While the cover is really pretty, i’m a bit disappointed with the book. I have to force myself to finish it. I had difficulties to understand the first half of the book. The stories jumping from one pov’s to anothers. The stories itself a bit nonsense imo, like when Nami was interogated, could you believe that as her brother Kai didn’t do anything? And then the story jumps to 2 weeks later. While they live together, it’s rather impossible that Nami could join the rebels without Kai’s noticing. But no, it didn’t say anything which is nonsense.
And also it’s not really clear what are humans and fathomfolks fighting about (rights to belong maybe?) which brings me to complain about Cordelia. I don’t get what she wants. and suddenly there was a god. Also the ending was like.. what happened?
I dislike Nami, some spoiled brat that has privilege and feels that she knows everything. But overall i don’t really care about other characters also.

This book had such promise for me, I was sucked in by an interesting synopsis and a beautiful cover. However, the writing and depth of the plot was lacking and didn’t grip me as much as I hoped for.

Thank you to NetGalley, Orbit and author Eliza Chan for this eARC.

Let me start off by saying I was so, so excited for this book and had such high expectations! Sadly those weren't quite met.

I'll start with the positives. The world! The world so creative, well thought out, rich and just all around cool. It incorporates legends, mythology and folklore from all over the world and I loved it. It sucks you in from the very first page and you want to know more about it and see more of it.

Unfortunately that is the end of what I loved in this book. It took me forever to get into the story and none of the characters really gripped me. Cordelia is an arrogant snob and Nami is just even more useless, naive and stupid than shortsighted, which is saying something! Mira at least is trying, but even she is just so clueless. The plot was familiar and too drawn out, with lots of unnecessary scenes/details and the chapters often ended abruptly and felt kinda choppy. I feel like it would've really benefited from another round of editing.

Nevertheless I did read it in two days, and because of the amazing world it gets 3.5 stars.

Review will be up on Goodreads & my insta around Feb 15th.

Fathomfolk has a lot of promise, but I think it could have been much, much better than it ended up being. The prose is simplistic and the phrasing is often a little awkward, particularly when it comes to dialogue, and I’m far from the first early reader to point out that most of the characters are extremely one-dimensional. I had a lot of sympathy for Mira, the half-siren recently promoted to captain of the border guard, but I also found her lack of political skills frustrating; surely she had to know that if she wanted to change things, she was going to have to play ball with the city’s elite? And it’s one thing to be no good at politicking; it’s another to be unable to control your temper and be polite when you’re dealing with people much more powerful than you. I liked her as a person, but as a character, not so much.

The others aren’t better. Nami, the water dragon, is incredibly immature – how old is she supposed to be? Because she reads as 15 or 16, all hormones and acting on impulse and never thinking things through, to the point of stupidity. Cordelia, our sea witch, was almost interesting, but I disliked how we were told her goals and motives as she manipulated people, rather than getting to watch her play puppet-master and gradually see her plans come to fruition.

At first glance, I thought the worldbuilding was wonderful, but the more we saw of it, the less sense it made to me, and I think the way Chan went about giving us the information was clumsily done. My biggest issue is, why does underwater life mimic land life so much? The Folk use their magic, called waterweaving, to protect their food in little air-pockets so it’s not ruined by the water; they use it to hold things to counters so they don’t float away; they use it to allow themselves to walk along the sea-floor. But…why would underwater life look like that? Shouldn’t it be completely different to how humans live on land? It feels incredibly lazy, like the author went looking for a way to justify/allow her underwater people to live like humans, rather than sitting down and actually thinking about how non-humans who’ve never seen dry land would live. Seriously: why are they walking on the ground? They can all swim!

Other worldbuilding questions: why are the city guard called the kumiho? Kumiho are like kitsune – fox spirits – but from Korea; do they exist in Chan’s world, or are they just stories? Why does a city that reviles the Folk have a place named Glashtyn Square (glashtyn being a kind of horse water-beastie from Manx folklore)? If dragon pearls are functionally dragon eggs, why on earth would the dragons allow humans to keep a stolen one and turn it into a symbol of land and water people getting along?! That’s a baby! How is that not obscene? But Nami’s whole storyline kicks off when she tries to steal it back and gets in an enormous amount of trouble for it – not in trouble with the humans, but the Folk, including her mother, whose pearl/egg/child it is! Wtf?

Also, I get that ‘drawback’ is a term related to tsunamis…but if you call your extremist group the Drawbacks, I promise you, that’s not what most readers are going to hear. It only makes your rebels sound like complete and utter idiots.

I loved how many different water beings from different mythologies I saw – mostly Asian, but not all – but I have no idea how to picture any of them in Chan’s world; they’re not described visually, and there’s no explanation of what a selkie, kappa, or kelpie is. If you don’t know, Chan’s not going to tell you; and even if you know the mythology – which in most cases I did – there’s no guarantee that what I’m picturing is what Chan wants me to picture. That was baffling and annoying in equal measure.

There’s a fair amount of telling-not-showing – which was so disappointing with such a gorgeous and diverse setting, where I wanted to see everything! – but the dealbreaker for me was how often important moments kept happening off-page, for us to be told about them later. For example, early in the book, Mira has a pretty major fight with her boyfriend – but we have no idea until she recaps it for us in her thoughts in a later chapter. That was a scene that should have been on the page, and I have no idea why it wasn’t.

To me, Fathomfolk feels unfinished, an early draft with the potential to be something incredible, but that just isn’t there yet. The characters need more fleshing out; the underwater worldbuilding needs to be completely rethought from the seafloor up; and the prose needs at least one more round of polishing to make it flow – pun fully intended – better.

This was a great book and I look forward to the sequel! I think the blending of folklore with serious societal issues such as xenophobia, classism, and protest worked really well. It allowed those subjects to be delved into but without it feeling too confrontational or overwhelming, as it may have done with a real-world setting.

The main focus of the book is the exploration of different forms that resistance can take. Do you work to change the system from within, playing the long game? Or do you take a more extreme approach, which may bring change more quickly, but at a cost? Mira and Nami both want better lives for Fathomfolk, but take these differing routes to work towards ending their oppression.

I felt that the inclusion of the prejudice within the Fathomfolk community added an extra depth to the story, as well as making it feel more realistic. Sirens like Mira, and Sea Witches like Cordelia are low in the hierarchy, as their powers make other folk suspicious of them. Seeing Mira navigate this extra challenge in her relationship with a Dragon (the highest in the social hierarchy) is interesting, although by the starting point of the book, Mira has already navigated through most of that, as the relationship is well-established.

I loved Cordelia as a character, although I was never quite sure what her end-game was - hopefully we'll see more in the next book! Mira was also a great character and I liked her relationship with Nami, the younger sister of her partner. I think sometimes Nami came across as a bit too naive and seemed younger than she was perhaps intended to be, but I think there is something more to her relationship with Firth that meets the eye so I want to see where that goes!

Overall, a book with great world-building that touches on many important issues. The writing style is easily accessible, but I'd have preferred it to be slightly more lyrical - sometimes it reads like a YA book. For a book about fantasy creatures, it's surprisingly serious!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. I really wanted to love this one, but unfortunately I t I did not. I did not find the plot or characters to be very engaging, and as someone who reads fantasy as an escape from the real world, I found the xenophobia (the main theme of this book) exhibited in the society a little too close to home, and when I finished I was just left feeling rather sad. Nonetheless it is an important issue so I still recommend reading this, especially if you do like fantasy which explores these heavy societal issues.

Unfortunately, Fathomfolk is an amazing idea of a book, let down by the fact that it desperately needed another round of edits. I loved the concept of a sea-dwelling population that combines a whole range of different folklores and mythologies, from water dragons through to seducing sirens and twisty sea witches. There’s also some interesting parallels to modern politics in the plot line of the Fathomfolk seeking a better life in the cities, but being exploited for political gain.

However, this book just feels unpolished, for lack of a better description. Chapters end abruptly, the metaphors don’t always make perfect sense, and a number of major plot points are skipped through in mere sentences. This made it very hard to connect with the characters, and sometimes their motivations and actions seemed inconsistent. I found myself struggling to engage with the story at many points, and desperately wishing things were made just a little clearer.

This was one of my most anticipated ARCs to begin the new year. The semi submerged city of Tiankawi is home to both humans and fathomfolk, inhabitants of the water. However the two races are not equal. Humans generally live above the water and run the city while the different races of fathomfolk, sirens, kelpies, seawitches and even dragons live in the polluted waters below.
I loved the world building and the city of Tiankawi really came alive for me with its mixture of luxurious apartments, squalid slums and above all, the ever present water. I really liked all the different races of fathomfolk and how each race had their own characteristics. The political side of the story was handled well too. The fathomfolk are definitely not equal to humans and elements of the folk are calling for a revolution. We see both the hard line side of the folk as well as those who want to change things in a different way.
Despite loving the world and the plot, I still found the book too easy to put down. I think that this was because the characters themselves didn’t really interest me. I usually enjoy multi POV novels but this just felt too disjointed at times. I did get more involved towards the end when Mira’s story really came to a climax.
It was still an enjoyable read and I am looking forward to the second part where I hope that the characters interest me more.

I enopyed Fathomfolk a lot more than I thought I would. It turned out to be really gripping and had characters that are easy to love but not one-dimensional.
And I loved the worldbuilding! The city feels so vibrant and alive, it is really entertaining. And the magic? Especially the Sea Witch? Amazing.
Although I really liked it, it has a few weaknesses. Sometimes, especially in the beginning, the writing js a little...clumsy and that makes it hard to follow where the book is going. And there are some plot-holes that annoyed me, but maybe they will be resolved in the next part.
Overall a great read, 4.25/5

Fathomfolk has such a promising premise. I find the idea of its world, the semi-submerged city of Tiankawi, enthralling. Imagining a world where humans and fathomfolk creatures coexist in one place got me all excited. Fortunately, it didn't live up to my expectation.

I find the storytelling quite boring. It took me forever to get the first half of the book done and practically dragged myself towards the rest of it. I'm really saddened by the fact I did not end up loving this. No characters make me root for them. I just wish for one goal: both sides could live in peace. No wars and blood shall be shed. Other than that, I didn't really care what happened with our narrators. Perhaps, the one who I resonate with the most is Nami (except when she is with Firth, I can scarcely tolerate her).

With all that being said, I don't think the book is thoroughly bad. Just a matter of preference is all. If you wish to read East Asian mythology that feels magical, I would say go for it.

My sincerest gratitude goes to NetGalley for providing me with ARC in exchange of honest review.

I've started a tradition of reading a book in a day on January 1st, and this is the one I chose this time. 3.75 stars, rounded up to 4.

The worldbuilding was stunning and I really liked it, it's my favorite thing about the book. The ideas are so good and it felt like a rich world. I also liked that the story has intrigue and tension because the stakes do feel high. Also, there's a variety of characters we get to know fairly well, and that's always great. Some of them are great, some of them aren't. Overall, I enjoyed some of this book.

However, generally speaking, the plot wasn't super engaging to me personally. I just wasn't very interested in it because it kept focusing on the characters I disliked the most, especially Nami, who was so disappointing and frustrating at every turn. Also, the way everything unfolded was kind of "meh" and it wasn't as surprising as I think it was meant to be.

I'm not sure I feel like continuing the series. On the one hand, I like some of the characters and I love the world, but on the other hand, I hate Nami and I don't care about the story that much. So, I don't know, we'll see!

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for gifting me this e-arc. All opinions are my own and entirely truthful.

WOW what a book!

This political high fantasy novel was so incredibly detailed, the world that Eliza Chan weaved is full of unique and magical creatures facing very real world issues. This story follows two very strong willed women and their journeys dealing with discrimination, challenges of the heart, and finding themselves. There were so many different, important storylines which were made easier to follow thanks to multiple POVs and tied everything together so nicely.

Mira and Nami’s relationship as somewhat sisters blossomed so beautifully and Kai was just the sweetest character in the world. That ending gut-wrenched me and I’m so hoping for a reversal in the next book somehow 😭

I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"Fathomfolk" by Eliza Chan is an aquatic fantasy set in the semi submerged city of Tiankawi, where Fathomfolk (water humanoid creatures) and humans coexist. There are three POVs, each of them wishing to change the city in different ways.

This is one of the most imaginative books I have read this year! The vast insertion of mythology in this vividly described world was a pure joy. I loved how it drew all these stories and creatures from all over the world and made them cohabit with each other (as well as humans). This mixture didn't also take away from the book's East and South East Asian identity. Rather, the Asian culture was palpable inside each character's ethos instead of the book's wider aesthetic.

Like its diverse mythological influence, the three main characters reflect the multifaceted idea of change. Mira, a half-human-half-siren, wants to play by the system's rules to prove that she is equally capable as the humans who rule Tiankawi. Nami, a young dragon who just arrived in the city and thinks only open defiance can force the city to change. Finally,  Cordelia, a second-generation sea witch who has lost all hope for equality in the city (if she ever had any hope for it is unclear) and manipulates her connections to ensure her family's survival and power.

I really admired how these three characters weren't simply three ways of expressing different desires but also an examination of change based on one's societal power. The interlock of class and change was, for me, one of the most poignant elements of this book. What each character considers a necessary sacrifice is based on how much they have already lost.

Nami, whose experience of loss and prejudice is minimal,  urges for the most visible resistance, yearns for the change to be immediate and abrupt. I couldn't help but feel that a level of her desire for change was partly to better reflect and show the hierarchies of the underwater society she came from and, as a Dragon, she stood at the top. That she ought to stand at the top by human standards as well. This might be unfair to a young girl, and I am partly feeling guilt for being so harsh on Nami because immaturity is clearly a personal obstacle she needs to overcome but, it irks me that despite all that happens to her, she fights against maturity. It's a slow and painful road for her and others to achieve it.

In contrast, Mira knows all too well what she can lose. She is, more than any of the other characters appearing in this book, trapped in the in-between space of humans and fathomfolk. The prejudice that controls the city has led her to lose her father, a human who abandoned her and her mother. And, at the same time, she is the most palatable of the fathomfolk because she is a bit human too. What a lonely place to be! But, her story is also one of nurture over nature. Even though she feels a connection to the human side of her genes, her upbringing has been that of a fathomfolk, and her links with that culture are the ones that pull her the tightest. Mira is terrified of what the future would hold for her and all she loves if the delicate balance that keeps Tiankawi afloat.

Finally, Cordelia, my favourite POV! She carries in her story the intergenerational trauma of the city. She has all the false promises etched onto her soul, and her fear of the future is pushing to villainous behaviour. Does that excuse her? Of course not. But it does make her compelling. Cordelia knows that those like Mira who play by the system will have the rug pulled under their feet because the game is rigged against Fathomfolk. Her grandmother's story has taught her that. She also knows that the harsh violence of the revolution will lead to poverty and hardship for most of the population. She is the wisest character, who understands better than any other, how unfair life is. As a sea witch, she gets the worst of both worlds. Both humans and fathomfolk distrust her because she is a shape-shifter. She opts to fight for a personal change in her circumstances. To exploit the system because she is convinced that is the only way to better her societal position and life expectations for her family.

This touch of hierarchical perceptions was one of my favourite sub elements of the book. It is so clever that Chan places Nami's aristocracy against the POVs of a siren and a sea-witch to illuminate that prejudice exists within the fathomfolk world too. I really hope the mirroring of prejudice between the human world, fathomfolk society, and the comparison of those two worlds is explored more in the next book!

Like other books this year that really seeded in my mind, "Fathomfolk" took longer to read. Not because I was not enjoying it but because it required a lot of me mentally. And for that, I know this book will stay with me. I will reflect on all the ideas it presented because it is a really beautiful blend of fantasy, mythology, and a psychological analysis of a versatile city.

I have tried to read this for over 2 weeks now and can't bring myself to carry on, so it will have to be a DNF at 30%.

I was looking forward to a water based world, and while some of the descriptions were evocative and the many different types of fathomfolk were interesting, I found the semi modern setting jarring. It's not clear what level of technology there is - there are trams/trains and electricity, but no computers or guns.

The writing is too simplistic for me to consider this an adult book. One of the viewpoint characters, Nami, is young, naive and reckless and acts like most YA protagonists. She has a romance subplot which is very insta-lovey. In her second meeting with her love interest, they hold hands while he tells her his traumatic backstory.

The other characters are slightly better but still generic, and while not actively annoying like Nami, they are not very interesting either. Scenes felt very disconnected and barely anything had happened by the time I stopped reading.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC, but I just couldn't get into it.

Fathomfolk is the first book in the Drowned world series. While the world building was great in this book, I struggled to connect with any of the characters. I would still recommend checking this out if the synopsis interests you.

I loved the storyline as well as the characters in this novel. The plot was structured in a great way and the cover art is fantastic too. I would certainly recommend this book to my friends.

Overall, "Fathomfolk" is an absolute gem of a collection. Eliza Chan's masterful storytelling and poetic prowess make this a must-read for any lover of folklore and fantasy. I cannot recommend it enough and eagerly await more of her work in the future. Five stars without a doubt!

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Fathomfolk piqued my interest when I saw the blurb saying that fans of Jade City and The Bone Shards' Daughter will love this because I really enjoyed those two series (and loved loved loved Jade City so I had high expectations for Fathomfolk as it was being compared to that).

Let me list out the things that I liked. I liked the setting of Fathomfolk as someone who enjoys urban fantasy. I love the integration of the fantasy aspects into the city setting and how I think a lot of the setting is a representative of the current world we're living in. I think if we're comparing it to Jade City, the only similarity between this book and her is the urban fantasy feels of it all but it ends there.

However, there's just a lot of things I struggled with while reading this book. Fathomfolk is told in several POV, and the author made it easy of how these characters are all connected to each other by telling it in the beginning. Still, I wasn't attached to any of the characters and also even when I already got up to the 60% mark, I still had little clue of their motivations and how the different aspects of the story will converge together. I was just really confused on what's happening and the fact that I didn't really care for the characters made me struggle to keep reading. I also thought the characters were a bit flat and the romances had almost-to-none chemistry (the last quarter with Kai and Mira was good but that's it. I appreciate the social status differences though), especially Nami and Firth like I'm not sure I'm supposed to be rooting for them? They have no chemistry and I didn't see any development AT ALL besides Firth asking Nami to trust him over and over again and Nami getting weak everytime Firth is around. I also think this book suffers from uneven pacing too, and only the last quarter saved this book for me as I was ready to DNF.

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit UK for approving me of an ARC. This review will be posted on Goodreads 2 weeks before release date.

This is a beautiful and unique story set against the backdrop of sea creatures and a semi-submerged city. The narrative deftly addresses familiar themes of racial discrimination and social inequality while emphasizing the importance and beauty of connection, community, and unity.

Around the 60% mark, I found myself deciding between a 3 and a 3.5-star rating. However, the latter 40% of the book proved to be a game-changer, compelling me to elevate my rating to a solid 4 stars.

While I acknowledge some areas that could be refined, particularly in the author's expression, which occasionally felt a tad awkward, and the world building which at times felt hard to follow and imagine, it is noteworthy that these aspects improved significantly as the narrative unfolded. Considering this is a debut novel, the author's commendable work is evident, and her skills show noticeable growth throughout the book.

Connecting with the main characters posed a challenge initially, but as the author's writing gained confidence and clarity, I found myself more engaged. I also think I just grew accustomed to the three POVs in the book, Mira, Cordelia and Nami as I continued to read. The inclusion of indicators for character at the start of chapters, especially in the initial three chapters, might have eased readers into the narrative and added more clarity.

HOWEVER, the final 40% of the novel left a lasting impact on me, as the unfolding events were both rich and impactful. Despite the rapid succession of developments, there was no sense of rushed storytelling. It was during this segment that I realized my unexpected attachment to the characters which pushed my rating to 4 stars.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

I have to dnf this book now at 28%. It just doesn't grab me, and I don't really know what's going on, as it just can't keep my interest.

I did like the writing, and the premise of the book still sounds good, so I might try and pick the book back up later.