Ami's Hoard

PRE-RELEASE REVIEW

“Highfell Grimoire” is first and foremost a steampunk fantasy adventure rather than male/male romance. Considering that I don’t have a good record with stories I consider as ‘fantasy’ especially dashed with ‘steampunk elements’, the fact that I wish I had several more pages should clue you all in about how thrilling I find this story.

The story opens with Neil leaving to go to Highfell Hall, a charity school for orphans high in the clouds. Yes, people, IN THE CLOUDS. How cool is that, right? I think the story is brimmed with creative invention – from schools floating above cities to spells wired into pages of grimoires that are protected by bloodlocks.

I admit that I struggled in the beginning – mainly because being an ESL, I have poor ability to imagine things described in English when I don’t have frame of reference (another reason why I prefer contemporary genre). However, the story just reeled me in, as I found out (through Neil, since he’s the narrator) about “something rotten in the mysterious room of Highfell Hall”. Apart from the social injustice that Neil sees firsthand – the boys don’t get enough food and proper education, the schoolmaster and his family thinks that the lower class don’t have the rights and privileges, the schoolmaster’s boy is cruel and not above torturing the students – Neil suspects that Highfell Hall is a front to something against the law.

This is when things get really exhilarating – the secrets that Neil discovers, the plan that Neil comes up with to save the boys and bring down the schoolmaster – I was definitely on the edge of my seat within the second half of the book. I was worried that Nick’s plan was going to fail, I was scared for the sake of the boys (they’re such endearing characters)… but at the same time I couldn’t stop reading because I really, REALLY wanted to see these bad people being brought down to justice.

As for the romance – it’s there but it was one of those slow-burn relationship which took its time to build between Neil and the gruff gardener, Leofa. Again, in my perspective, the romance was in the backseat. It was still a lovely romance, though, especially because Neil never had an experience with a man, so what he felt for Leofa was new and exciting.

I think this book will appeal to those looking for some fantasy adventure, with strong steampunk element, and don’t mind that the romance is not the focus of the story. It’s a well-written one, that’s for sure.