Well written and with a seemingly fascinating premise. I found it difficult to connect emotionally, however. Disappointed that I did not love this book, as I think that the concept was unique and interesting. ( )

Enjoyed the book, though some of the transitions to different POVs felt strained / unnecessary (to be clear, these changes only occurred at sectional junctures, but I wondered at the thematic transitions).
Overall, a little more "fantasy" than the "magical realism" I was expecting, but very interesting. ( )

A beautiful book touching on the fair-folk myths of old. We are introduced to changelings; sickly fey constructs substituted for stolen human children. This is done somewhat by way of Quatermass and the Pit; these are not your typical winged fairies; they more closely resemble grasshoppers or praying mantids mixed with nature spirits. Their chitinous bones are like branches, multifaceted eyes like precious stones, their hearts like stones. A clever blend of strange and familiar horrors really make this a stand-out story. Highly recommended. ( )

I liked parts of this book quite a bit but as a whole this book didn't work for me. It wasn't a book that I really looked forward to listening to and I found it really easy to set aside. In most cases, I would be able to listen to an audiobook of this length in about a week. This one took me about three times as long. I skipped days of listening while working on this audiobook and actually started it over several times because the story just never grabbed me.

When I first read the blurb, I was really excited to read this book. Ancient beings, modern day fairy tale...what's not to love? I did like the overall concept of the story but the way that everything came together just fell a bit flat to me. The story is told from four different perspectives. Each voices tells a section of the book and once their part is over the story moves on to another perspective. I would really start to feel comfortable with a character narrating the story and then we would move on to someone else. I think that I would have liked it better if the points of view alternated or if the story was told from just one of two points of view.

The biggest problem that I had with this book is that I found it to be less exciting than I thought it should be. I was really pretty bored for most of the story which should have never happened. I think that a lot of thought was put into every sentence in this book and I could admire how the words came together but I found myself losing the story in the words at times. I had to really force myself to focus or I would find my mind drifting away from the story.

I liked the narration of the audiobook. This was this first time that I have listened to an audiobook narrated by Edoardo Ballerini and I would definitely listen to his work again. I thought that he did a great job in demonstrating a wide range of emotions during the story. The way he delivered some of the more supernatural portions of the book really added to the overall story.

In the end this was a book with some high points that was less than satisfying for me. I do think that a lot of readers will really enjoy this story especially if they like supernatural stories featuring changelings and the fae. I wanted to fall in love with this book but it just didn't happen.

I received a copy of this book from the author for the purpose of providing an honest review. ( )

The Glittering World by Robert Levy is a recommended novel that encompasses fantasy and self-discovery.

The story in The Glittering World is told in four parts by four different characters. It opens with Michael "Blue" Whitley and his friends Elisa, Jason, and Gabe, all traveling from NYC to the Starling Cove Friendship Colony in Canada. The trip is partially a vacation, but mainly the others are accompanying Blue as he sells his deceased grandmother's house. What Blue does not anticipate is that memories from his past will reemerge and open up with unexpected results. When Blue and Elisa turn up missing it seems that the past is repeating itself. Or is there something else going on in the remote Canadian woods? Elisa's husband, Jason, and Blue's friend, Gabe, are left trying to figure out the mystery.

The narrative moves along swiftly and I had no qualms with the quality of the writing. Levy is an excellent writer and the story itself is compelling. The Glittering World will hold your attention, as you try to figure out what is going on and why (and who and how) as it quickly switches from a nostalgic trip with friends to a supernatural, mystical fantasy story. In some ways the self-discovery aspect of the novel was more compelling than the fantasy portion, but that could be due to the way the novel is written.

With each character narrating a different section, we never revisit or hear from Blue or Elisa after their sections are done. It's a quandary for me, as a reader. I understand and appreciate the shifting points of view for each section, but at the same time I find myself longing to hear from Blue again. The Glittering World lost the momentum it successfully built up for me at the end. It might have been more successful with a final chapter from Blue's perspective, giving closure to the whole novel. I liked it much more (four stars) until I reached the end and was left feeling unsatisfied.

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Gallery Books for review purposes. ( )