Darkmouth #1: The Legends Begin audiobook

Imagination Dates Humor This story begins with an unexpected visitor in Darkmouth (later, I will tell you a micro lil bit about this place) — one of those legendary figures who is a cocktail of bull and man — a Minotaur.What the heck was he doing in a land of humans? Shopping?Killing time for lunch?Looking for a human girlfriend? (Yuuuuckkkk!... Not me, I hope!... Sorry Mino, but you’re definitely not my type!🤪)Searching for Godot?....All sorts of questions come up, when such a strange visitor drops by without even calling. And ... if there will be answers, they’ll have to be somewhere hidden in this book 😉Ah!... In case Darkmouth also arose your interest, well... all I can tell you is that it definitely honors its name ... 😉Imagination dates humor in this one !😊👍

A Visita do MinotauroA história começa com uma visita inesperada:Em Darkmouth, a Última das Aldeias Flageladas, eis que surge de supetão e sem aviso prévio, um daqueles seres mitológicos que são um misto de touro e homem — um Minotauro!Qual a razão de tão ilustre visita?Espírito de aventura?Acabou com a namorada?Ataque de tédio?Anda à procura de Godot?....Enfim!... São múltiplas as questões e dúvidas que igualmente de supetão assaltam o leitor incauto, e que só a leitura deste livro poderá satisfazer.Outra hipótese será uma viagem impetuosa a Darkmouth. Porém, se optarem por essa via, devo adverti-los que a sua localização no mapa está incorreta e quem lá vai começa sempre por dar com o sítio errado. E... pior que tudo... logo que acertam com o local, os visitantes deparam com um cartaz onde figura em letras gigantes a palavra MONSTROS, sendo o S final uma serpente a degustar um infante na sua goela escura (Darkmouth 😝)Após a leitura desse cartaz, o visitante recém-chegado abdica inevitavelmente do entusiasmo inicial, e inverte apressadamente a marcha...Porém, em toda a regra há exceção, o que no caso particular, significa que há sempre um ou outro forasteiro mais arrojado, cuja curiosidade supera o medo, e embarca na aventura!...Será esse o vosso caso, ou à cautela, preferem optar pelo livro? Afinal, por vezes, ler não é mais que uma cómoda viagem sem riscos, não é assim?! 😊😉

There's a lot to love here. Darkmouth is funny, fresh, and exciting. Finn is the only son of legendary legend hunter Hugo, who is, by the way, hilarious. Together, father and son are tasked with defending the last Blighted Village on earth from ugly, malevolent Legends who creep in every so often from the dreaded Infested World. Gateways pop up, and Hugo mobilises his son, and off they go to deal with the creatures that are creeping into their world. That's basically Finn's whole life, but Finn isn't really a fan of it. He's not a fan of living in his father's shadow, of failing to live up to everyone's expectations, and he definitely doesn't enjoy being the target of jibes at school. He wants to be normal, not legendary. In fact, he'd rather be a vet, much to his father's dismay. But when the world of monstrous legends starts to get out of hand and people close to Finn find themselves in peril, he's got to step up and become the hunter he was born to be, before it's too late for everyone. Darkmouth is a story about family, about destiny, about finding your courage and stepping out of your comfort zone to help the people you love. Like so many timeless classics, it's about an ordinary kid in an extraordinary situation. It reminds me of the excitement I used to feel when reading Darren Shan and Eoin Colfer as a young teenager. The concept is brilliant, the plot is fresh and fast-paced, and most importantly, the humour is on point. I laughed out loud more times than I can count. I had the biggest grin on my face while I was reading this and it's thanks to Hegarty's fantastic narrative skill as well as his endearing portrayal of an authentic (and totally amusing) father-son relationship.

When I read the blurb for this book, I had a hunch that I was going to love it and have a heck of a time reading it...and guess what? I WAS RIGHT. Darkmouth was outrageously funny and 100% thrilling. It was filled with hilarious, lovable characters, cracking dialogue and a gripping storyline. It's monster mayhem at its finest and it had me gripped in its claws from the very first page.Darkmouth is about twelve-year-old Finn who loves animals and wants to be a vet...but who is instead spending his time training to be a Legend Hunter in order to save his village from the monsters (Legends) that have a tendency to run rampage around his town. Between training to become a full-time Legend Hunter like his father and trying not to die in the process, making friends with the new girl Emmie who is decidedly secretive about her and her father's business in Darkmouth...Finn has his hands full. And then of course there's the small matter of the Legends plotting a war against humanity in Darkmouth itself, but no biggie, right?OKAY, so I loved pretty much everything about this book and I'm so excited to read the rest of the series. From the very first page, I knew I was going to love it. Why is that might you ask? Well, I love the way the author writes and I have a feeling that many middle-graders, teens and adults alike will love the writing. It's inviting, it flows smoothly and it has a magical kind of characteristic about it that makes the words come to life. After I had been enchanted by the writing, I was enchanted by the main character and all the other varying characters that pop up throughout Darkmouth. Finn is a precious cinnamon roll that needs to be protected at all costs and I LOVE him. He's not your typical hero that falls into the So Perfect I'm Practically Not Human category that a lot of fictional heroes fall into. He's not particularly good at wielding a Desiccator and he's not the most adept at fighting off a Legend, but he does try super hard so A+ for effort, right? There's also this inward struggle that wages inside Finn which was quite touching to see and it also helped define him as a three-dimensional character. He really wants to be a vet and help animals...but he also wants to be a Legend Hunter to please his father. I think there comes a point in every child's life where they want to do a certain thing but they also want to please their parents and those two things don't always go hand-in-hand and I really enjoyed that that aspect was explored. It gave the book a tender, more personal aspect which I liked.The other characters were wonderful as well! I loved Emmie, Finn's new-found friend. She's curious and she talks a lot (girl, same) and she's an adorable character. Her and Finn's friendship was slightly rocky in this book which is understandable given the circumstances but I'm hoping to really see their friendship develop in the next few books! I also ADORED Broonie, the one Legend that featured quite heavily in this book. He reminded me of Dobby, just sassier, and I'm hoping he'll be a part of the sequels.Another thing I really loved about this book was that Finn's parents were alive and heavily involved in his life. YA – and some middle-grade novels – have a tendency to most have parents that are either a) dead, b) completely absent or c) utterly horrible which makes no sense to me BUT Darkmouth didn't fall into that category – small mercies! I absolutely loved Finn's mother and Finn's relationship with her. He asked his mom for advice and was inspired by her and IT WAS ADORABLE. Finn's dad could be hilarious at times but sometimes I wanted to shake him for being so disappointed in my precious Finn who is gentle and caring and not particularly agile at fighting and doing Legend Hunter things. His dad put quite a lot of pressure on him to succeed and I thought it was great that the author included this aspect into the story as it's something a lot of kids might be able to relate to. I hope that by the end of the series Finn will listen to his heart and that his dad will support him with that.The plot in this book was non-stop fun as well! There were several twists and turns and towards the end there may have been a few instances where I was gripping the book slightly too hard because it was intense, man. I absolutely loved that this book was able to surprise me and shock me and keep me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. I also adored the concept of this book. Like, monsters appearing through doorways in certain villages and needing Legend hunters to fight them off before they wreak havoc like eating people and stuff – doesn't that intrigue you?? IT INTRIGUES ME.One last thing I absolutely LOVED about this book - and which was probably my favourite thing about Darkmouth - was the humour. Guys, I snorted and giggled so many times throughout this book. Finn was super sassy and sarcastic, his dad could be hilarious too and the banter between all the characters was utterly brilliant! One thing that I've found in a lot of the books I've read is the dialogue is often stilted and awkward but thankfully Shane Hegarty is brilliant at crafting excellent conversations between the characters. There were touching conversations, heated conversations, many hilarious conversations...and they were all done brilliantly.Darkmouth is an incredible start to what I'm sure is going to be an incredible series! With lovable characters, hilarious one-liners, monsters and mayhem, Darkmouth contains so many marvellous elements that makes it a book that's very easy to fall in love with. I can't wait to sink my teeth into the sequels!

A great kids read not just for the kids. If I'd read it a little slower though, I think I'd have enjoyed it that little bit more and would've given it a 5 stars. I can definitely recommend.

I really enjoyed the book. I totally recommend it to all of the Percy Jackson's fans. There are a lot of common things between the two book series. In the beginning it was a bit hard to get into the story but page after page it got more and more interesting and I couldn't help it - I had to finish the book. I look forward to reading the second part.

Book review was first posted on http://www.mrripleysenchantedbooks.com/HarperCollins has always been known for its particularly strong connections with Irish horror writers both past and present. Shane Hegarty has recently joined the infamous corridor of fame alongside the likes of Darren Shan and Derek Landy. His recent book, Darkmouth, was hotly contested at this year's Bologna Book Fair. Shane Hegarty, the former Arts Editor for the Irish Times, has since negotiated a four-book deal in this series.Darkmouth is an imaginative adventure for 8-12 year olds which is full of monster-hunting action. It definitely marks the arrival of a major new voice in children's books. Fresh, fun and very witty; it is incredibly cool and will pull in readers of all ages who love a good story. It was a real pleasure reading this fantastic story. Shane has forgone the more popular route in my opinion. There are NO Vampires, NO Zombies, NO Werewolves and NO mundane ghosts. In fact, it was a breath of putrid air reading this book. I'm sure that you are asking, so what will I find in this book? Well, you will find a range of monsters routed in folklore and others that have been dreamt up from the good old-fashioned imagination. Shane plays with the reader very cleverly feeding off your emotions. You will laugh your pants off one minute and then the dark explosive plot will scare the socks of you the next. You'll notice that another extra special element are the layered illustrations throughout this story. The fantastically detailed black and white pencil sketches are by the talented James de la Rue (aka PencilsMcDraw). These really enhance the fantasy horror shenanigans immensely as they create a parallel world between words and images. You will be easily transported between these two elements from the start of the book right until the very end. It's a monster quest for Finn, a boy who must follow fifty generations of his family to become a Legend Hunter, and save the world from monsters who wish to destroy it. However, the huge problem is that Finn is not very good as a Legend Hunter - you might want to PANIC now! Fortunately, help is on hand from his dad and a mysterious girl called Emmie. The relationship between these two characters is captured incredibly well and adds extra appeal as it pulls you through a turbulent dimension. At the time, it felt that the beginning of the book perhaps started a little too slowly, but on reflection this was perhaps needed to create the world and introduce the story. I recognise that this is particularly important for the first book in a series in order to establish future books and storylines. I have to say that this is one of the most promising debut books that I have read for a long time. The tone has been set for a fantastic new series which I'm really looking forward to reading. MG horror is on the up with another name in Irish writing.

Für junge Leser ist es wirklich ein super tolles Buch! Aber auch für "große Leser" ist es spannend :) Ich freue mich schon auf den zweiten Band!

I haven't heard anyone talk about this book/series, but when I was the audiobook was narrated by Andrew Scott I immediately picked it up. Yes I am that shallow. And I actually was very pleasantly surprised. This story is set in Darkmouth, the last town still plagued by legends. Finn comes from a family of legend hunters and needs to take over the business from his father after his next birthday. Finn doesn't want to be a legend hunter though, he would much rather become a vet. Too bad he is part of a prophecy though...Finn is just an ordinary kid. Nothing memorable, but relatable and he grows a lot throughout the story. I also really lie that the adults aren't gotten rid of. They are present, important and helpful (without making Finn's story any less exciting). Such a refreshing treat.The plot is fast paced, fun and thrilling. Andrew Scott absolutely nailed the narration (obviously) and all of this made for such a fun experience. I listened to this in a single sitting and had an absolute blast with it. The ending was definitely intriguing and I am very excited to find out what happens next.