Name: Remmi Ahmed's review of Ordinary Monsters by J. M. Miro
Item: Ordinary Monsters
Rating: 4
Author: Remmi Ahmed

J. M. Miro

A STUNNING NEW WORK OF HISTORICAL FANTASY, J. M. MIRO'S ORDINARY MONSTERS INTRODUCES READERS TO THE DARK, LABYRINTHINE WORLD OF THE TALENTS England, 1882. In Victorian London, two children with mysterious powers are hunted by a figure of darkness—a man made of smoke. Sixteen-year-old Charlie Ovid, despite a brutal childhood in Mississippi, doesn't have a scar on him. His body heals itself, whether he wants it to or not. Marlowe, a foundling from a railway freight car, shines with a strange bluish light. He can melt or mend flesh. When a jaded female detective is recruited to escort them to safety, all three begin a journey into the nature of difference, and belonging, and the shadowy edges of the monstrous. What follows is a story of wonder and betrayal, from the gaslit streets of London, and the wooden theatres of Meiji-era Tokyo, to an eerie estate outside Edinburgh where other children with gifts - the Talents - have been gathered. There, the world of the dead and the world of the living threaten to collide. And as secrets within the Institute unfurl, Marlowe, Charlie and the rest of the Talents will discover the truth about their abilities, and the nature of what is stalking them: that the worst monsters sometimes come bearing the sweetest gifts. Riveting in its scope, exquisitely written, Ordinary Monsters presents a catastrophic vision of the Victorian world—and of the gifted, broken children who must save it.

A Novel

Ordinary Monsters

Remmi Ahmed

That was the summer the cholera burned through the old quarter. Ir came in a fury, and faded with the autumn rains, but came again the next summer, so that the dead were stacked like cut wood in the muggy streets and the shops stood empty and the hollow-eyed survivors burned incense to appease whatever angry spirit was killing their loved ones.

All around her lay the shabby riverside stillness of a city still pretty in all its architecture, all of it built on the backs of slaves, pretty like a poisonous flower. 

I think all of chapter 11 has me on the brink of puking from anxiety. Mistakes were made by these adults. 

Apiecalypse Jen

Sophia 

But when Pinkertons sons rose to power she was let go, all because she was a woman, and therefore delicate, and therefore not right for detective work. She put her fist through the wall of William Pinkertons office when he fired her.

"Your fucking wall is delicate," she said to him.

Genesis (@whisperingchapters)

loved the plot, the world building, the writing (somewhat, wanted it to be more beautiful). do think there needs to be more of an emotional attachment to the characters and the dialogue should reflect the victorian era much more 

ghost girl in satin

It was good at first, the premise intriguing, the atmosphere incredible (I'm a sucker for Victorian London), and the prose beautiful. But, dear god, the pacing is wayyyy too slow for my taste (and I say that as someone who enjoyed "Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrel", which this book is often compared to) and for a character-driven novel, it's not very focused on their psychology or personality. The only characters I thought were cleverly crafted were the women (I was delighted to see that they were all very exciting in their own way), but apart from that, I couldn't bring myself to care about the children (which was kinda the point of book). I guess that if you're only here for the gothic vibes, you'll like it.

Christine

I am torn and conflicted and mad about it. I am FASCINATED by this book, by its magic system. It's exactly the kind of thing I absolutely adore, a categorized magic system with things running wild and consequences and other worlds and I liked the characters, but that's the problem - I just liked it. I didn't love the characters or the plot and the pacing was an absolute mess. I kind of forget the rest of everything I was thinking because it was like 3 when I finished it but that's also part of the problem because it just didn't leave all that much of an impact scream. I still did vaguely like it

I know some folks have not loved this but as a ravenous consumer of a big complicated story with complex magic that takes a really long time to tell, that is only the start of a series this checked all the boxes for me. 

The kids were great and they acted like kids and thought/reacted like kids and that is very hard to do well and is usually my biggest complaint in a fantasy book with kids. This one smashed the concept right in the center. The manipulative adults also another bullseye. Full marks. I trusted none of these adults entirely. I needed to hear everyone out by the end. 

It’s a thick boy but I mean, I felt it was super worth it and now I get to wait 4 years for another book so that’s so great for me I will just te read it 9 times.

Ye GADS did I love this.

I know some folks have not loved this but as a ravenous consumer of a big complicated story with complex magic that takes a really long time to tell, that is only the start of a series this checked all the boxes for me. 

The kids were great and they acted like kids and thought/reacted like kids and that is very hard to do well and is usually my biggest complaint in a fantasy book with kids. This one smashed the concept right in the center. The manipulative adults also another bullseye. Full marks. I trusted none of these adults entirely. I needed to hear everyone out by the end. 

It’s a thick boy but I mean, I felt it was super worth it and now I get to wait 4 years for another book so that’s so great for me I will just te read it 9 times.

DNF. Got 126 pages in and still wasn’t loving it. I think this is a book I’ll have to come back to some day, because it definitely has a lot of potential. But for whatever reason, it wasn’t grabbing me. 

I have mixed feelings about this book. It is VERY character driven and I personally prefer plot driven books. I think, for me, that gave it a very dense feeling. However, the characters were developed and portrayed SO WELL. They each had their own backstories and individual conflicts. I really enjoyed seeing all of them progress.

The plot is slow moving and feels like it drags at points. That certainly did not help keep my attention. I did listen to this on audiobook and I will say that it was just a little over 24 hrs. The narrator did an awesome job tho! It's just a bit of a slog.

It ended on a cliffhanger and I am very curious about what will happen next. However, I personally won't be rushing to read the next book just because this one was a little tough for me to get through.

amidpages

I have mixed feelings about this book. It is VERY character driven and I personally prefer plot driven books. I think, for me, that gave it a very dense feeling. However, the characters were developed and portrayed SO WELL. They each had their own backstories and individual conflicts. I really enjoyed seeing all of them progress.

The plot is slow moving and feels like it drags at points. That certainly did not help keep my attention. I did listen to this on audiobook and I will say that it was just a little over 24 hrs. The narrator did an awesome job tho! It's just a bit of a slog.

It ended on a cliffhanger and I am very curious about what will happen next. However, I personally won't be rushing to read the next book just because this one was a little tough for me to get through.

Falke De Sager 

This book started off great but quickly started becoming a little boring and too much. For 600+ pages I feel like nothing really happened; as in the story doesn't really move forward.

Alice Hyman

“Scared is just your head telling your heart to be careful. It’s not a bad thing. It’s what you do with it that matters”

How does this book write children so well ?Even the adults - that were children once - are so present and vulnerable. So really I am just saying that J M Miro just writes amazing characters full stop but its true they really really do.

In a world thick with smokes, smog and steam - a time when the world had started to shrink, when travelling the world took less time than you would think. We start by following Alice, Mr Coulton and Charlie. Alice is someone that I am super proud to share a name with - like genuinely it gave me a confidence boost. She’s what I mean when I say I want a badass female character that isn’t just a generic male character with a female name. She surprises her herself, she's vulnerable, she admires other women and uplifts them. 

with them and a few others we travel between Japan, Scotland, London and America. Each so vividly written that you can almost smell the smog of London and the deep mist of Scotland. We have characters- who almost despite themselves form the most adorable found family trope ever. The flashbacks were done amazingly, the dialogue was so smooth. The magic system was somewhat unexplained but I do get the feeling that we will learn more in books to come as the characters themselves didn’t know much.

Somehow each POV ended up being my favourite, and felt the main characters. You really didn’t get the feeling that a character was there just cause - each of them were a well rounded character in themselves.

This book had me questioning everything - and literally screaming at points. I cannot wait for the next book !

More thoughts to come closer to the release day 

Thanks to Bloomsbury publishing for the oppertunity to read this amazing book

Jeanne L Collier

What I imagine Miss Peregrine written for adults is like.  And I love never being entirely sure who to root for pver the course of the story...  There's always a sense that there's something more to what you see and hear from the characters.  I'm definitely invested in seeing what's in store for them all in the next book!

Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
Ordinary Monsters by J. M. Miro

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Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &Ordinary Monsters by J. M. Miro

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Join the club

Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
Ordinary Monsters by J. M. Miro