The Realms Thereunder by Ross Lawhead Review

If you like all of these great freebies and deals, make sure you sign up for my newsletter.  

I was given the opportunity to review The Realms Thereunder by Ross Lawhead.  Here is the description of the book from Amazon:

A homeless man is stalked by a pale, wraithlike creature with a mouthful of needle-sharp teeth. Maimed animals and a host of suicides cluster around a mountain in Scotland. And deep beneath the cobbled streets of Oxford, a malicious hoard besieges a hidden city.

Freya Reynolds is a university student with a touch of OCD and an obsession with myth and folklore. Daniel Tully is living rough on the streets of Oxford, waging a secret war against an enemy only he can identify. Years ago, they found themselves in a world few know is real. They have since gone their separate ways and tried to put that adventure behind them.

But the mythical world is now bleeding into our reality—a dark spiritual evil that is manifesting itself in forgotten corners of the British Isles. Alex Simpson is a Scottish police officer who specializes in hunting mythical creatures. Together, they must confront the past, the present, and points beyond to defeat the ultimate threat to humanity.

Nothing they've seen so far prepares them for what awaits . . . in The Realms Thereunder.

I was very excited about this one.  Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed.  Don't get me wrong it was a good book.  The problem with the book is that it gets confusing at times.  The way that Ross Lawhead deals with time and chapter development needs a little more work to keep the reader from getting confused.  I found that I had to go back and reread some parts to make sure I understood everything that was going on.

The book just gets so confusing at times.  It is like there are 4 different stories going on some in different time periods.  Maybe it was just me and my head wasn't really in the game so to speak when I read it.  The story does have a great premise and plenty of details.  I think that it is just the way the author structured the story.  I just don't like when I feel like I'm lost in a book.  You know where you don't know what is really going on.  I was left with more questions than answers, which is usually good when you are reading a series.  However, it isn't when the scale is really tipping in one direction.

I definitely would not suggest this book for reluctant or struggling readers.  Avid readers might get into this book a little more.  I hope the following books have a better structure and a little easier to read.  I love the story line, just not the confusion.  For this book, I give it a 3 out of 5 stars.

I received a free copy of this book from Book Sneeze, but all opinions are 100% mine.

Image Credit:  The Realms Thereunder

This post may contain affiliate links. You may check my disclosure page for more information.