What do you think?
Grimvæl: Smoke and Steel
189 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 3, 2026
About the author
Sergio Lourenço
2 books4 followersI write dark fantasy and folk horror, with a particular fondness for weird fiction, folklore, Gothic literature, and sword & sorcery. These influences have followed me into everything I write, from Blood for Quiet Hollow to Grimvæl: Smoke and Steel. I enjoy stories with strange worlds, flawed characters, old mysteries, and a little darkness around the edges. I’m currently working on more stories from the worlds I’ve created.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 13, 2026
I love the premise of the book that's why i claimed a copy via Booksprout.
And I do hereby offer my review entirely of my own accord. Ehehehe.
Gothic. Victorian. Train Heist.
Ahhhhhhhhhh i will try my best not to spoil.
First off the writing.
Good pace. Good mood when needed.
Awesome action scenes.
Awesome LORE - tho that remains to be explored. The book focused on the heist.
The side characters seem deep too.
There's a lot of funny banters...
The dual PoV is done well (in a sense that it's easy to 'hear' the characters' voices - easy to know who's talking in which chapter/PoV).
The scenes are not overly descriptive.
(It played like a movie in my head)
The plot is pretty much the book description. Seem straightforward but it was delivered well so it was fun to read. (I read it in one sitting. It just took me so long to write a review because idk how not to spoil lol i had to do a few edits)
On to the characters... well i can't say much because it'll spoil everything... but..
The brothers are smart, funny, and, resourceful.
The politicians are doing politician stuff and are sus, fake and scheming. I will not be naming them but yeah watch out for them.
The characters on the brothers' side have short 'screen time' but still are memorable..
The antagonists.. are super interesting! I will not name them nor their abilities but oh god.. their introduction.. to the fight scenes.. to the... err i dont wanna spoil XD
There's a lot of funny banters and interesting dialogues but this is my favorite 'banter':
A:"How do i look?"
R:"Hideous "
XD that made me laugh lol .. needs context but once you read it, you'll get it
~~~~~~~~~~
And my favorite dialogue:
S:"You ask too many questions"
A:"I've always found ignorance to be considerably more dangerous"
S:"and I've always found curiosity to be more fatal"
~~~~~~~~~~
Anyway good book. Can't wait for the next books to come.
^^
And I do hereby offer my review entirely of my own accord. Ehehehe.
Gothic. Victorian. Train Heist.
Ahhhhhhhhhh i will try my best not to spoil.
First off the writing.
Good pace. Good mood when needed.
Awesome action scenes.
Awesome LORE - tho that remains to be explored. The book focused on the heist.
The side characters seem deep too.
There's a lot of funny banters...
The dual PoV is done well (in a sense that it's easy to 'hear' the characters' voices - easy to know who's talking in which chapter/PoV).
The scenes are not overly descriptive.
(It played like a movie in my head)
The plot is pretty much the book description. Seem straightforward but it was delivered well so it was fun to read. (I read it in one sitting. It just took me so long to write a review because idk how not to spoil lol i had to do a few edits)
On to the characters... well i can't say much because it'll spoil everything... but..
The brothers are smart, funny, and, resourceful.
The politicians are doing politician stuff and are sus, fake and scheming. I will not be naming them but yeah watch out for them.
The characters on the brothers' side have short 'screen time' but still are memorable..
The antagonists.. are super interesting! I will not name them nor their abilities but oh god.. their introduction.. to the fight scenes.. to the... err i dont wanna spoil XD
There's a lot of funny banters and interesting dialogues but this is my favorite 'banter':
A:"How do i look?"
R:"Hideous "
XD that made me laugh lol .. needs context but once you read it, you'll get it
~~~~~~~~~~
And my favorite dialogue:
S:"You ask too many questions"
A:"I've always found ignorance to be considerably more dangerous"
S:"and I've always found curiosity to be more fatal"
~~~~~~~~~~
Anyway good book. Can't wait for the next books to come.
^^
August 8, 2026
A really enjoyable short fantasy adventure. The setting immediately caught my attention. The whole atmosphere surrounding the train, the cities and world at large. Ren and Ardan were easily my favorite part of the story; their relationship feels natural, and their personalities play well off each other.
The story moves quickly and doesn't waste much time, which worked well for a novella. There are some genuinely tense moments toward the end, and I liked that the story leaves some things unexplained rather than trying to spell out every detail.
A fun read with a great atmosphere, and I'm definitely interested in seeing more of this world.
The story moves quickly and doesn't waste much time, which worked well for a novella. There are some genuinely tense moments toward the end, and I liked that the story leaves some things unexplained rather than trying to spell out every detail.
A fun read with a great atmosphere, and I'm definitely interested in seeing more of this world.
August 11, 2026
This was such a great read! The humor and the chemistry between the characters, combined with the magic that’s been there since the prologue, are just amazing. I’m always impressed by how immersive the world is.
August 15, 2026
Disclaimer:
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A short, atmospheric fantasy with a surprisingly dark turn that I did not expect to finish in one sitting.
I went into this book expecting a fairly straightforward fantasy heist, but it turned out to be much more than that. The strongest part for me was Ren and Ardan's relationship. They feel like brothers who have spent years working together, rather than two characters who happen to be related for the sake of the plot. Ren's charisma and confidence play particularly well against Ardan's more serious and measured personality, and their dynamic carries a lot of the story.
I also really liked the way the magic is handled. Ren's abilities are powerful without making him feel invincible, and there are clear limitations to what he can do. The magic feels like something that belongs to the world rather than a collection of convenient powers the characters can pull out whenever the plot needs them.
The whole book moves incredibly fast. It honestly reads almost like watching a movie, with one scene flowing into the next and very little time spent on things that don't matter. Despite being a novella, though, it doesn't feel empty or shallow. There are enough details, characters, and little pieces of information scattered throughout the story to suggest that there is a much larger world behind what we're seeing. Some of those details feel like deliberate crumbs for stories that could come later, which I really appreciated.
The characters are also a lot of fun. Ren in particular is the kind of protagonist who can carry a story simply because you want to see what he's going to do next. The combination of the brothers, the strange magic, the train setting, and the increasingly chaotic plot makes this a very easy recommendation if you're looking for something quick but still substantial.
Overall, Smoke and Steel is absolutely worth checking out, especially if you like fantasy with a darker edge, charismatic characters, mystery, and a plot that doesn't waste your time.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A short, atmospheric fantasy with a surprisingly dark turn that I did not expect to finish in one sitting.
I went into this book expecting a fairly straightforward fantasy heist, but it turned out to be much more than that. The strongest part for me was Ren and Ardan's relationship. They feel like brothers who have spent years working together, rather than two characters who happen to be related for the sake of the plot. Ren's charisma and confidence play particularly well against Ardan's more serious and measured personality, and their dynamic carries a lot of the story.
I also really liked the way the magic is handled. Ren's abilities are powerful without making him feel invincible, and there are clear limitations to what he can do. The magic feels like something that belongs to the world rather than a collection of convenient powers the characters can pull out whenever the plot needs them.
The whole book moves incredibly fast. It honestly reads almost like watching a movie, with one scene flowing into the next and very little time spent on things that don't matter. Despite being a novella, though, it doesn't feel empty or shallow. There are enough details, characters, and little pieces of information scattered throughout the story to suggest that there is a much larger world behind what we're seeing. Some of those details feel like deliberate crumbs for stories that could come later, which I really appreciated.
The characters are also a lot of fun. Ren in particular is the kind of protagonist who can carry a story simply because you want to see what he's going to do next. The combination of the brothers, the strange magic, the train setting, and the increasingly chaotic plot makes this a very easy recommendation if you're looking for something quick but still substantial.
Overall, Smoke and Steel is absolutely worth checking out, especially if you like fantasy with a darker edge, charismatic characters, mystery, and a plot that doesn't waste your time.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews