Title and Author: Beanstalk: The Adventures of a Jack of All Tales by E. Jade Lomax

Plot Overview: Jack Farris is a guide major. He’s supposed to learn how to keep his team safe while they save lives, not how to swing swords and definitely not how to become a vigilante monster-fighter outside class. When he’s put together as a study group with classmates ranging from the uptight hero to the oblivious bookworm to the headstrong mage, he’s not expecting heroic misadventures. And he definitely didn’t expect to feel like he’s found a family.

Critique: Beanstalk is intense character-driven fantasy. There are so many twists and turns and secret backstories that it’s almost impossible to summarize it without spoiling the story. One of the most compelling quirks is the interchapters away from the real story that either describe a character’s backstory or act as “obituaries” for the side characters and deaths that would be sidelined in other fantasy stories. There are also plenty of fairytale tropes, deconstructed. (For example, Jack’s family nickname is Beanstalk, since he’s so tall). If you’re looking for a carefully constructed magical world with characters you can’t even try to pick a favorite from, Beanstalk is for you. At the same time, this is a very literary book. It’s not plot-driven (most scenes are in episode-like format). You might have to read a few times to get all the details and to pick up the foreshadowing. And if you dislike the “fanfiction” style of writing that focuses on character and worldbuilding, then this story will drag on for you.

Cover Critique: The cover is a basic beanstalk silhouette on a black background. It’s not very telling of the story (the beanstalk doesn’t actually appear, and the story isn’t actually a retelling of the Jack and the Beanstalk story). This is probably because this book is self-published.

Star Rating: 5 out of 5 stars; I completely fell in love with every character and every detail of the world.

Additional comments: This book is free! It’s on the author’s website. This is originally why I read it. It also means you can quickly binge the two sequels via instant download if you love the book and can’t stand waiting for the next.