And it is, just not by me.’til they sparkled like fey from the Sidh. It really does have a lot of elements to be great, and loved. I did enjoy the characters for the most part, and the plot was intriguing in parts, though all quite standard for an epic fantasy and nothing that really stood out for me. I am all for not dumbing kids books down, but this might be taking it a bit far. It reads often as a good adult fantasy, in its tone and complexity. Overall it is a dense and political, 600 paged book. We also get a lot of the worldbuilding through school lessons, which is quite boring and very infodumpy. All these references to real life pulled me out of the story. The story is a dystopian fantasy… meaning it has a lot of elements of classic sword and sourcery fantasy, but is set far into the future so we also have a Little Mermaid movie night and quotes from Sherlock. But it took me the longest time to get it, and even then I just didn’t feel it. I can appreciate its uniqueness and there was certainly thought put into it. It just didn’t work for me, and never managed to grab my attention. This has incredibly high ratings on GR (I picked this up because it was in the 10 highest rated books on my TBR), and I can see why. Unpopular opinion: I thought this book was just okay. But when Hazel and Hob form an improbable friendship, their bond may save the realm as they know it…or end it for good. Hob, a commoner from the outer realms, has been sent to the city to serve the Faeregines-and to spy on them. But the Empress has other plans for her granddaughter, dark and dangerous plans to exploit Hazel’s talents and rekindle the Faeregine mystique.

Hazel, the youngest member of the royal family, is happy to leave ruling to her sisters so that she can study her magic.

Whether it’s treachery from a rival house, the demon Lirlanders, or rebel forces, many believe the Faereginese are ripe to fall. But the family’s magic has been fading, and with it their power over the empire. In the first book of Henry Neff’s new high-stakes middle grade fantasy series, two unlikely allies-the Faeregine princess Hazel and the servant boy Hob-confront a conspiracy that will shake the world of Impyrium to its core.įor over three thousand years, the Faeregine dynasty has ruled Impyrium.

Impyrium by Henry H. Neff