FOREIGN TO YOU had such a promising premise, but ultimately failed in it's execution for me. The writing was too full of purple prose that became laborious and at times exhausting to read. I love a poignant, beautifully written sentence or two... but Martin's "style" was sadly overwhelming, and made it next to impossible for me to become invested in the characters and the overarching plot. Both just seemed to get lost in a sea of words.

I also felt the LGBTQ+ representation was a tad misleading, and I can't bring myself to support any author or book that chooses to bury their gays.

I couldn't get into this book. It's the kind of book where I just wouldn't leave a review if it wasn't required of me. It was neither good nor bad. It just wasn't for me and because of that I didn't finish it.

I decided to give it three stars because I couldn't not leave a review

I just could not get into this book. The plot was disconnected. This was marked at LGBT but that is misleading. The main female character is really bland and passive. I probably will not read this author again. The idea was interesting with hunters and shape-shifting deer but the execution was a failure.

The story wasn’t that interesting. It didn’t pull me into the story enough for me to continue reading.

This was very enjoyable! Great characters and story telling. I'll definitely keep an eye on the new to me author.
Do you like fantasy? Then this might just what you were looking for.

Foreign To You
Actual rating 2.5 stars

Foreign To You could have been an amazing book. The premise of the book was rather fascinating and I loved the idea of the Fianna (the species of shapeshifting deer). The book seemed to draw a lot of the racial issues from real life issues that we as a nation face today. There were a couple of things about this book that bothered me. The first was the use of excessive prose. I love a book with great descriptions but in this book it seemed to be a bit overboard and at times I found that it detracted from the overall story. My other main issue with this book was the fact that a lot of the plot points didn't seem to flow together, rather it felt like they were thrown together with plenty of bloody battles and events.
I think that this book could have been amazing but unfortunately it fell flat for me. There was nothing about it that truly set it apart from any other mediocre book that I have read.

Foreign to You left me in a confused state, because I don't know how I feel about the story. First third of the book was quite enjoyable and I liked the story; world-building was intriguing and Jay and Finn quickly became my favourite characters, Jay just being so darn precious. I did think that Adelaine, the female lead, was naive and bland character; she's the legendary Maiden, who's supposed to save her people, but in reality she's clueless, passive and naive. From the beginning, I was more excited about Finn's chapters; he's more complex and he's more active character than Adelaine.

Then came a defining moment, where everything started to fall apart. Oh, don't get me wrong, there's one so emotional scene that I'm not sure I've still recovered from. But the story stagnated after it and became almost aimless journey in search of the Stag, the god of the forest. Plot started to go in different directions, but nothing made sense. The writing style's very flowery, there's a lot of purple prose and it just, well, it became a bit too extra when the plot stagnated. For me, it all felt pointless and there was moments when I just hated the story. To be honest here, I was ready to give Foreign to You one star at that point - for being marketed as LGBT+ fantasy, but never acknowledging anyone's sexuality or feelings (Finn and Jay were referred as friends, and nothing's confirmed on page) and then becoming the worst case of Bury Your Gays that I've ever read, and having absolutely bland Adelaine as second main character.

Then the last few chapters happened. Now, I'm still angry about the whole Bury Your Gays and the purple prose was a bit too excessive, but the explanations behind the myth of the god of forest and fianna redeemed the story a little bit in my eyes. I still think the characters, especially Adelaine, needed more development and the plot more direction, and certain aspects should have been handled better. I'm still a bit bitter; I expected LGBT+ fantasy and was so for it, to have two main characters, boy and girl, who weren't romantically involved with each other. Instead, there's don't-acknowledge-the-feelings-and-bury-your-gays trope, which just makes my blood boil.

The premise of Foreign to You is interesting and absolutely unique, but sadly the execution didn't meet the expectations. And Jay's such a precious cinnamon roll, I loved him so much. I'm so torn apart how to rate this, that I'm just going to give it two stars and they're for Jay alone.

Loved it! Original story and I've always loved books with different characters narrating the chapters. Looking forward to the next book!

THIS. WAS. COMPLETELTY. AMAZING.

It was beyond any expectations I had and I completely, totally, utterly, fell in love with this book.

I don't even know where to start. I'm truely convinced Foreign to you is an UFO. I rarely read something that unique, rich and complex. Everything I thought before starting this book was wrong and all my expectation has been crashed by all the unexpected magic and attraction the story had on me.

As I started reading this, I felt it. I knew it. Deeply, there was a strong conviction that I would love this to bits.

The characters are built in a way that feels authentic. Adelaïde and Finn are two opposed main characters that find something worth it in one another. It takes time and lot ot angst, but here is it. Trust. We gravitate around them and their stories; the one they share, and the one they live without the other.

The magic is in every word of the book. The world is full of it, even if the humans of the story are completely blind to it. Myths, divinities, prophecy; There's more about Norsewood than just Finn, just Adelaïde, just Hunters, or just Fiannas.

They tell you not to judge a book by its cover and they’re right. It’s just that they probably don’t mean “don’t assume a book with a pretty cover is good”... Which is exactly what I did and exactly why I’m disappointed right now. Honestly, this one’s on me.

So we got that out the way, now we all know Foreign to You isn’t a good book and we can focus on details. Why isn’t it a good book? Well, let’s start with the most obvious contributor:

THE WRITING STYLE OR JUST PURPLE PROSE

Frankly, I find it hard to call the purple prose a writing style since “style” has positive connotations for me. I know that’s not technically true but here we are anyway. I just kind of feel like people who write badly don’t have a style. And (almost!) anyone who uses purple prose, writes badly. Hence my conclusion.

The purple prose in this particular book is overwhelming, even more so than this thing is by definition. It’s not just sprinkled here and there, no. It’s in literally every sentence. I got tired after one chapter. And it’s not even enjoyable, either. I didn’t find any inspiring metaphors that shifted the way I see the world; any pretty quotes I might want to put on a wall of my new flat. Nothing. Nothing apart from overly long paragraphs that should have been trimmed in the editing process.

THE LABYRINTH OF THE PLOT

This has a lot to do with my previous point, unfortunately. Because it’s kind of hard to take control over your plot, when instead you put all your attention into producing the most convoluted descriptions of everything known to men. It’s hard for the author, but it’s also hard for the reader, when they have to look for the plot under all those useless words. So in the end, what is Foreign to You about? I have no idea.

I can list some events, very bloody ones since this book seems to thrive on that. But can I connect the dots? Do I have enough information to do that? Sorry, no. It’s just one big mess of forest descriptions and too long sentences about mundane stuff, disrupted here and there by murder.

THE TREES AND THE TREES AND THE SPACE BETWEEN THE TREES

(Quoting Siken in a vain hope of putting myself in the mood to talk about this book more? Why not.)

It would help if the characters were interesting. It always does. You can usually overlook most shortcomings of a book, if the characters are amazing and you love them, right? It’s not the case here… The characters kind of feel like all the part of this novel: pretty & shiny on the outside, with absolutely nothing to offer on the inside. They are being described as great, interesting figures, but it all falls flat in the course of the actual story. The reader feels no connection to any of them, can’t understand (or even name) the things that are supposed to drive them, can’t root for any of them.
And I quoted Siken also because he’s a gay poet and I was promised gay rep in this book. But? I would need a microscope to find it. There are hints of a developing Feeling between the main character and his best friend, and because I’m a gay reader myself, I got excited. Only those hints don’t amount to anything. We not only never get an actual confirmation that either of the guys has a romantic inclination towards men, we also never get to see a relationship or even a star of one.

I’m hesitant to say that this book has the Bury Your Gays trope, not because a gay (I assume) character doesn’t die, but because there’s so little representation it doesn’t even register. And okay, to be perfectly candid, a lot of characters die. I told you, it’s a bloody book. It’s just that, you’re not affected by any of those deaths.

THE DISAPPOINTMENT

All in all, Foreign to You is just that: a disappointment. It’s a highly forgettable book that doesn’t grab your attention even in the middle of what’s supposed to be a thrilling event. There’s some worldbuilding that looks cool as bullet point but can’t hold its own once the actual story is wrapped around it. There’s the purple prose that makes you wish you could be finished with the book the moment you start it. There’s just so much to complain about… The best part of this book is its cover.

This is categorized as a fantasy, however, I would describe it more as a whimsical fairy tale. The idea of rebirth, the cycle of life and the creation of life are reoccurring themes throughout this story. Fianna, the deer like creatures in this story, shed their fur during the warmer months similar to how trees shed their leaves as it starts to get cold; creating this notion of the cycle of nature. This story is very descriptive, becoming a bit gory at times as we read about the transformation of this shedding of bodies. There are also ferals, Fianna who can’t correctly make the transition, becoming beast like and killing anything in their path. The fabled Maiden, a pure white Fianna, is foretold to lead these ferals to the God of the forest in order to cure them.

Overall the world building, character development and plot fell flat for me. I didn't feel any connection to the characters unfortunately and I didn't really care what happened to them. The "plot twist" at the end somewhat confused me and ended with a cliffhanger. I don't think that I will continue with this story.

This story wrecked me in the best way.

Martin created a rich and magical world where the humans of Norsewood and fianna, deer shapeshifters, are on the verges of war. Where a prophecy is all that is holding them together.
His writing style is right up my alley - whimsy, beautiful and full of emotions.
I loved the mythology and legends on which the entire story is built. It added this mystical air whether everything that happened is true or not or is just another legend on its own.

The main two characters, Adelaide and Finn, are in juxtaposition to one another. You have Adelaide, who is trusting and naive, frightening of this new world of humans and unsure of her place. And Finn who is bitter and pessimistic, a non-believer and already weary of this world. Their actions lead the story and give insights to both Norsewood and the fianna.
The side characters were just as memorable. Caleb and Anna, who are probably the kindest of them all; Jay who deserved a better life; Hazel and Noah who show us a different type of hunter. Niall and his obsession in finding the Stag.

Despite the absolutely gorgeous cover, this story is overall quite dark. Set at the precipice of a war, a time where fianna turn into delirious ferals and shapeshifting is a gruesome and bloody affair, not the mention the hunters bent on killing ferals and fianna alike, this story does not shy away from the ugly side of nature.

Overall, I truly enjoyed being transported into this fantastic world. I was felt for Finn and Adelaide and for the decisions they had to make. It was captivating to watch them create and navigate their own story.

Thank you NetGalley and NineStar Press for providing me with a copy for review.

In Foreign to You there are humans, like Finn, and Fianna, like Adelaide, who can shape-shift into deer. The two characters are from entirely different worlds with Finn being a hunter to the Fianna and Adelaide being a respected member of the Fianna, but they must work together if they hope to bring about peace.

The writing of this novel was beautiful and, though this could make it difficult to follow at points, also allowed you to easily get lost within its pages and feel as though you were part of the world. It's an incredibly unique story and I always love fantasy novels that feature queer characters and storylines, especially when it is simply allowed to be part of the world without it being a big deal as it is in this one.

Interesting premise but let me down, wanted to like this a lot more than I did. I couldn’t connect with the main character of Adelaide and things didn’t seem to be explained clearly, it was easy to get lost. I just couldn’t care too much about the characters, so sorry not for me.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

The digital arc of this book was kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley website in exchange for an honest review.

This book had the kind of plot I'd always want to read, and that cover is gorgeous, let's be honest.

Humans live not-so-in-peace with creatures of the Forest, Fianna, does who can take a times human form. Despite their differences, Finn the boy hunter and Adelaide the Fianna savior, will have to work together and confront the prejudices from both races to avoid open war. Even when there is so much going against them.

First of all, the book is told alternatively from Adelaide and Finn point of view, using the first person. It gives us insight on their thoughts and emotions, and a better understanding at their own purpose and evolution.

After the first chapters, presenting the characters, the start was a bit slow. Like, really slow. For about 40 pages I was not really involved in what would happened to the characters. The death of a character important to the hero actually made a turn in the story, picking again my interest.
But once the "quest" and thus the relationship between Adelaide and Finn starts to build, I really enjoyed the book. Even though it might be for younger people than I am, the topics of love, family and differences that makes the characters evolve do not depend on how old the reader is. The bonds that ties Adelaide and Finn to others make sense, the notion of Nature as an entity speaks volume, especially nowadays with most people disconnected of wildlife and nature. Warning : there is a lot of mentions of deaths, violence and blood, so this is not a story for children. Yet they are not gratuitous : pain is part of the process of life, and characters are not above regrets and remorse.

The idea of a Nature God made me think to many stories from my youth, but none with such an end, which was truly a great surprise. I didn't know the tale of the Stag, the Hunter and the Maiden, which might have play in my vision of Foreign to You.
Even though there's plenty of stories with a selfish God bent to turn the world to its desire, the story of the Stag and its daughter through the creation of the world and how, as he was supposed to be impartial and loving, betrayed both humans and fianna, made a twist on how one perceives the notion of selfishness, love and faith.

A few details were bothering me though : a bit too much dialogues for my taste, but that one is just personal. No, my main problem with this book is that most of the secondary characters are not fully pinned down : they exist to create obstacles or motivation to the heroes, but in themselves, do not really have their own existence.
Why was Marshall always helping, at the right place at the right time, almost like a Deus Ex Machina with an arrow ? Why is Hazel so hell bent on being an ass ? And most of all, why was Jay so not in tune with the town if he was some golden son ?

But those little faults are easily forgiven and did not tarnish how enjoyable the read was.

Review Star System

1🌟 - DNF in the first half
2🌟 - Boring, predictable, probably DNF
3🌟 - Middle of the road, an average read
4🌟 - I loved it! Interesting plot and characters, however some clichés here and there
5🌟 - Utter literary perfection

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FOREIGN TO YOU - JEREMY MARTIN
RATING: 4🌟

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”Centuries ago, the fianna were believed to be figments of the Stag's very soul. Creatures that became human to teach us, govern us, guide us. Yet, it has been a long time since this building has spoken such sermons."

OH HELL NO JEREMY MARTIN YOU DID NOT!? Not only did you create a wonderfully unique plot and an ultra awesome MC, but you leave the ending LIKE THAT!? DUDE WHERE IS THE SECOND BOOK!?!? I NEEEEEEEEED.

Ahem, in short Foreign To You was blimmin’ sensational. The way Martin writes is unforgettable and that dang blurb grasps you right away. I feel so blessed to have read an ARC of this fine specimen of a book, and absolutely adore the plot so so much.

The story is told from two perspectives, Finn and Adelaide. Finn is a hunter who hunts these human/deer shapeshifters called Fianna, which Adelaide is. It is revealed that after a hundred years a Maiden of the Fianna is to appear and heal the Ferals (Fianna that kill humans because they are bad Fianna's, naughtyfiannanaughty). Adelaide is said Maiden however, she is shunned by the humans and hunters and has a tumultuous trial ahead in solving how to heal and purge the Ferals.

”With so much darkness, shouldn't just a sliver of light be prominent? Yet here we are. Ripping flowers from the throats of beasts and being hunted by man.”

Foreign To You is a joyous surprise and a refreshing read. It delves into the dark and grisly while still prompting all the relevant questions. It has twists and turns you don't expect and delves in detail into the minds of our two MC's.

Adelaide was truly my fav. She is an absolute goddess. With everything that is set before her she pushes through and comes out the other end fighting even more than before. She doesn't falter and really intrigues you into liking her. You feel this sense of relatability to her which in turn causes a sense of familiarity. Fantastic character.

Finn. So what I liked was his trials. He, of all the characters has suffered the most (no spoilers here as to what in particular) which causes you to sympathise and just want to give him a long (possibly awkward) cuddle. However, he is far too hung up on certain circumstances and is a tad too emotional, I'm sorry *stillloveshimtho*

Special shout out to Marshall though, ABSOLUTE LAD!

”You’ve never needed anyone to save you, Adelaide. You are a courageous soul, a fire that is uncontainable.”

FTY is slow to start with, holds a bunch of questions and ends on one hell of a cliffhanger. However it breathes new ideas and excellent plot-forming, likeable characters and stunning descriptives. All in all FTY is a book I would gladly pick up and read again.

I can understand why some people really love this book, for me however it just didn’t grab my attention or hold it.

I think the biggest issue I had all the way through Foreign To You was definitely the fact that I had NO idea what the hell was going on. I would have loved to know more about the fianna and what they actually were. I don’t think it was explained very well and I certainly didn’t understand the ending. The lack of set up for each of the characters meant that I wasn’t emotionally involved and the events that happened then had no impact on me. It was a bizarre way to read a book.

I spent the majority of the time trying to work out if I had missed something, or skimmed something. It felt as though we had jumped straight into the story with little or no explanation of what was actually happening. I think it was all underdeveloped, Foreign To You needed more of a backstory and less jumping all over the place. I would have loved for a more cohesive story arc.

Can we also talk about Adelaide? She was absolutely useless, and she didn’t even become a great hero by the end. She relied on everyone else and even made the tragedies that happened all about her and her failures. She was probably my least favourite character in Foreign to You which wasn’t hard because I wasn’t completely involved in any of the others, in fact I was pretty nonchalant about the others!

I definitely think that Foreign To You had a lot of potential but there was nothing there to make me carry on reading. I found it hard to get through and there were definitely moments where I stalled and genuinely thought about DNFing. I think the confusion over what was happening and the different characters was what killed this book for me. So keep that in mind if you’re going to be picking this up.

I will say that the writing and the setting were beautifully done. I really loved the way that the forest was a living thing, it was a great part of the story! I also loved the description of the stag, especially the way he drips life and rejuvenates the forest around him with every step. It was probably my favourite part of Foreign to You.

I don’t know that I would recommend Foreign To You, it didn’t really impress me and I thought it was lacking. There was definitely potential but it needed a lot of work and the characters needed more development.

This wasn't quite what I was expecting. I struggled to connect to the story, it was missing something for me. Also, I was promised Lgbt rep, it was barely there. I didn't hate it, I just didn't love it.
Incredibly cruel ending by the way. Hopefully, book 2 won't take too long ;)

~3.5*~

If you've read and loved Greenwode by J. Tullis Henning, then I think you will like this story. They're not the same, but have the same folklore feel.

A unique take on the old tale of The Stag, The Maiden and The Hunter. I believe this one being the old Irish folklore.
The Stag is a God of the forest and The Maiden his Daughter. I LOVED the descriptions of The Stag, absolutely beautiful. Though, this is not a romance and it is not very happy. If you're going into this thinking you're going to get some YA/NA boy/boy coming out, again, not really happening, it is mainly about Finn and Adelaide. Don't worry, it's not a MF romance either, so don't let that "scare" you if you're a strict MM reader. It's about two boys trying to find their place in a Guild that one technically should not belong too, while one is battling the demons of and for his father. Finn has no idea why Jay won't find something else, but for some uncanny reason, Jay will not leave Finn's side.

While reading, I kept wondering what the point of it all was. Why was The Maiden sent if she could not help her people, why does she seem so confused and helpless? Everything just kept getting worse and worse for these two. Don't get me started on Hazel. She's a right c u next Tuesday and I really don't understand what the Hunter Guild's leader, Garth, plans were all along. I kept on reading though because I figured something had to come of it all.

Sure enough, the forest God had his own selfish plans. I marked the review to have spoilers, because in essence it might, but I won't give them all away. It's these plans of The Stag that bring this entire story together, so I won't tell you what they are. Just know that Jay was significant even though he wasn't in much of the story and The Maiden's pain is for the God's reasons alone.

Finn has other ideas though. The Stag has played with their lives for too long, he's protected people he shouldn't have for too long and he's angry and has just had enough. Our story ends here, with a lot of anger and confusion and on the cusp of war. I'm really excited to see where this all goes. What will become of The Hunter and The Maiden and all the humans and Fianna....

Well, what a different but interesting tale I just read.

It details Finn and Adelaide, two vastly different beings, who have to team up to save the people they love. Finn lives in Norsewood, with his mad father, and his best friend Jay. They are both in the hunters guild that kill feral creatures that live in the Forest. What's different abut these creatures are that they originally Fianna, a shape-shifting deer, who in the process of their yearly transformation, are stuck between the two forms and become something savage and killer. Adelaide, who goes through her first transformation into human, has the title of Maiden, a savior of their kind. When a brutal massacre leaves the council of Norsewood with no choice but to give the Maiden a task to save both their species. WIth the help of Finn, who recently lost someone dear to him, they search for the Stag god that's suppose to help their people.

Finn was not the most likable character but you get to know his plight, and try to sympathize with him. He has a alot of demons held up inside him, and the only happiness he had was with his friend, Jay. His father doesn't help in those matters, with his grief but he tries to stay strong and be the hunter he was forced to join. He and Jay actually are amateur hunters when they kill their first feral, and while Jay is the softy of the bunch, FInn admires that he could be somebody someday. It's never officially discussed if their relationship is more, but I could read that they both really cared for one another.

Adelaide is very lost in her role and doesn't know much of what she has to do besides the title she was given. I wouldn't call her an innocent, but she does take her title seriously. After the massacre kills off more Fianna, she determines to find the Stag and have him help their kind, including her new friends, Calab and Anna. She and Finn, have a very platonic relationship in this book, and their main focus is to help their own kind, so don't really expect romance in that area.

There is indeed alot of death in this book, not really the main characters, but violence is prominent in this book if it's not your thing. One of the things I disliked was one of the main antagonist, Hazel, the only female member in the hunter guild, and one of the most sadistic. She really hinders in Finn and Adelaide's discovery, and it all comes to a somewhat cliffhanger conclusion.

There really is no romance in the book per se, but the ending gives insight into how love was very much a deciding factor in both their kind. I like Martin's writing style and while some of the book could pick up the pace, it's overall a nice book that gives a different take on shapeshifting and tropes that we are use to. Apparently there's going to be sequel. I'm content with how it played out but I'm sure others would want to find out what's next.