DNF at 45%

I wanted to get to the end because the story incorporates all my favorite fantasy elements. However, I didn't find most of the characters likable, the narrative seemed messy and the political intrigue element was unpolished.

I'm not usually one to give bad rating but...

The worldbuilding was the only thing that worked for me. It was incredibly rich and gorgeous, I could actually imagine being in the book. But the rest... maybe it'd have worked better if it was a YA fantasy because it sure slipped into the genre more than not what confused me because it made the style to be all over the place.

And now why this didn't even get a 3 stars. The ending was such a no, invalidating all the moral questions built through the story. Just no. I'm sorry because this could have been a great story.

Fathfolk combines some wonderful mythology based fantasy with a setting that feels atmospheric and unique. The idea that underwater creatures from all different mythologies can converge in one setting, filled with teahouse and markets, was so fun. And the world building reflects this too, offering a vast landscape of oceans and Seas that feel dangerous and mysterious.

However I often found that the story itself reads quite young, YA not adult, and it's a issue I've found with a lot of these newer 'adult fantasy' books. They just read young, 2ith protagonists that feel as though they're on the cusp of adulthood. While this did offer more view points, and different ones at that from a sea witch to a sea captain and a wife, none or them really stood out as unique or particularly different.

Certainly an interesting read, brimming with potential, but it read very young for a adult book and I think there were too many POVs.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers for this eARC

Fathomfolk was a anticipated read for me and I couldn't wait to dive into this novel.
I felt it was written really well and I really liked the characters and how they drove the storyline, the multiple povs created a deeper sense to the story but I felt they jumped too quickly to each other. I would have liked to stay on characters povs a little longer before moving on. Saying that though I did really enjoy reading this novel

Dnf'd at 50%

I'm so sad that this wasn't for me. On paper, it should have been a great book but I just could not get attached to the characters. I think the POVs swapped too much and in the end, I found it difficult to remember who was who.

The bones of the story were good and I was really excited about the world but sadly, I just couldn't get into it.

This was an enchanting YA fantasy which explores rebellion and oppression. The story is set in a sinking city (Tiankawi) with polluted waters where humans are kept separate and literally above mythical water creatures (fathomfolk). We follow the POVs of three fathom folk: Mira (half siren, half human, who is working in the city guard), Nami (water dragon), and Cordelia (sea witch). The world building was amazing and the story felt very emotionally charged. There is a small romance subplot which was alright, but I wasn't obsessed with. Overall, this was a great YA fantasy and I will be continuing this series!

This was a DNF for me, I'm giving it 2 stars purely for the plot idea and the cover

I found it too confusing to keep the threads of who and what was going on, and it was like I was thrown into a world with no real explanation of what was happening

I received an advance copy for free from NetGalley, on the expectation that I would provide an honest review.

The cover of Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan is stunning and the premise sounded really interesting too. I was looking forward to being submerged in a world with sea creatures and water beings. Mythology is a genre that I gravitate towards and I'm not familiar with East Asian so I was excited to learn more.

Unfortunately it all feel a bit flat for me and didn't hold my attention at all. Chan has thrown a lot of concepts into this book but it feels just too much and all a bit of a muddle. I found the plot difficult to follow and it didn't absorb me into the story. I wasn't able to connect with any of the characters and felt that they lacked depth and emotion.

I did have to leave the book and almost DNF but I came back to it and battled through to the end. Although it isn't a series I will be continuing.

I was so excited to get this arc - the premise sounded really great and exciting.
Reading it was sometimes a chore though.

The story is told in multiple povs, to show all the different facets of the story and also to show the difference of the way the humans live and the fathomfolk. The changing pov made it hard for me to care for any of the characters and I only liked one of the povs.

Regarding the story itself: I think this had so much potential and the author showed the oppression of the folk well. Her characters had ambitions for themselves that weren't only for the 'greater good' but also more selfish which made them realistic. Sadly, the connection to other characters fell flat for me and all the surprising points the story held weren't surprising at all.

I won't say anything about the end but let's just say this: the author really outdid herself with the ending, it is one of the only things that make me contemplate reading the second book.

Fathomfolk is a story that is incredibly filled with worldbuilding, with three main points of view throughout who seek to improve their lives.

In this world, there are humans and then there are fathomfolk; those who live underwater. With the waters polluted, most fathomfolk are seeking to make better lives for themselves and their families above water, in the city of Tiankawi. Many humans see gills as making the fathomfolk “too different”, with many expressing their thoughts in cruel ways. With fathomfolk including the likes of sirens and dragons with powers, most are made to wear devices that cause harm if they even consider hurting a human, further ensuring the imbalance between humans and fathomfolk.

The first main character we meet is Mira, a half-human, half-siren who has risen to become captain of the city guard. With guards being predominantly human, this is a huge deal and Mira is still trying to make things better in “the right ways” along with her absolutely adorable cinnamon roll boyfriend, Kai; a dragon who acts as the ambassador of fathomfolk.

Next up, we meet Nami, Kai’s sister and chalk to his cheese. She thinks that acting out and rebelling is the only way to make fathomfolk lives easier, which is dangerous when she’s banished to Tiankawi by her mother and very quickly runs into the third main character and the rebellious Drawbacks.

I won’t mention much about the third character we follow, but she has many secrets and is the only one of the three who seemingly solely cares about herself and her family.

The unfair distribution of power throughout made Fathomfolk an intensely emotional read, though there were many moments of happiness as well. One of the shining characters aiding with these moments, alongside Kai, was Mira’s mum, Trish, a siren. She’s suffering from a disease caused by the pollution, but Mira does all she can to make sure Trish is as well as she can be. I loved seeing the bond between them.

Obviously I won’t talk much about the ending! But it definitely shook me and I cannot wait for more from this world and to read more from Eliza Chan in general!

Fathomfolk is a captivating debut by Eliza Chan, filled with rich water mythology and chaotic characters, all set against the backdrop of a flooded, Asian-inspired city.

The three main POV characters are all strong women with convincing motivations who could not be more different: half-siren Mira is the captain of the border guard, Nami is an extremely opinionated and chaotic water dragon, and Cordelia is a sea-witch determined to protect her family at all costs. While they end up at odds many times as the story progresses, I found all three of them to be compelling in their actions and I grew to care about all of them over time.

What I really enjoyed about this book was how the story progressed and developed throughout. The author does not shy away from putting her characters through their paces, and that shows in the rollercoaster of emotions I felt.

I also want to take a moment to appreciate authors who give us an established relationship and let us see it constantly grow and evolve in a healthy way. I absolutely loved Mira and Kai and how they overcame all their obstacles and arguments. Sometimes the stability and love of a long-term relationship hits better than a hot new love interest!

The one bit that didn’t quite hit the mark for me was the beginning of the book. The first 100 pages were a bit slow, so it really took some time to get into it, but I’m so happy I did!

Overall, I really enjoyed Fathomfolk and a lot of the elements in it. I think the series is shaping up to be quite exciting, and I cannot wait to see what Eliza does with her next book!

This is kind of a soft dnf, the story seems intriguing and I might pick it up again sometime. The conflict seems interesting.
The characters are trying to change the political system and the human's view of the folk. To get to a sense of equality. And that seems like something I’d read. It’s just, I have some issues. The writing is very confusing and it’s not clear who is talking when, and there is little to no explanation for all the sea creatures, it’s just assumed you know everything about them already, there are a lot of diverse characters which is nice but also, there are just a lot of characters in general which is, again, confusing. It’s kinda hard to get through and doesn’t flow nicely like other books but I might try it again at a later date

3.5 🌟

I was so interested in the premise of this book and so excited when I got approved for an arc!

Tiankawi’s such an interesting place and I loved seeing how people have adapted to living in structures above the water. You can clearly see the divide between fathomfolk & humans and how fathomfolk are mistreated, so I liked getting the different POV’s from them trying to navigate this world.

A few things I did like
- Kai - even though I wish we had seen more of him and his character was developed a bit more. I get he was just a good guy through and through but yeah would’ve liked more.
- I also loved Mira and how she lived without her siren while still being treated so horribly for it.
- the sand gods/titans - I thought something else was going on for them to be built on something (I’ve heard the story about the world living on the back of a giant turtle and that was in my mind)

A few things I didn’t like
- Firth. When he was first introduced I thought he would be a good guy but I just got bad vibes from them on. He very much seemed like one of the leaders because he could flirt and work his way in with people and it’s mentionned specifically women so I think he’s just completely played Nami, especially after he treated her when she wouldn’t kill the titan. He’s sneaky and I think he’s really gonna fuck things up in the sequel.
- Kai’s goodbye. It just felt really flat and like oh okay so now he’s gone 😂
- some things just got dropped but never developed. Such as the power in the city is from their pakalot’s draining them and their water weaving and it’s just never mentioned again? Like surely that would be something the drawbacks would use for support or any fathomfolk?

I am still interested enough to read the sequel so I hope that it delivers as the epilogue got me excited!

Thank you to Orbit and Netgalley for the e-ARC!

I have this thing for thick books - I will either stick with it for a day and finish it before bedtime, or read chapters slowly-paced. This book made me do the second. The story required a lot of time for me to be able to put things together, as there was a lot to unpack and understand. The world-building was amazing, I could see the references made on Asian cultures. The characters were relatable on their thoughts and decisions, and very uniquely described on the physical aspect. I really needed an art depiction of how they looked like to help me move forward with my reading (I'm very visual when imagining scenes). The fight scenes were epic, and the political intrigue was expressed well.

Overall, I would say I liked this book. Not my favourite, but it was a wonderful world to visit.

I FOUND A NEW FAVOURITE!! Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan is a brilliant debut and first book that is a definite 5 stars from me in months. Missed my stop on the train, stayed up late to finish and had so many feelings 🥺

Fathomfolk is set in Tiankawi, a semi submerged city where the humans rule from the top of tall towers and the fathomfolk live in and near the polluted water. Fathomfolk are sea creatures from mythology; sirens, kelpies and sea dragons alongside a whole host of other creatures drawn from around the world. They are both looked down on and feared by the humans. All of the main characters feel the injustice of this but all have very different perspectives on what to do about it.

I loved the world building in this, the tech/fantasy mishmash just worked so well. The city feels so tangible and really captures how it feels to live somewhere that is a melting pot of different cultures. In a panel I went to, Eliza Chan described wanting to capture the modern fantasy vibes of The Legend of Korra and I think she did that so well while also having a world that feels original.

The highlight for me was the characters. I got so attached so quickly. Mira is a half siren and the first ever Fathomfolk to become Captain of the border guard. She tends to play by the rules and is trying to create change from inside the system. She is my favourite, she is wonderful, cares so deeply and I want her to be happy. Nami is a sea dragon, princess of an underworld kingdom and we see her come to the city for the first time. She's a younger perspective, more naive and while I found a lot of her choices frustrating, her compassion won me over in the end. The final perspective is Cordelia, a sea witch who is out to make as much profit as she can. It was so fun having a perspective of someone who is more of an antagonist and I loved seeing all her scheming.

This book's cover and blurb really drew my attention, especially due to its mythological and water based concepts. My main issue with Fathomfolk is that everything is confusing in the beginning, and I had to reread the first few chapters multiple times; even then, I still didn't understand much of what was going on. It does get a little better along the way, but I almost never feel tempted to DNF other books at 5% like I was about to do with this one. The world-building is amazing but the lack of explanations ruins the whole experience, and I feel like readers picking up finished copies will DNF faster than ARC readers. I did enjoy some of it, but I can't rate it higher because the beginning is so rocky and confusing and there are things that we don't get an explanation for all throughout the book.

In Fathomfolk we follow three POVs as they navigate the half human half fathomfolk city of Tiankawi.

Things I loved about this book:

The best thing about the book was the conflict, the nuance Chan was able to weave in, the subterfuge, the plot twists and the internal conflict between characters combined with it being the central plot point was all really well done.

The setting - the mix of water and stark city skylines had me imagining a fantastic sci-fi city. The city was almost a character of its own and played really well into the worldbuilding with different hierachys.

The Characters- all of them had flaws and these were thoroughly explored and examined which was really refreshing. We love growth!

The Romance - we don't see Kai and Mira meet, they are already together at the start of the book but I trusted their connection even when at times their relationship was tested.

The only thing I didn't like about the book was the pacing, it felt a little slow to start and a rush to finish but I am really looking foward to book 2.

Definitely one to check trigger warnings for because there are a lot of them.

FATHOMFOLK is a fantasy debut full of water magic that explores the immigration crisis and the exploitation and dehumanisation of immigrants.

This is a lushly built world where climate disasters and war have led to the world being underwater. Humans live in floating cities or atop the last remaining piece of land, polluting the water. Fathomfolk, creatures of the water, are forced to flee to the human cities as the pollution kills their homes, but these sanctuaries are anything but, treating them as second class citizens.

It's a set up that really exposes the injustices in our own immigration systems, the problems we cause and then do nothing to help those it affects. The book has some shocking moments (like the reveal of the Onseon) but the more insidious parts are the every day systematic abuse and suppression that get stoked deliberately by those seeking power - and then lead to further suffering.

I loved being in the city, with some sci-fi elements among the fantasy, like the towering structures rising from the water. It also weaves together so many different water myths, full of wonderful creatures and their powers.

The book centres around three women trying to solve or use the conflict on different ways. There is the captain of the guard trying to solve from within, the outsider drawn into the more extreme forms of change because she can't see a way forward (side note but Firth was a character I never trusted as he threw up so many y red flags - he was so manipulative that I hope she ditches him next book!), and then there was the minister's wife looking to promote her family. They bring a nice rounded view to the situation, showing many angles to the same issue.

This is the first in a series but one that feels like 95% of a standalone. The bulk of the main conflict is wrapped up (in a heartbreaking way) but this leads to a situation for the next book to face.

Sad to say, this is another book that I thought I was going to really enjoy due to the blurb but it left me wishing I DNF'd halfway through like I wanted to.

First things first, if you want an adult fantasy with some sort of world-building that isn't painfully simplistic, this isn't it. This is my biggest complaint, what exactly is adult about it? It really feels like the world building was simply things that the author decided sounded cool but didn't think them through. Almost nothing get explained or built on, things "just are". The book doesn't want you to think too hard on it, and that's fine, but it should not be advertised as adult fantasy -- this is simpler than some YAs I've read. We don't even have an answer as to why the sea folk can shapeshift into humans. Can they only shapeshift into humans? Is there no other race out there? Why humans in particular? What gives them the ability to shapeshift? Is that considered magic or it "just is"? There is a sea witch which can shapeshift into other sea folk but we don't really get any explanation on how her powers work either, she is just a witch and that must mean she can do any magic that is convenient at the time. There is also no magic system whatsoever, the sea folk can water bend like 3 times in the book, that's it.

In general, the sea folk felt more like an aesthetic than anything that matters to the plot. The characters do almost everything (including sexual stuff) in their human forms. The entire book takes place in a single human city, the politics revolve mainly around whatever happens in said human city. We don't even know anything about the sea world aside from the fact it has royalty. You might as well just interchange the sea folk with humans, and you'd have gotten the same kind of story, there's nothing unique about them aside from making the book stand out for its aesthetic.

Fathomfolk is mainly a political fantasy which i tend to like, but sadly it didn't make me invested in them at all. It's the most basic politics and revolution plots you can find in a lot of younger books. Was it bad? no, but it also that you haven't seen many times before.

The characters were fine, for the most part. The female leads were all distinct, even if the villain felt like she was a little too inspired by Ursula from The Little Mermaid... Sadly, all the male characters were plot devices and I bet I will forget them in 10 hours.

The ending thinks it does something shocking but it feels cheap and ridiculous. On the bright side though, I think it might pave way to plot at least somewhat more interesting than book 1 but I am not going to be coming back to this series.

All in all, I am very sad that this ended up being such a dreadful read for me, as it was one of my most anticipated releases for this year. Initially I kept giving it a benefit of a doubt because I thought it has potential on which it can build on but it just doesn't.

<i>Thank for Netgalley & Orbit for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!</i>

[ARC provided by NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK, Orbit. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review Fathomfolk.]

Rating: 3/5

When I read that Fathomfolk is like if the little mermaid was a pissed off immigrant in a semi-flooded-Asian-inspired city, I was immediately interested. I also saw it being compared to The Legend of Korra which had me applying for the ARC right away, but then I saw some early reviews and my excitement diminished a little. Of course I never let that deter me and I can say that the author delivers on everything that I’ve mentioned here, and I even came to appreciate some of the elements that make up this story such as the diaspora discussion and the themes of racism that are sadly similar to what we see in our own world. That being said, the longwinded exposition and slow to start plot made this difficult for me to get through.

Fathomfolk explores real world problems in a modern fantasy setting. We see a magical underclass (fathomfolk) face oppression at every turn in a place where those on higher ground hold the most power. The city of Tiankawi is home to a human civilisation that offers a safe haven to anyone fleeing civil unrest, but safety comes at a cost and life in the perilous city masks some terrible truths. The book follows multiple POVs that show us various perceptions of this flawed setting, and when extremists sabotage a beloved annual event, the resulting clampdown on fathomfolk rights sets off a chain of events that could bring the city to its knees.

I’m glad I stuck with this book because I found that it got better for me the further I got through it, but the first half was a struggle and I felt that the exposition heavy scenes could have done with another round of editing. However, the story deals with some poignant themes and I think it’s important to read books that talk of walks of life that you aren’t familiar with, and so I’m glad to have read this so that I might understand others going through similar experiences better.

We follow multiple POVs in Fathomfolk, each dealing with their own problems. My favourite was half-siren Mira, newly promoted captain of the border guard who is doing everything that she can to bring about change. There’s also Nami, an aristocratic water dragon, and Cordelia, a scheming sea-witch, who drive the plot forward with their various movements. It was hard switching to the other perspectives because I mostly wanted to get back to Mira, but I definitely appreciated how it all came together at the end.

There’s also some romance in the book but if you’re coming into this hoping to focus on that, I’d maybe reconsider. It’s definitely not a primary theme in the book and whenever it did pop up, I found it lacking. I felt it was looked over to such an extent that some of the major plot points further into the book didn’t hit as hard as they should have. (I also despised one of the love interests but I’m interested to see how it plays out in the next book).

Although I didn’t love this book, I’d still absolutely recommend it. This method of storytelling can sometimes be tricky for people like myself who favour heavily plot driven reads, but if you can persevere through the initial slow burn then it’ll absolutely be worth it.