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Edelweiss
Not yet published
Expected 14 Feb 26Centuries after the earth is destroyed by an apocalyptic flood, life is cozy and peaceful in the snowy town of June. But that quiet life is about to be disturbed by June’s newest resident, Olivia.
After starting high school, Olivia becomes enamored with her classmate, Ava, who introduces Olivia to life in June. As their adventures unveil underground tunnels, lost tech, and a conspiracy involving the city’s androids, the girls realize they may be in over their heads.
Olivia must now uncover what’s really happening in June, all while navigating the ups and downs of her first relationship, unaware that solving these mysteries could put the entire city in danger.
After starting high school, Olivia becomes enamored with her classmate, Ava, who introduces Olivia to life in June. As their adventures unveil underground tunnels, lost tech, and a conspiracy involving the city’s androids, the girls realize they may be in over their heads.
Olivia must now uncover what’s really happening in June, all while navigating the ups and downs of her first relationship, unaware that solving these mysteries could put the entire city in danger.
278 pages, Paperback
Expected publication February 14, 2026
6 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
Lloyd Hall
3 books73 followersLloyd Hall (he/him) is an indie author and bookbinder born and raised in the coastal Connecticut town of Short Beach. He’s known for his Young Adult Sci-Fi books, The Wardenclyffe Series which has won various awards including the Eric Hoffer Award for his first book, Wardenclyffe, and the Reader’s Favorite award for his second book, Mercury. While not working on his novels, Lloyd is also the editor for an independent literary journal.
Before working as an author, Lloyd was an accomplished fashion designer, costume designer, and milliner, designing custom hats for opera and Broadway shows. After hanging up his literal and metaphorical hats, he channeled his love of storytelling into his first book, Wardenclyffe. He now lives a cozy life in California where he’s busy working on the last book in his series.
Before working as an author, Lloyd was an accomplished fashion designer, costume designer, and milliner, designing custom hats for opera and Broadway shows. After hanging up his literal and metaphorical hats, he channeled his love of storytelling into his first book, Wardenclyffe. He now lives a cozy life in California where he’s busy working on the last book in his series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
May 20, 2025
thank you to netgalley for the arc
so my sleep schedule is bad and I can’t really summarize my thoughts rn and I will forget if I don’t do it now so I shall copy paste my lil notes app commentary I’ve been making below. def spoilers but what’s there to spoil really idek what happened
- tells instead of shows
- She’s a documenter. And it kind of shows in the prose she just kind of reacts and isn’t super active, nor has a strong narrative voice. Like if I read a chapter how do I figure out it’s her? No discerning features at 40% done
- I think the dialogue could really benefit from conjunctions and slang to sound like teens talking. Nothing crazy but again the dialogue isn’t rlly distinct from the prose
- I keep forgetting what her name is
- I like the pictures
-
- This book needs like 100 more pages to flesh out the issues
- Holo recorder is seemingly in place mostly to examine her thoughts and add word count
- I’m confused on why Ava said these characters aren’t super fleshed out idk what they’re all abt
- I wish Kai was more of a major character. Or that Olivia had real friends. There really aren’t side characters that interact/affect the story. Maybe the mom could count
-
- God the ending is just fluff!! What the heck
so my sleep schedule is bad and I can’t really summarize my thoughts rn and I will forget if I don’t do it now so I shall copy paste my lil notes app commentary I’ve been making below. def spoilers but what’s there to spoil really idek what happened
- tells instead of shows
- She’s a documenter. And it kind of shows in the prose she just kind of reacts and isn’t super active, nor has a strong narrative voice. Like if I read a chapter how do I figure out it’s her? No discerning features at 40% done
- I think the dialogue could really benefit from conjunctions and slang to sound like teens talking. Nothing crazy but again the dialogue isn’t rlly distinct from the prose
- I keep forgetting what her name is
- I like the pictures
-
- This book needs like 100 more pages to flesh out the issues
- Holo recorder is seemingly in place mostly to examine her thoughts and add word count
- I’m confused on why Ava said these characters aren’t super fleshed out idk what they’re all abt
- I wish Kai was more of a major character. Or that Olivia had real friends. There really aren’t side characters that interact/affect the story. Maybe the mom could count
-
- God the ending is just fluff!! What the heck
June 22, 2025
I won’t lie I definitely pick this up because of the cover which is gorgeous!
From what I understand Edelweiss is part of a series but can be read as a standalone. With that in mind I still found it a bit confusing.
It wasn’t really a book for me but I think it could be cool for younger readers
𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙇𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙙 𝙃𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬!
From what I understand Edelweiss is part of a series but can be read as a standalone. With that in mind I still found it a bit confusing.
It wasn’t really a book for me but I think it could be cool for younger readers
𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙇𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙙 𝙃𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬!
May 10, 2025
Thank you NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange of an honest review.
Actual rating 1.5⭐️
So... I'm pretty confused. On Goodreads it says that the book is supposed to be 278 pages, but what I received from NetGalley was 139 pages.
This was just a mess for me... I didn't understand much, the writing was messy, I didn't care for the characters and they were so incredibly childish that I honestly thought they couldn't be more than 8-9 years old... but that would be crazy!
Actual rating 1.5⭐️
So... I'm pretty confused. On Goodreads it says that the book is supposed to be 278 pages, but what I received from NetGalley was 139 pages.
This was just a mess for me... I didn't understand much, the writing was messy, I didn't care for the characters and they were so incredibly childish that I honestly thought they couldn't be more than 8-9 years old... but that would be crazy!
October 26, 2025
So this was quite disappointing because I liked the premise and I was looking forward to sci-fi YA book featuring queer protagonists. The concept sounded good: in the future in a city surrounded by ice, a teenager arrives and starts to uncover a plot involving androids while also falling in love with her friend.
I think the problems are largely (1) style and (2) character development. For (1), the writing is flat and painful to read. I get the feeling that it would work best on middle grade readers but the actual story seems geared towards actual teens, like 13-16. I spent a good number of years reading narrative essays written by 13-14y/os and they write better than this, with a wider range of vocabulary. For (2), the characters feel very two-dimensional. We often don't know how they're feeling or why they're feeling a certain emotion. Olive is supposed to be the protagonist but we get no sense of her interiority, just a vague idea of what interests her or what she wants to investigate. Her love interest, Ava, is caricature. The dialogue throughout, even for the adult characters, feels like something written by a young teen raised on soap operas and beginning their foray into writing fanfic.
i thought this was a debut novel but i looked it up and it's actually book 3 and can be a standalone. so idk i can't defend it.
I think the problems are largely (1) style and (2) character development. For (1), the writing is flat and painful to read. I get the feeling that it would work best on middle grade readers but the actual story seems geared towards actual teens, like 13-16. I spent a good number of years reading narrative essays written by 13-14y/os and they write better than this, with a wider range of vocabulary. For (2), the characters feel very two-dimensional. We often don't know how they're feeling or why they're feeling a certain emotion. Olive is supposed to be the protagonist but we get no sense of her interiority, just a vague idea of what interests her or what she wants to investigate. Her love interest, Ava, is caricature. The dialogue throughout, even for the adult characters, feels like something written by a young teen raised on soap operas and beginning their foray into writing fanfic.
i thought this was a debut novel but i looked it up and it's actually book 3 and can be a standalone. so idk i can't defend it.
August 29, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and Lloyd Hall for supplying me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!
There were many elements to this book that made me believe I would love it.
Unfortunately I couldn’t get past the quality of the writing style. It was too simplistic, like reading a list of stage directions.
For example:
‘Ava lowers the holo-recorder as we walk to our seats. I pull out the map from my pocket and hand it to her. She passes back the holo-recorder and I hit the stop button.’
Just actions described on the page. Most of the writing read like this and elicited no emotions from me. It felt like our FMC Olivia didn’t seem to emote, so why should I?
This book has the fundamental problem of telling the audience and not showing. We were told something and then Olivia would repeat it to herself and come to the same conclusion.
This happened repeatedly and it truthfully just made Olivia seem slow. It felt like the author thought his audience incapable of taking in information without it being force fed to them.
Olivia also did the most ridiculous things in every scenario thrown at her. There didn’t seem to be any logic in the decisions she made. It was hard to warm to her or anyone around her as there was no depth to her relationships or even to her own thoughts, which we were entirely privy to!
There were also a lot of inconsistencies in the story.
*spoilers ahead*
How was Saffron, an android, able to cry one lone tear?
(It also took these two girls 21 pages too many to figure out Saffron was an android! I know they’re teens, but we as the audience were being spoon fed the information by Olivia herself, yet she struggled to come to this very obvious conclusion for far too long.)
The Wardenclyffe institute is supposedly a mythical place, like Atlantis, but Olivia was able to accidentally stumble across it by barely walking 20 mins out of town.
And then these two teens easily opened the door up with a crowbar. A door which no one else has been able to discover in hundreds of years.
Sure.
Can we also talk about how Olivia barely felt any remorse, considering the explosion which they inadvertently helped to cause, killed a lot of people and destroyed most of their town?! But in her mind, she’s mostly just annoyed that she’s grounded.
Emotionless and unlikable are not good traits to have unless, like Saffron, ‘You’re an AI!’
There are two good things about this book - one is the concept. A dystopian world that has completely flooded then turned to ice and the ramifications of this on the human race is such an interesting plot idea.
Edelweiss is labelled as Book 3 in the series but can also be read as a stand alone and if I had a better impression of this authors writing after reading this book, I would have been interested to read its two predecessors to learn more about the world and maybe discover answers to some of my questions, but I’m not entirely convinced.
The second good thing - the cover design and the artwork within the ebook sent to me were absolutely gorgeous. They really evoked the feeling of the dystopian world and I always looked forward to seeing each new picture within the chapters.
I know this book is described as YA but I feel it either needs to be marketed to a much younger audience, or it needs some serious editing and bulking up to create a more detailed, emotional and well crafted story.
There were many elements to this book that made me believe I would love it.
Unfortunately I couldn’t get past the quality of the writing style. It was too simplistic, like reading a list of stage directions.
For example:
‘Ava lowers the holo-recorder as we walk to our seats. I pull out the map from my pocket and hand it to her. She passes back the holo-recorder and I hit the stop button.’
Just actions described on the page. Most of the writing read like this and elicited no emotions from me. It felt like our FMC Olivia didn’t seem to emote, so why should I?
This book has the fundamental problem of telling the audience and not showing. We were told something and then Olivia would repeat it to herself and come to the same conclusion.
This happened repeatedly and it truthfully just made Olivia seem slow. It felt like the author thought his audience incapable of taking in information without it being force fed to them.
Olivia also did the most ridiculous things in every scenario thrown at her. There didn’t seem to be any logic in the decisions she made. It was hard to warm to her or anyone around her as there was no depth to her relationships or even to her own thoughts, which we were entirely privy to!
There were also a lot of inconsistencies in the story.
*spoilers ahead*
How was Saffron, an android, able to cry one lone tear?
(It also took these two girls 21 pages too many to figure out Saffron was an android! I know they’re teens, but we as the audience were being spoon fed the information by Olivia herself, yet she struggled to come to this very obvious conclusion for far too long.)
The Wardenclyffe institute is supposedly a mythical place, like Atlantis, but Olivia was able to accidentally stumble across it by barely walking 20 mins out of town.
And then these two teens easily opened the door up with a crowbar. A door which no one else has been able to discover in hundreds of years.
Sure.
Can we also talk about how Olivia barely felt any remorse, considering the explosion which they inadvertently helped to cause, killed a lot of people and destroyed most of their town?! But in her mind, she’s mostly just annoyed that she’s grounded.
Emotionless and unlikable are not good traits to have unless, like Saffron, ‘You’re an AI!’
There are two good things about this book - one is the concept. A dystopian world that has completely flooded then turned to ice and the ramifications of this on the human race is such an interesting plot idea.
Edelweiss is labelled as Book 3 in the series but can also be read as a stand alone and if I had a better impression of this authors writing after reading this book, I would have been interested to read its two predecessors to learn more about the world and maybe discover answers to some of my questions, but I’m not entirely convinced.
The second good thing - the cover design and the artwork within the ebook sent to me were absolutely gorgeous. They really evoked the feeling of the dystopian world and I always looked forward to seeing each new picture within the chapters.
I know this book is described as YA but I feel it either needs to be marketed to a much younger audience, or it needs some serious editing and bulking up to create a more detailed, emotional and well crafted story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 30, 2025
Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book. While easy to read, it lacked a lot of substance. The writing felt a bit odd to me. The way things are described and written feels a bit robotic. It's almost like it's telling the reader, rather than showing. I was having difficulty picturing anything because it felt like bullet points. It ends up coming across that way in the dialogue; everyone talks and feels like robots. So, the dialogue explains itself. It's almost the style of cartoons like Dora, where it resorts to the most basic form of question/answer the whole time. The way characters, especially Olivia, live looks like it's their first day on Earth.
As for the characters, I couldn't connect to any of them. It felt like everyone was a tween. I could hardly gauge anyone's age. Olivia is also written in a weird way. She felt way too obnoxious. She makes friends and talks to people in a very weird way that I just don't feel represents anyone. I also think that to make her clumsy and bad at directions, there should actually be some things that prove that. She received the simplest directions, so it felt too exaggerated that she'd mess up. It's also like Olivia didn't know anything at all. As for Ava and others, there just wasn't enough for me to make an opinion on them.
There are also a lot of things left unsaid. I'm not sure if something got messed up, but the ending felt like it wasn't an ending. It felt like there was supposed to be way more. I mean, even though it's not shown anywhere, this is the 3rd book of a series. From what I understood, this works as a standalone book because the plots from the previous books aren't directly related. That makes me think that there wouldn't be more to learn about these characters in the future, which is why it's confusing that it stopped where it did.
Because of how the plot unfolded, there just wasn't much to get from it. The climax happens very fast. It is "solved" very quickly, but there's actually nothing solved at all. We're kind of left with remains.
I think it should have felt more intense when it got the climax. Because of the characters' attitude, it didn't feel urgent or suspenseful. Maybe I was just expecting different things from it, but I'm sure others would be able to enjoy it. I did like the illustrations; they definitely helped in picturing the world.
Thank you to NetGalley and Lloyd Hall for the ARC. This is my honest voluntary review.
As for the characters, I couldn't connect to any of them. It felt like everyone was a tween. I could hardly gauge anyone's age. Olivia is also written in a weird way. She felt way too obnoxious. She makes friends and talks to people in a very weird way that I just don't feel represents anyone. I also think that to make her clumsy and bad at directions, there should actually be some things that prove that. She received the simplest directions, so it felt too exaggerated that she'd mess up. It's also like Olivia didn't know anything at all. As for Ava and others, there just wasn't enough for me to make an opinion on them.
There are also a lot of things left unsaid. I'm not sure if something got messed up, but the ending felt like it wasn't an ending. It felt like there was supposed to be way more. I mean, even though it's not shown anywhere, this is the 3rd book of a series. From what I understood, this works as a standalone book because the plots from the previous books aren't directly related. That makes me think that there wouldn't be more to learn about these characters in the future, which is why it's confusing that it stopped where it did.
Because of how the plot unfolded, there just wasn't much to get from it. The climax happens very fast. It is "solved" very quickly, but there's actually nothing solved at all. We're kind of left with remains.
I think it should have felt more intense when it got the climax. Because of the characters' attitude, it didn't feel urgent or suspenseful. Maybe I was just expecting different things from it, but I'm sure others would be able to enjoy it. I did like the illustrations; they definitely helped in picturing the world.
Thank you to NetGalley and Lloyd Hall for the ARC. This is my honest voluntary review.
August 31, 2025
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!
Initially, the beautiful cover and blurb is what made me request an ARC of Edelweiss and I was delighted after having it confirmed. From the blurb alone it’s clear to see that Hall is extremely creative and talented when it comes to coming up with stories.
Unfortunately, despite how excited I was to receive this book, it took me multiple attempts to actually finish. The writing felt flat, and lifeless at times which was really disappointing to see from a book with such an interesting premise.
After the first chapter or two I was able to look past the unsatisfactory writing style and actually appreciate the story that Hall was trying to tell, and in the end, I found myself enjoying it. The mystery aspect of the book was really interesting to me, and I wasn’t able to predict where it was going and was satisfied with the conclusion. The world was really interesting to read about, I was really intrigued by June, and was happy to dissect it and find out what secrets it held. The beautiful illustrations throughout the book were both stunning to look at, and a huge help in understanding the world of June a bit better. The romance subplot between Olivia and Ava was very sweet to read, though slightly underdeveloped and I would’ve loved to have seen it explored further especially as wlw relationships are not often explored in depth in the sci-fi genre.
Overall, Edelweiss was a really interesting story, it was easily digestible and I believe it’d be a wonderful first introduction to science fiction for younger readers. With a few improvements to the writing style and pacing, I am confident that Edelweiss would be a perfect addition to the sci-fi space. I look forward to keeping up with Hall’s work, and seeing how he improves in the future.
Initially, the beautiful cover and blurb is what made me request an ARC of Edelweiss and I was delighted after having it confirmed. From the blurb alone it’s clear to see that Hall is extremely creative and talented when it comes to coming up with stories.
Unfortunately, despite how excited I was to receive this book, it took me multiple attempts to actually finish. The writing felt flat, and lifeless at times which was really disappointing to see from a book with such an interesting premise.
After the first chapter or two I was able to look past the unsatisfactory writing style and actually appreciate the story that Hall was trying to tell, and in the end, I found myself enjoying it. The mystery aspect of the book was really interesting to me, and I wasn’t able to predict where it was going and was satisfied with the conclusion. The world was really interesting to read about, I was really intrigued by June, and was happy to dissect it and find out what secrets it held. The beautiful illustrations throughout the book were both stunning to look at, and a huge help in understanding the world of June a bit better. The romance subplot between Olivia and Ava was very sweet to read, though slightly underdeveloped and I would’ve loved to have seen it explored further especially as wlw relationships are not often explored in depth in the sci-fi genre.
Overall, Edelweiss was a really interesting story, it was easily digestible and I believe it’d be a wonderful first introduction to science fiction for younger readers. With a few improvements to the writing style and pacing, I am confident that Edelweiss would be a perfect addition to the sci-fi space. I look forward to keeping up with Hall’s work, and seeing how he improves in the future.
June 6, 2025
Olivia is the new kid in town, in her case, the town happens to be nestled within a post-climate-collapse frozen tundra, but her experience remains surprisingly familiar. She has to navigate the maze of her new school, record her memories, and go out to dinner with her crush, explore the mysterious underground tunnels that stretch all over (or under) town. Well, maybe that last one is less usual, but it sure makes it fun!
As Olivia explores, she starts to unravel the secrets of June, a bustling trading town, built in frozen layers and brought to life by the beautiful illustrations. With each new mystery she uncovers, Olivia maps out not only this captivating town, but also the intriguing history of her world.
The prose is clean and fast-paced, with a sense of urgency that matches Olivia's adventurous spirit. However, the rapid pace also impacts the development of the book's central romance, which while sweet, feels somewhat underdeveloped —cute, yes, but lacking depth and emotional resonance. A young sapphire romance (in space!) has great potential, and I’m hopeful that future installments will keep exploring Olivia and Ava's connection.
Overall, Eldewiss is an engaging and accessible read, particularly suited for younger readers beginning to explore science fiction. It offers an intriguing blend of mystery, adventure, and light romance, with a world that’s both strange and familiar. I’m excited to see where Olivia’s journey takes her next and get some answers!
I thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC to review
As Olivia explores, she starts to unravel the secrets of June, a bustling trading town, built in frozen layers and brought to life by the beautiful illustrations. With each new mystery she uncovers, Olivia maps out not only this captivating town, but also the intriguing history of her world.
The prose is clean and fast-paced, with a sense of urgency that matches Olivia's adventurous spirit. However, the rapid pace also impacts the development of the book's central romance, which while sweet, feels somewhat underdeveloped —cute, yes, but lacking depth and emotional resonance. A young sapphire romance (in space!) has great potential, and I’m hopeful that future installments will keep exploring Olivia and Ava's connection.
Overall, Eldewiss is an engaging and accessible read, particularly suited for younger readers beginning to explore science fiction. It offers an intriguing blend of mystery, adventure, and light romance, with a world that’s both strange and familiar. I’m excited to see where Olivia’s journey takes her next and get some answers!
I thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC to review
October 28, 2025
Edelweiss brings us Olivia, who is living in a post-apocalyptic flood society called "June" where her father is studying the power source that keeps their world going and people have personal androids. On her first day of school she meets Ava, who is timid and has lived in June her whole life. This kicks off a cute young queer romance (no spice, very sweet). Olivia wants to explore and Ava is constantly joking that she's going to get them into trouble.
Olivia has big Harriet the Spy vibes, always recording things and decides someone in the town is up to something and they should follow her around.
The writing style didn't captivate me, it read in a strange fashion, and I was disappointed because the premise of the book had so much promise.
The ending made me rage. I feel like this book either needed to cut out a whole lot or add another hundred pages because this huge event just happened to their society and Olivia is going through her whole crystal thing and her mum is just like "let's go buy you a new dress so you can have dinner with Ava"- MA'AM HER ARM IS CRYSTALS.
Edelweiss is set to be published 02/14/2026 and I received an advanced copy from Netgalley in exchange for my review.
Olivia has big Harriet the Spy vibes, always recording things and decides someone in the town is up to something and they should follow her around.
The writing style didn't captivate me, it read in a strange fashion, and I was disappointed because the premise of the book had so much promise.
The ending made me rage. I feel like this book either needed to cut out a whole lot or add another hundred pages because this huge event just happened to their society and Olivia is going through her whole crystal thing and her mum is just like "let's go buy you a new dress so you can have dinner with Ava"- MA'AM HER ARM IS CRYSTALS.
Edelweiss is set to be published 02/14/2026 and I received an advanced copy from Netgalley in exchange for my review.
June 5, 2025
thank you lloyd hall and netgalley for giving me this arc in exchange for my honest opinion ₊˚⊹♡
i didn't realize this when i received it, but edelweiss is technically the 3rd book in the wardenclyffe series, however all 3 novellas can be read as standalones! although this is a YA book, it felt a touch more juvenile than that.
the writing was a bit simplistic, flat and disjointed and i do feel like this was very rushed, but if the author fleshed out their ideas more i think that i would have really enjoyed something like this if i were younger and just getting into reading. i really enjoyed the artwork between chapters/scenes!
some final thoughts....
❀ characters felt dry/robotic, couldn't relate to anyone
❀ the world building had promise, but needed more time to be carved out properly
❀ for something that could be read as a standalone i expected more explaining, not just to be dropped right in - felt a bit lost trying to figure things out
❀ the art was my fav part! very cute and helped with imagining the story
i didn't realize this when i received it, but edelweiss is technically the 3rd book in the wardenclyffe series, however all 3 novellas can be read as standalones! although this is a YA book, it felt a touch more juvenile than that.
the writing was a bit simplistic, flat and disjointed and i do feel like this was very rushed, but if the author fleshed out their ideas more i think that i would have really enjoyed something like this if i were younger and just getting into reading. i really enjoyed the artwork between chapters/scenes!
some final thoughts....
❀ characters felt dry/robotic, couldn't relate to anyone
❀ the world building had promise, but needed more time to be carved out properly
❀ for something that could be read as a standalone i expected more explaining, not just to be dropped right in - felt a bit lost trying to figure things out
❀ the art was my fav part! very cute and helped with imagining the story
July 1, 2025
The plot ideas in this book are pretty interesting, and definitely up my alley. However I thought the execution was lacking. For being a short book I felt as though chapters in this book moved fairly slowly. It was slow and then all at once. Which I found a little confusing. Near the end when saffron discovers them in this cave area, and forces them to help her in the ship, she gets injured and all of a sudden one of our main characters is all torn up about it? I just didn’t see the progression of their relationship in order to warrant this type of response. I’m also a bit confused as to how old our main characters were? Were they in grade school or university? The relationship with her parents suggests younger kid, like middle school to grade 9. However the relationship between the main characters suggests late teens/university age. I think if more time was spent developing the plot this could actually be an interesting read. But unfortunately it fell flat for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 21, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!
Edelweiss is a book that is good if you're expecting something light, nice and cozy.
The world in which the action takes place is actually really interesting, and is the main reason I kept reading. I was truly fascinated by how it all looked and worked, and it was a pleasure to get to know it more.
The characters feel, well, simple. But lovable. I don't really think it's a flaw here.
I have to say that not only the world building, but the writing itself in this book is also quite pleasant. Simple, but in a good way. Of course, some would prefer a different kind of language for a book like this one, expecting perhaps something complicated, more detailed, and having the reader think a lot about what they are reading, yet I'm not complaining. It suits the story.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with how it all played out.
3.5/5⭐
Edelweiss is a book that is good if you're expecting something light, nice and cozy.
The world in which the action takes place is actually really interesting, and is the main reason I kept reading. I was truly fascinated by how it all looked and worked, and it was a pleasure to get to know it more.
The characters feel, well, simple. But lovable. I don't really think it's a flaw here.
I have to say that not only the world building, but the writing itself in this book is also quite pleasant. Simple, but in a good way. Of course, some would prefer a different kind of language for a book like this one, expecting perhaps something complicated, more detailed, and having the reader think a lot about what they are reading, yet I'm not complaining. It suits the story.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with how it all played out.
3.5/5⭐
July 26, 2025
I like the illustrations. Dialogue is awful, no one speaks like this. Writing feels awkward. The characters act as if they’re 8? 9? I refuse to believe these are 16 year olds. I did read the synopsis for the first book and I do think it’s super cute that this book is the recordings from the first book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Lloyd Hall for the e-book ARC.
Book read for Dekalb County 100 Books in 100 Years 2025 reading challenge, item 22, A Book With the Name of a Plant in the Title 63/100
https://dekalblibrary.org/100-years-1...
Thank you to NetGalley and Lloyd Hall for the e-book ARC.
Book read for Dekalb County 100 Books in 100 Years 2025 reading challenge, item 22, A Book With the Name of a Plant in the Title 63/100
https://dekalblibrary.org/100-years-1...
July 27, 2025
Thank you Netgalley for giving me this ARC for an honest review.
I wanna say good things about this book but I honestly can’t think of anything. I know that sounds very harsh, but I had a hard time reading this book since a lot of it felt very repetitive.
Every single thing described feels like the author wants you to imagine it a certain way, which led to stuff feeing over explained! No room for my own imagination!
The characters… I personally couldn’t connect to them. The way they were written felt off at times? I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who behaved Olivia but that might just be me.
And lastly, the plot & the climax felt very rushed and quite frankly not very well executed! I can see what the author tried to do and I hope it works out better for their next release.
One thing I did enjoy were the illustrations :)
1.5 ⭐️
I wanna say good things about this book but I honestly can’t think of anything. I know that sounds very harsh, but I had a hard time reading this book since a lot of it felt very repetitive.
Every single thing described feels like the author wants you to imagine it a certain way, which led to stuff feeing over explained! No room for my own imagination!
The characters… I personally couldn’t connect to them. The way they were written felt off at times? I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who behaved Olivia but that might just be me.
And lastly, the plot & the climax felt very rushed and quite frankly not very well executed! I can see what the author tried to do and I hope it works out better for their next release.
One thing I did enjoy were the illustrations :)
1.5 ⭐️
July 13, 2025
Edelweiss is romance and mystery blended together in soft and reflective manner. I enjoyed the suspenseful tension and emotional stakes suspended over the story. The romance between the protagonists was fine, and the mystery had enough intrigue.
Although, yes, the pacing was at times too slow for my liking, and suspenseful it was not as much as I would have liked it to be. Although the book did have some very good things going for it, it never quite had me completely engaged along the way.
Reader of a slow-burning, introspective mix of romance and mystery will find this a good read.
Although, yes, the pacing was at times too slow for my liking, and suspenseful it was not as much as I would have liked it to be. Although the book did have some very good things going for it, it never quite had me completely engaged along the way.
Reader of a slow-burning, introspective mix of romance and mystery will find this a good read.
August 20, 2025
This is an ARC received by NetGalley; all thoughts and opinions are my own.
This book I would give a 2.5 out of 5, there is an interesting story at the heart of it, but a lot of editing I think could still be done.
This novella is about Olivia (Olive), a 16-year-old girl who has moved to the town of June with her parents. The reason for the move is because her father has started a position at the lighthouse, which is called Wardenclyffe. Olive lives at a point in the nearish future; the time is never fully explained, but we know it’s hundreds of years after 2300. In this period of time there seems to have been a return to older tech and a rejection of AI due to how it is taught to Olive in her school. The town is, however, inhabited by Androids that seem a little off to Olive, and she doesn’t exactly enjoy their presence. June is a town that seems to be in the north of this world; again, the details are few, and the reader is allowed to make many of their own assumptions. The town is cold and snowy year-round, and what was once an ocean bordering the town is now completely icy and is referred to as the Ice Shelf.
Olive is a curious girl who chooses to explore her new town because there are no phones or TVs, and she is often accompanied by her classmate Ava, who is another freshman in Olive’s class. Olive also has a penchant for recording everything she is up to and everywhere she goes on her holo-recorder, which is a film camera of sorts that can project a hologram of the recording.
There is a hidden and unknown history to the town, and a strange woman often moves around the town who wears a red coat; Olive later finds out this woman’s name is Saffron. Olive’s curiosity about Saffron leads her and Ava to stumble across a secret hiding underneath the town.
Edelweiss was an interesting ARC to receive because it felt rather unfinished. From what I understand, this book is being marketed as a standalone but is also a part of the Wardenclyffe series. I feel as a reader I was missing a significant amount of information to properly enjoy this book, and I felt myself searching for more information to properly visualize or understand the world I was in while reading but not receiving it. Which is unfortunate because I think the heart of the story could have been more enjoyable if given more care and detail. The ARC I received was 139 pages, while on Goodreads it is marketed as having 278, and if that is the case, there are around 100 pages of story I didn’t get to see or will be added later to this book. These are my main concerns with the ARC as it has been presented:
1. It takes us until page 64 out of 139 to learn Ava and Olive's age, which is 16, but they are freshmen in (what I assume is) high school. As a reader, my assumption was that Olive was 10-12 based on how she acts up until receiving this information.
2. There is a large lack of description of others throughout the book; for example, I don’t know what Olive looks like. Ava is described as pretty with long dark hair and often wearing dresses. There are very few detailed descriptions of our main characters, but side characters with 2 or 3 appearances in the story have more complete descriptions, which was frustrating as a reader because I couldn’t imagine or visualize the person whose point-of-view I was in.
3. The overall lack of detail in the story: I feel like this story was so short because no part of the plot is given the time to be fully described, and there is such a cool hidden underworld that could have been given so many more details.
4. There are illustrations in this book that are beautiful, and I enjoyed it because they provided me more information about what was happening in the book in comparison to the writing.
With all of this being understood, I do know this is a YA book, but it reads very young, and it could easily be considered a middle grade book. I think this book is a good start, but it doesn't feel complete, and it surprises me that it is a standalone book. I would suggest a few more editing sessions between now and the publishing date of February 14, 2026.
This book I would give a 2.5 out of 5, there is an interesting story at the heart of it, but a lot of editing I think could still be done.
This novella is about Olivia (Olive), a 16-year-old girl who has moved to the town of June with her parents. The reason for the move is because her father has started a position at the lighthouse, which is called Wardenclyffe. Olive lives at a point in the nearish future; the time is never fully explained, but we know it’s hundreds of years after 2300. In this period of time there seems to have been a return to older tech and a rejection of AI due to how it is taught to Olive in her school. The town is, however, inhabited by Androids that seem a little off to Olive, and she doesn’t exactly enjoy their presence. June is a town that seems to be in the north of this world; again, the details are few, and the reader is allowed to make many of their own assumptions. The town is cold and snowy year-round, and what was once an ocean bordering the town is now completely icy and is referred to as the Ice Shelf.
Olive is a curious girl who chooses to explore her new town because there are no phones or TVs, and she is often accompanied by her classmate Ava, who is another freshman in Olive’s class. Olive also has a penchant for recording everything she is up to and everywhere she goes on her holo-recorder, which is a film camera of sorts that can project a hologram of the recording.
There is a hidden and unknown history to the town, and a strange woman often moves around the town who wears a red coat; Olive later finds out this woman’s name is Saffron. Olive’s curiosity about Saffron leads her and Ava to stumble across a secret hiding underneath the town.
Edelweiss was an interesting ARC to receive because it felt rather unfinished. From what I understand, this book is being marketed as a standalone but is also a part of the Wardenclyffe series. I feel as a reader I was missing a significant amount of information to properly enjoy this book, and I felt myself searching for more information to properly visualize or understand the world I was in while reading but not receiving it. Which is unfortunate because I think the heart of the story could have been more enjoyable if given more care and detail. The ARC I received was 139 pages, while on Goodreads it is marketed as having 278, and if that is the case, there are around 100 pages of story I didn’t get to see or will be added later to this book. These are my main concerns with the ARC as it has been presented:
1. It takes us until page 64 out of 139 to learn Ava and Olive's age, which is 16, but they are freshmen in (what I assume is) high school. As a reader, my assumption was that Olive was 10-12 based on how she acts up until receiving this information.
2. There is a large lack of description of others throughout the book; for example, I don’t know what Olive looks like. Ava is described as pretty with long dark hair and often wearing dresses. There are very few detailed descriptions of our main characters, but side characters with 2 or 3 appearances in the story have more complete descriptions, which was frustrating as a reader because I couldn’t imagine or visualize the person whose point-of-view I was in.
3. The overall lack of detail in the story: I feel like this story was so short because no part of the plot is given the time to be fully described, and there is such a cool hidden underworld that could have been given so many more details.
4. There are illustrations in this book that are beautiful, and I enjoyed it because they provided me more information about what was happening in the book in comparison to the writing.
With all of this being understood, I do know this is a YA book, but it reads very young, and it could easily be considered a middle grade book. I think this book is a good start, but it doesn't feel complete, and it surprises me that it is a standalone book. I would suggest a few more editing sessions between now and the publishing date of February 14, 2026.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Edelweiss is a prequel, something I was unaware of prior to reading, but it largely functions as a standalone YA science fiction novel. Set hundreds of years in the future after a cataclysmic event known only as “the Floods,” the story takes place in June, a city situated within a frozen tundra. The narrative follows Olivia, who has recently relocated to June with her parents after her father accepts a new position researching an unspecified new power source. This element of the worldbuilding remains notably vague, frequently referenced only as “some new kind of power,” which gives the impression that the internal mechanics of the setting are not fully developed.
Olivia appears to be of high school age, though her exact age is never specified. Her characterization, however, skews noticeably younger. She is easily distracted, impulsive, and driven by a sense of adventure that repeatedly places her in dangerous situations, often without the awareness or maturity to recognize the risks involved. Early in the story, she befriends Ava, a classmate with whom she becomes immediately infatuated. Olivia pushes this friendship forward with little regard for boundaries, and it quickly develops into a romantic relationship. Her tendency to involve Ava in her reckless behavior later becomes a point of conflict.
Unfortunately, I found myself largely disengaged from the story. Olivia was not a compelling protagonist for me; I found her difficult to sympathize with and, at times, actively unlikable. Her actions ultimately have severe consequences for the city of June, yet she faces little to no accountability, which undermines the narrative stakes. The writing also suffers from moments of inconsistency. For example, Olivia’s father states that his new job begins the day after their arrival, yet the narrative jumps forward a week to Olivia’s first day of school, only for that same day to suddenly become his first day of work as well. Similar contradictions appear elsewhere, such as Olivia claiming both that she has barely thought about a mysterious piece of paper and that she has been trying to decipher it for days.
Additionally, a late revelation regarding Olivia’s mother, suggesting she has been actively involved in the city and its community, feels abrupt and underdeveloped. This last-minute attempt to add depth to her character comes across as forced rather than organic.
Readers who enjoyed Hall’s first book may find Edelweiss more rewarding, as it appears to expand on the backstories of Olivia and Ava, who are briefly referenced in the earlier installment. Otherwise, the novel may feel light on plot and depth. That said, a younger audience may appreciate the story’s tone, as Olivia’s childish enthusiasm and sense of adventure are likely to resonate with pre-teen readers. The romance between Olivia and Ava remains very mild, limited to hand-holding and kissing, with no sexual content making the book appropriate for readers younger than the typical YA demographic.
Olivia appears to be of high school age, though her exact age is never specified. Her characterization, however, skews noticeably younger. She is easily distracted, impulsive, and driven by a sense of adventure that repeatedly places her in dangerous situations, often without the awareness or maturity to recognize the risks involved. Early in the story, she befriends Ava, a classmate with whom she becomes immediately infatuated. Olivia pushes this friendship forward with little regard for boundaries, and it quickly develops into a romantic relationship. Her tendency to involve Ava in her reckless behavior later becomes a point of conflict.
Unfortunately, I found myself largely disengaged from the story. Olivia was not a compelling protagonist for me; I found her difficult to sympathize with and, at times, actively unlikable. Her actions ultimately have severe consequences for the city of June, yet she faces little to no accountability, which undermines the narrative stakes. The writing also suffers from moments of inconsistency. For example, Olivia’s father states that his new job begins the day after their arrival, yet the narrative jumps forward a week to Olivia’s first day of school, only for that same day to suddenly become his first day of work as well. Similar contradictions appear elsewhere, such as Olivia claiming both that she has barely thought about a mysterious piece of paper and that she has been trying to decipher it for days.
Additionally, a late revelation regarding Olivia’s mother, suggesting she has been actively involved in the city and its community, feels abrupt and underdeveloped. This last-minute attempt to add depth to her character comes across as forced rather than organic.
Readers who enjoyed Hall’s first book may find Edelweiss more rewarding, as it appears to expand on the backstories of Olivia and Ava, who are briefly referenced in the earlier installment. Otherwise, the novel may feel light on plot and depth. That said, a younger audience may appreciate the story’s tone, as Olivia’s childish enthusiasm and sense of adventure are likely to resonate with pre-teen readers. The romance between Olivia and Ava remains very mild, limited to hand-holding and kissing, with no sexual content making the book appropriate for readers younger than the typical YA demographic.
May 17, 2025
‧₊˚✧2.5 ✧˚₊‧
I was triggered to read this book by its description. It got my expectations up, but sadly they weren't entirely met. I wanted to like this better, but had quite some issues with it, which I will point out later in this review.
First I want to lay out a bit what the story is about. We follow a girl named Olivia who moves with her family to the city of June for her father's job. At school she instantly connects to Ava who she quickly befriends, with more growing between them in the background. Together they go on adventures. At first for a school project, but soon they follow behind a mysterious figure in a red coat. Will they unravel the secret June holds?
This story is set in a futuristic world, but isn't necessarily 'high-tech' as you might expect. For example: there are androids in the story, but they aren't evolved to do more than menial tasks it seems. The librarian on the other hand had to fill in a ledger manually to loan Olivia a book from the library. I did think the author had a lot of potential worldbuilding-wise, but for me personally it fell a bit flat. I have no idea how big that holorecorder is either, but I’m guessing girls have more pocketspace in this futuristic world than in real life.
The character of Olivia didn't totally click with me either. She has quite a brash personality, instantly just expecting Ava to come with her to an event on the first day they meet. As if she just walked up to her, pointed at her and declared they were now friends. The relationship between Ava and Olivia feels a bit rushed as well. I have no idea what their ages should be but I feel like the date thing wouldn’t be in there so fast. I think it would have had more impact if it wasn't a romantic relationship and more a platonic one, and I say this as a big supporter and part of the queer community. In this story it feels a bit like it needed to be that just for the sake of it, sadly.
The story leaves a lot of unanswered up in the air at the end of it. If you don't like that kind of stuff, be warned. It wasn't an ending with closure.
I also still found some mistakes in my version of the book (which was an eARC).
“There are incredible,” I say, crumbs falling out of my mouth. --> These instead of there?
“… It’s connected back to the gird.” --> Grid?
I do want to end on a positive noted and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised to see illustrations in some of the chapters in this book. I quite liked that extra visual material to support the story.
I was honoured to receive this book as an eARC for an honest review. I want to thank Netgalley and Lloyd Hall for this opportunity. As always I hope this story finds its intended audience, as it wasn't totally my cup of tea!
I was triggered to read this book by its description. It got my expectations up, but sadly they weren't entirely met. I wanted to like this better, but had quite some issues with it, which I will point out later in this review.
First I want to lay out a bit what the story is about. We follow a girl named Olivia who moves with her family to the city of June for her father's job. At school she instantly connects to Ava who she quickly befriends, with more growing between them in the background. Together they go on adventures. At first for a school project, but soon they follow behind a mysterious figure in a red coat. Will they unravel the secret June holds?
This story is set in a futuristic world, but isn't necessarily 'high-tech' as you might expect. For example: there are androids in the story, but they aren't evolved to do more than menial tasks it seems. The librarian on the other hand had to fill in a ledger manually to loan Olivia a book from the library. I did think the author had a lot of potential worldbuilding-wise, but for me personally it fell a bit flat. I have no idea how big that holorecorder is either, but I’m guessing girls have more pocketspace in this futuristic world than in real life.
The character of Olivia didn't totally click with me either. She has quite a brash personality, instantly just expecting Ava to come with her to an event on the first day they meet. As if she just walked up to her, pointed at her and declared they were now friends. The relationship between Ava and Olivia feels a bit rushed as well. I have no idea what their ages should be but I feel like the date thing wouldn’t be in there so fast. I think it would have had more impact if it wasn't a romantic relationship and more a platonic one, and I say this as a big supporter and part of the queer community. In this story it feels a bit like it needed to be that just for the sake of it, sadly.
The story leaves a lot of unanswered up in the air at the end of it. If you don't like that kind of stuff, be warned. It wasn't an ending with closure.
I also still found some mistakes in my version of the book (which was an eARC).
“There are incredible,” I say, crumbs falling out of my mouth. --> These instead of there?
“… It’s connected back to the gird.” --> Grid?
I do want to end on a positive noted and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised to see illustrations in some of the chapters in this book. I quite liked that extra visual material to support the story.
I was honoured to receive this book as an eARC for an honest review. I want to thank Netgalley and Lloyd Hall for this opportunity. As always I hope this story finds its intended audience, as it wasn't totally my cup of tea!
July 5, 2025
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for this review.
I mostly requested this book because the cover is gorgeous. The art throughout the book is gorgeous as well, and I thought that was a nice touch.
I want to put it out there that I have not read the other two books in this series, since this one is a standalone. I was still kinda able to understand the background without reading them, but it is possible that some things flew over my head because of this.
The story and plot of Edelweiss itself was interesting, but also a little confusing and did not seem fully resolved by the end of the book? I know that there is supposed to be another book released after this one, so maybe the plot will be resolved in there?
The characters were flat to me. Olivia herself is not a likeable character. She is incredibly reckless and also read as pretty selfish to me. She constantly makes reckless decisions and she also doesn’t seem to feel remorse over the consequences of her actions. Because she and Ava explored the Institute, led Saffron to it, and indirectly set off that ship, people lost their homes. Their school is gone. The city of June has been reduced to a small village and the ciry has fully lost power. But Olivia seemed more upset over Ava rightfully breaking up with her. She blames Saffron for everything without acknowledging her part in it.
Saffron also confused me. I didn’t understand what her goals were. It was also really confusing to me that she was fighting so hard to find a power source to keep herself alive, but then she almost immediately gave up when she was damaged. It also was weird when Olivia tried to save her after she kidnapped them and held them at gunpoint.
Ava, Olivia’s love interest, felt like more of a concept or a trope than a fully fledged person. I didn’t understand why they were dating in the first place. Olivia kinda just seems to latch onto Ava because she’s pretty and Ava just kinda seems to accepts her feelings for some reason. I also thought it was strange that Olivia told Ava all this stuff about her family and her life but didn’t know anything about Ava. And they had been dating for at least a week by that point. I did not enjoy watching Olivia just drag Ava along on her “adventures” without asking her if she wanted to come. Ava didn’t seem to have any agency in the story at all. I’m not going to lie, I did boo when they got back together at the end. Unless something changes after the story, I cannot see them staying together longterm.
TLDR: The plot and setting are interesting, but the characters are so unlikeable that it makes the book a drag to get through. 2.0 ⭐️.
I mostly requested this book because the cover is gorgeous. The art throughout the book is gorgeous as well, and I thought that was a nice touch.
I want to put it out there that I have not read the other two books in this series, since this one is a standalone. I was still kinda able to understand the background without reading them, but it is possible that some things flew over my head because of this.
The story and plot of Edelweiss itself was interesting, but also a little confusing and did not seem fully resolved by the end of the book? I know that there is supposed to be another book released after this one, so maybe the plot will be resolved in there?
The characters were flat to me. Olivia herself is not a likeable character. She is incredibly reckless and also read as pretty selfish to me. She constantly makes reckless decisions and she also doesn’t seem to feel remorse over the consequences of her actions. Because she and Ava explored the Institute, led Saffron to it, and indirectly set off that ship, people lost their homes. Their school is gone. The city of June has been reduced to a small village and the ciry has fully lost power. But Olivia seemed more upset over Ava rightfully breaking up with her. She blames Saffron for everything without acknowledging her part in it.
Saffron also confused me. I didn’t understand what her goals were. It was also really confusing to me that she was fighting so hard to find a power source to keep herself alive, but then she almost immediately gave up when she was damaged. It also was weird when Olivia tried to save her after she kidnapped them and held them at gunpoint.
Ava, Olivia’s love interest, felt like more of a concept or a trope than a fully fledged person. I didn’t understand why they were dating in the first place. Olivia kinda just seems to latch onto Ava because she’s pretty and Ava just kinda seems to accepts her feelings for some reason. I also thought it was strange that Olivia told Ava all this stuff about her family and her life but didn’t know anything about Ava. And they had been dating for at least a week by that point. I did not enjoy watching Olivia just drag Ava along on her “adventures” without asking her if she wanted to come. Ava didn’t seem to have any agency in the story at all. I’m not going to lie, I did boo when they got back together at the end. Unless something changes after the story, I cannot see them staying together longterm.
TLDR: The plot and setting are interesting, but the characters are so unlikeable that it makes the book a drag to get through. 2.0 ⭐️.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 3, 2025
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!!
Sadly, I have to say I did not enjoy this book. The premise was good, the art is phenomenal and it had a lot of potential, but it simply did not read like a YA novel. This book read like a children’s book or a novel for teenagers who are getting into reading, which is by no means a bad thing, it was just not what I felt like I was promised.
The writing was a lot of telling not showing, the characters felt quite flat, and the dialogue was not very realistic. At some points, the characters felt one-dimensional with no personal traits, and I could not connect at all with them. At many points they acted weird, and often not realistically, especially towards the end, which pulled me out of the story a lot.
Overall, this story was not for me, but I think as a children’s story it could work quite well. It’s not a book for the seasoned reader who craves complexity, but someone in want of a light book, might find it more appealing.
Now, to spoilers.
The plot was extremely predictable, and there was no moment in which I was taken by surprise. The AI mention? Will be relevant of course. The weird focus on Olivia getting cut by a crystal? Will come back to bite her in the ass. The place they got the flower? Will solve their problems (kinda).
Olivia and Ava’s relationship was so unrealistic, I picked up on no chemistry at all, which made me feel very frustrated through out because so much of Olivia’s POV was spent thinking about Ava, but it just didn’t really make sense. Would have loved if it had gotten some depth, so it didn’t feel so random.
Olivia’s character. The biggest victim of telling not showing because why did it feel like she felt way worse about her girlfriend breaking up with her than low-key accidentally killing half of the town and destroying everything??? Sure, we were told she felt guilty, but we were showed that to her, it was way worse to get broken up with, which honestly really annoyed me. Like girly, people died and you were VERY involved. Show me some remorse please.
Anyway, I do not recommend this book if you read a lot of fantasy and sci-if, but if you are new to the genre, or you do not know what to give to a kid to introduce them to it, I think this would be a good book. It’s simple, has predictable points, and light. I truly believe this book just needs to find its audience.
Sadly, I have to say I did not enjoy this book. The premise was good, the art is phenomenal and it had a lot of potential, but it simply did not read like a YA novel. This book read like a children’s book or a novel for teenagers who are getting into reading, which is by no means a bad thing, it was just not what I felt like I was promised.
The writing was a lot of telling not showing, the characters felt quite flat, and the dialogue was not very realistic. At some points, the characters felt one-dimensional with no personal traits, and I could not connect at all with them. At many points they acted weird, and often not realistically, especially towards the end, which pulled me out of the story a lot.
Overall, this story was not for me, but I think as a children’s story it could work quite well. It’s not a book for the seasoned reader who craves complexity, but someone in want of a light book, might find it more appealing.
Now, to spoilers.
The plot was extremely predictable, and there was no moment in which I was taken by surprise. The AI mention? Will be relevant of course. The weird focus on Olivia getting cut by a crystal? Will come back to bite her in the ass. The place they got the flower? Will solve their problems (kinda).
Olivia and Ava’s relationship was so unrealistic, I picked up on no chemistry at all, which made me feel very frustrated through out because so much of Olivia’s POV was spent thinking about Ava, but it just didn’t really make sense. Would have loved if it had gotten some depth, so it didn’t feel so random.
Olivia’s character. The biggest victim of telling not showing because why did it feel like she felt way worse about her girlfriend breaking up with her than low-key accidentally killing half of the town and destroying everything??? Sure, we were told she felt guilty, but we were showed that to her, it was way worse to get broken up with, which honestly really annoyed me. Like girly, people died and you were VERY involved. Show me some remorse please.
Anyway, I do not recommend this book if you read a lot of fantasy and sci-if, but if you are new to the genre, or you do not know what to give to a kid to introduce them to it, I think this would be a good book. It’s simple, has predictable points, and light. I truly believe this book just needs to find its audience.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 7, 2025
: ̗̀➜ ARC review [2★]
The cover and synopsis are what made me want to read this, but then I discovered that this is part 3 of a series and it hadn't even been indicated in any way? - but wathever, apparently all three are separated stories so that's perfect for me- but wait, the info says this is plus 300 pages and the arc I received is only 139 pages long? - huhh??- okay it doesn't matter, i love short stories anyways.
And then I started reading this and nothing clicked the way it's supposed to in a book.
Later on I looked through the other books in this series and realised they have actually good ratings, so I don't know what went wrong with this one.
If the writing is the same in the other books, I'm guessing the stories must be otherworldly kind of good, or if the writing in those is different, I don't understand how in this one it can result so... clash, so plain and confusing and make such a difference.
My main problem was mostly the writing, in the description part of what's around and what's happening, and in how the characters talk. It all felt too childiss for me. The conversations felt too scripted, and the character of Olivia resulted in this very ambiguous person of child-like mannerisms, and not in a cute way, but in a «this is what you'll be dealing with'»kind of way.
Every few pages or so I was thinking "this could be much more light if reworded!" The rhythm felt rushed and the change between scenes disconnected.
And this might be more specific, but the way this futuristic world so easily regarded the 'old' world in a ' we don't know what this was, or how it was called, or what it was supposed to do, oh well!' way, made me sad (the in 'watching such a good opportunity to add some insane fictional world-building being thrown away.' kind of sad).
I'm sure this is a story a younger audience can appreciate more in every aspect, especially with such an interesting world concept, but the way it was carried and written was not for me.
thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
The cover and synopsis are what made me want to read this, but then I discovered that this is part 3 of a series and it hadn't even been indicated in any way? - but wathever, apparently all three are separated stories so that's perfect for me- but wait, the info says this is plus 300 pages and the arc I received is only 139 pages long? - huhh??- okay it doesn't matter, i love short stories anyways.
And then I started reading this and nothing clicked the way it's supposed to in a book.
Later on I looked through the other books in this series and realised they have actually good ratings, so I don't know what went wrong with this one.
If the writing is the same in the other books, I'm guessing the stories must be otherworldly kind of good, or if the writing in those is different, I don't understand how in this one it can result so... clash, so plain and confusing and make such a difference.
My main problem was mostly the writing, in the description part of what's around and what's happening, and in how the characters talk. It all felt too childiss for me. The conversations felt too scripted, and the character of Olivia resulted in this very ambiguous person of child-like mannerisms, and not in a cute way, but in a «this is what you'll be dealing with'»kind of way.
Every few pages or so I was thinking "this could be much more light if reworded!" The rhythm felt rushed and the change between scenes disconnected.
And this might be more specific, but the way this futuristic world so easily regarded the 'old' world in a ' we don't know what this was, or how it was called, or what it was supposed to do, oh well!' way, made me sad (the in 'watching such a good opportunity to add some insane fictional world-building being thrown away.' kind of sad).
I'm sure this is a story a younger audience can appreciate more in every aspect, especially with such an interesting world concept, but the way it was carried and written was not for me.
thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
November 16, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley, and Lloyd Hall for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
Content Warnings: Minor Violence
"Edelweiss" is the third book in the Wardenclyffe Series by Lloyd Hall, though it is meant to be a stand alone novel. It follows the adventures of a teenage girl named Olivia as she tries to adapt to a new city and a new school. She quickly falls in love with another girl, named Ava, who shows her around the city of June. June is a city stuck in eternal winter, but soon enough the two teens find that there are a lot of secrets hidden in the city--some more dangerous than others.
I am afraid to say I did not like this book. There were parts of it that were fantastic--the idea of a great flood that basically rewrites the world, with different cities and towns springing up afterward. I liked the lore hidden in some of the books that Olivia comes across, like how the android servants seen around the city of June were modeled after actors from classic films (or at least, films that are considered classic within the confines of the story).
The characters, unfortunately, fell flat. Although Olivia and Ava were meant to be around sixteen, both of them acted very childish. At first, I thought they were both around ten or eleven years old. Their mannerisms and internal thoughts really made them read as younger. "Edelweiss" is a YA novel, but because of the characters and the overall writing style, it feels more suited to a middle grade or elementary level novel.
As for the writing, it was serviceable. A lot of it was extremely repetitive in a very grating manner; we do not need a character's thoughts to be echoed again in the same paragraph. I cannot stress enough how many times I had to put the book down and groan.
I would not recommend "Edelweiss." I am not sure how the rest of the series reads, but if the other novels are anything like this one, I am afraid I am going to have to stay away from them.
Content Warnings: Minor Violence
"Edelweiss" is the third book in the Wardenclyffe Series by Lloyd Hall, though it is meant to be a stand alone novel. It follows the adventures of a teenage girl named Olivia as she tries to adapt to a new city and a new school. She quickly falls in love with another girl, named Ava, who shows her around the city of June. June is a city stuck in eternal winter, but soon enough the two teens find that there are a lot of secrets hidden in the city--some more dangerous than others.
I am afraid to say I did not like this book. There were parts of it that were fantastic--the idea of a great flood that basically rewrites the world, with different cities and towns springing up afterward. I liked the lore hidden in some of the books that Olivia comes across, like how the android servants seen around the city of June were modeled after actors from classic films (or at least, films that are considered classic within the confines of the story).
The characters, unfortunately, fell flat. Although Olivia and Ava were meant to be around sixteen, both of them acted very childish. At first, I thought they were both around ten or eleven years old. Their mannerisms and internal thoughts really made them read as younger. "Edelweiss" is a YA novel, but because of the characters and the overall writing style, it feels more suited to a middle grade or elementary level novel.
As for the writing, it was serviceable. A lot of it was extremely repetitive in a very grating manner; we do not need a character's thoughts to be echoed again in the same paragraph. I cannot stress enough how many times I had to put the book down and groan.
I would not recommend "Edelweiss." I am not sure how the rest of the series reads, but if the other novels are anything like this one, I am afraid I am going to have to stay away from them.
September 4, 2025
Thank you to Netgalley and Lloyd Hall for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
When I read that this book took four years to come to fruition, I was shocked. The premise of this book is brilliant and full of exciting ideas (the entire reason I requested it). However, the story did not hold up. For me, I felt that the characters, plot line, and the technique of writing lacked depth.
Characters:
It seemed like the characters lacked motivation and direction, including Olivia. Unfortunately, Olivia faced little to no resistance regarding her ideas/plans/decisions. Ava, who initially seemed to be open to being resistant to Olivia, never resisted for more than one line of dialogue. Their relationship was fully surface-level, without any complexity, tension, or building of their budding romance. I was so disappointed that I didn’t get to see any relationship truly develop.
Plot Line:
The premise of this story was so exciting. Climate Collapse world? Android underworld? Sign me up. Almost none of this is written about in depth. There are many holes in this plot, including the antagonists individual plot (if she is even an antagonist?). Things happen quickly and conveniently, all wrapped up in a very neat bow at the end of the book, despite this book being the first in a trilogy somehow.
Writing Technique:
The writing of this felt very elementary. Sentence structures are similar, if not exactly the same from page to page. Pronouns are almost exclusively the beginning of the sentence (I, My, etc etc). There is no rhythm or movement to the writing. It makes the story overall that much more dull. I so wish this was better than it turned out to be.
Overall, I think this is a great book if there are heavy edits brought in and a better focus included to drive the story and its characters.
When I read that this book took four years to come to fruition, I was shocked. The premise of this book is brilliant and full of exciting ideas (the entire reason I requested it). However, the story did not hold up. For me, I felt that the characters, plot line, and the technique of writing lacked depth.
Characters:
It seemed like the characters lacked motivation and direction, including Olivia. Unfortunately, Olivia faced little to no resistance regarding her ideas/plans/decisions. Ava, who initially seemed to be open to being resistant to Olivia, never resisted for more than one line of dialogue. Their relationship was fully surface-level, without any complexity, tension, or building of their budding romance. I was so disappointed that I didn’t get to see any relationship truly develop.
Plot Line:
The premise of this story was so exciting. Climate Collapse world? Android underworld? Sign me up. Almost none of this is written about in depth. There are many holes in this plot, including the antagonists individual plot (if she is even an antagonist?). Things happen quickly and conveniently, all wrapped up in a very neat bow at the end of the book, despite this book being the first in a trilogy somehow.
Writing Technique:
The writing of this felt very elementary. Sentence structures are similar, if not exactly the same from page to page. Pronouns are almost exclusively the beginning of the sentence (I, My, etc etc). There is no rhythm or movement to the writing. It makes the story overall that much more dull. I so wish this was better than it turned out to be.
Overall, I think this is a great book if there are heavy edits brought in and a better focus included to drive the story and its characters.
July 8, 2025
Thank you NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange of an honest review.
I'm adding a gentle disclaimer that I always try to find 5 things (stars, if you will) that I enjoyed in every book I read. So here are 5 things I liked about Edelweiss, with a broader opinion in the end.
1) This book had a really good setting. The World was intriguing and the way Hall introduced it to us was easily digestible.
2) The illustrations were beautiful and complimented the story well. I'm quite picky with illustrations, because I often feel like they are a bit distracting, but these were delicate, well drawn, and suited the general flow of the book.
3) The romance plot was sweet. It felt like innocent teen love, and didn't need to be more than that. I found myself rooting for them from the moment Ava was introduced.
4) The plot itself was intriguing. I didn't know where the story was going, and I'm usually a good guesser. This was a pleasant surprise, and kept me reading for longer hours than I anticipated.
5) It didn't reveal too much. Everything was introduced in small segments, as the story naturally progressed. Hall was not afraid of letting the characters sit in a scene and letting them breathe between the progression.
Alright, so my 5 stars out of the way - this book was refreshing, and I thought it was overall very sweet. I struggled a bit as I couldn't pinpoint the age of the main character and her love interest, and I do think they came off as a lot younger than Hall might have intended for them to be. Some of the dialogue was a bit stiff, and occasionally I thought the phrases and word choices were a bit repetetive (though keep in mind I read an ARC and this might be before final edits).
I'm adding a gentle disclaimer that I always try to find 5 things (stars, if you will) that I enjoyed in every book I read. So here are 5 things I liked about Edelweiss, with a broader opinion in the end.
1) This book had a really good setting. The World was intriguing and the way Hall introduced it to us was easily digestible.
2) The illustrations were beautiful and complimented the story well. I'm quite picky with illustrations, because I often feel like they are a bit distracting, but these were delicate, well drawn, and suited the general flow of the book.
3) The romance plot was sweet. It felt like innocent teen love, and didn't need to be more than that. I found myself rooting for them from the moment Ava was introduced.
4) The plot itself was intriguing. I didn't know where the story was going, and I'm usually a good guesser. This was a pleasant surprise, and kept me reading for longer hours than I anticipated.
5) It didn't reveal too much. Everything was introduced in small segments, as the story naturally progressed. Hall was not afraid of letting the characters sit in a scene and letting them breathe between the progression.
Alright, so my 5 stars out of the way - this book was refreshing, and I thought it was overall very sweet. I struggled a bit as I couldn't pinpoint the age of the main character and her love interest, and I do think they came off as a lot younger than Hall might have intended for them to be. Some of the dialogue was a bit stiff, and occasionally I thought the phrases and word choices were a bit repetetive (though keep in mind I read an ARC and this might be before final edits).
June 17, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and Lloyd Hall for the opportunity to read this book before its release. I was provided an ARC for an exchange of an honest review.
Summary: This story follows a post-apocalyptic Earth that was destroyed by a massive flood. We follow Olivia as she moves to the snowy, small town of June. Olivia is uncovering secrets about the small town, while at the same time, navigating her first relationship with resident, Ava.
My personal thoughts: Apparently this story is part of a bigger series called the Wardenclyffe Series. From what I can tell, the series does not seem to be interconnected, as it follows all different characters.
Because of this, this story and ending makes much less sense to me.
I was a little shocked to discover that this is marketed as Young Adult. I have read plenty of young adult novels, and this read more like a middle grade story to me. I felt like 60% of the book was mostly just mundane conversations between the characters. The interactions were also very stiff with little emotional development.
The story itself lacked plot development, as there was very little background on how the world got to be in this post-apocalyptic state. Throughout the story, you think you are going to find out some kind of answers only to be disappointed. Even the ending is wrapped up without answers to many questions propelled by the climax of the story.
To be completely honest, I was just not personally compelled by this story. There were a lot of ideas that could have been expanded on to flesh out the story, but unfortunately, we did not get that.
Summary: This story follows a post-apocalyptic Earth that was destroyed by a massive flood. We follow Olivia as she moves to the snowy, small town of June. Olivia is uncovering secrets about the small town, while at the same time, navigating her first relationship with resident, Ava.
My personal thoughts: Apparently this story is part of a bigger series called the Wardenclyffe Series. From what I can tell, the series does not seem to be interconnected, as it follows all different characters.
Because of this, this story and ending makes much less sense to me.
I was a little shocked to discover that this is marketed as Young Adult. I have read plenty of young adult novels, and this read more like a middle grade story to me. I felt like 60% of the book was mostly just mundane conversations between the characters. The interactions were also very stiff with little emotional development.
The story itself lacked plot development, as there was very little background on how the world got to be in this post-apocalyptic state. Throughout the story, you think you are going to find out some kind of answers only to be disappointed. Even the ending is wrapped up without answers to many questions propelled by the climax of the story.
To be completely honest, I was just not personally compelled by this story. There were a lot of ideas that could have been expanded on to flesh out the story, but unfortunately, we did not get that.
October 16, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for providing me with an eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
'Edelweiss' is book 3 in Lloyd Hall's Wardenclyffe series- a series of interconnected novels that can be read as standalone books. 'Edelweiss' is a YA, sci fi novel set in a futuristic world following the destruction of the Earth in a flood. We follow our main character Olivia, as she moves to the town of June with her family for her dad's new job. Here she discovers a secret regarding the town's androids and finds herself in a few precarious situations after her curiosity gets the best of her.
While the premise of the novel was interesting and the gorgeous cover design also piqued my intrigue, I found the contents and plot of the novel itself to be lacking for a few reasons.
Firstly, the dialogue and the internal monologue of our main character has quite a juvenile tone to it. Initially I thought Olivia was maybe 12 years old, just from her mannerisms and the way she speaks, only to later be made aware that she is actually 16 and in high school.
Secondly, the plot itself. While the mystery around the androids and the red coat lady were interesting it felt like there was no real incentive given to me as the reader to care about what happens to the androids or the red coat lady. For it being, what I perceived as, the 'main' part of the storyline it seemed poorly fleshed out and underdeveloped.
Thirdly, the ending of the novel and how it just ended, with no clear resolution or answers to any of the questions that were raised throughout the novel. Is Olivia cured? Was her dad able to fix the grid? What is the significance of the spaceship and the older androids being locked into the tunnels? The novel truly felt unfinished.
What I did enjoy were the gorgeous illustrations scattered throughout the novel.
I just think that maybe the novel was a little mis-advertised. I think it would serve better as an introduction to sci-fi for a younger audience, maybe middle grade age, and I think maybe the idea of it being a standalone in the series is not entirely accurate. Perhaps there are contextual clues in the other novels that would have made understanding the events of this one easier.
'Edelweiss' is book 3 in Lloyd Hall's Wardenclyffe series- a series of interconnected novels that can be read as standalone books. 'Edelweiss' is a YA, sci fi novel set in a futuristic world following the destruction of the Earth in a flood. We follow our main character Olivia, as she moves to the town of June with her family for her dad's new job. Here she discovers a secret regarding the town's androids and finds herself in a few precarious situations after her curiosity gets the best of her.
While the premise of the novel was interesting and the gorgeous cover design also piqued my intrigue, I found the contents and plot of the novel itself to be lacking for a few reasons.
Firstly, the dialogue and the internal monologue of our main character has quite a juvenile tone to it. Initially I thought Olivia was maybe 12 years old, just from her mannerisms and the way she speaks, only to later be made aware that she is actually 16 and in high school.
Secondly, the plot itself. While the mystery around the androids and the red coat lady were interesting it felt like there was no real incentive given to me as the reader to care about what happens to the androids or the red coat lady. For it being, what I perceived as, the 'main' part of the storyline it seemed poorly fleshed out and underdeveloped.
Thirdly, the ending of the novel and how it just ended, with no clear resolution or answers to any of the questions that were raised throughout the novel. Is Olivia cured? Was her dad able to fix the grid? What is the significance of the spaceship and the older androids being locked into the tunnels? The novel truly felt unfinished.
What I did enjoy were the gorgeous illustrations scattered throughout the novel.
I just think that maybe the novel was a little mis-advertised. I think it would serve better as an introduction to sci-fi for a younger audience, maybe middle grade age, and I think maybe the idea of it being a standalone in the series is not entirely accurate. Perhaps there are contextual clues in the other novels that would have made understanding the events of this one easier.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 11, 2025
This was an interesting read, but did leave a lot left to be desired. The world the book is set in is very interesting, and I would have loved to know about why there's ice shelves, and what happened for the area to be flooded. The city Olive lives in is certainly interesting, especially with all the tunnels, and some secret "Atlantis" type area under the city - hence why it leaves a lot to be desired. The book felt quite rushed at times, and it would have been nice to know more, such as why was the area sealed off, and also introducing the part where Olive cuts her hand on a crystal, but there's no wrap up on what happens here! The relationship between Olive and Ava seems superficial at best, and we don't really see how they develop feelings for each other - it almost seems like she just picks Ava out of a lineup and decides she will be her person, ie right from the get go of telling Ava she will be going to the ice rink with her ??? And Ava simply goes along with all this, until the end, but then there's a very quick resolution and suddenly they are okay again. Overall, a very interesting story, and I would be curious if this is going to be expanded on further in other books, as the plot certainly is quite unique and it would be nice to get more from it. Finally, I really enjoyed the artwork present throughout the book, it helped paint a picture of the world the characters were in. Massive thank you to NetGalley and Lloyd Hall for letting me read this ARC. I would really love to see it go a bit further, as like I said, it left a lot to be desired.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 30, 2025
thank you netgalley and lloyd hall for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
as i was reading i noted down some thoughts down as i wanted to be as honest as i could.
plot:
- i didn’t realise this was a third in the series! it reads well considering this, it doesn’t make you feel like you have missed out on anything
- sometimes there are some unnecessary sentences that don’t relate to later in the book
- a lot of telling and not showing
- sometimes things happen without any setup
writing style:
- repetitive use of words e.g., “wood[en]” in the first chapter
- sentences are often explained too much “each painted with brightly coloured paint”
dialogue:
- the dialogue can sometimes be a bit of an information dump
punctuation/grammar/proofreading:
- sometimes there is a comma at the end of the sentence rather than a full stop
- there were also some spelling errors throughout that caught me off guard
character:
- the main character reads like she is younger than she is
- some of the characters feel quite 2D, like the main characters love interest and her mother
art work:
- i love the pictures that are included!
overall, i feel as though this book had great potential but it just wasn’t executed to its fullest potential. i also don’t think that it helped that this ARC was shorter than what the book actually is so i appreciate that i didn’t get the full story and so can’t review it in full.
thank you again to netgalley and lloyd hall for this opportunity!
as i was reading i noted down some thoughts down as i wanted to be as honest as i could.
plot:
- i didn’t realise this was a third in the series! it reads well considering this, it doesn’t make you feel like you have missed out on anything
- sometimes there are some unnecessary sentences that don’t relate to later in the book
- a lot of telling and not showing
- sometimes things happen without any setup
writing style:
- repetitive use of words e.g., “wood[en]” in the first chapter
- sentences are often explained too much “each painted with brightly coloured paint”
dialogue:
- the dialogue can sometimes be a bit of an information dump
punctuation/grammar/proofreading:
- sometimes there is a comma at the end of the sentence rather than a full stop
- there were also some spelling errors throughout that caught me off guard
character:
- the main character reads like she is younger than she is
- some of the characters feel quite 2D, like the main characters love interest and her mother
art work:
- i love the pictures that are included!
overall, i feel as though this book had great potential but it just wasn’t executed to its fullest potential. i also don’t think that it helped that this ARC was shorter than what the book actually is so i appreciate that i didn’t get the full story and so can’t review it in full.
thank you again to netgalley and lloyd hall for this opportunity!
May 20, 2025
I think this book has a lot of potential but it very much feels like an early draft. The characters and writing feel much more middle grade than young adult. I also felt the writing was very surface level, there was a lot just outright told to the reader rather than showing and letting the reader come to their own conclusions. I felt a bit like my hand was being held throughout the story and I was being led through every plot point.
The romance also felt extremely rushed, there were brief mentions of Olivia having the budding crush but nothing seemed to be reciprocated beyond platonic affection by Ava until suddenly they were kissing. I didn’t feel any connection or investment in the relationship as it didn’t feel like there was much of a relationship to root for. Everything felt very sudden with little to no build up.
The plot also seemed a bit all over the place. I feel like half the book was spent in various random adventures that didn’t really seem relevant and then suddenly everything comes together all at once in what seems to be a last ditch effort to tie everything together. I would’ve enjoyed more build up and foreshadowing to the final plot point, it seemed to mostly just come out of nowhere and just coincidently be tied to the other events of the book.
Overall, the seeds of a good story are there, everything just feels a bit rushed and unpolished.
The romance also felt extremely rushed, there were brief mentions of Olivia having the budding crush but nothing seemed to be reciprocated beyond platonic affection by Ava until suddenly they were kissing. I didn’t feel any connection or investment in the relationship as it didn’t feel like there was much of a relationship to root for. Everything felt very sudden with little to no build up.
The plot also seemed a bit all over the place. I feel like half the book was spent in various random adventures that didn’t really seem relevant and then suddenly everything comes together all at once in what seems to be a last ditch effort to tie everything together. I would’ve enjoyed more build up and foreshadowing to the final plot point, it seemed to mostly just come out of nowhere and just coincidently be tied to the other events of the book.
Overall, the seeds of a good story are there, everything just feels a bit rushed and unpolished.
May 21, 2025
Edelweiss is set in a futuristic semi-dystopian society. It follows the story of teen Olivia as she settles into her life after moving to the big city of June with her family. She starts to unravel mysteries in town with the help of her new friend.
This story blends cozy science fiction with a sapphic teen romance, which gives it the potential for a lovable cozy read. However, the writing reads a bit younger than YA and often tells rather than shows the reader. I also didn’t realize this book was the third in its series until starting it, but it holds up as a stand-alone read.
The most exciting part of this book was Olivia's sense of adventure. She turned every opportunity into an adventure and sought to solve mysteries, taking her all over town. That being said, I would have liked to have seen more character growth with the characters.
The plot is fast-paced, but often feels unrelated to the main storyline. Some of the decisions and motivations of the characters felt strange or rushed.
Overall, it was an enjoyable read. The characters were interesting, and the worldbuilding felt unique. I think if more time were spent on developing the characters and plot, it could be a great book; however, in its current state, it does feel closer to an early draft.
Thank you, Lloyd Hall and NetGalley, for the ARC!
This story blends cozy science fiction with a sapphic teen romance, which gives it the potential for a lovable cozy read. However, the writing reads a bit younger than YA and often tells rather than shows the reader. I also didn’t realize this book was the third in its series until starting it, but it holds up as a stand-alone read.
The most exciting part of this book was Olivia's sense of adventure. She turned every opportunity into an adventure and sought to solve mysteries, taking her all over town. That being said, I would have liked to have seen more character growth with the characters.
The plot is fast-paced, but often feels unrelated to the main storyline. Some of the decisions and motivations of the characters felt strange or rushed.
Overall, it was an enjoyable read. The characters were interesting, and the worldbuilding felt unique. I think if more time were spent on developing the characters and plot, it could be a great book; however, in its current state, it does feel closer to an early draft.
Thank you, Lloyd Hall and NetGalley, for the ARC!
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