I don't know about this one folks. I really, really wanted to like it but I am unsure if this is just me, but the prose is odd. I found myself kind of confused? I like the cover though!

This had so much potential and would have been a 4 star if not for some of the knowledge gaps, I thought it may be a writing technique to keep the audience unknowing like the main character but some questions were never answered and could be small plot holes, however there are some really good bones there and I do think a book 2 would be good

Yeah…. I really don’t know what to say about this.

To begin with, the opening of the story showed great promise. Not sure what happened after that.

The relationship between Gabriel and Ophelia was all over the place. One minute he was very brotherly and the next it was romantic between them 🫣

The story is a bit hit or miss.
I really wanted to enjoy it but it wasn’t for me.

Firstly I would like to thank Netgalley and the author and publisher for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Secondly, I would like to apologize for this honest review. I am going to leave this as spoiler free as possible.

the book starts with our female main Character and her friends stumbling across a murder scene. Right from the beginning I was so confused what was going on or who any of the characters were and kept the faith that it would be explained or introduced better later on. It never did. I made it about 55% into the book before DNFing because I could not push through this any more.

I know this is harsh but I would not spend money to buy this book. I believe this is not ready to be published. The plot holes in this book are so large that it was impossible to follow what was going on. It was impossible to have any attachment to the characters because they had no growth and felt extremely flat. the love interest was ?? okay I suppose.

I understand this is fantasy but it was so insanely unbelievable that I couldn't continue on with it. the premise felt great and I was excited for it but the execution fell flat.

Rated 1.5 🌟, rounded up to 2 for the premise of the story.

I dont typically dnf but.....I did here. This was not the vibe. Everything seemed so one dimensional and was giving nothing.

I had to DNF this book…. At no point did the book grab my attention. The characters were all so flat and honestly idiotic. I had high hopes for this book when I first read the synopsis but getting almost half way through and it gave ✨ nothing ✨

Do yourself a favor and just don’t even give it a try.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

Review TLDR: This book…going to be polarizing. I don’t recommend buying outright when it comes out. Maybe wait and see if Kindle Unlimited picks it up.

Overall: My TLDR may seem harsh, but please understand this: its writing is inconsistent in quality, has characters whose motivations and actions do not seemingly match, and is low-key a partial rip-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer*. I’m sorry to say that this is only my third official online review, but the first book I just cannot recommend to anyone who isn’t interested in a strange, oddly written act of plot plagiarism.

*Spoilers: The book is set in coastal California, the FMC has two friends (one is a boy and the other a girl), her one female friend is a member of an ethnic minority (and pretty clearly bi), the so-called baddie is actually, get this, an angel who has a self-appointed mission to destroy the other vamp-I mean, his own kind, and his plan is dependent on recruiting her to his cause. You know, because she is special. He totally doesn’t have a crush on this underage girl he has been stalking for a while. You know, because that would be creepy.

Pacing: Actually, this is the only part of this book I think holds up. The author goes for a break-neck pace with one major event happening right after another, but the writing supports this with events that drive the plot forward quickly and with purpose. Odd that one of the hardest parts of writing seems to come so naturally to Ms. Percario. If anything, it suffers a bit from the fast pace as the reader isn’t given time to digest any of the plot points and so it can get a bit confusing what happens when and how.

Character Development: None to speak of. The characters begin the plot with one personality and end it with the same personality. Which is to say, everyone acts like a Marvel character who thinks its okay to make bad jokes over their friends/family/fellow townsfolk who are dying in front of them. No, I am not kidding. At first, I thought the author might have been setting the main character up at the villain when she started making “aren’t I just so clever” style quips over the body someone she knows (who, again, is dying in front of her). These are not “I’m giggling because I’m traumatized and this is how I’m coping” type jokes. They make the jokes before they even call 911. But, sadly, no. She is not the villain. She’s just a psychopath in need of a serious smack upside the head. The other characters are no better.

Plot Problems: Normally I wouldn’t list this in such a blatant manner, but this plot has holes in it so large I could drive a Stryker through ‘em. First, the bodyguard character is an 18 YO male former classmate of the FMC. I say again, a teenage boy has been assigned as the sole protector, with access to the FMC’s bedroom day and night sans her father’s supervision, for this teenage girl. No father who does not have burning aspirations of becoming a grandfather in the next 10 months would allow this. Next, the bodyguard does not actually do a good job and the FMC is constantly being put in danger…while he kindly finds reasons to fuck-off so the FMC can be in danger/alone with the serial killer. At least one other character comments on this serious lack of talent in his one job, but I don’t know if self-awareness of a plot hole makes it less of one. At no point is he actually punished for being so bad at his job. I have more, but I think the point is made.

Filler/Padding: There is some light padding, but mostly for setting up the next relevant scene – so, again I have to note that the aspect of writing that other authors normally struggle with is actually this book’s strong point. If you’re into the story (which I will admit, once I gave up reading as an editor and just as someone trying to finish the book, I actually did start to enjoy a bit) you will appreciate the author’s skill at keeping the tension high and the FMC moving.

Obvious Errors an Author/Editor Should Have Caught: a few minor mistakes, such as sentences that are not capitalized and should be, words missing in the middle of sentences, the occasional mention of a draught immediately followed by mentions of recent rain, etc. As this book is still yet to be published, I cannot comment too harshly on this. It’s likely it’s still being reviewed for such things.

The story didn’t fully resonate with me. The pacing felt inconsistent. Whenever it felt intense, it would drag after. I found it hard to stay emotionally connected in the world or its stakes. A few narrative threads seemed underdeveloped, leaving me wishing for more depth and clearer connections as the plot progressed. Sometimes the first book in a series doesn't hit as hard as the second, that may be the case here.

This book is a little difficult to decide how I feel on, because it’s clearly book 1 of a new series and spends most of its time setting the scene and giving the details that the rest of the series will rest on.
I’m not sure how I feel about the characters, because it’s honestly pretty apparent who you shouldn’t trust from the start and yet the FMC doesn’t seem to notice. She doesn’t seem to notice a lot, actually. I’m baffled as to why she never even asked what her mother’s name was. Wild
“Confession? She’s kinda cute, in that I-know-how-the-world-will-end-because-I-intend-to-cause-it sort of way.”

⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️Random notes from my read: CAN BE CONSIDERED SPOILERY⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️



* Already don’t like Gabriel
* She should have pointed out that Romy only lived cause she asked him not to kill her and that he was clearly not interested in hurting Daphne
* I wasn’t expecting that
* Does she not think it’s fishy that she woke up as soon as the IV was unhooked? Hmmm
* Romy is wise
* Ew no, not a chance. Girl, he’s so toxic
* I knew he was bad
* Um, are you going to tell Theo what Gabriel did???




Many thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with an ARC and allowing me to provide my honest review

Daphne and her friends find a body in the woods and get caught up in the drama of a "serial killer" in town. The book doesn't start to get interesting until the 60% mark. And that is only when Daphne's friend Romy reveals she's been investigating town secrets on her own. One of the biggest misses for me was Daphne herself. She wanted to keep her head in the sand. Why wasn't the beginning of the book about Daphne and Romy looking into the town's past (which the blurb alluded to)? But no. Daphne was too busy having dinners with her crush/bodyguard. Daphne mentions her mom died "a few years after her birth" at least twice. What a strange way to refer to when your mom died. Why wouldn't she know how old she was when it happened? Or her mom's name? Daphne has no sense of curiosity or awareness. She didn't even know her friend's grandmother had died. After an entire book I feel like the only thing I know about Daphne is that she is a bit dense. I don't know if I'm interested enough in the story and mysteries to pick up the sequel when it comes out. At this point, I would say probably not.

Flutter introduces a whimsical, magic-touched world through the eyes of Daphne, a young woman grappling with family secrets and the weight of self-discovery. The premise is promising, and there are sweet, sincere moments that shine—especially in Daphne’s quieter reflections and relationships.

That said, the book didn’t quite land for me. The pacing felt uneven in places, and I struggled to fully connect with the world and its stakes. Some elements felt underdeveloped, and I found myself wanting more depth and clarity as the story unfolded.

Still, Flutter has heart, and I can see it appealing to readers who enjoy gentle, introspective fantasy with a strong focus on personal growth. It simply wasn’t the right fit for my taste, but I appreciate the imagination behind it.

Honestly, this book wasn't it for me
It had potential, especially by the end but I had a hard time connecting with it initially and there were a lot of confusion

"Okay so it's ACOTAR meets Twilight but with ~angels~. I haven't really thought through any of the characters' motivations yet but I'll just start writing and see where it takes me" - How I imagine the pitch for Flutter went.

2/5
I really wanted to like this. I pushed through to finish it and I'm glad I did - the final third of the novel made me give it a whole extra star - but it was an EFFORT to get there.
Daphne is the mayor's daughter in a small town that even now I can't remember the location of (America? But also lots of references to Ireland so it's in the UK? But there's a chief of police?? I'd have to read it again to find out so I guess I'll never know). Reeling from recent tragedy, the town is adamant it will move on but Daphne, while commemorating her friend's life, literally stumbles onto a body that opens a whole arse can of worms.

The difficulty I had with Flutter at every level was the believability. Obviously it's fantasy so not everything is meant to be realistic but the world building is not there, events regularly seem to happen outside of the narrative, never to be explained, and the characters....

These characters are not grounded in their choices:
- oh, Gabriel is Daphne's love interest? but also she describes him as being a father figure? cool cool
- the mysterious killer could just tell Daphne the full truth (no spoilers as to what that is) the first time they meet? they have time to have a full chat but he just talks in riddles instead and doesn't even point her in the right direction, just lets her flounder? nice one.
- Romy and Bo only exist when Daphne is in the scene and otherwise are just... around? doing things? we'll never know.

The idea and plot of Flutter genuinely has a lot of promise (present tense as the author is clearly gearing up for this to be a series) but I will not be picking up the next book merely for the fact that I have no connection to any of these characters and because I cannot read a book with this many typos and grammatical errors again.

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC.

I DNF this book. The world building was lacking. The love interest was described as a father figure? The villain wants to save humanity WHILE he’s killing humans? It literally made zero sense

Daphne and her best friends stumble upon a gruesome murder scene that sets off a string of mysterious deaths in the small town of Gilia Dune. While the town blames a mountain lion, Daphne soon meets the real killer—an Angel named Sebastian—and finds herself caught in an otherworldly war between celestial beings.

This ARC had an intriguing premise—angels, murder, small-town secrets—but the execution missed the mark for me. I ran into multiple grammar and spelling errors (normally I let that slide, but there were just too many), and the plot was riddled with inconsistencies and unexplained moments. Characters knew things they had no way of knowing, and some events (like a robbery that never happened??) left me confused and frustrated.

The world-building also lacked depth. The motives behind the angelic war didn’t fully make sense, and the villain’s “save humanity” spiel felt empty—especially since he was busy murdering humans. Make it make sense!

Oh, and the romance? Weird. Gabriel flip-flopped between overprotective big bro and maybe-love-interest—and was described as a father figure at one point. That officially shut it down for me.

Overall, I had high hopes but had to tap out before the halfway mark. A solid concept that just didn’t get the development it needed.