I thought I was getting into a political adult fantasy that commented on social issues such as privilege and political exploitation but all I got was a mix of POVs and a story that didn't really know what it actually wanted. The bones of this story had so much potential. Even if the story just decided to focus on Mira, it would've been a hit alone. Too much info dumping and not enough movement in the plot to let the world sit with readers. Nami had a good arc at the beginning but it just felt like all the characters around her were doing all the heavy lifting.

I unfortunately didn’t click with the book, plot, setting or characters. I was very excited about this book which has such a gorgeous cover! But It was clearly not what I expected it to be like. I didn’t expect the plot to be so heavily political, and it read like a YA which I didn’t think it was going to be. The concept of the submerged city and the presence of so many different sea creatures was however very interesting.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC for my honest review.

Thank you to netgalley for providing me with an EARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.
This book could have been good, really good infact, if it hadn't been so over ambitious. Unfortunately there was too much going on in terms of aspirations of what this book could have been and dare I say what the author wanted to achieve without any clear direction. Sometimes it is much better to stick to one idea and be good at it than to throw everything at the wall just to see what sticks. In this case I don't think its fair to place the blame solely on the author, as there are many people within the publishing team, that should have edited this to ensure its proper potential was reached.
The concept and storyline is important, it is a unique world, with characters that are complex in their motivations. Unfortunately the plot is not paced in a way that makes you want to continue reading, and although there were many scenes throughout that I enjoyed, there was much of the book that felt like looking into murky water. Not sure if I would necessarily recommend this one although I would definitely like to see what else this author comes out with in the future because it is clear that they are imaginative and have a strong voice.

I'm going to start this by saying I love Asian fantasy and myth retellings.
That being said, I found this really difficult to get into. The characters were difficult to connect with or even really have much interest in.
At about 40% it did start to get more interesting which is why the 3 star rating and not a lower one.
Having said this, I would give a sequel a chance as it did get better further on in the book.

I put it down and picked it up again a few times because I like to finish my books even if I don't particularly enjoy them. I did not force myself to continue though, I think I went into this with the wrong expectations and I was really confused and disappointed. I like the themes, I just didn't enjoy how it was executed. Which is totally personal so, if (like me) you are curious about the themes please give it a go.
The cover is absolutely stunning though, ah!

The ideas were good but everything was just so muddled together, it made the story confusing and hard to follow along. I enjoyed the themes the author dealt with, that and the political intrigued were what kept me going but ultimately, it needed another round or two of editing to make it "more digestible" and more "simple". The story was going in so many different directions but maybe too many and that's what made me dislike it. The characters were a little bland and clearly lacked any depth. A pass for me.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ebook in exchange for my honest opinion.
This book was an interesting read, the beautiful cover caught my attention and I even own the Illumicrate special edition. But something was missing for me, the world was a fascinating set up with the humans and fathom folk in a beautiful semi-flooded city.
This is a political fantasy novel and I did struggle to read it, so much was going on with different characters and places to keep track of I got bored. It's a intriguing blend of Southeast Asian and East Asian culture I was spellbound by the descriptions of the majestic city.
This book was slow paced and I wanted more fantastical than political; rebellions and extremist young people fighting against a system that is against them, it was interesting setting but not as gripping as I hoped it would be. A fine start for a debut author, 3.5 stars for me.

The premise of this book is interesting - mythical water creatures such as kelpies, sirens, dragons etc live alongside humans and are generally looked down upon as less than. There are havens created for the Fathomfolk but these are basically slums because nobody cares about how they survive as long as the humans don't have to deal with them. Also there are human slums. Also a seawitch married to a prominent politician and pretending to be human for some reason. There's a relationship running through the book but it's not really given much time to bloom. The family bonds likewise (except for Mira and her mother). ALSO there is a dissident group of "folk" called the Drawbacks (I mean really) that are trying to protest for Folk rights - I'm not entirely sure of their reasonings or strategy and they seemed to just be causing harm to everybody involved but sure. This book felt too long, too slow, too dragged out with not much happening and I've got no connection to any of the characters even after spending 400+ pages with them. Not sure what this book was trying to do but it didn't do it for me.

Gorgeous!

Set in an Asian-inspired fantasy world, this book took me by surprise. A story between a world submerged in water with magical creatures and intense politics. I really enjoyed Mira's journey as a half-siren, and the drama that ensues. Although the romance took me a little while to get into, i found this story to be well-paced and rife with beautiful writing and a descriptive setting!

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publishers for the e-arc!

I really enjoyed this book. Some parts were hard to get through but overall, it was a really good book. The plot was well developed and I loved the story and character arcs.

I immediately bought this book after reading so that I could re read and annotate. It was an easy 5 star for me as it ticked so many of my favourite things in a book. Not only did it keep my attention but it felt so immersive and atmospheric. It explored some complex aspects such as identity, social justice, acceptance, with a focus on LGBTQIA+ and anti-racism themes. I already have recommended this to people and can see this title pop up in videos on my YouTube in the future.

gorgeous gorgeous cover. good premise and world but honestly it felt weirdly pro-cop to me which was uh. unexpected in a nonwhite fantasy novel. but alas

Eliza Chan the woman you are. She honestly never misses when it comes to crafting memorable characters and unforgettable storylines.

A cute and entertaining fantasy story inspired by East Asian mythology. I loved it, had fun, and appreciated the creatures and the light tone.
Well plotted, good world building. Can't wait to read the next story.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I was really excited for this book, the whole world it was set it and the premise was so intriguing. But unfortunately I found myself really struggling to get through it. The world building that I did read was so beautiful and magical and I can see that so much thought and effort has gone into it. But the multiple POVs was something I struggled to engage with as I didn’t really feel we got enough of any character to truly connect to them. I can see them becoming really interesting characters, the set up is there and I’m devastated that it was unable to finish it. I do not DNF books lightly but that said, this is just my opinion at this moment in time and I really hope that it does change and that I can give this book another try in a few years.

Beautiful Prose, beautiful characters! Fathomfolk is a masterpiece, real issues of racism are transported into it's fantasy world and critic the readers point of view, while showing how easy riots and unrest develop. Overall a unique reading experience!

I enjoyed this read and am looking forward to book two.

This is set in a world where people from under the sea have had to move into above water civilization as humans have poisoned their natural environments with too much farming, mining etc extracting all they can from the worlds natural resources and not caring who it's harming... Sound familiar?

We have multiple point of view characters and the world building is clever. There were times I would have liked more information on the above/below water situation we found ourselves in and I found some of the elements hard to make sense of.

But then, there is a studio Ghibli vibe to this and so once I let myself go with the whimsical world building it worked for me.

A sassy sea witch, a rebellious teen introduced to a world she doesn't really understand and a half siren who has risen through the ranks of a police type system and wants to effect change from within are characters we follow and allow us to see the world from multiple sides.

There are lots of parallels to our real life situation in terms of refugees and outsiders and how they're treated.

I have seen some people upset at what happens at the end of the book but I didn't see this the way they did. It will certainly make for an interesting book two anyway.

My thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book! The three protagonists are incredibly nuanced and I found myself constantly switching between the one I related with most. An incredible debut and I can't wait to read the second book in this duology. Highly recommend it not just for fans of fantasy but for anyone angry and frustrated with power structures in the world.

I have been waiting for this book for a few years now, since before the publication date announcement. The concept and inspirations sounded original and exciting, and in many ways that came through in the reading when I finally got my hands on it. However, overall Fathomfolk did leave me feeling a bit disappointed, and I will do my best to articulate why…

Fathomfolk follows three characters from very different backgrounds. Mira is a half-siren, the daughter of an immigrant yet fully at home in the half-sunken city of Tiankawi. She may be seen by all humans as Folk, but she is dedicated to all citizens of her city and has clawed her way up to captain of the border guard. She does things by the rules, and believes that changes comes through leading by example. Nami is the complete opposite; she is a water dragon, and is the younger sister of Mira’s partner Kai, who is an important ambassador in the city. When she gets exiled to Tiankawi for political extremism back home, she very quickly falls in with the Drawbacks, an extremist group of Folk determined to bring change through any means. And lastly, there is the mysterious seawitch Cordelia, who has great ambitions and is pulling at the strings of all sides, both human and Folk, to try and get what she wants.

On paper, the plot of Fathomfolk is intense, full of politics and intrigue, and a gateway to some fascinating worldbuilding. In reality, however, things moved very slowly and each development of character and plot was delivered in a very heavy-handed manner, with too much information for obvious things and not enough for others. I was fascinated, for example, by a world in which humanity seems to have reached our own level of progress and development, and that their meddling with technology caused the oceans to rise and become polluted to the point that the creatures of the sea can no longer live in it. I wanted to know more of the history of this world, and of all the different Fathomfolk havens outside of Tiankawi. We barely spend any time on this, and the reveal of how the human city still has power to function was slow and drawn out.

The characters were also hard to follow. Mira felt quite two-dimensional, and no matter what happened to her throughout the book she kept trying the same method of solving things, despite them not working in the past. I wanted to like her, but ended up becoming bored during her chapters. Nami, on the other hand, was far too immature a character to enjoy reading. And yes, that was necessary for the story, but because I didn’t enjoy the rest of the cast it made it harder to be stuck in her perspective when she is clearly being manipulated and making poor decisions. I actually quite liked reading Cordelia’s chapters, but she is not a good person in the slightest, and so there was little gratification there, and by the end her narrative strength had fizzled out.

The themes tackled throughout of racism, immigration policies, societal injustice, and generational trauma are definitely interesting and worth including. The setting was perfect to discuss them, but it almost feels as if the plot was tacked on after these concepts were put together, to facilitate the themes. I do know that Fathomfolk is a debut novel, and I am sure Chan’s atmospheric writing and worldbuilding will only improve, but many of the issues with this feel like they could have been tackled in the editing process, and so it feels a bit disappointing that more wasn’t done. By the end I found myself skimming pages to get to the action, and by the time I got to it I didn’t really care enough about it… I do still recommend people pick this up and form their own opinion, and the mythology and setting really are beautifully crafted. I’ll be keeping an eye out for any future books by the author.

I was so excited to read this and the cover is so beautiful but the story just didn’t work for me. It was so slow and I got bore. Trying to get through the chapters was so hard and i felt like nothing was happening for so long. I feel really disappointed because the world was really interesting and I think the story has some interesting points that are discussed. I think others may enjoy the story though.