Title: Ordinary Monsters (The Talents Trilogy #1)
Author: J.M. Miro 
Genre: fantasy
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: 2022
Format: Hardcover
Length:  672 pages

Read if you like: magical schools, gifted children, found family, deep character focus, Victorian setting, secret magic society

Rating: 

Ordinary Monsters has been on my TBR for a while, but its size previously prevented me from picking it up. I love a good fantasy, but the investment of time and effort required for an almost 700-page book in an entirely new fantasy realm is always a little daunting. That said, it was worth the effort in the end, as this was a very promising start to a fantasy series.

I appreciated that Ordinary Monsters was incredibly character-focused. The pacing was relatively slow through much of it, but it did allow for you to sink into the characters, even if their time in the novel was short. By the time you reached the end, the magic felt like it had a lot of potential for further exploration, which I was interested in because I was so invested in the characters.

This book was a beast, but it was one I ended up enjoying. 

The Book Synopsis: Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro

Charlie Ovid, despite surviving a brutal childhood in Mississippi, doesn’t have a scar on him. His body heals itself, whether he wants it to or not. Marlowe, a foundling from a railway freight car, shines with a strange bluish light. He can melt or mend flesh. When Alice Quicke, a jaded detective with her own troubled past, is recruited to escort them to safety, all three begin a journey into the nature of difference and belonging, and the shadowy edges of the monstrous.

What follows is a story of wonder and betrayal, from the gaslit streets of London, and the wooden theaters of Meiji-era Tokyo, to an eerie estate outside Edinburgh where other children with gifts–like Komako, a witch-child and twister of dust, and Ribs, a girl who cloaks herself in invisibility–are forced to combat the forces that threaten their safety. There, the world of the dead and the world of the living threaten to collide. With this new found family, Komako, Marlowe, Charlie, Ribs, and the rest of the Talents discover the truth about their abilities. And as secrets within the Institute unfurl, a new question arises: What truly defines a monster?

The Review

This was a strong beginning to a new fantasy series. 

The world-building in Ordinary Monsters was exceptionally detailed. While it used the Victorian age as the backdrop, most of it felt unique from that era, particularly in the second half of the book, where the focus was on more progressive-minded talents. The Victorian age lent some familiar-feeling aspects as things were introduced, but as time progressed, it began to feel more like an idealized version of the era, where people were free to live and love as they pleased, provided they found themselves in the right circles. It was an enjoyable twist on a usually rigid setting. 

I liked the nature of the magic. It felt unique but understandable, and it felt like there were a lot of possibilities for where it could go and how it could manifest. At times, this was also a bit confusing as you worked to grasp the unique elements that each character brought to the table, but by the time the full main cast was introduced and united, you started to get a real feel for the different talents and their foundations. I feel like this cast only scratched the surface of what Miro is likely envisioning, and I expect to see even more in book two. 

Speaking of the characters, it was a great ensemble. The children were all brutally traumatized in unique ways, but I loved seeing them get some respite from the hardship once they reached the school, allowing them first to be children again, and then to grow into stronger people as the book went on. I felt like the book needed that levity for them, because there were times in the effort to get there that felt extremely heavy and dark for kids of such a young age. The adults were all wonderfully multifaceted and flawed, and I loved seeing their attachments to the kids grow throughout the book.

The plot was exceptionally meaty, and the pacing was slow, but the writing was extremely strong. I do wish it had been a bit more concise in delivery, but that’s just personal preference. 

As a whole, this was a great start to a series. I’m looking forward to seeing where things go from here, but admittedly, I’ll probably wait a while before I pick up book two, which looks just as chunky as this one. I don’t mind a long fantasy, but generally prefer to read some shorter things in between to keep myself from burning out on a single story.