Thank you so much to NetGalley, Tiny Fox Press, and Fiona Fenn for this ARC!
*all opinions are my own*

Cursed and sorrowful goth daddy, brooding sorcerer, Orpheus, may radiate an aura of misery, but all he truly needs is love and a more positive crowd of friends who can appreciate him for who he is. Enter General Fenrir Rawkner, a man whose sun-drenched personality could easily land him captain of any cheer squad. With a smile so dazzling it practically screams "Colgate sponsorship," Fenrir’s charm and boundless optimism are impossible to ignore, making it difficult for our grumpy sorcerer not to fall for his irresistible charms.

Honestly, to me, Orpheus felt more like a villain by association than someone truly evil. He’s a softy at heart, just shaped by a rough upbringing. I might be biased, though, I tend to side with the villains’ point of view more often than not.
This enemies-to-lovers, grumpy-sunshine story had me giggling and laughing hysterically at their antics and dialogue, but it also gave me plenty of moments where I definitely needed a tissue or two. It’s cozy and romantic, with just enough thrill to keep you on the edge of your seat, plus, dragons! (Though I might be biased, because any story with dragons immediately piques my interest.)

Fiona’s story captivated me from the very beginning. With its amazing plot, wonderful characters, and a post-apocalyptic world that often gave me clockpunk vibes, it’s simply fascinating. Da Vinci would be proud of the inventions in this book, especially Achates, a Netherflame-powered horse that I’m sure would leave him in awe. The interludes between backstory and present action felt like watching the curtain rise and fall at an opera. I can’t believe this is her debut novel! It’s definitely going on my list of books I wish I could read again for the first time.

I love the following things - a really good backstory, very competent MC, a storyline that is more than just the romance. This book had all 3! Was a really fast engaging read and I like that the name of the book really fit in more ways then one.

The Crack at the Heart of Everything is the story of a man whose his entire worldview comes apart at the seams. Orpheus believes the world to be cold and transactional...only to discover warmth and kindness for the first time in his life. I enjoyed seeing him grapple with this new reality and relearn what love should look like.

Creative worldbuilding is one of this book's strengths. The archane technology and monster concepts were fascinating. I was so invested in piecing together memory fragments and subtle environmental cues to uncover this book's history. I was NOT expecting the picture that formed in the end.

Thank you so much to the author and publisher for the chance to check this book out for free. I'm leaving this review of my own accord.

I can’t explain how much I loved this book. From the moment i opened this book i was obsessed . I see myself in Orpheus and I see myself in Fenrir. Their slowburn romance was beautifu executed and it was an experience to read what they had to go through and the unsure future between them.

This was phenomenal! I wasn't really sure what to expect from this debut, but the description had all of the things I like: villain seeking redemption, magic, romance. What I got was so much MORE than I had hoped. Full of humor, heartbreak, and love.

After helping his friend conquer the world, Orpheus finds himself cursed and cast out of the only home he's ever known. Suddenly he is alone with only his rival, general Fenrir Rawkner. As he discovers the world in hopes of breaking the curse, he is faced with the reality of his actions during the war. Now he has choices to make he never thought he'd have.

From the first page I was hooked. I absolutely love Orpheus. Watching him grow was a lovely experience, albeit painful at times. The romance was sweet with enough slow burn to keep me interested. The world was extremely interesting and surprising in a lot of ways. This book almost feels cozy, except the stakes are pretty high and things get brutal at times (see: gore, death, etc.).

This really is an exploration of Orpheus' character and deeper than that, on choosing your own path and adapting as you learn more. I would argue as well that there is some rep for depression through Orpheus. While not explicitly stated, I saw a lot that of that in the book.

no matter how they’re delivered, there’s always something fun to read in stories set after the supposed main story. i liked reading both how our “villain” (loose definition) mc grappled with the weight of his actions, finding community, love, and change around him; story-wise it had a lot of potential. however, many things didn’t click with me, mostly around the tone of the storytelling which was incredibly jarring against the actual events of the book and made it feel incredibly disjointed and hard to follow.

What a fantastic debut!

Our story follows a Dark Wizard, Orpheus, who has lived his whole life in the palace keep. He sees himself as the “villain” of the story because his power was used to destroy the world, in turn, causing a Death Curse to be cast on him. Or so he thinks. Along for the ride is Fenrir, a Castle Guard, who is everything that Orpheus is not. Watching their relationship unfold was so sweet!

It’s so refreshing actually having 30 year old main characters. This was also a very character driven story. So we’ll hopefully get more world building in the next book. I know the main character saw himself as a Villain, so that’s why it’s being advertised that he’s this Dark Evil Wizard, but he’s not. Not even a little bit. So that’s a bit misleading.

All in all, I definitely enjoyed this one and I’m already looking forward to the next book!

A huge Thank You to NetGalley, the author, and Tiny Fox Press for a copy of the eARC.

I picked up this book because of the cover, and with a quick skim of the blurb I thought it was for me.

The story follows Orpheus, the mage, who has used his magic to help place Lore on the throne as Empress. However, followed by a curse, Lore has now exiled him from her palace. Fenrir, who was Lore’s General, decides to accompany Orpehus in his exile and hunt for the cure to the curse.

The story was pretty genre bendy. Fantasy and post-apocalyptic can overlap and influence each other, and this sotry seemed to really play on that. It was also interesting to hear the story cover the “after”. Often stories focus on the Gaining the Empire part. This story starts with that already complete and goes “ok now what?”

The chemistry between the characters didn’t quite work for me, in the sense that I didn’t get the sweeping, deeply romantic enemies to lovers that I has expected. But it’s two men, who have spent a good chunk of their adult lives working towards a goal, achieving it, and then starting to wonder “are we the bad guys?”. In that setting heart eyes don’t seem like that much of a high priority.

&nbsp; I was initially so excited to get my 1st ARC from NetGalley on a story that I was expecting to like, given the blurb and beautiful cover. Alas, overall this story suffered from poorly setting up stakes and plagued with a whole lot of telling and not enough showing. <i>The Crack at the Heart of Everything</i> had the promise of a magic-wielding protagonist showing development through redemption after his banishment from the Guilded Palace, decreed by his his childhood best friend, the empress. However, since the groundwork for laying out the context of what happened was done so vaguely, what should have been a gut-wrenching betrayal from a best friend, instead lead me to feel apathetic.

<b>Humor Was Not Hitting & Overly Irascible Reactions</b>
&nbsp; • As the blurb proclaims this is meant to be a "character-driven story" with "snarky humor"
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; • What this apparently translated to was spending a lot of time with Orpheus's biting remarks when he speaks or in his paragraphs-long monologs
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; • And, to my dismay, instead of hilarious comebacks, what actually happen is Orpheus was just written in a way that made him seem overly irascible, reacting with such great aggression in his responses, it really did not make sense, given what was happening:

<i>Orpheus blockaded the palace's Library, which he doesn't own btw, and Fenrir had to sneak in</i>
<blockquote>
&nbsp; General Fenrir Rawkner stood tall in the window's sunspot, patting book dust from his knee like he fucking belonged there.
&nbsp; Orpheus bit down on his tongue and resisted the urge to snarl.

...

&nbsp; "Fifi?" rose out of the quiet. "Is that you?"
&nbsp; Of course it was him, who else would it be? But like hell he was going to come crawling out of his hiding spot for <i>Fenrir</i> of all people. He'd rather throw himself off the mountain--or at least out the window.
</blockquote>

&nbsp; • Hmm...seems a bit of an overreaction to someone. But maybe Orpheus considers the space his "sanctuary," but still, he has no right to feel righteous if it is not, in fact, his space. This menacing demeanor does not add any "snark" or humor, it just makes the character seem illogically angry all the time.


<i>After Fenrir saves Orpheus by killing a hell-beast that, unbeknownst to Orpheus, was about to attack him</i>:
<blockquote>The only thing keeping him from plummeting into a pool of man-eating Hell Rat remains was the hand suddenly tangled in his collar.
&nbsp; "Whoa there, Fifi." Fenrir grinned down at where Orpheus hung.
&nbsp; Orpheus kept his head high and his mouth shut as he looke dinto the face of the single person in this whole hells-damned place who had the actual gumption to <i>touch him</i>--to save his life entirely notwithstanding....
&nbsp; "Keep your filthy hands off me, Rawkner," Orpheus finally snarled once he was upright. Overhead, the scaffolding creaked as the workers scrambled away. Orpheus considered his chances of successfully dropping it on Fenrir's head before Lore got a good look.</blockquote>

&nbsp; • The guy saves your life, is not gloating, and for some reason O is like "stfu i want you ded" -- like what kind of response is that? I feel like we're missing some context here if you find this reaction logical...

&nbsp; • I have more instances of "snark" (a.k.a illogical aggression, void of humor) highlighted, but you get the point. You'd expect maybe we'd be given an explanation for why Orpheus hates Fenrir so much to at least make it make sense. Which brings me to my next issue

<spoiler>
<b>Unconvincing Chemistry (or lack thereof)</b>
&nbsp; • One demonstration of the author "telling and not showing" is regards to the setup of the romance between Orpheus and Fenrir.
&nbsp; • Seems like Fiona Fenn was attempting to set up some enemies-to-lovers romance here, but without actually doing the work to <i>show us <b>how</b></i> they were even adversarial in the 1st place, other than the vague mention of "so they were rivals. trust me. now watch them fall in love, isn't it so darling?! look how much Orpheus blushes!"

<blockquote>
They'd never had the kind of relationship that lent itself to talking unless it was to insult or outright gloat. Orpheus wouldn't have called it a rivalry but it was no secret that the two of them had been the closest of Lore's inner circle, and to keep that position they'd made a habit of trying to outdo one another, in whatever way they could serve her best.

...

Orpheus wanted to scream. This wasn't their usual dynamic. No, their usual dynamic involved trading barbs like currency and then moving onto spells and sometimes knives--or that one time, in Fenrir's case, a crossbow.

...

as if friendly touches were a thing that existed between them, rather than barbs and insults and spells and crossbolts.
</blockquote>
&nbsp; • Telling, not showing. What did they do? What was the <i>impact</i> of the adversarial actions? Did one send Lore flowers and the other took credit, thus garnering unmerited favor? Did one set a whoopee cushion under the other's seat in an important meeting between state heads that ultimately lead to lost respect and a foiled peace talk? Let the people know!!
&nbsp; • Side note, the repetition of just telling us that past events took place, made me feel like I was low-key losing my mind or there wasn't enough editing done and the nearly same phrases used more than once. If it was an event that we were familiar with and we're referencing it again with "barbs, knives, and cross bolts," that I could understand more. But these are opaque occurrences of the past, never shown the context.
</spoiler>

<b>Disparate Emotions between Character and Reader & Written Form of a Laugh Track</b>
&nbsp; • Due to the lake of stakes being setup, often times the characters reacted in ways that did not match how I felt as a reader, since I was largely apathetic to the events that occurred, as the context about what happened in the past was either missing or only "told" and not "shown" examples of what happened.
&nbsp; • One of the 1st examples is Orpheus's irateness, which I detailed in sections above.
&nbsp; • Another is <i>all the laughing</i> that characters have to things that are just not that funny.

<blockquote>
&nbsp; "And why, exactly, do you care?"
&nbsp; Fenrir might be mostly muscles, but there was obviously a brain somewhere in there too...Fenrir held his eyes and said, "Because Lore's a cold-hearted bitch,"
&nbsp; It was too much. It was too different. No--it was all too <i>strange</i>. Orpheus couldn't stop himself from <i>laughing</i>.
&nbsp; It tore through him, a violent sound that erupted out of his chest and then wouldn't stop. His stomach tightened to the point of pain, until he hunched over, arms wrapped around his middle, face contorting while his laughter grew louder, and then thinned, dissolving into what could be called a gigle and still, he couldn't <i>stop</i>.
</blockquote>

&nbsp; • Tell me, was this that funny to you, dear Reader? b/c Orpheus thought it was hilaaaarious.

<blockquote>
&nbsp; "She's smart," Orpheus said..."I can't understand why she likes <i>you</i>."
&nbsp; The rumble of Fenrir's laughter moved through him like a tremor
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
&nbsp; "But it's <i>nothing</i> to that damn Dark Flame....but the only fucking person who can work with it is this--ah--"
&nbsp; Red abruptly went silent, caught mid gesture, hand half raised towards Orpheus in obvious exasperation.
&nbsp;"...No offense taken." Orpheus paused, then said, "though I believe the word you're looking for is asshole."
&nbsp; A smile twisted Red's mouth as she tipped back her chair and raised an eyebrow. "Well, I didn't want to make Fenrir randy by bringing up your asshole."
...
&nbsp; "Okay, <i>okay</i>," Fenrir wheezed, waving a hand a Red while the other clutched his chest, heaving. "That was good. I'll give you that one, that was really, </i>really</i> good."
</blockquote>

&nbsp; • Needless to say, I did not find the above situations remotely as funny as the characters in the story did. Is the author trying to make us laugh? For me, since it did not hit, instead it feels equivalent to an in-studio audience for a sitcom prompted to "APPLAUSE." Here we're prompted in written format by Fenn to "LAUGH" when you see the character laughing, but instead I'm left with a sense of falling flat.

&nbsp; • Another instance of emotional disparity is when Orpheus was banished from the palace. Was this intended to show betrayal? But we don't even know Lore and Orpheus's past well enough to understand why this is even impactful yet, so it's like ok, fine, let's go out on an adventure?

<b>Character [Under]development</b>
• &nbsp; We're, once again, <i>told</i> Orpheus is smart and other characters like Red, when meeting him, marveled at his ingenuity. But little did we see actual examples of him doing "smart" things. In opposition, Fenn described Fenrir as muscular, and at least we saw actual evidence of this (him fighting hell beasts, being a general, etc.)

• &nbsp; We're told and not shown, once again, this time how brilliant Lore was as a thoughtleader

<blockquote>
&nbsp; "I don't want to make an impact on people," Lore says, the most words Orpheus has ever heard her use at once, and with a vehemence that feels unexpected--important. "I want to make an impact on the world."
&nbsp; He realizes then, how much bigger Lore dreams. That for how little she speaks she is thinking on a scale far grander than he ever conjured. Big, luminous, enormous dreams that put the heroes hidden away in these books to shame. A tale that the Orpheus of old would have written poems about, passed down for millenium, generation after generation, until the story of Lore becomes something of legend--a hero for people to remember, when their lives grow hard and hope feels lost
</blockquote>
&nbsp; • Gosh, that was a whole lot of telling and not any showing. What did she do? Did she organize troops? What plans did she make? Did she invest in some great agricultural innovation for society? What compelled Orpheus to give her power from hell and think "yes, this is a great idea!"
&nbsp; • Because of the lack of context, this ends up feeling like florid writing, with little impact

<b>Insufficient World Building: Setting and Magic</b>
<spoiler>
&nbsp; • People are swinging around swords, there's a place, and crossbows being used to attack "rivals" -- seems like a typical Middle Age fantasy setting
&nbsp; • But then we discover that it is in fact Earth with some cataclysmic event that took place on the east coast. And people are rediscovering technologies that folks once had. What isn't explain is how expansive are the rediscoveries in this world? Where is the world technologically now? Apparently Fenrir flew a freaking plane...so are they commonplace enough for him to just have one on hand? How interesting, b/c the palace was just getting the technology to switch out some light sources, never more complex engines. We have amalgams and planes, but why no cars? Did this Incident affect just the U.S.? What about folks across the globe--did they get sent backwards in time technologically too?
&nbsp; • It's been described in the past that Orpheus was so useful to Lore. But what did he do exactly? What did he engineer? Him summoned Ohm seems to be the only tangible example we're given honestly
</spoiler>

I have more highlights in the story, however I'm exhausted from just typing the above. Suffice it to say, I was disappointed in TCatHoE, even though I was initially hoping to root for a new debuting gem.

It is a difficult book to judge because I liked all the elements of this story, BUT they did not work together for me.
I liked the mage and the hero, I liked their personalities and their background stories, but I didn't like them together as a couple.
I needed to see more of their past, how did they fall in love? Where are the scenes when they bantered and became "enemies"?
At the beginning of the book we know they have always "argued" and they have a bad relationship but we don't see it.
Lore... we get to know her slowly throughout the book, but it's not enough and for me this knowing comes too late and it doesn't have the enough impact. And Ohm? Too little information about him. Not enough.

The world building and the history of the world in this story is too slow, and I know it's part of the style, but I didn't connect with the overall storytelling.

The Crack at the Heart of Everything is a story of actions and consequences, stepping outside of your own perceptions, and self-discovery.
Orpheus has never left the Gilded Palace. It's his home. The place where he's safe. Where he met Lore, his only friend and the emperor he serves without question. But after helping her finally win the decades-long war she's been fighting, he realizes that none of his understanding of the world is true.
With the help of Fenrir, Lore's ex-general with whom Orpheus has had a long standing rivalry, he learns of the world outside of the palace, the place he formerly had in it, and the place he may want to have.

Overall, the magic system and history in this story were fun to read about. I loved the hell beasts and the difference between old tech and arcane. However, Orpheus and Fenrir both felt a little one-dimensional despite all of the growth they were obviously going through. Fenrir was always a jokester, Orpheus bristly and angry until he was a sobbing mess. Which I hate to paint as a negative because I do love some heavy emotions, but they didn't hit for me and felt almost too forced. However, I do feel like this story will have its audience, and the meat of it was good. Rounded up from 3.5

Whilst the beginning of this book had me a little puzzled and grappling for understanding, I’m glad I continued to read on. It quickly became evident that I was reading from the end of a major event and as the reader I was being thrown into the aftermath where the villain comes to terms with their part to play in a war. It was quite an interesting perspective to be immersed into and while I did struggle to read through some sections where there was an implied understanding of certain fantasy aspects, I otherwise quite enjoyed reading this. Definitely would still recommend this book to others and am thankful to have been given the opportunity to read an ARC for The Crack at the Heart of Everything.

I was initially drawn to this book because the description sounded right up my alley. I’m happy to report that it did not disappoint! The world-building, the characters, the romance - everything was so well-crafted! Orpheus, our protagonist, is a “villain”, and we follow his journey after being exiled from the Palace. He’s accompanied by a very dynamic cast of characters, including sunshine-y Fenrir. Their chemistry was SO good. A slow burn, grumpy/sunshine romance with sizzling tension and witty banter! Both their characters were fleshed out extremely well. I especially loved Orpheus’s flashbacks and his heartwarming backstory.

The plot was also action-packed and super unique. This is a fantasy adventure, but it also had cosy vibes. There was a perfect balance between plot and character study. You also literally fall in love with the world and characters within the first few chapters, all thanks to the writing. The lore was so refreshing, too. I was utterly captivated by the futuristic setting combined with the magic system. There are dragons, but there’s also technology - a super refreshing juxtaposition! There were also Dieselpunk elements, which was so cool.

The only reason this wasn’t a 5 star read is because the pacing was off halfway through the book. This gets better in the last 25%, so I’d really like if the rest of the book had the same pacing as the last quarter.

Overall, this was genuinely such an impressive debut! For the author to craft a standalone fantasy adventure with this level of nuance, emotional depth, and character development—while keeping it under 500 pages—is truly commendable.

Highlights:
* LGBTQIA+ romance
* Dragons and mayhem
* Anxiety rep (woo!)
* Enemies-to-lovers + grumpy/sunshine
* Unique world-building
* Character-driven stories

DNF – Wasn’t working for me

Thank you to NetGalley and Tiny Fox Press for providing me with an ARC of “The Crack at the Heart of Everything” by Fiona Fenn in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been having a really hard time with this book. I tried to start it three times in October and couldn’t make it through the first chapter without my attention straying. I finally sat down this weekend to give it one more chance, and while I made it a good 20% into the book this time, I just could not connect with it (and not just because I wasn’t fond of the character names).

The premise is right up my alley, and the prose itself is quite beautiful at times. But it all just feels very contrived.
The characters never charmed me, the world never drew me into it, and I’m still not clear as to the plot trajectory. 20% in, and I still haven’t gotten a good picture of what this world is supposed to be. I mean, according to the meal packet that was 350 years past its expiry date, I guess the story is set in the year 2409? But what that actually looks like or means still eludes me.

From what I gather, this is a far-future, post-apocalyptic dystopian fantasy (romance?) that just sort of meanders along. I’m sure it’ll work for a lot of people, but it did not work for me.

This book has an awesome premise and some really strong bones. The setting—a futuristic post-apocalyptic world that’s drifted back to a fantasy vibe is something I've seen done a few times, and I'm always excited to see it. The problem is you slowly realise this, and as certain things are reveal the language of these changes to modern language, and that is really jarring. The reasoning that the character reads a lot and so knows the names isn't really enough, it would have been better to keep terms like hermit throughout. It sometimes breaks the immersion, but it’s a small hiccup in an otherwise cool world.

Orpheus might be a bit of a crier, but hey, he’s going through some things. I have a preference for the silent type, so take it with a pinch of salt when I say he could suppress the emotions a little bit more, it just seems for a character that's been keeping things in, he spend the whole book letting those emotions out! The steampunk elements are unexpected, and while they feel a little out of place in this book, it opens up a lot of possibilities for a sequel. The world was great, but I don't think we needed everything that was in there to tell the story, because that's what the book should have focused on, telling the story, rather than taking us on a tour of the world they'd created. Because, it was a great world, but you should be given bits of info that serve the journey and the story.

In short: this is a solid 3.5-star read, but I’m rounding down to 3 because because there's just too much going on, and there's some issues with immersion and pacing. However, I am keen to see what this author does next. With a bit of polish, their next book could be amazing!

2.5 stars rounded up. Man I really wanted to like this book and the premise sounded great but it completely fell flat. The world-building was confusing, the setting a bit nonsensical, and it was incredibly hard to follow. I could not relate to either main character - they both felt lacking and two dimensional. In the end this was a total miss for me.

"The two of them stood frozen together as if time itself ticked only for them, the future held at bay as long as they never moved on from this moment."

This book exceeded all of my expectations. I’m drawn to stories with well-crafted redemption arcs, where characters heal and reconcile with their past selves, embracing who they can become despite their flaws. While I thought the build-up to the romance was a bit shallow, the way their relationship blossomed throughout was endearing to read. This was a fantastic debut and cannot wait to read her next book!

The Crack at the Heart of Everything by Fiona Fenn aka Orpheus and the mortifying ordeal of being known

I received an ARC of this book-

4.5 stars, because all the things I had a small issue with probably could have been fixed with a little more developmental editing. I have sat on reviewing this book for way longer than I should have because I really was all over the place mentally lately and was struggling to talk about what I love here without giving any spoilers! It’s really hard because the magic of it is really things that I cannot even begin to talk about without ruining that for you all, but I shall endeavor to do so.

At its core, this book is about a man (Orpheus) struggling to reconcile his past and present and his place in the world. He has participated in and wrought horrible things on his world- he literally ripped open a crack to the hells in service of his conqueror best friend, Lore. His magic and his curse become too dangerous, so she sends him away from the palace- which he has never left in his life. And that comes with Fenrir, Lore’s other general and his rival, unexpectedly following him. It is about a man realizing his power, seeing himself clearly for the first time, learning he has greatly miscalculated in his estimations of those around him, basically having to tear himself down and apart and figure out what’s even left of him after you take away Lore.

He cries, he tears at himself, he screams and wallows and sleeps it out. It’s cathartic and at times hard to watch because Orpheus is no surprise hero, in his own estimations. He really has done something horrible to the world, and none of it makes up for what has been done to him. How do you heal yourself when you suddenly find it might be your duty to heal others? How do you even handle falling in love in these circumstances? (spoiler: poorly) He sees himself as a monster incapable of fixing or changing and it's rough.

Anyway I mentioned that Orpheus is so repressed that he’s an unreliable narrator which is pretty much all I can say on the subject. The setting, the magic, the people around him- he covers it all in these layers of abstraction that made me keep gasping as more is revealed and his inner walls get knocked down. Everything is not as it seems and Orpheus as a window into that is a fucking delight beyond measure.

What a debut novel! The characters and worldbuilding! This was a book worth reading! I love seeing and reading new books that represent LGBTQA+. Thank you to Netgalley and the author for a chance to advance read this novel!

The worldbuilding is wonderful, and I liked the basic concept of the novel, but unfortunately the characters and most of the situations they found themselves in felt like stock templates from a role-playing game. So, even though the concept was unique and the redemption arc compelling, it still felt predictable and formulaic.
Altogether, I thought this was a decent first novel, and I think the author will be one to watch once she's grown into her own more unique style.