For a debut novel, this book is genuinely incredible!

Admittedly, it was not my normal cup of tea, but the action moves quickly and there's a really great amount of character moments. The author is very intentional with their writing - nothing gets missed!

A strangely unique character driven fantasy, "The Crack at the Heart of Everything" is an enthralling, heartwarming, and exciting tale of a mage, striving to find himself as his entire world is thrown upside down. I adored Orpheus and Fenrir! I just wish there was more of their dynamic before Lore kicked out Orpheus and I almost wish the book was longer, with more time to develop their relationship. The reveal of the futuristic fantasy world and gasoline, airplanes, and vehicles being included was such a fun twist I did not see coming! I would love to know more about the world and what exactly happened to make it the way it is. I also really enjoyed the wild ride of an ending.

I look forward to anything else Fiona Fenn writes!

I loved this book, oh, so much. It’s soft and self-indulgent and magic, and I’m just here for all of it.

I just want to preface with the fact that I identify with Orpheus more than I have with any other fictional character before. I, too, am told I’m nicer than I pretend to be, just want someone to pay attention to me, and cry constantly. Orpheus, you’re a mess, and so am I.

The Crack at the Heart of Everything starts right at the end of a great war. Orpheus, mage and advisor to the triumphant conqueror, Lore, finds himself afflicted by a death curse. He raised an army of the dead to help Lore win the war, and in return finds himself banished from the only home he’s ever known. To keep everyone else safe from his death curse, of course.

The novel weaves together a fantastical dystopian landscape with ideas of loss, identity, healing, and love. Fiona Fenn’s writing and the action propels the novel forward. This was a book that I had difficulty putting down once I was into it. Everything happens so quickly that I never had a moment to breathe. I would have loved to see it split into a duology, but maybe that’s just because I want more.

I loved the magic system. It felt new and inventive, intertwining fantasy and dystopian fiction. Fenn takes a fantastical approach to what our world could look like after the bombs eventually drop and leave the Earth a tragic wasteland. Brief mentions are made to New England cities, but Fenn mostly roots the setting through frequent mentions of classical literature, showing a future that could be our own but feels fantastical and foreign at the same time.

With a limited number of characters, each were distinct with their own personalities, motivations, and desires. The book focuses in on two primary characters, Orpheus and Fenrir. After being exiled, Orpheus steps outside the palace for the first time in his life and struggles to find his footing in a world he’s never been in. He becomes the reader’s guide to the world, discovering what exactly lays outside the walls of the palace. Through him, we see the damage wrought on the world because of the Incident and the war and see the people who have been impacted by Lore’s quest for power. In contrast, we have Fenrir who has already seen too much of the world. He’s soft edges and an optimistic personality against Orpheus’ pessimistic outlook. While Orpheus looks for deceptions, Fenrir shows him how to make friends.

Throughout the novel, Orpheus struggles with feelings of self-doubt and isolation. He finds an opportunity to cry in almost every chapter, and I really can’t blame him. At its heart, this novel really follows Orpheus’ journey of self-discovery, and I wish he’d been able to find more of himself outside of who he is with others. Orpheus is constantly defined by how others view him and his purpose to them, but he has little opportunity to just be. To find that he can exist without a purpose, to have desires and motivations of his own outside of fate or destiny. But I can’t blame him for wanting to find connection either.

Then, of course, there’s the romance. Despite their close-proximity, the slow-burn between Orpheus and Fenrir felt natural. Because of their disparate personalities, Orpheus and Fenrir naturally push and pull well. Fenrir is every bit the knight in shining armor who saves Orpheus at every turn, who gives him direction when he’s lost both physically and mentally. I especially love that he never makes any forward overtures with Orpheus until Orpheus starts to realize his own feelings. “I’ve just realized I love you” vs “I’ve loved you since we met” is 100% my favorite romance trope, and The Crack at the Heart of Everything delivers.

I loved this book. I always try to keep a level review, so I’m not sure it encapsulates just how much, but I really, really did. I’ll definitely be purchasing after it releases.

<i>Read this if you like…</i>
- Villain redemption arcs
- Characters learning that they're lovable 🥺
- Black cat/golden retriever dynamics
- Hell beasts and bad magic

<i>This may not be for you if you don't like...</i>
- Yearning, longing, soul-searching
- Tender, rather than steamy, love stories

Rating: 5
<b>Rating Breakdown</b>

Characters: ★★★★★
I loved every character in this book, the good and the bad BECAUSE they were good <i>and</i> bad.
Orpheus' whole story wrecked my heart and Fenrir was pure gold. The only thing I was missing here was a bit more of their story - maybe another interlude or two that showed more of their dynamic prior to the novel's beginning (to build up the tension between them).

Writing: ★★★★★
I am here reading this book because I am a fanfiction junkie and DEVOURED the author's Baldur's Gate 3 writing. I already knew I loved their writing style and I was not disappointed at all. There were so many lines that made me stop and reread them because they hit exactly on target.
One of my many favorites...
<blockquote>
The torch tumbled to the snow, Fenrir descending into Orpheus' darkness like a sun come to set.
</blockquote>

Plot: ★★★★★
YO. Color me gobsmacked because I did not see the world-building twists in this book coming. It worked SO well and each little reveal had me setting the book down and saying "excuse me???" I can't even mention exact things because it will absolutely spoil everything but I will say... <spoiler>I recognized the Keep as soon as it was described and was LIVIN'.</spoiler>

Enjoyment: ★★★★★
Ate this book up in less than 48 hours. Was riding the emotional rollercoaster along with the characters and cried about as often as Fifi. I will never forgive the author for one particular thing that happened in this book but I will read every single thing they put out from here to forever regardless. I can't wait to have a physical copy of this on my shelf to reread fifty times.

e-ARC received in exchange for an honest review.
Additional note: This review will not contain spoilers, but may allude to plot points.

I knew I was going to be a goner for this book as soon as the nickname ‘Fifi’ was uttered.

The Crack at the Heart of Everything by Fiona Fenn

To begin, the fact that this is a debut novel is honestly shocking. To achieve a standalone fantasy which is able to provide strong world-building, history, a fully formed cast characters and a strong dash of beautiful romance on book 1?! Incredible stuff.

This book is a fantasy adventure in the truest sense of the world: magic, quests, companions, ‘damsels’, heroes and villains. But from the perspective of the [read with a questioning inflection:] villain?

With the use of ‘interludes’ providing glimpses of the past, the reader follows Orpheus, the Dark Mage whose magic helped to win an Empire. We follow his journey and possible redemption after he’s exiled from the confines of the Palace and starts to truly discover the impact he has had on a nearly-broken world, and the manipulation that had led him to this point.
With the assistance of a begrudged cheery companion, and a number of friends made along the way, watching Orpheus’ grumpy façade being slowly stripped away led to some of the most tender, intimate (and often hilarious) moments.
Consider this a fantasy adventure book with the cosy fantasy feels.

And if I haven’t sold you using the flawless fantasy elements; may I instead tempt you with the teasing, angst, pining, fighting and care that is Orpheus and Fenrir.
This quote provides more insight into their dynamic than I ever could:

<i> “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Fenrir grinned. </i>

This book is available on November 12th, 2024. Romantasy lovers I highly recommend!

Give it a go if you’re in the mood for:
• The grumpiest grump x the smiley-est sunshine
• Fantasy adventure with cosy vibes… and dragons
• World-building, lore (and also Lore), magical x science, a heroic quest and hellish monsters
• Traumatised dark wizards who are secretly just sweet lil babygirls
• A swordsman with a penchant for meals that expired 300 years ago
• Reluctantly appointed nicknames that definitely aren’t endearing
• Plane rides with a pilot who for sure knows how to land…
• Men that cry (and who’s vulnerability is met with nothing but love and acceptance)
• Enthusiastic consent only
• Well-crafted plots, adventurous battles, character development, redemption stories and a lot of pining to top it off

It's hard to encapsulate the way this book made me feel in a tiny text box that only a few people are going to take the time to read. I first heard about TCATHOE through the author's twitter; I was in the process of reading a story she'd written online, and I was so enamored with her prose and world building that I knew I had to read more of her stuff. I was DELIGHTED to find she had a trad published book coming out in November, and I absolutely ran to join her street team. Once I had the arc on my phone I devoured it, staying up until three AM to finish it despite knowing my toddler would wake me up only a few hours later.

I regret nothing.

Orpheus is one of the loveliest protagonists I've ever had the pleasure of going on a journey with. When you meat him he's about a foot away from rock bottom, and despite having just helped his best friend Lore conquer the country, he doesn't seem to fit into the space he's helped her carve out. What follows is one of the most satisfying redemption arcs you'll ever read. The book is very character driven; you spend much of your time in Orpheus' head, considering the effects his actions have had on the people around him and watching as he comes to startling realizations. The beauty of that is you get a front row seat to every moment he decides to grow, makes a conscious decision to be better. And his budding love with General Labrador Retriever himself, Fenrir Rawkner, is just icing on the cake.

This is going to be the perfect book for anyone who wants to love cozy romance, but finds they often don't have enough plot to hold their interest. It's like...Cozy+. Cozy plus journey, cozy plus action, cozy plus redemption.

Do yourself a favour and preorder now, you'll be glad to have a copy in your hands on release day.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tiny Fox Press for giving me the chance to read an arc of this book

Wow. This book was absolutely phenomenal! I poured through the pages and I just couldn’t get enough of these incredible characters! The plot was so unique and so was the world building. To have dragons and it also be a futuristic wasteland was such a cool idea. It was so well written. I usually take a little while to get into fantasy books as I have to learn new words and get used to the kind of setting, but Fiona Fenn’s writing captivated me from the very first page and the characters, especially Orpheus and Fenrir felt like I knew them already.
I absolutely adored those two wonderful guys, and I so enjoyed reading as their relationship developed and blossomed into such a beautiful love story.

I honestly can’t recommend this book enough. It’s definitely in my top five books of 2024

I can’t wait for all my friends to read this 🥹

𝙊𝙧𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙪𝙨, 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙚, 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨.
The complete brooding body of internal self-loathing that translates to the sarcastic, prickly exterior that is this man…I didn’t expect to be so utterly CLOCKED by him OKAY. At several stressful/emotional points, he’s doing this little maneuver: “His [Orpheus’] hand slipped into his sleeve, fingernails finding his wrist. He dug in, blunted and painful.”
I—
I used to do this lmao. A lot. In trauma-response I sometimes still do. So to have it written on paper was equal parts unfathomable and validating. I loved reading each and every one of his spirals, because the trains of thought were disgustingly relatable, and I wish I had had my own Fenrir to—with his otherworldly gentleness—pull me out of it.

𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙚 𝙞𝙩𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙞𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙪𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧.
Fenrir is the most handsome Rim-Soldier.
Fenrir is the most delightful Rim-Soldier.
Fenrir is the most cunning Rim-Soldier.
anyways... I’m not sure I’ve loved a character so entirely like this before lmao he is perfection. Secretly smart? Needs bottle-rim glasses to read? Says things like ”I was almost worried something had happened to my angry little flame thrower.”? My hell.

𝙁𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙞𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙊𝙧𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙪𝙨’ 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙪𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙩.
In summary: this book snapped my attention at the very beginning, violently called me out and thus sucked me in, ripped my heart into bleeding shards while cackling, sneakily pieced it back together with fuckin eye lash glue, cuddled me for a stunningly sappy minute, dangled my soul over a massive purple-fire-filled crack in the planet, then only allowed me to remain in tact after trading all of the tears my body could provide. I survived, but barely.

This book is absolutely legendary.