Ordinary Monsters

Set in Victorian-era London and beyond, Ordinary Monsters follows a group of children with supernatural abilities known as Talents. Two of these children - Charlie Ovid, who can heal from any wound, and Marlowe, who emanates mysterious blue light - become central figures as the Cairndale Institute works to gather and protect those with special powers. A cast of complex characters weaves through this dark fantasy, including Alice Quicke, a determined private detective, and Dr. Henry Berghast, who leads the secretive Cairndale Institute. The story spans continents and timelines as forces both benevolent and sinister pursue these extraordinary children, while an ominous creature stalks from the shadows. The first installment in a planned trilogy, this 658-page novel creates an alternate Victorian world where dustworkers, healers, and other supernatural beings exist alongside historical reality. The tale moves between London's gas-lit streets, the American South, and the remote Scottish highlands. At its core, Ordinary Monsters explores themes of belonging, identity, and the price of power in a world that fears difference. The novel questions what makes someone a monster while examining the bonds that form between outcasts.

Readers describe a dark Victorian fantasy with complex worldbuilding but note pacing issues and an overly long narrative. The book averages 3.8/5 on Goodreads (6,500+ ratings) and 4.2/5 on Amazon (500+ ratings). Readers appreciated: - Atmospheric Victorian London setting - Unique magic system and supernatural elements - Diverse character representation - Quality of prose and descriptions Common criticisms: - Slow first third of the book - Too many characters introduced rapidly - Plot meanders at 560+ pages - Confusing timeline jumps Several readers compared it to X-Men meets Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. One reviewer noted "beautiful writing but needed more editing," while another said "the plot takes too long to come together." Multiple readers mentioned abandoning the book before the halfway point due to pacing, though those who finished often rated it higher and plan to read the sequel.

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🌟 The fictional Cairndale Institute's architecture was inspired by the real-life Dollar Academy in Scotland, one of the oldest co-educational day and boarding schools in the world. 🌟 Author J.M. Miro is actually a pen name for Steven Price, an award-winning Canadian poet and novelist whose previous works include historical fiction. 🌟 Victorian London experienced such severe fog problems that the term "pea-souper" was coined to describe the thick, yellow-greenish smog that would envelop the city - a atmospheric element heavily utilized in the novel. 🌟 The book's concept of "Talents" draws parallels to the real Victorian era's fascination with spiritualism and supernatural abilities, which attracted followers including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. 🌟 The novel took over six years to write and required extensive research into Victorian-era orphanages, police procedures, and transcontinental travel methods to ensure historical accuracy.