DNF Review – There’s No Such Thing As Monsters (Gaslamp Faeries Series, Book 1) by Ren Ryder (2/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 222 pages
Publisher: Derek Edgington Productions LLC
Release Date: October 18, 2019
ASIN : ‎ B07YMGSGWK
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Gaslamp Faeries series
Source: Borrowed for Kindle through Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 2/5 stars

“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. 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?

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Gaslight Faeries series. I borrowed this book through Kindle Unlimited.

Thoughts: DNF

I got about 25% of the way through this book and just stopped because it was very poorly written. The writing has no flow to it, it is very jerky and abrupt and it was hard to get an idea of what was going on. The world building was awful too, very hard to picture this New London that is introduced.

This seems to be about a young man named Kal and his sister who are struggling to make ends meet in New London. When Kal’s sister, Sammie, is kidnapped Kal has to save her. That’s what I got from the first quarter of the book or so, and let me tell you it was a struggle to get that far…this is written in such an uneven way.

The style of writing also does not match the tone of the story. The story is written in an almost child-like style (poor flow, simple language) but the content ends up being very bloody. I couldn’t figure out if I was reading a poorly written middle grade novel or a poorly written adult novel.

This was just flat out poorly written (I feel like I am repeating that over and over but it was just sooo awkward). A lot more editing would be needed to make this a good story. The idea seems to be an interesting one but is just very poorly executed. I was drawn in by the cool book cover, the interesting description, and the fairly positive reviews…I shouldn’t have been…this was a waste of time.

My Summary (2/5): Overall this feels like a very unpolished and amateur attempt at a novel. It is just so awkward to read and jumps around in fits and starts. I like the idea behind this but this book needs a lot of editing and needs to have better story flow and description.