CHAPEL OF THE FALCON AND OTHER STORIES Book Review

Chapel of the Falcon and Other Stories¹ by Matt Spencer, eBook, 269 pages

Synopsis from GoodReads: "I suppose that's what I get for drinking with the Fae Folk."

Whitechapel, 1886: As proprietor of the Devil's Draft pub, Frederick Hawthorne's made all sorts of friends and enemies...not all of them exactly human. Least of all whatever haunts the crumbling old countryside chapel where he's found himself, or the winged green lady who keeps turning up everywhere he goes. At least she seems to be on his side, which is a good thing, considering they've both just walked into the middle of a vicious feud stretching all the way back to the witch trials of the seventeenth century.

And six more sharp-toothed tales of demons, dragons, red-handed outlaws, and other travelers of worlds and ages.

BOOK REVIEW: It's been a couple days since I finished Chapel of the Falcon and I'm gonna be REALLY honest. I still have no idea what the heck I read! I'm so confused. It felt like reading someone's fever dreams. Time shifts, characters coming and going without any real reason they're in the story to begin with, and parts that I still am not sure how they actually fit in. I want to add that I did just get the audiobook simply so I can listen to this story in particular. Maybe listening to it will help it make sense. If I had only that story to go on, I think this would have been rated a 3 simply because it was good but I can't tell you why...does that make sense? It's just a feeling. It wasn't great but it wasn't terrible and for now I'm calling it a me problem.

The other stories seem to go back and forth in time. Some seem to take place long long ago, some in the present, and some in the future. All have a bit of magic woven throughout and I think my favorite stories were "Dragons on the Back Roads" and "And the Madness Demanded a Shape". Both stories had me hooked from the moment I started them and I didn't want to stop reading them. I mean the first for the obvious reason that it involves a dragon...and I love dragons. Dragons and wolves...soft spots for me! "And the Madness Demanded a Shape" was a weird time travelling almost love story. It felt familiar but I can't quite nail down why. At the very end of the book, the author gives a little insight into each of the stories in this book. Inspirations, writing contests, collaborations, etc.

I give this a 4 star rating. While I did enjoy all of the stories, it is simply the fact that I haven't the slightest idea what the heck happened in Chapel of the Falcon that has me knocking it down. Now if that changes when I listen to the audiobook, I'll come back and edit this. It really was the other six stories that kept this in the 4 star range. There was just enough confusion to keep it from a 4.5 though. Y'all know that if I give a half star, I want to be able to round up and that just isn't the case for me here. Again...that could change when I listen to the audiobook. I do recommend this if you enjoy creepy tales and loads of WTF just happened moments!

4/5 Stars

2025 Reading Challenge: 45/50 complete

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