Brittle by Beth Overmyer

Readers of Carissa Broadbent will love this thrilling new series, from the author of “The Goblets Immortal”, weaving an intriguing world of fantasy and folklore.

After the murder of her father – which no one but her believes happened – Verve just wants to hold her family together and take on the role of provider. Unfortunately, a cruel fae lord believes she knows the location of an ancient magical weapon and steals her away to Letorheas, realm of the fairies. The fae lord seems to want something from Verve that goes beyond the weapon, something that many doubt she can provide. Verve must find a way to navigate the strangeness of Letorheas and embrace a destiny more intertwined with the fae than she would like to believe.

About the author

Beth Overmyer was born and raised near Oberlin, Ohio, and she hasn’t moved far. The charming college town is a favorite haunt of hers for daydreaming when writing and planning fantasy novels. One of Beth’s greatest inspirations for her writing is J.R.R. Tolkien. The first novel she read by him was The Hobbit, which inspired her to take up the pen and make her own adventures in the realm of fantasy. Other literary heroes include Brandon Sanderson (especially his original Mistborn trilogy), Agatha Christie, Jane Austen, Douglas Adams, and Neil Gaiman. When not writing, Beth reads fantasy novels, cozy mysteries, and almost any book she can get on the craft of writing. She has also volunteered at her local public library as a creative writing club leader. Beth’s short fiction has appeared in The Lorelei Signal, Alphanumeric, and various anthologies. She is the author of The Goblets Immortaltrilogy, which has earned praise from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and more.

Review

‘Brittle’ is a brilliant start to a new fantasy series that I hope will continue for many books! I found it to be well written, with a great protagonist who was spiky and realistic to her situation!

Now I don’t read reviews of books before I pick them up as I like to take them on face value and I thought I few times that this book was fleeting similar to A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas. I then read reviews when I finished and realised that the author has mentioned that she took inspiration from ACOTR whilst writing the book. Indeed there are similar themes but it is not a direct copy at some people have alluded to in their reviews - it’s a homage. I find it pretty hypocritical of people criticising an author for homage when ACOTR is also a homage to Beauty and the Beast! Authors take inspiration for their work in various ways and nowadays there is going to be no book that doesn’t have similar aspects to others. But there is a lot of differences as well and that what makes the book for me and there is one aspect of the book that is definitely unique to me as a reader!

I really liked Verve who is the female protagonist is this story. She was loyal, strong and intelligent in some aspects. But she was also realistic - who wouldn’t be overwhelmed, angry and volatile if you have been kidnapped into a fae land where everything is brand new to you! You would need some adjustment time for sure.

There were a few aspects which I did feel need a bit more exploration and explanation. The death of her father for instance and some more background about Finn’s origins. I felt the world building was well done as I just accepted it straight away which is always a good sign in my eyes. The unique aspects of the wielders of magic and their identification was especially creative as it definitely unique to me as a fantasy reader! The book definitely picks up its pace in the final third and I was left wanting to dive straight into the next book but alas I will need to wait for that to happen. But I will definitely be keeping an eye out for it as I believe there is great potential in this series.

Let me know if you pick this one up!