um, this was okay? i’m not entirely sure how to feel. the story was very whimsical and adventurous but felt very nonsensical at times, even for a middle grade novel.

there wasn’t really an explanation for how things worked or why exactly this person did that or this thing was the way it was. it was just a lot of “this happened” and you just kind of had to leave it at that.

i did adore phoebe though. she was so cute and i loved watching her be strong and taking charge. it was nice to see a strong young girl.

the main reason i don’t know how to feel though is because of the narrator. i hated him. his cadence was so jerky and hard to understand sometimes. maybe that’s just me but i’m so picky with audiobooks and this one just unfortunately didn’t work the way i wanted it to.

Although the story was written excellently, and Adam Varah narrated The Griffin's Egg beautifully, the pacing of the narrative slightly disappointed me.
However, this is perfect for fans of quests, the middle grade genre, fantastical creatures, and magical objects.

An absolutely delightful "portal fantasy" adventure for children of all ages. The voices are well-executed, especially those of the magical creatures who tend to speak with a Scottish accent that I absolutely loved. It has an atmosphere reminiscent of a mix between Alice in Wonderland and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, sweeping all the characters into an endless race that goes from one adventure to another. And I adored the rhyming passages which add to the fairy tale ambiance. All the elements are combined to ensure a good time in a world of children's dreams.

Phoebe is a 4th grader whose parents are biologists. They’re on a mission to release a bird in West Virginia when she, and the cloak she insisted on bringing with her, get transported into another world.
It reminds me a lot of if Alice in Wonderland met a random collection of fantasy creatures from multiple cultures. It was pretty confusing seeing as how Phoebe and her family are from Illinois, but the narrator of the audiobook has an English accent.
The book starts off strong, but around the 50% mark, there’s just too much going on. Too many things going on without a rhyme or reason. Every time Phoebe asks a question there’s “no time to explain!” Too much “and then,” instead of “and so because.”
It pulls together pretty neatly though. I would have liked to have gotten to see the grandmother’s reaction to everything.
This is a pretty fun introduction to fantasy for kids. I think it will be more popular with kids under 12.

This was a very good audiobook! I really like the narrator and the way the author writes! I plan to read more by this author!
The story was beautiful!

This is pretty fun. The main character stumbles into another world and discovers that it has an older connection to her family. She develops her powers as a witch to help the inhabitants of the other world. Most of it is extremely fun and cute wish fulfillment for children who love animals and magic.

SPOILERS START HERE



Okay so the part that bothers me about this book is the handling of the main character’s vegetarianism. It’s baffling. So the main character is a vegetarian because her family are biologists who work in wildlife rehabilitation. Reasonable. Then she goes to the other world and learns that she can turn in to any other animal that she wants (a lot of the fights in this book could have been solved if she had just turned into a bear instead of a mouse or bat, but that’s not super relevant, they were still fun) and then she goes on to act as though other people eating animals in front of her is just normal and fine even though she has been those animals. There is literally a part where she spends some time as a rat, meets a guy who eats rats, and then when she is offered rat she just asks for a vegetarian alternative instead and he just gives her one and she doesn’t think any further about it even though he is literally in front of her eating an animal that she was just a few hours earlier. Nobody is ever like “oh any of these animals could be a wizard or witch, maybe we have even more reasons not to eat animals in a world where they could actually just be humans in disguise.” It’s not addressed except at one part where the main character says that she could just as easily be a fish when another character mentions eating fish and no one thinks too hard about it and it’s just not really considered. I get it’s a children’s book, but this would have freaked me out as a child and the way it is not addressed would have freaked me out even more than actually addressing it.

Also all elves are vegetarians, but near the end the princess of the elves says that she thinks that when she becomes queen she will make it so that elves eat chicken in addition to vegetarian food. It’s really weird considering her friend is a person who can turn into animals at will and talks about nursing a chicken back to health.

The author is almost definitely not a vegetarian and it shows. All the vegetarian food described is terribly lacking in nutrition, no beans, peas, lentils, soy, or nuts ever come up. The vegetarian food in this book is just berries, roasted carrots, bread, and a vegetable and mushroom soup. Those aren’t foods good for adventuring, you need some legumes and starches. Feed this kid some imaginary beans, she’s a growing girl.

Thanks NetGalley, for the audiobook.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the audiobook to read as an Advanced Reader Copy.

Cole Poindexter developed a story that made me nostalgic for the adventures I read as a child, immediately coming to mind those of Chronicles of Narnia and Spiderwick Chronicles. Phoebe enters a word familiar but so completely unknown, makes unlikely friends, and brings her family back together after the adventure of her life time. The magic of Lerch Hollow was easily felt. Hoping there is a second tale of Lerch Hollow but this is easily an amazing standalone middle grades story to take to a child in need of a little hope.

I thought it was a cute story that would be a very accessible entry into fantasy for children. It was very fast paced and at times there were a lot of characters to keep track of

This was fun and entartaing read! I was listening with my little brother and he had so much fun with it.
As for me, I think it was a little bit too much fast-paced and there wasn't enough character development.
The narrator did a great job. The only problem for me was his accent, because english is not my first language, but at the middle I got used to it.
Thanks Netgalley and Wild Rose Press for the opportunity to listen to this book!

I thought this was going to be a perfect book to listen to with my nephews for a bedtime story. Overall, we liked it! It’s such a cute, wholesome, adventurous book. I liked the themes of this story. My only critique is that it was hard for my nephews and I to keep track of the Characters. However, I think that’s a struggle that comes from listening for only 30 minutes a night and my nephews are 7, 5, and 3. So I’m sure kids a little bit older wouldn’t have a problem. The voices of the narrators were AMAZING! If you can keep kids entertained, you deserve a metal. It’s not super short or too long. It’s a perfect bed time book!
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy!

This book is non stop action scenes. It will definitely keep your kid entertained.
The action starts quickly and keeps going til the end.

A delightful world is built for readers as Phoebe Gray falls out of this one and into one with an endearing goblin who needs her help. She has no idea how she can do that, until he helps her find her magic, and that she is possessed of a very specific skillset. She traverses with him and others (a mother griffin in distress, for instance) and learns more about herself than she was ever going to learn in her West Virginia home town!

A great read for middle-graders and anyone else who needs to fall out of this world and into another one from time to time. A true delight!

*A sincere thank you to Cole Poindexter, The Wild Rose Press, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.* #TheGriffinsEgg #NetGalley

This is a very culturally confused book. The audiobook is in an Irish accent. Phoebe is from Illinois and visiting West Virginia at the start of the book. Most of the magical creatures are standard Dungeons and Dragons fare. One of the monsters is a Western Canada cryptid, Ogopogo, which has a long history of cultural appropriation by by settlers. Okanagan Nation Alliance has legal rights to Ogopogo.

The book itself is meandering adventure where every problem is solved easily just after the chapter break. Phoebe asks lots of questions but "There's no time!" Often when someone is finally explaining something, they get interrupted by a crashing sound. It's very predictable and while a youngster new to fantasy might enjoy it, kids deserve better.

Two stars because it's not terrible but I can't get over the Ogopogo thing.

What a most DELIGHTFUL tale! The plotting is superb, the descriptive settings vivid, and the characters (human and Otherworldly) are so endearing! Young Phoebe, the child MC (age 10) is a brave and intrepid explorer, and her new Goblin companion Gnish-Gnash is adorable and often wry. The antagonists are scary but not terrifyingly so, and the story is suitable for readers upper-elementary and older. Also is great as a chapter book for bedtime stories.

I really enjoyed the Narrator, Cole Poindexter, who truly brings the story to life and renders the tale even more special (also a great bedtime story listening experience!).

I listen to this audiobook of a fun, fast paced, middle grade tale of Phoebe who meets the goblin Gnish-Gnash. Gnish is in possession of a super rare griffin egg. The evil Mistress, Lucinda, will stop at nothing to get her hands on. The author takes us on a wonderful adventure. I have grandchildren who like to read. I have a feeling they will love this book. The story flows and if you get the audiobook, the narrator makes it fun and exciting. If you have middle grade children or grandchildren grab this book. The author Cole Poindexter has a talent to write to the level of young children, yet an adult can enjoy the story.

I wish to thank NetGalley and Wild Rose Press for a copy of this audiobook. The narrator, Adam Varah, is excellent. This review is made from my own opinions and is freely given

This was a really well done middle grade fantasy story. The book was a fast-paced, easy read, and was absolutely enchanting.
The audiobook narration was done really well and made for a great listening experience.
This would be the perfect book for young readers who enjoy reading about friendship, dragons and adventure.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 rounded to 4 stars

A reasonably good middle grade fantasy story for children and kids at heart. An enjoyable adventure. Very suitable narration. Didn’t stand out for any reason, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Could use a little diversity in its characters. Would be interested in the second book if there was one.

(I received this ALC via NetGalley in return for an honest review. Thank you.)

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This book was a blast – following Phoebe and her unexpected sidekick, Maeven, on their action-packed journey was a joy. The world-building was vivid without being overwhelming, and each character played key roles in the plot. The narrator nailed it, giving each character a unique accent that added to the overall experience. The story had me hooked with its constant challenges, but I had to take a breather now and then to process and gear up for what's next. The pacing was non-stop, and I wished there was more inflection in the narrators cadence of those chill moments. I don't usually read in the middle-grade genre, but this one felt like a refreshing re-entry into this genre for me.

4/5 for the story
4/5 for the narration.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Phoebe Gray travels to a forest in West Virginia with her parents because they work to preserve wild animals. While exploring the forest Phoebe wonders through a portal into Lurch Hollow— a magical land where she meets a goblin called Gnish-Gnash and she gets caught up in a battle against evil. The Dark Mistress Lucinda is trying to find and eat the last Griffin Egg so Phoebe decides to put her love of animals into practice and becomes the egg’s protector.

As a big lover of animals myself I really appreciated the ‘animal researcher’ aspect of Phoebe’s upbringing. Sometimes things she knew about animals in the human world would translate into her interactions with the magical creatures and I felt like that helped to emphasize a message of loving all creatures and appreciating other’s differences.

As she moved through Luch Hollow and met more creatures, Phoebe discovered her own magical powers and made mistakes as she learned to how to use them wisely. The story’s focus on admitting and fixing mistakes, and being kind is also an aspect I liked. While Phoebe’s magical powers were super cool, her real superpower was empathy. Yes it’s cheesy at times but it’s MG and I like my MG with a hearty dose of wholesome!

Now, nothing is perfect so I do need to discuss the elements I didn’t love.

Throughout their adventures I noticed there was a trend where Phoebe would ask a question and Gnish-Gnash would not answer it then complain about all the questions. Once or twice this could serve to show Gnish’s grumpy personality or point to urgency (they are in a race against time after all). But it was so many times that I actually found myself very annoyed at this pattern.

Secondly, I listened to the audiobook and did not love the narration style. Adam Varah did voices and accents but sometimes sections would sound a bit monotone and failed to fully capture my attention.

Read if you like:

-Middle Grade Fantasy with a FMC
-Stories that deal with the effects of bullying
-Trolls, Griffins, Goblins, Elves and Satyrs, Oh my!

I flew through this one! It was my first audiobook and I absolutely loved it! Super adventurous, with lots of creatures! I had such a great time listening to it.