Monsters come in all shapes and sizes, and not all of them have sharp teeth and beady red eyes.New London. A thriving metropolis at the forefront of technological advancement and a shining gem of civilization.Faeries. Whether they come off cute and cuddly or downright predatory, they all bring misfortune or are heralds of it.Experience is a harsh taskmistress, but her lessons sink the deepest. … taskmistress, but her lessons sink the deepest. Having been taught the lesson at great cost, Kal’s rules for dealing with faeries are simple: don’t talk to them, don’t look at them, don’t give them the time of day. So when the Other Side comes knocking one fateful, stormy day, Kal, at first, pretends not to notice. Was forgetting this rule his folly?
His way of life is in great danger. His little sister, Sammie, a natural mage, is taken by Ouroboros, a criminal organization made up of raving lunatics that profit off the misery and suffering of others, and have everything to do with all the crimes of magic in New London.
Kal will go to any lengths to save his sister, even to his death. Accompanied by his sylph companion, a mischievous pest, Kal dives deep into the dark underbelly of the city, but are his hands enough to dig his sister out from the muck?
more
Loved it!
If you love faeries, magic and mayhem, you’re going to love this book! It’s full of all sorts of Fair Folk and you will not be disappointed. Fantastic world building and a well rounded cast of characters are brought to life and worth every minute spent reading! Highly recommended!
I received this book as a gift and am leaving my honest review.
I had never read a Gaslamp faerie novel but I sure fell in love with this one! The first book I have read by this author but it definitely will not be my last as I really enjoyed his style of writing and his feisty characters. Kal considered himself to be just a street rat, doing his best to survive whilst protecting his little sister Sammie, in New London Town. Father Gregory gives them a roof over their heads when they were at their wits end, but Kal soon found out that whoever entered his life ended up badly and so did the kindly priest’s life. The Ouroboros clan, a group of thugs had set their eyes on him and in order to capture him they kidnapped his little sister, using her as bait to lure Kal to their warehouse. However Kal had powers, he could see fae creatures which he made it a point to always ignore, knowing these only led to trouble, till Bell a sylph came into his life. She ended up becoming his familiar and mostly getting on his nerves with her back chat, but she had her uses too. Kal vows to free Sammie and is out for vengeance. What he didn’t realise was that his magical powers were more than he knew about and when he is taken to the other world, things take a turn for the worse because everyone knows that time between world works differently, everyone that is except Kal. I love this very thrilling adventure story, full of so called monsters and magic, a lot of love but more of betrayal and finding out that the real monsters are human! This book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger so I am off to read book 2 right away, dying to see what happens next.
A rather tragic tale. I was several chapters in before I was even able to identify both of the main characters. Several times, great, unpredictable leaps happened in the plot. Then, of course, the story simply comes to an ignominious end: apparently only a stepping stone in a much larger, unfathomable story.
I received a review copy of this book from a third party. This is my honest review.
Learning to accept one’s self…
It was one thing to tell my little sister something it’s was another to wish it was true.
And boy could I tell colder weather was moving in but one most at least attempt to keep one’s appearance on the cleaner side.
Schedules and routines were quite nessessary to keep one on track and hopefully out of trouble.
My little sister and I were very fortunate with or living arrangements with the good Father and I wanted to put my best foot forward as much as possible.
Now my day really began and that meant looking for jobs any and all jobs I wasn’t picky.
My first stop was the Bakery especially since today was such a blustery one and went to work.
But for some reason my mind began to wonder here and there
until finally it dawned on me I was whool gathering again.
As I made my way through township there area was growing in leaps and bounds with street lamps and such.
However I wasn’t looking to bring home any strays today but what I want and what really happens aren’t always the same thing.
And of course my idea didn’t pan out this time.
Okay Bell might be kind of cute however you never know when they might change to something more sinister.
But I decided to introduce her to my little sister and smiled as the two of them hit it off in a big way.
However something wasn’t right the good Father wasn’t here and then my world spun out of control neither was my sister.
Frantically I searched for her while single-handedly dealing with thugs when I finally stumbled across the dwelling where my sister’s was.
No I wasn’t about to just waltz off and leave all these poor unfortunate creatures to suffer.
I was also trying to deal with my own feelings but more importantly the tremendous guilt I felt.
I knew my little sister wouldn’t be so keen to stay somewhere without me but at the moment that was the best I could do for her.
Nevertheless my journey will end up taking me further away than I could ever imagine.
In the blink of an eye
everything I knew is gone and what I see know has been forever changed.
Sammie is Kal’s little sister
and his world.
When they are cruelly separated
by kidnap and murder, Kal must use
every resource, magical and mundane
to save her.
The unbelievable difficulties he must
overcome are astounding.
Settle yourself for a good read.
Enjoy !!
Phyllis S.
Sometime the monster is who you least expect!
I love urban fantasy and fairy tales and this book surprised me in the best way possible! The world building is brilliant and the characters are full of life. The setting in old London gave it that special touch and the story flowed well…with some unexpected twists. Looking forward to the next one.
If you enjoy Robert Holdstock or Charles De Lint I highly recommend this one.
I received an ARC copy of this book and it was a blast! I love the characters of Kal and Belle. There interactions are really funny and entertaining. Belle could have been an obnoxious character, but I wound up really liking her. There is comedy, some suspense, and quite a bit of heart break. Can’t wait to read the next one!
Our hero has a rule: don’t talk to fairies. But when his sister is kidnapped, he must work with one. He just knows this isn’t going to end well.
This story is an interesting blend of urban fantasy and steampunk, which gives it a rich setting with lots of gritty details. The story is well written and I found the scenes to be very detailed, helping to make each place real in my mind. There was also a diverse cast of characters adding their particular flavors to the scenes.
This was definitely not a light and fluffy story as many of the scenes were positively dark, both in description and actions. Nevertheless, I found the story to be engaging and was drawn in, anxious to see what came next. Overall, an entertaining read and I am curious to see where it goes next.
Recommended.
I received an ARC from Reading Deals for review purposes.
There Are No Such Thing As Monsters is Book 1 in the Gaslamp Faeries series by Ren Ryder. This is an excellent first in series book. Ren Ryder’s world building is superb and the characters are well developed and interesting. Kai has found that the father (priest) that was housing them has been murdered and his sister Sammie abducted. Since meeting Bell (a faerie) Kai has been trying to get rid of her but now finds that he must enlist her help in finding Sammie even though he does not fully trust Bell. Will he and Bell be able to save Sammie? I found this story to be an enjoyable read with a brilliant storyline that has some twists I did not see coming. Ren Ryder’s prose was phenomenal as it draws you into the story and keeps you turning pages to the end and left you wanting more. I am looking forward to the next book to see what Ren has in store for these characters. Received an ARC and this is my voluntary and honest review.
This is a great fantasy read! I loved the incredible world this author has built, the storyline and the characters. Well written this entertaining read is action packed and full of twists and turns and faeries which are not all cute and cuddly and I can’t wait to read more! A great first book!
“…I couldn’t let my guard down. Treat all faeries and magical entities as dangerous, because whether they’re predatory-looking or cute and cuddly, they all, without exception, bring misfortune or are heralds of it. On that point, I’d never been proven wrong.”
Kai, and his little sister Sammie live in New London, the technological revolution of the “new age”, populated by good and evil, fairies and mages, and “things that go bump in the night”. When Sammie is taken by Ouroboros, the criminal element in New London, it’s up to Kai and his fairy sidekick Bell to save his sister. Question is neither Kai nor Bell really want to hang around with each other very long as neither trusts the other.
How do you work with someone/something you just do not like? Sammie is the most important thing to Kai, and he’ll even put up with Bell if he has Toto save her. Author Ren Ryder has spun a gripping fantasy that in finding its feet, stumbles a bit (it reads like Japanese Magna at times) but promises to transport the reader to a different time, and lace, and leaves you waiting for Book 2. Recommended 4/5
(disclaimer: I received this book from the author and voluntarily reviewed it)
This is a story about a magical human and a Sylth who is a type of evil fairy. They go after the Ouroboros a criminal organization in New London. It is sort of funny how Bell the Sylth seems to constantly argues or talks back to Kal. Kal is trying to save his younger sister from evil forces. This is truly a great story to curl up with and lose yourself in the adventure. It is also part of a series I had to buy so I could see what happens.
I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book, but it was GOOD! I really enjoyed the unusual fae characters. I loved Belle’s blood-thirsty attitude! She cracked me up. I did NOT see that ending, however! That greatly surprised me! I am looking forward to reading the next book to find out what happens! Excellent!
There’s No Such Thing As Monsters: Gaslight Series, Book 1, is the first of a series of book written by Ren Ryder. This was a very enjoyable book, that has some twists and turns that kept me interested.
The main character, Kal and his little sister Sammie, are orphaned and it is up to Kal to look after her. He tells her that there is no such thing as monsters, as he sees the creatures outside the window tapping to be noticed.
He finds himself having to rescue Sammie from some bad people who trade in magical creatures, and during this rescue he finds himself joining with a Sylph named Bell, she becomes his familiar and they have a really interesting relationship, that includes her blood lust being sated by drinking Kal’s blood.
I found the author Ren Ryder has created a wonderful world with different realms, he ends up going to a realm where he meets other magical creatures, but when he heads back to his time, he finds that 10 years has passed, his sister is all grown up, and the world has changed. He finds Sammie has joined the bad people and her hatred of Kal is very real.
I enjoyed the growth of the characters over the course of the story, there is plenty of room for growth still and I am looking forward to finding out how it goes in his next instalment. There are periods of darkness during his adventures, with some light hearted moments as well.
I found the end of the book has left me wanting to know what happens next. I was not expecting the ending, it had a twist. His writing style was easy to read.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure along with some magic and mystical themes.
I was gifted this book by the author through Voracious Readers Only.
Well, it’s an interesting and unique mix of genres. The themes are a little gut wrenching (don’t want to give spoilers), but you definitely care about the protagonist and what’s going to happen to him. Definitely have to jump right into the next one.
This is a new author for me & I just loved this story. The little trouble maker fairy Bell & Cal were a dynamic duo. The humor alone between the 2 was great. I also thought this audio book had the perfect narrator. A fun story that makes you laugh & also full of magic.
A urban dark fantasy of adventure, humor, and magic. It contained a fee unnessary cuss words which added nothing to the story. However, it was,
Entertaining! Interesting! Fast paced action packed! Full of twist and turns, and a solid plot. The characters held your interest which made it a good read. Enjoy!
The father had taken Kal in. He had ‘the sight’. But, when he saw monsters from the other side, they saw him.
Kal made contact with a fairy and knew he would need to battle the Ourboros into submission to save his sister, Sammie. Her life weighs on his shoulders and he must save her.
There’s No Such Thing As Monsters by Ren Ryder was not what I expected, but isn’t there always a battle between good and evil when monsters are involved?
It was hard for me to connect to the characters, but I could seen some of the scenes playing out inn a Harry Potter, Supernatural sort of way. Some scenes seemed familiar, but isn’t that usually the case. I have read so many books, it’s hard to come up with a new approach to evil in a monster’s world.
I don’t have Book II, but I do have Book III, The Monster At The End of Its Road. We have a lot of magical monsters in this book, and I’m counting on there being a lot more in the next.
I enjoyed my time in New London and am looking forward to another visit.
See more at http://www.fundinmental.com
A fun-filled adventure in a wonderfully built magical world. Superb narration further fleshes out robust characters and intriguing scenes. This leaves you wanting to read/listen to the next installment of this series.
A fun-filled adventure in a wonderfully built magical world. Superb narration further fleshes out robust characters and intriguing scenes. This leaves you wanting to read/listen to the next installment of this series.