Seeker is the debut book for Samuel Griffin and the first book in The Sentinel Archives Series. This isn’t going to be for everyone due the the nature of the prose of the writing. Written as a regency or in a historical voice of sorts, the main character takes the reader through her personal journey to become a Seeker, someone in a secret type of society looking for huge leviathans of the deep. They are who are stirring once more and will the the force that could turn the tide of a the war.

Shay Bluefaltlow takes us through her journey as she struggles to live up the expectations placed on her to become one of the few secretly searching for the elusive scent song unique to each of the leviathans. A young girl in a strange place, the story is almost written in the flowery musings of a teen in her diary, if said diary was from a regency era. She is introduced to a strange world full of dangers and some espionage as she tries to make her way. Sponsored by a group of benefactors yet to be revealed she is guided through her training. Because of her age some of her rebellions, secrets and poor choices, while frustrating, can at least be understood. The action at the end was the most interesting part of the book as the actual leviathans come into play in a battle at sea.

The actual story is pretty decent and the world interesting with the idea of the Seekers and Leviathans and whatever their connection will end up being. However, I really struggled with the writing style. At times it was really hard to focus on the story through the prose as it took awhile to get from point A to B to C in the story. I believe the author lives on the poetical side of the fence and that is very much reflected in the story. So if you are a fan of some of other authors of the past like Dickens this will probably be an easier and more enjoyable read for you than it was for me. I do applaud the author for committing to this writing style whole heartedly but I think it will really factor into how much a reader likes the story within.

I really enjoyed the idea of the story and the plot is really interesting in the fantasy aspect. I’m not huge into the classics though and so I struggled through reading.

I enjoyed the first 1/4 of this story because of the way the story was written and the set up for a grand adventure. Shay has been brought as an indentured servant to live with a surgeon and educated for some reason that she isn't being told. Eventually her attempt to find an ally to help her run away forces the surgeon to deliver her to the woman who will explain everything to her. And this is where I feel like the story lost it's way. Things are sort of explained to Shay but not in very clear terms. At this point, the book seemed to jerk around in a variety of directions without really fleshing any of them out. I kept thinking 'oh, now the story will really get going', only to be whisked away to some other problem before really understanding anything. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in return for my honest opinion.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's a spellbinding fantasy with steampunk elements following the story of Shay as she embarks on an exciting, dangerous and thrilling new chapter of her life. I really liked the way it was written, reminding me of the old classic books I've enjoyed. I have read others saying it was a little hard to get through but I was invested all the way through. It was hard to put down, and I will definitely be reading the next book to follow Shay's adventures. A really good debut novel.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for a review.

I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley.
Shay is an interesting character. We find her in a school/orphanage type setting from which she is purchased and taken on a month-long seasick-inducing voyage without any idea of what she is getting into. But she is not downtrodden. In fact, she starts figuring out how to escape. Soon she is involved in elaborate investigations to discover what is going on as war starts to break out. She trusts the wrong people at times and gets into trouble, but eventually finds her true self. I feel that some parts of the story are glossed over when it would be nice to have more information. This story has the feeling of an epic series, but the length was about right.

There is so much to like about this book...the prose, for one, is beautiful. As is the underlying story and the themes it covers, along with the mystery of the Sentinels. Unfortunately, for me at least, it felt as if the story played second fiddle to the writing style and there just wasn't enough substance to engage me. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this series though as it certainly has some potential!

Although the beginning of the book was a bit of a slow start, the test of the story was interesting and following Shay through out the journey was enjoyable, if not, frustrating at times. The writing and world building is not for a person that wants a quick easy read. It does take some effort to really see the story, but I don't think that's a bad thing in my opinion. I enjoyed the read! Thank you for letting me be part of the ARC for an honest review!

Shay Bluefaltlow is an orphan who has lived till here teens in a closed community, where teens are then sent or purchased to a variety of professions. Shay is obtained by Ridley Fassinger, a surgeon who takes her across the ocean to the city of Fivedock where she begins her education in a plethora of subjects. Shay is suspicious of everything and as a character is self centred and unappreciative of her situation, and how much worse it could be. In Ridley's household she befriends Peck, a deaf serving boy, the first of her friendships for which she has a deep longing - Shay is impulsive an determined to find out more about her mysterious benefactors which leads her to some unwise decisions. Despite this Shay finds that she is an apprentice to Penelope Etherington, Sentinel Archivist to the Concord and from this point the story start to gather pace.
Shay faces, betrayal, conspiracies, unlocks her gifts as a Seeker and launches into war - all making a stirring tale, however for me I found connection with the main characters lacking.
A decent story with echoes of a Regency time, worth trying.
My thank to Netgalley and the publisher for access to this ARC.

In Seeker we follow Shay Bluefaltlow from the Orphaned War Girls School to her new life in a new country with mysterious masters and a sense of destiny that she doesn't quite feel worthy of.

'I will always remember the day I was bought. Which may be of little surprise, for who could expect to forget such a thing? And I shall tell of it, for I believe I have earned that right.'

The world of the book was beautifully described and felt slightly familiar whilst also magically different. The reader discovers this world and its curious inhabitants alongside Shay as the story unfolds, we are carried along with her experiences and feelings until the culmination of the book. I can't wait to see where Shay's story goes from here and eagerly await the next instalment of the archives.



#seeker #thesentinelarchives #netgalley #fantasy #magic

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC!

The book is written in a decidedly historical voice and pen. The author uses the language, technique and style that readers would find in such classics as Dickens, Collin’s, the Bronte’s and the like. It is almost lyrical and lovely to read.

The novel's world-building is set in the Regency Era and exudes an academic vibe, drawing readers into a captivating and immersive setting.

This is the start of a fantasy series that promises to be quite interesting and entertaining as the world building is original and the characters fleshed out.
This first novel is the introduction to the world and the characters. I enjoyed it even if a the language is quite XIX-like and it can be a bit too wordy at times.
I look forward to reading the next story, this one is recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I have been reading this story for 3 days and am only half way through. I am having difficulty engaging with the story and have very little idea about what is going on, Sorry but not for me.

I loved this book. Griffin's world-building and characters are so much fun to read and explore. I love the world that was created and the imagery that was used, which brought me right into the story. Shay is such a strong and dynamic main character, and I think it was a great read and I can't wait to see what comes next because Griffin has made me fall so in love with this world and the characters

This was a book that I could not put down. As a lover of fantasy books it is not too often that one comes along that is sufficiently different. This is one of those books. The world and the context are great. The characters are interesting and the story unfolds really well. I want to read more about the characters and this world.

Shay grew up in an orphanage, until a man came to pay for her indentured services when she was 15. She didn’t realize it, but focusing on her education was the start of training her to be a sentinel archivist. To be honest, the first part of the book was slow, and the early writing style reminded me of authors from another century, when a sentence could run on for an entire paragraph. Slowly, the story developed and more characters were introduced. I kept putting the book aside and going back later to continue reading, until things suddenly started taking off. I also had to keep reminding myself of how young Shay was, to explain her emotions and sometimes poor decision making. I know this is the beginning of a series, but I was never quite sure what a sentinel, seeker, and levitation were. There was a lot of foundation laid for the beginning of a series, and I think the next book in the series will build upon this introduction and be more enjoyable. I found I had a lot of questions about Shay’s parentage, the archivists, and the leviathans.

What first drew me to the book was the cover, I loved it. Another thing was it was described as a flintlock fantasy, which I had never heard of before. Thank you Panthe Press and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy; these are my honest opinions.

*ARC Review (NetGalley)* RATING: 3.5* (rounded up)

What I loved: Shay as a character is refreshingly human, governed by all the same emotions and drives as the rest of us: curiousity, fear, kindness, longing and overall a determination to craft her own future, in spite of the will of her benefactors!

The use of Shay as our narrator, where we experience the world and events from exclusively her perspective, means that we learn and grow as she does. This adds an edge of suspense and mystery, that can sometimes get lost in multi-POV narratives, and helps move the story along at a good pace.

The prose is gorgeous, and reminiscent of the greats, which is the highest praise I can give. It's not everyone's cup of tea, I know, but I love a author who takes their time to say something in the richest way possible!

What I didn't love: a lot of the book was spent of setting up the world and characters, which is fine, but it take make the plot drag at times, with not a lot of "conflict" or "threat" to move it along until the end. As it has likely become clear to many, I love a book with spice in it, even just a little sizzle between characters, and I did feel the lack of this (although the other relationships were a bright point). For those that want a zero spice/romance story, this is perfect, but I am always going to feel its lack - especially in a "regency style" story.

All in all, a good debut novel, and I look forward to continuing to delve into the Sentinel Archives in the rest of the series.

This is the first time I have ever DNF'd a book. I loved the deception of the book, and it started off interesting, and then started moving too slow, in my opinion. I got about 30% and had to call it as I was trying to read this book for over a week and wasn't getting anywhere. I felt like the author was too descriptive and focused on aspects that didn't seem important, making the story move slower than necessary. I still don't know what the FMC's purpose is at this point and who the Sentinals really are, and by the time I started getting a hint at some answers I had lost interest. I struggled to connect with the characters and decided it was better to stop and take a break.

I may go back to it, but it's not something I can get in to right now. I appreciate the opportunity given to read an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Seeker is a flintlock fantasy set in Regency era like world. It follows Shay Bluefaltlow in her journey from plucky orphan to plucky heroine. Shay is the books real strength. You root for her throughout and her inquisitive nature helps tease out the mysteries. The world building is good but definitely leaves you wanting more. My problems in the book lay in the pacing and the writing style. The pace does pick up in the back half but dragged a bit as a whole. The writing style definitely works for the world the author is creating but on occasion i found it added to the slowness of the book.

Overall i would recommend this to anyone interested in flintlock fantasies and i look forward to seeing where the story goes.

Thank you to Netgalley and Panthe Press for an ARC of this book.

This book had a unique opening. You don’t read too many first person books anymore so it was a refreshing change. I enjoyed the parts where it truly felt like Shay was talking to the reader and I would have liked more of that.

The mystery of the mysterious benefactor, including those who command Etherington continue and is what prompted me to keep reading. The beginning was a bit slow to me and was waiting for something to happen until we finally get to the letter Shay sends.

Sadly, I feel like I didn’t connect to many of the characters and would have loved to see more of Peck, as he was my favorite, and Jemima. I also felt like the flow could have been better as it felt like we were jumping around several different things of to try to connect the story. It could be the jumps in time or just what we’re focusing on at the time, but it was personally too much for me and made it harder to read since I was trying to figure out what was happening when.

Overall, I think the premise of the story was interesting but wished we saw more character development and the relationships Shay has with others, especially as she expresses that she’s very lonely. I didn’t like the whole idea of buying people for servitude and slavery with child labor thrown in. I knew early on my suspicions of Fenton and others that are further revealed later in the book, including Ridley and Etherington.

I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This debut Flintlock Fantasy by Samuel Griffin set in the Regency era, follows the story of Shay Bluefaltlow upon her arrival in the city of Fivedock, where she finds herself in training to become a Sentinel Archivist.

A war looms as ancient leviathans stir from their long slumber and their scent song marks where they might be found, but only to those with the means to somewhat hear it: Sentinel Archivists.

Although the beginning of this story was a little slow and disjointed at first, the pace quickens and the world building takes you on a wonderful fantastical and unique adventure written with beautiful language, well developed characters, stunningly strange character and place names such as Fivedock and The Whispering Coast and a magical storyline which encompasses everything from love, loss, betrayal, war and friendship.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and what a great debut novel. I am so looking forward to further books in this series.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Panthe Press and the author for the ARC.

Three and a half
This is such an amazing debut but sadly won’t be for everyone . The prose is so evocative but fair warning it’s very long winded and harks back to a different era . That being said it didn’t stop me eagerly turning the pages as the reader is taken on the journey that Shay finds herself undertaking .
Yes the first half is somewhat slow but the author is setting up his world. If you enjoyed Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell you will appreciate the curious ways of our heroine although as a reader I did find myself wanting to shake her because something was way too obvious . It’s also not a particularly light read and there’s loss here that for me felt callous and frankly brushed over . The author uses footnotes to entice the reader but honestly for me they added little particularly initially . There’s still a lot we don’t know about exactly why Shay was chosen although I have hopes for more answers in the next book . I think my final thoughts are that the cover art is gorgeous, the ideas unique and that this is the author’s first published work is absolutely astounding .
This voluntary take is of an advanced copy and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair