Review: Herrick's End by T.M. Blanchet

Herrick's End (The Neath Trilogy, Book 1)

by T.M. Blanchet

Release Date: May 10, 2022

2022 Tiny Fox Press LLC

Ebook Edition; 312 Pages

ISBN: 978-1946501417

ASIN: B09D8N276Q

Genre: Fiction / YA / Fantasy

Source: Review copy from author

3.5 / 5 Stars

Summary

Ollie's only friend disappeared a few days ago, and now, he's frantic to find her. But he doesn't have much to go on until a mysterious note arrives which reads:
"Still looking for your friend? I know where she is." Unfortunately for Ollie, the trail leads to the last place he'd ever expect.
Worse still, it soon becomes clear that someone--or something--was expecting him.

Now, time is running out. If Ollie has any hope of ever seeing home again, he's going to have to summon every last scrap of courage, smarts, and tenacity he can find. And none of it will matter if he can't get some help. Fast.

My Thoughts

Herrick's End had a really interesting premise, and I really loved the secret, dark underworld in which Ollie found himself, a world that exists under our own modern world, with secret entrances spread throughout the world. As a kid, I've always been fascinated by this idea ever since reading The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, so I am always drawn to these types of books as I have always wanted to just open a secret compartment and enter a fantasy world.  However, the world in this book is no Narnia, one that is dangerous for Ollie, one that holds a lot of secrets for him.  The story was pretty fast-paced, the world-building was great, and I loved the story of the witches and how the world was formed. My biggest issue was Ollie himself.

Ollie is the main character or the book and I really, really wanted to love him.  He is supposed to come across the pages as this big, loveable guy who has confidence issues because he is overweight. Ok, that is fine. But when you blame everything that happens to him on this fact it becomes annoying and tedious after a while.  Personally, I loved the weight-issue thing, that he wasn't this hero who looked like a god, who had faults as that is a breath of fresh air in YA books.  I just felt his self-confidence issues and his phobia issues weren't addressed as well as they could have been in this book, but relied more on being a handicap for why he doesn't act in certain scenarios or why he got himself into certain situations. Not really convincing.  But you will never convince me that he's a great guy when he doesn't necessarily help others in need and allows things to happen to him, and when bad things happen to other people, he only acts when it becomes harmful to him.  When he was called out for it in one part of the book, I think you were supposed to feel sympathy for Ollie, but I actually thought the woman was right. He did grow and develop throughout the book, but blaming his weight didn't stop. Enough already. And not a fan of the hero complex thing either. 

The other characters in this book were great however, and I enjoyed them quite a bit, to the point where I want their stories, the reasons for why they are in this world, especially Tera and Leonard.  

The highlight for me was the world-building. I really loved this underground world and what it represented, and the twists and turns actually caught me by surprise. I thought they were great fun, and I enjoyed the fast-paced action of the story. Because this is the first book of a trilogy, I was not expecting the whole world to be developed, and I am definitely looking forward to what other surprises the author has in store for us.  Beware however, what I thought was going to be a lighter book actually turned quite dark, with themes of domestic abuse being quite prevalent throughout the story as well as consequences for other types of abuse. I am also expecting these themes to be explored more thoroughly in the next two books.  While I appreciate the theme running through the book, I am still unsure what the actual message is in this book as I don't feel it is clear. 

Verdict

Herrick's End was definitely not what I thought it was going to be, going from a fairly light read to one with very serious dark undertones, but I really enjoyed the world-building and except for Ollie, thought  the characters were intriguing. I did think some of the themes and messages needed to be developed a bit more, and I wasn't a fan of the main character because he just doesn't listen to others, basing his actions off his own insecurities rather than for altruistic reasons.  I did find the story interesting enough that I will be finishing the trilogy as I am curious as to certain elements and threads that have been started in this book.  And while the book has some sort of conclusion, it does leave certain plot threads loose that will hopefully be continued in the next book.