even just an epilogue or single chapter from her perspective or following her to see her real POV on everything.

Orpheus is a powerful mage in Empress Lore’s court however when the latest spell to expand Lore’s power leaves him cursed with hell beasts trying to kill him, Orpheus is exiled from the only home that he has known. Fenrir Rawkner has been a thorn in Orpheus’ side since the two first met and now he has made it his mission to make sure not of the hell beasts are successful.

Fenn has such a delightful writing style that immediately draws the reader into the story and keeps hold throughout. I really enjoyed following Orpheus and Fenrir and their gentle building romance. Orpheus goes on such a journey throughout this book and it was really beautiful to see him come into his own.

Sprinkled throughout the story we get flashbacks to the early years of Orpheus and Lore’s life. I loved the way that this slowly built backstory to the character and also played alongside the discoveries that Orpheus was making about himself in the present.

Overall I had a fantastic time reading this book and can’t wait for more from Fenn in the future.

This book came recommended by someone that works for the company I work for and they nailed it. I was so attached to Orpheus and Fenrir from the start and the more they bickered, the more I loved them. The Crack at the Heart of Everything is a rivals to friends to lovers where the rivalry is absolutely one-sided and one party is just so infatuated with the other. Orpheus has been taught to believe he is a dangerous weapon that people need to stay away from so it comes as no surprise that we meet him and see that he has no connections to anyone except the one person he thought he could trust. Exiled from his home, he is now headed to the Keep with someone he'd rather not spend an extended amount of time with. Fenrir has such golden retriever energy in the best way. His soft smiles and secret glances were the backbone of the two of them for a while but when we got them, I loved it so much.

The writing is wonderful, the romance makes me feel crazy in the best way, and the magic ties it all together. I loved this book.

This somewhat dark fantasy is an impressive debut novel, but it's not without its flaws. The protagonist is a dark sorcerer who is not really a villain as much as he is a victim, but his tale is compelling either way. The world is a fantasy one, but based on our world after an apocalyptic event.

This is a very high-stakes, the-world-will-end, emotional, desperate tale, with lots of violent fighting, reminiscing about horrible past events, and seeing the world crumbling. And then it's also about the intentional sprinkles of hope, friendship and love.

In the beginning of the novel the writing was sometimes just a bit confusing to me. I'm not sure if it's just me not being a native English speaker but the issue disappeared after a while. Mostly I rather liked the writing and the structure; how the world and Orpheus' past got revealed in smaller bits, keeping the reader wondering.

I actually wish there had been more of this mystery-building around 'The Incident', the apocalyptic event in the past. But it seems this might be the first novel of a series, so maybe I'll get it in a sequel. I really enjoyed this bleak world, though couple of times I did wonder about the plausibility of certain things still working hundreds of years into the future, but decided to just go with it in this world of purple hellfire magic.

The book could also be trimmed a bit. As much as I like Orpheus, his tendency to spiral with his thoughts sometimes goes overboard. His spiraling is acknowledged in the story and part of who Orpheus is, but just a few of these moments could have been snipped in editing for not bringing anything new to the story. There are a couple of other repetations here and there, but they never become a major annoyance.

So while I have a rather long list of niggles here, they are small ones, and I found this novel interesting and entertaining. There's so much promise that I'll be waiting around to see if the next book could hit it out of the park.

My thanks to NetGalley and the author for the ARC.

A beautiful book from Fiona Fenn! Thankful for the opportunity to engage in such a delightful story.