Im slightly bias when it comes to this book. I was born and reared in Dublin. The streets described so perfectly in it were my old haunting ground. It was like coming home after many years. It is so beautifully discriptive I could close my eyes and I was back there as a 17 year old girl eger to spend my weeks wages!

A captivating fantasy story. I listened to it in the car and my 15 and 13 year old loved it just as much as I did.

I have to say -- 2024 has been a year of fantastic books for me.

2023 was full of books, but few of them were great. I think I gave more 2- and 3-star reviews in 2023 than I ever have before. But this year, I've given more 4- and 5-star reviews than ever. There have just been some really good books this year.

This one is no exception.

I received an ARC from O’Brien Press and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. And I'm so glad that I did.

So, synopsis first:

Izzy (Irish teen) strolls across some interesting graffiti of a fallen angel, and that becomes the catalyst for her to fall into a completely wild world that she never knew existed. A world full of fae and angels and demons and more.

Now, while that brief synopsis may seem a little cheesy, the book was anything but. In fact, for a YA novel, it was quite good -- a refreshing change of pace from other YA novels I've read recently.

First and foremost, Izzy comes from a very strong, close-knit family. (A huge departure from the current trend of YA books centered around kids from broken or abusive homes.) Very nice touch.

Secondly, the characters were really well-written. Izzy was strong and smart -- no weak, "spider monkey" Bellas here. And the author did an excellent job making Jinx walk the line between his own heart and feelings and the strict boundaries and restrictions of being fae. There was only one time where this wasn't the case, and it's the one thing I DID NOT like about the book. (I won't spoil it, but eventually, he is able to do something that no fae in this world would ever be allowed to do. I found that part unrealistic and breaking entirely with the rules of faery magic. It wasn't enough to make me dislike the book, though. I just didn't care for that part.)

Finally, the author really did her homework when it comes to Irish folklore, myths, and legends. The way she incorporated the fantastical elements of the story was amazing. She paid homage to the original myths and legends without over-exaggerating them or making them sound trite and phony.

Sometimes I read the first book in a series and never come back to it. But this one, I really, really enjoyed. I'm looking forward to book 2.

Thank you Bolinda Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

I did not finish. This was not my style. I did not enjoy. Wasn't terrible writing. I just was not into it.

An Irish fae MMC called Jinx? SOLD.

The premise to this book had me so eager to jump in. It's definitely one for lovers of Holly Black!

Our FMC Izzy stumbles upon graffiti art of an angel in her hometown of Dublin. Little did she know that this would change her life forever. This mark was actually the site of a fallen angel, whose spark has taken residence in Izzy, making her a target for everyone who wants to claim its power. She is dragged into the chaotic and dangerous world of Dubh Linn, the realm of angels, demons and fae which sits on a plane on top and amongst the human land of Dublin, so creatures can pass between these worlds through the alleyways and backdoors of the old town.

I really enjoyed this book, it is fast paced and well plotted so it pulls you in from the beginning and keeps you engaged. The characters were interesting and had depths and flaws that made them feel real. I don’t know much about Irish mythology, but I gather that this book draws upon its archetypes and legends and it’s definitely an area I’ll be looking into more after reading this.

The audiobook was definitely the best way for me to take in this book. I looooooved the narrator Heather O’Sullivan. Her voice is so dreamy and calming it felt like being read a fairy tale at bedtime, super magical. It’s so refreshing to hear different accents in audiobooks, nearly every one I listen to is an american narrator which is totally cool when it's an American character/story, but often this isn’t the case. Having an Irish narrator really added to the story for me and made the characters feel more fleshed out to hear them as they had been written. I also would have had zero chance of being able to pronounce a lot of the mystical terms in this story so thank you Heather for that.

Thank you so much to Ruth Frances Long, Bolinda Audio and NetGalley for the privilege of listening to this title!

Thank you NetGalley and Bolinda Audio for the ARC of this audiobook for my honest review

I loved this ! The whole world was so fascinating, the romance made me blush, it was such a unique plot and I was curious in everything happening. I would die for these characters, the writing was amazing. I have nothing bad to say I am picking up a physical copy ASAP and I recommend.

I'll be publishing my review on Goodreads and StoryGraph 12th December and on Tik tok most likely will add to a monthly wrap up post with review the beginning of January

This was a promising YA urban fantasy. I felt thrust into the world immediately but this didn't feel forced. It reminded me a lot of Neil Gaiman's books. The narration was absolutely perfect.

I will say that as the book went on I felt it was more tell than show, but I still think fans of urban fantasy may like this one.

Thank you to Bolinda audio and Netgalley for the ALC

This one was interesting! I read a lot of supernatural-type books, then with this one about angels and demons was really interesting!
Let's start with Izzy, who is a normal teenager. Her whole life was turned upside down when she noticed a graffiti angel. She meets a Jinx, a dark and mysterious individual. After receiving her destroyed phone from a homeless man the Jinx insists on walking her to the place where her friend's band is going to play. Now this Jinx is basically doing what she wants and Izzy is thrown into a world that she doesn't understand. A world within another world! However, Jinx and Izzy's relationship is a whirlwind rollercoaster. First, it's friendly then it's not so much then it goes back to being friendly.
Making it difficult to know who to trust and who not to trust!
Going into this story I did not know much about the Irish folklore but, since starting this book I've been looking into it more! This is a great start to a new series, and it's really good! I loved it!
Thank you Netgalley and Bolinda Audio for the opportunity to listen and review this one!

A Crack in Everything by Ruth Frances Long is book one in the Dubh Linn series that is a fast-paced YA fantasy in the setting of Ireland and Irish lore.

This story follows Izzy, a teen girl who by chance runs into a sidhe named Jinx and can see past his glamour which humans cannot do. She is drawn to him and he is also drawn to her but he thought it was due to her encounter with an angel. A series of events happen and Izzy seeks Jinx for answers. What she doesn't know is how the sidhe world works and who Jinx obeys. He also doesn't realize who or what Izzy is since a simple human should not be able to see through his glamour. Was this encounter by chance, or has this been planned for a very long time?

A swift dive into Mythology, and Gaelic folklore, this supernatural adventure involves a war between angels, demons, and fae. A chance encounter similar to that of The Mortal Instruments but this story leans more toward the lives of the fae and a young woman’s unknowing ties to that world.

Expectations in this story

Setting-Dublin
Irish Lore
Forbidden Love
Angels/Demons
Magical war
Family Secrets
Sidhe/Fae
Grail
Ancient Lineage

I received the audiobook courtesy of NetGalley for an honest review. This was a quick read and would be enjoyed by those who like YA fantasy and Irish folklore. This is book one in a series and I intend to continue reading it as they are released.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6941761893

This is just what I wanted to read at the time, and it does what it claims in the blurb to do. So, I’d say if you’ve read write-ups or reviews of ‘A Crack in Everything’ and it sounds like it ticks a few boxes for you, then go for it! I would recommend this, because it pays off in the end.
 
I really enjoyed the familiar setting of Dublin, but I hang back from saying too much more in praise of the novel, though, because I have a few quibbles.
 
Firstly, I was frustrated by clichés and angsty overwriting.
 
Secondly, in terms of plot: I’d reached 60% and I still wasn’t exactly clear what it was. Yes, past halfway and lots was happening and I knew the cast, but Izzy’s motivations aren’t signalled or emphasised nearly enough to provide plot momentum. All I had was world-building accompanied by the populating of that world. I felt no kind of pull towards the end.
 
Thirdly, I will allow that my lack of engagement might be due to the audiobook narrator. Perhaps Long’s novel might be more compelling in a different format, because the vocal expression employed by Heather O’Sullivan in narration is very off-putting.
 
Often, Long’s writing is skewed by O’Sullivan inserting pauses that fight against sense. E.g., O’Sullivan reads the sentence ‘he noticed Silver blithely reeling in the only human male in the whole club’ as ‘he noticed Silver blithely reeling, in the only human male in the whole club’. This typifies the reading, where O’Sullivan inserts comma-length or full-stop-length pauses between words that are supposed to act as a unit (an adverb/verb pair or an adjective/noun pair) like this, and it’s completely baffling.
 
In other places, heteronyms are often mispronounced. Think ‘live’ (the act of being alive, verb) and ‘live’ (adjective like music played by a band in a pub). At times, simple words themselves are mispronounced: ‘archangel’ sounded as “arch” angel rather than “ark” angel. Since I'm reviewing the audiobook edition, I've deducted a star for the poor narration.
 
I’ve gone into some detail, but you know what? Irksome as it might be, we can overcome some of that because the climax does bring the book together. Let’s say, a slow start, a slumpy middle, but a sound ending.
 
When Ruth Frances Long does the round-up just after 90%, I could agree that, yes – all those elements she pulls together certainly had been in the story, just (I think) maybe not in the places I’d have liked, and not with the emphases I’d have expected.
 
My thanks to Bolinda Audio for a pre-release listen to the audiobook for review.

I really wanted to like this one but it was a let down. It was slow and started off a bit weird for me. It was slow and not enough going on to keep my attention. I’m learning I’m not the biggest fan of all fantasy books. It took too long for anything to happen and it just wasn’t entertaining. If you like fantasy books and used to the pace of them then you would probably enjoy this story. It just wasn’t for me in the end.

This was such a cool and fascinating universe! Long did a magnificent job crafting a world that felt Gaiman-esque without being derivative at all. I loved her way with language - whether in descriptions of the complicated and multi-faceted characters or the worlds of Dubh Linn/Dublin - and her storytelling style was very easy to fall into.

The narration definitely sold this one for me also, with the lyrical voice perfectly capturing the magic and horror that existed in equal parts. I am very eager to see where the series goes next. I understand that the books have been out for a while but the audio version is new and I really hope the author/publisher decide to continue to produce them!

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audiobook. The narrator just had the most melodic voice. She made the story and characters come to life for me. And, this is a really great story too! I love that it takes place in the place between worlds. Dubh Lin is the magical realm just to the "side" of Dublin. The main characters' angst, loathing, and love for each other make for fun banter and inner dialogue. This book has been out for years now, and does have sequels, but the audiobook was just released this month. Get yours now and listen to a great story. Thanks, @netgalley for letting me listen to this great audio arc put out by @bolindaaudio.

Thanks so much to the author, NetGalley and publisher for the gifted ARC in exchange for my genuine thoughts.

When I first started A Crack in Everything, it seemed to have all the ingredients of a fantastic book - secret familial heritage, angels, fae, demons, and it was lol based in Dublin! Also, I absolutely love listening to the narrator Heather O’Sullivan’s voice.

I’m not sure if it’s because it was written in third person or what, but I just couldn’t connect with the characters. I enjoyed the plot but for some reason it just didn’t hit the mark for me.

This audiobook was done very well and I think this is a great book! It gives me mortal instrument vibes and I’m here for ittttttt
thank you so much to NetGalley for the opportunity of getting an ARC of this audiobook!

Izzy's world is turned upside down when she is pulled into the realm of Dubh Linn, the ide of Dublin where the Fae and angels are real... and they are warring.

However, Lizzy now has a target on her as she is not as normal of a human as she thought and now she seems to shine to the supernatural denizens. Her only way of getting out of this deadly game is putting her trust in Jinx, a sexy pawn currently bound to a mistress named Holly.

This is a fairly enjoyable YA Fantasy romance and from what I can see this is the first of 3, so I plan to try to an find the others in the series to continue diving into the world and seeing where the story goes. It gave me some of the urban vibes of Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman where we encounter the supernatural flip side of London, but in a more YA version.

I also enjoyed the Irish culture and literature which is an aspect of mythology I have always loved. I think this author does a phenomenal job of depicting it well without overdoing it. I love learning and diving into the fae and lore from over and over again with a fresh perspective. The narrator of the audiobook did a great job as well. I can not wait to continue my journey with the characters and see how they grow as the stories progress.

Thanks for the ALC @Bolindaaudio & NetGalley.
Audio : 4* Story 3* so we'll compromise with 3.5*

Loved the narrator for this one, so much so that I didn't even cringe when she was voicing the male characters. (I am a sucker for an Irish accent too)
As far as the production of the audiobook goes, I have no complaints really, I did have to speed it up a bit to get the cadence to where I like, but that's personal preference.

Now the story.... I loved the world and how it's built, kind of reminded me of Cassandra Clare/Holly Black with the worlds parallel to each other and the parents keeping their children in the dark about who they really are along with their abilities. And I get that this is YA and young people are dumb, but the professing of the love after like 3 days together?? Wild to me. I wouldn't even know if I'd share my bagel with someone after knowing them such a short period of time, yet these kids are literally killing themselves for each other. A bit dramatic.

(3.5 Stars)

There are two types of unabridged audiobooks. The first one is closer to an audio drama. Even a single author can create characters with unique tone, inflection, cadence, and even accent. The second one is where the narrator simply reads the book as presented. This narrator is firmly in the second category. Her voice is melodic and easy to understand. her pace is even and her volume is constant.

As for the story, I liked it well enough. It reminded me of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, but with a little more Vampire Diaries flavor; very teen-angsty. Interesting concept, paced well, urban fantasy.

At the end of the audiobook we are told ‘Bolinda Audio hopes you enjoyed this audiobook’. Well, I did. A lot. Excellent fantasy with an Irish lilt. Some warnings: if you see an Angel on a wall in Dublin run away very quickly. Equally the same of Sidhe and Demons. Because none of these creatures are nice. They are self-centred, and all can be very nasty indeed. And don’t fall in love with any of them either, that way only lies pain. Izzy Gregory obviously didn’t read my review. Then again, unlike us ordinary mortals, she may have a chance against these fiends, but only if she can truly work out what she’s got herself into, and ultimately realise falling in love might be the painful answer. Thank you to Bolinda Audio and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely.

Really enjoyed this book there were shifters angels and demons and magic but it isn't like anything I have read before it's very different and engaging

I note that thus title is several years old, and while it is available to preorder on audible it is also book 1 in a series. I assume they’re all in the process of becoming available in audio format.

I really enjoyed this title, it is YA and it did have a YA feel to it, but I think it could easily be enjoyed by any fantasy fan - which btw I don’t claim to be, but I do enjoy something a bit different from time to time.

The best thing about this novel for me was that you are swept away into a whole other world, a world where almost every mythical creature you’ve heard of is in existence. I loved the selkies in particular being given an outing.

There’s nothing particularly original in the telling of the story, I’m not sure how die hard fantasy fans would feel, but it was a winner for me. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it 🤷🏻‍♀️

The audio narration by Heather O’Sullivan was excellent.

My gratitude to Bolinda Audio via NetGalley for this ALC 🎧