The Griffin’s Egg was a fun, adventurous middle grade novel! I got to audiobook this one and thought the narrator did a very good job, especially for a MG - they had a lot of fun voices for the different characters and was very lively.

Story-wise, this book had adventure and magical creatures and worlds. It follows a young girl who comes across a griffin’s egg and must protect it and return it to its mother. And while it was a somewhat unique story, it felt like it pulled a lot of elements out of other well-know children’s books, like Alice in Wonderland, the Chronicles of Narnia, and the Wizard of Oz. This is usually fine in small amounts, but it felt like a little too much in this book for me.

The Griffin’s Egg was also fast paced, which is usually pretty good for a MG, but in this case, it didn’t let things develop quite well enough, so it felt like you were jumping around all over, making it a little hard to follow. There was a lot of very quick problem-resolution-problem-resolution. I think it would have been a little better maybe cutting out a piece or two of conflict and expanding some of the other bigger plot points.

Overall, though, I think this could be a fun book for a younger reader who likes those classic fantasy adventure stories!

I had so much fun listening to this audiobook :)
It was a high paced magical adventure with a lot of different characters.

My children (8 and 5 years old) really enjoyed this audiobook. The characters were relatable and the story was engaging for young readers. We all felt transported to another world and invested in the journey!

I get that this book is a middle-grade book, but it's very much on the younger end of middle grade. Events happened so fast and so episodically, I felt unable to invest in any of them. The recurring portal jumping between locations made it impossible to understand the world at all, and I really wanted to feel like I was part of Lurch Hollow; unfortunately, that didn't happen. The narrator read at a good pace, though.

This is a very quick paced book. Though it is very short book consisting of only 202 pages the story involves a number of characters. A lot of action scenes and a number of humorous plot twists shapes this book.

The writing style of this book is quite simple. All the characters too are well developed.

Overall, I loved the book and the narration too was well done in the audiobook.

Thank you NetGalley for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. This was a very curious and fun book to read with my kids and had them wanting to keep going on to the next chapter each night.

Such a magical read for middle graders. Loved the magical realm, and would definitely recommend.
Thanks for the opportunity to read!

Phoebe gets lost in the woods of West Virginia. While she searches for her way back, she meets a strange creature. This creature turns out to be goblin Gnish-Gnash. Soon, a whole new world opens up for Phoebe, one with goblins, trolls, wizards, and magic. On this journey, she also discovers something about herself.

This story was simple but the engaging plot kept me coming back for more. As a middle-grade fantasy novel I appreciated the positive messages and the pacing of the story.

This was a fun, quick-paced middle grade read. I love super whimsical fantasy and middle-grade books do that so well. The audiobook narrator was great, but I was a little confused because the main character was supposed to be from Illinois and the story takes place in West Virginia, but the narrator accent was neither. It didn't really bother me at all though. Overall, I thought this book was fun, but I don't necessarily think of it as something that'll stick with me.

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

This was a fun fun to see middle grade. I haven’t read middle grade in a very long time and I love fantasy books too so I thought this was a really good combination, especially when it’s of like middle age, children and finding out about the parent and about the egg and all about these little mystery light goblins in the world and travelling, and I think it’s just really cool and fun to dip into a different world that isn’t really really complicated or have a lot of political issues. I think middle grade fantasy does just hit different, especially as someone who isn’t in the middle grade category

A short fun read for middle graders! I really loved the Goblin Gnish-Gnash. A really great name too, i would say. Phoebe as the main character is fine. I think she would be a decent self insert character for younger readers. Especially since (speaking from experience) they really love creatures and animals in fantasy stories.

My only real complaint with this audiobook was that I do not love a male narrator for a female presenting character. It takes me out of the immersion a bit but I did think his narration was great overall just didnt love him for this book if that makes sense. He did do a wonderful performance!

Overall 3.75 stars

Thank you Net Galley for this ARC :)

Format: audiobook ~ Narrator: Adam Varah
Content: 4 stars ~ Narration: 4 stars

Phoebe gets lost in the woods of West Virginia. While she searches for her way back, she meets a strange creature. This creature turns out to be goblin Gnish-Gnash. Soon, a whole new world opens up for Phoebe, one with goblins, trolls, wizards, and magic. On this journey, she also discovers something about herself.

Simple but engaging plot, it's a middle-grade fantasy novel. It contains many positive messages, as befits such a book.

Thanks to Wild Rose Press for the advance copy and this opportunity! This is a voluntary review and all opinions are my own.

The narrator is the star of this story. Honestly, there is a lot to like, but it needed to be longer. Middle readers can handle a more complex story that is told over a long series. There are like, 10 adventures here that should have been spread out over 10, 200 pages books instead of crammed into one. It felt rushed.

This one is a mixed bag review. I think the arc holds a lot of potential but is in need of more extensive editing and development. There's a lack of emotional flow, almost choppily disjointed in relation to some subplot. Little to no real background of why Phoebe Grey is so unusual before jumping into the plot.

However, not everything is negative. The found family and community aspect is fantastic. Reminded me a lot of Labyrinth. And they work together very well when needed, protecting. Also the world and various kingdoms are well described. Easy to imagine throne rooms and battles, for example.

Thanks to Netgalley, Cole Poindexter and Wild Rose Press for the chance to read in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book. While I found the world of this book to be very interesting, everything moved too quickly for me to get an idea of what was at stake for Phoebe. It felt like new characters and creatures kept getting thrown in and a lot of the time I found myself asking what was the point of them being there in that moment? I feel like if we got the opportunity to get more world building and character growth that this could be a very good series. As a stand-alone book though I personally struggled to get through it.

"The Griffin's Egg" is a highly imaginative story that is improved so much in audio format. The characters come alive with the narration, adding to the fantasy story of a young girl who finds herself in an enchanted land fighting against an evil witch. I would gladly recommend this title to any child or adult who enjoys their fantasy world populated by fairies, elves, trolls, griffins, and so many other creatures.

Buy this book for the story, which reminds me of Cressida Cowell's books, but listen to it for the joy of listening and seeking deeply into the story. Bravo to the narrator and the author for this entertaining and meaningful message about caring for everyone and everything in our world, wherever we are.

A great little story that was fun and full of adventure. My daughter enjoyed the narrator and the pace wasn’t too fast or slow. Overall a really lovely story to have on during a drive

"Sometimes you'll start off on the wrong foot with those you meet, but that doesn't mean you can't become friends!"

That line of dialogue seems to sum up The Griffin's Egg quite well, as it's a children's story much in the vein of stories like Chronicles of Narnia, Wizard of Oz, The Phantom Tollbooth, etc. where a child goes to another world and solves its problems. The lead character Phoebe does this inadvertently through a walk in the woods, and once she's in the other world she becomes

But interestingly, The Griffin's Egg doesn't entirely withhold sympathy from its antagonists. While at first many are obstacles for Phoebe to overcome, she finds herself in the position to save and befriend most of them. Even the ultimate villain isn't quite with her moment of sympathy.

I quite loved the world-building details in this book, including frog-like kelpies described with bulging eyes, sentient lamps that speak in rhymes, fruit that makes children recall happy memories and laugh, and flowers that send others to sleep (once more thought of Oz). The series of tasks that Phoebe must accomplish also reminded me of the structure of the original Wizard of Oz book.

The plot itself moves at a clip and is likely to engage young minds.

A very fun middle grade read!!

I loved the fantasy and the setting. I thought Phoebe and Gnish-Gnash were so fun to read about.

I was rooting for Phoebe the whole time. The action was so exciting and I will be recommending this one to my students!

A magical story that my daughter fell in love with! I wanted to find something for my family to listen to in the car, and this audiobook version of The Griffin’s Egg was perfect! We were all hooked on this captivating novel that seemed to remind us how precious our world is, and that we must do our best to protect it. The characters are whimsical, and I love the added mystery of the magic cloak. My daughter gave the book a 9/10, but only because she had to ask what a VHS tape was (as referenced in the book). A must read for your family!