This book was hard to rate... there were SO many ideas put forth and SO much potential squandered.

In its favor, there was a bevy of sentient creatures populating its world. There were God's, Demons, Elves, Orcs, Fauns, Golden Dragons, Werewolves, Centaurs, Witches, Mermaids, Sirens, Kreskeni (Kraken that don't need to stay in water), and we Humans as well.

BUT, the plot was a bit mushy/muddled. It seemed like there were loads of ideas pitched, and most were left as unresolved loose ends. Also, I wasn't a big fan of the POV swapping mid-chapter. It's jarring and messed with the flow, unceremoniously shoving me out of my book-reading headspace... that alone was jarring/annoying.
YET, this read checked a bunch of the right boxes (for me). There was: secret identities, secret games, soulmates, a cornucopia of creatures/character types, a queer cast, chosen family, a forgotten past, second chances, a favorable light shown on mental health and trauma resolution - athough Thatch's character was a bit glossed over in this regard ... the story could've benefitted from a deep dive here... it's one thing to write a character's past a bit vague to build mystery and another to neglect a perfect opportunity to ensnare the reader and tether them to the character's whole journey... to me, it's imperative to flesh this out in depth in order to tie the character's past to their present as well as shoring up how the characters are entwined with one another. Speaking of characters... I could have easily gobbled up a series of books about each of the Misfits even though they are secondary characters. There were few witches about in this book but the ones that were populating this world had varying magical abilities... abilities that I would have loved to read more about.

Overall: This book had soooo much going on that it felt a bit like the author was SUPER generous with the big ideas and stingy with their resolutions. The interconnectivity was lacking, which diminished the reading experience for sure. I wish the backgrounds of the cast would have been mined a bit more, and those loose ends flapping about?? Didn't work for me!
The pacing gave me chronic whiplash... zero to 200 in breakneck speed... first it was putt putting along sluggishly, next we were holding on for dear life... rushed and flung about... feeling like important details were just whizzing by. I appreciate that the sense of urgency was necessary to convey the extent of our MC Arlo's time constraint, but there's portraying urgency, and there's just rushing the plot along.
I hope this review doesn't come off as brain baby bashing, after rereading it a few times, I can see how it might come off that way BUT all in all, I did enjoy this book. Was it a tightly woven tale? No! There were too many ideas put forth, and unfortunately, the untethered plot points came off as neglect not foreshadowing. Was it my favorite? Also no, but that's not necessary for me to enjoy a unique (if not flighty) read.
My final 2 cents are that I most likely wouldn't (wholeheartedly) recommend this book... there were just TOO many ideas presented that were abandoned and left falling by the wayside. BUT I also will not rate this as low as my review comes off as... I guess what I'm saying is that this was a mixed bag that I personally did not connect with fully. Also, the slew of loose strands of ideas that were left flapping in the (proverbial) wind were a detriment. I know that I have brought this point up a lot but it was significant and perturbing.

~ Sorry, not 100% sorry
*** I received an advance review copy for free from Librarything, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. ***
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While this book wasn’t exactly what I was expecting I did enjoy it. The writing at times didn't feel very easy to read and feel the flow. That doesn’t take away from the cast of characters though!! Not my favorite of this genre of book but I recommended a fee people to get their hands on it when they could. ( )

Phantom and Rook by Aelina Isaacs is a heavily queer fantasy/mystery/romance mashup with multiple POVs, lovable characters, and a complex and unique fantasy setting just waiting for exploration.

The characters are fantastic, with a large set of folks who all manage to contribute and feel like actual people. The setting has a similar feeling of depth and vastness. Both of these are slightly handicapped by the writing; Isaacs clearly belongs to the school of fantasy writing that prefers to drop the reader in without a lot of exposition on the quirks, idiosyncrasies, or other details about the setting. This method is automatically more confusing for the reader, and if not handled masterfully it leaves the world and characters feeling under developed. It is clear that Isaacs has put a lot of thought and planning into Levena, but so much of it is never clearly described or explained that it leaves the reader feeling at a loss for much of the background of the story. More detailed description can be onerous for the reader to get through (see: all of Charles Dickens), but too little description leaves the reader without a strong sense of a place's identity. This is partially offset by the list of fantasy races and multiple maps provided at the beginning of the book, but these can be difficult to reference in an ebook and should be used more as casual reference instead of pages you need bookmarked to jump back to constantly. It feels almost as though it is a sequel to another book, only there is no previous book.

The plot is fun and interesting, and it moves quickly. Sometimes it was difficult to follow exactly what was going on because, again, not everything was explained well enough. One of the major motivations for the main characters is the events of the immediate past, but these are never fully explained and mostly were revealed halfway into the book or more, leaving the reader unclear as to why the characters were doing what they were doing beyond "because of what happened before." Again, it feels like references to a previous book in a series without there being a previous book. Despite this, the plot holds together well enough as long as you do not get too caught up on the "wait what" moments.

My other main issue with the book is that the word choice and grammar are sometimes a little off. The rain is "pelleting down" instead of "pelting down", for example. Both the grammar issues and the worldbuilding would likely be cleared up entirely with a strong editor to assist Isaacs to get across what is clearly a vibrant and well developed world full of colorful characters. There is a lot of promise here, mostly realized, just waiting to be perfected. Overall the book is great, and I look forward to seeing what the author can do in the future. ( )

At first I was a bit worried about the world building and it being a bit too complicated with all the different races but honestly the author, Aelina, does a good job describing the people as they come into the story. I found myself not needing to refer to the key at the beginning that had all the descriptions of the different races. The story is beautiful and although it is a slow burn it still keeps you very interested and has a satisfying conclusion. I was a bit worried it was going to leave me hanging but Aelina does not disappoint. Cute, swoonworthy, funny, sexy and heartbreaking as well. Lots of great representation in the book as well. I enjoyed it! ( )

I had to stop reading this before I got too far, which was disappointing, because the story and characters and setting of were intriguing and I was looking forward to it. But the book really needs a pass by a copy editor and it was just too distracting for me to keep reading.