'Highfell Grimoires' has has me on tenterhooks from the first page. I have to say I don't usually read steampunk but it has intrigued me and this book did not disappoint it was incredible from start to finish. I am reluctant to put it on my 'best of the best' shelf, only because although it completely deserves 5 stars I wouldn't read it agin. However this book kept me hooked from the first page till the last. This novel starts with our protagonist Neil Franklin who is a Lord but loses his fortune after the death of his parents and must work at a charity school up in the clouds called Highfell to repay his debts of his family. We see instantly that the school is cruel and more like a victorian workhouse rather than a place of learning. I love to use my imagination when reading and this book was full of wonders that aloud my mind to explore. I love how Hyde includes a map at the beginning of her novel so that the reader gets a feel of the layout of the school. This picture gave me a constant almost claustrophobic ache at the cramped rooms that Neil, Leofa and the boys must live in.
The characters were all well thought out, even the few boys that came into the narrative and I wanted to know how they saw the narrative, especially Stanley, he was my favourite boy under Leofa's and Neil's care. Neil and Leofa were perfect but the story is definitely more an adventure thriller that a Romance and I really enjoyed that about the book. And yet the love between Neil and Leofa held the narrative together and I was constantly aware of the danger they were both in.
Overall this novel was incredible and I cannot wait to read more of Hyde's work. I must praise Blind Eye Books, the publisher who I know that I will always enjoy the novels that they publish and cannot wait to read more of their new releases.
Rating 4.5 Stars
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