They say don't judge a book by its cover, but honestly, the cover is what drew me into this gem. And man was I happy it did! Such an amazing story, well written and the world building! I will for sure be adding Kira Hagen to my list of instabuy authors because oh-my-gosh!

I received this book in exchange for an honest review - for a full review check out my YouTube or Goodreads account

This is a remarkable fusion(read: chaotic) of fantasy, sci-fi, dystopian themes, and a hint of horror, offering a unique and captivating reading experience. Set in a post-apocalyptic world in 2049, the story introduces us to a realm where elves have returned from the stars, causing a cataclysmic change on Earth. Right off the bat, that's insane! This setting is filled with mythical creatures and magic, creating a backdrop that is both fascinating and complex.

Our girl, Aisling, is deeply relatable but has a distinct voice and you see her just trying her best, The descriptions of magic and how the world is now are particularly breathtaking,,There's a bit info dumping and chaos at the start but nothing you can't handle. Kira Hagen offers a fresh and exciting story with "Strangeling," mixing classic Celtic fantasy in new and interesting ways. The book takes you through the thoughts and lives of different characters, making the story richer and more engaging. Even though knowing too much from different characters can sometimes spoil the plot, Hagen keeps things unpredictable and keeps you hooked. Unlike typical fantasy stories that are easy and fun escapes, "Strangeling" is different. It's set in a world after a big disaster in Minnesota and pulls you in deeply. It’s not just a light read; it’s a story that makes you think and pay attention to fully get into the imaginative world and meet all the unique characters living there.
It's like a cool Sci-Fi/Fantasy mix that offers an exciting and unique take on the fae, or "fabulous aliens," as described in the blurb, which adds an intriguing dimension to the narrative (I MEAN IT STARTS WITH "THE UNITED STATES ...AREN'T". How cool is that? Aisling has a copl distinct voice and the mix of mythology, nerdy references, and descriptions of magic makes like some type of enjoyable chaotic mix​​​. You wouldn't think it works but it does somehow??​.

Overall, highly recommended for readers who enjoy a blend of fantasy, sci-fi, and dystopian themes- with this you don't have to choose! Wish we could have gotten some slow-burn romance as a personal preference but the world building was so unique and rich it made up for it. Will note there's some invented language that might confuse non-native English speakers! Reading enjoyed reading it. It's just plain fun!

The cover hooked me in, the story itself felt interesting and fresh. Engaging characters and wonderful world-building.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

I always enjoy books that aren't afraid to blend genres. This balance of mythology, space opera, and magic is breathtaking and truly incredible. Mythology comes to life in this futuristic world that has a unique setting, a love triangle, humor, and more that will make you want to read this in one sitting.

Thank you Netgalley for the e-ARC of this title. I enjoyed reading this title. Would recommend for my library.

I don't think this book was for me. The writing is strange and stilted. It also feels like this shouldn't be book 1 as it felt like it reference a previous book or we should know what's happening with the characters and the world. The change of pics and story was helped by the chapter title but they aligned too awkwardly for me. I love dystopia and Sci fi but this didn't fit for me so don't be deterred if you want to try this out !

2049: The elves returned from the stars to save Earth... and broke everything.

I would highly recommend this book to… anyone and everyone! This book will stay with you long after you've finished it,

Weird and wonderful, Strangeling is a mashup of several genres – fantasy, horror, sci-fi and dystopian. It delivers a lot of information early on and you need to pay attention, however it pays off big time. The book is fun and engaging, a cleverly woven adventure.

Strangelings is the first book in a fantasy sci-fi saga. It is absolutely a great debut for the author.

Initially I found a lot of difficulties in reading. Starting from the writings because some words are a mix between english and invented words and my first language is Italian.
Later, even the story is difficult to understand because we are catapulted into this future world, where the earth has been conquered by aliens who have caused natural damage and mutations to the flora and fauna of the world, without too many explanations.

There are 3 POVs that allow us to follow these characters throughout the story. Obviously it's all connected but you have to maintain a high level of attention (at least for the first half of the book) to understand what's going on.

Moving on to positive things first of all inventiveness must be praised. I've never read anything like it!
Surely it is a very complex book, with complex characters and many events all fundamental to the plot.
But despite all I liked the book a lot.
Maybe some explanations are missing but I understand that, being a saga, the rest will become clear by reading the following.

Another thing that adds value to the book is the presence of the illustrations portraying the characters.

I recommend it to those who want to read a fantasy outside the box, with a captivating and complex plot.

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for a copy of the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was an enjoyable read and def lived up to its name. It was strange but enthralling which kept me going through the entire thing.

Thanks Netgalley for the e-ARC these are my honest reviews and opinions.

This book was different I was quite surprised how everything works because it shouldn't but does.
Set in 2049 this dystopian fantasy world, this story has elves and all sorts of magical creatures running around it's like a RPG.

I enjoyed reading this book and escaping into its pages as these characters go on their adventure and have to fight, survive and figure out what to do next, it was good kept my interest peaked.

Mixing dystopian themes with fantasy was a good mix as the character were interesting and unique in there own ways, there is a lot of world building and at the start of the book you do get an introduction to the many different fantastical beings and how to pronounce their names, which was helpful.
This is a solid read especially if you're looking for something a little different in the fae genre plus you like dystopian themes.
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ stars out of 5.

This is an instantly engaging and fun Sci-Fi fantasy read. From the first chapter you are swept away with how the Author takes their time in describing and building up the characters. You can picture them in your mind especially when you see the 3 different POVs. The world building and story line is phenomenal, but you have to pay close attention to all the details, so you don't miss out any plot moves. This is the type of book I can see myself rereading and coming across details I missed before.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC to review.

Weird... but in a good way?

Strangeling was published in June 2022. Thank you to BooksGoSocial, Netgalley and the author for the ARC.

This book is absolutely strange but in a good way, It has a Sci-fi, fantasy, dystopia, and horror are all well written and complexly woven together. to avoid missing crucial plot developments, the reader must pay close attention while reading.

The development was somewhat chaotic and it took some time to get going in the beginning. we also get three main characters POV and as I mentioned you really need to pay attention since it has a lot information details that you don't want to be lost in the middle.

I couldn't say much more but I do really enjoying the book as this is my first reading for this genre after a while. If you are looking for kind book with a mix genre that I mentioned, you can give it a shot!

This book was a ride! It is a good mixture of fantasy and sci-fi with a side of horror-dystopia and it was mixed well. It was also a completely new take on fae, or "fabulous aliens" as the blurb describes them, that was really interesting to read.

We read from the PoV of 3 characters and each had a unique voice which made the story easy to follow. Aisling, of course, was my favourite out of the three. There was a lot of world building and information to take in at the start, but once you understand the situation it's so easy to get sucked in and swept away in the story.

The above, combined with some mythology, nerdy references (think Star Wars, etc) and some great descriptions of magic combine to create a story that managed to make bad situations (read: post-apocolypse) fun. Such a wild ride and I'm eager to see what happens next.

(Thank you #netgalley for the review ebook)

Excellent storyline, good thread throughout the book. Engaging characters, different mixture of characters all interacting. Interesting ideas. Great read, recommend it.

Such a good book. Please do not make this a standalone it deserves a series. It was so different i just fell into the book . 5 stars . Great read I will be buying this book! Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to review it and to Kira Hagen for writing an epic adventure.

This was an interesting book, I liked the different take on the fae. It did take me a little bit to really get into the story but once I did I enjoyed it. The world building was good, there were a few things that I was confused with but I managed to figure them out. Overall I enjoyed the book.

This was a fantastic read. A completely new take on fae that was refreshing and fun. It did take some time to get going in the beginning and the world building was convulted at times, which are the only things keeping this from 5 stars. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for an interesting new take on old magics and Sidhe. I will definitely read the next book.