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S.M. Beiko
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The Stars of Mount Quixx: The Brindlewatch Quintet, Book One Kindle Edition

by S.M. Beiko (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 7 ratings
See all formats and editions

Even the best intentions can bring down a mountain …


Sent away for the summer, the Ivyweather sisters were promised a family vacation by their wealthy, indifferent parents. Two at-odds opposites — Constance an anxious society sweetheart and Ivory an adventure-struck rebel — the sisters aren’t sure what to make of the dangerously decayed town of Quixx and its creeping fog that never seems to lift.


When Ivory disappears after a spat with her sister, Constance tracks her to the mountain, where the Ivyweathers learn the town’s hushed talk of monsters is more than just a rumor. There, the sisters meet Derrek, a dapper and talented astronomer who also happens to be a spider-like creature with a scientific mind, the best of intentions, and a tragic past. Together, they all must find a way to lift the dangerous fog that has ensnared the town and return Quixx’s long-lost stars. But they soon discover that something far more monstrous than beasts lurks in Quixx, and it’s poised to crush this sleepy mountain town, along with the dreams of those in it.


Death and discarded memories haunt every corner of Quixx, but kinship, romance, and family — the one we choose — are at the heart of this cautiously optimistic, unabashedly queer modern monster story.


About the Series


Welcome to Brindlewatch — a world like ours from days gone by. Fast shiny cars, growing metropolises, and a war on the other side of the ocean with an enemy no one can see. Back at home, monsters, spirits, and the humans who get entangled with them populate the pages of the Brindlewatch Quintet — five individual, interconnected tales of mystery, romance, and ultimately, belonging. This is the newest YA fantasy series by beloved writer S.M. Beiko, award-winning author of the Realms of Ancient trilogy. It is notable for its charming and quirky tone and diverse cast of relatable characters. The series will begin with The Stars of Mount Quixx in spring 2023 and conclude with The Battle for Brindlewatch in 2027.

Previous page
  1. Print length
    307 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    ECW Press
  5. Publication date
    April 25, 2023
  6. Reading age
    13 - 17 years
  7. File size
    6863 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Not Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Fans of Diana Wynne Jones and TJ Klune will find much to love in this wholly original novel that blends science and magic, modernity and tradition, and features a sweet monster romance, found families, kooky characters, and a pair of sisters whose fraught relationship is central to their coming-of-age stories.” ― Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“In the fantasy novel The Stars of Mount Quixx, two sisters find the courage to change each other and their community.” ― Foreword Reviews

“Beiko’s latest novel, The Stars of Mount Quixx, will forever lodge in my heart, alongside the other classics of storytelling magic I’ve read over the years and will never forget. It has everything I want in a fantasy, from wondrous surprise and reckless awe, to real people you love (and sometimes want to give a stern talking to) who rise to be their best selves. I can’t wait to read it again. And I will.” ― Julie E. Czerneda, author of The Gossamer Mage

“Quixx is a delightful and wildly inventive place, with kind monsters, monstrous humans, and eerie magic afoot. Constance and Ivory are likeable and appealing heroines, and I was totally rooting for them (and their romances!). A splendidly magical, happily queer, charmingly kind-hearted book.” ― Tina Connolly, author of the Seriously Wicked trilogy --This text refers to the paperback edition.

About the Author

S.M. Beiko is a Winnipeg-based fantasy author and an award-winning graphic novelist. Her work includes The Lake and the Library, the Realms of Ancient trilogy, and the webcomic Krampus Is My Boyfriend! Beiko won the 2020 Best Graphic Novel Aurora Award and was nominated for the 2020 Joe Shuster Award.

--This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BLJ39ZQY
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ ECW Press (April 25, 2023)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 25, 2023
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 6863 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 307 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1770416951
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 7 ratings

About the author

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S.M. Beiko

S.M. Beiko

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Samantha Mary (S.M.) Beiko is a Winnipeg-based artist, author, and editor.

Her first novel, The Lake and the Library, was nominated for the Manitoba Book Award for Best First Book, as well as the 2014 Aurora Award. Her next series, The Realms of Ancient, began with Scion of the Fox (ECW Press, 2017), which won the 2018 Copper Cylinder Award. The sequels to follow are Children of the Bloodlands (2018) and The Brilliant Dark (2019). She is the co-editor of Gothic Tales of Haunted Love (Bedside Press, 2018), and the solo editor of its follow-up, Gothic Tales of Haunted Futures (Renegade Arts Entertainment, 2020.) Her short fiction has been anthologized in Gush: Menstrual Manifestos of Our Times (Frontenac House, 2018) and Parallel Prairies: Stories (Enfield & Wizenty, 2018).

Beiko is the artist and writer for the creator-owned webcomic, Krampus is My Boyfriend!, which won the 2020 Aurora Award for Best Graphic Novel, and was nominated for teh 2020 Joe Shuster Award for Best Webcomic. It can be read for free on the Webtoon App.

​

Her next novel, The Stars of Mount Quixx, releases in April 2023, and is part of a 5-book series called The Brindlewatch Quintet.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
7 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Professor Helmken Reads
4.0 out of 5 stars A unique fantasy love story!
Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2023
Stars of Mount Quixx was a darling story. I found that the narration of the story added a great deal to the plot, especially when the pacing may have felt a bit off, as the narrator added necessary emotion that explained what felt like missing context at times. What I think that this author did amazingly well, however, was the inclusion of a diverse cast of characters with a wide range of gender expression and orientations, woven seamlessly into a beautiful tale of love, lost and found. I adored the relationships that were built and am excited to see how the author decides to expand a story that felt like a standalone into a series!
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Caroline Hill
4.0 out of 5 stars A very dreamlike story that focuses on sisters growing up. Easy to lose grasp of the plot in places.
Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2023
About
The Ivyweather sisters couldn't be more different. Older sister Constance is the perfect picture of societal expectations on the outside and roiling anxiety on the inside. Energetic younger sister Ivory doesn't care in the slightest for societal expectations, and spends most of her time alone exploring nature. It's their last summer together before Constance has to leave for college, and they're spending it in the town of Quixx, a strange place where the fog never leaves and the residents whisper about monsters that live on the nearby mountain.

Thoughts
About halfway through the story, Ivory comments that the events in the book are "Curiouser and curiouser," and I feel like the reference to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is apt. There's a very slippery strange logic to the world and the people in it. Physics don't always work as expected, time seems a little out of joint, and no one in town seems to take notice of this. Events unfurl into each other with little direction as the two leads move through a very dreamlike story. The biggest difference in this case is that instead of Alice, we get Constance and Ivory. Ivory embraces the strangeness wholeheartedly, running directly toward adventure and danger. Constance attempts to play the logician, hoping that if she manages to control herself, the rest of the world will also fall into place. The friction between the sisters forms the foundation of the first third of the book, with the rest of the book about them slowly finding their common ground again. As this is the first book in a set of five, we don't get a lot of answers, so the development of their relationship is the core of the story's progression, to the point that the plot takes a back seat more often than not. The blurb for the book describes it as unabashedly queer, and I can confirm that is the case, with multiple sexualities and gender identities written into the canon and handled with respect. Also, there is definitely a monster romance in here. So if you like that, congrats! And if you don't, now you know.
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Andria On The Run
5.0 out of 5 stars A whimsical cozy fantasy.
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2023
I think the book fits into the realm of cozy fantasy. The worldbuilding is delightfully whimsical and the stakes are more "save the town" than "save the world". Some anxiety/panic attack rep, but well handled.

There is queerness without queerphobia, kind monsters, and heaps of redemption. Not to mention that our MC is a curvy girl.

At it's heart, this is a sister story, which I just adore. Sisters Constance and Ivory must learn to trust each other and support each other unconditionally in the face of an unknown future.

Some favourite quotes:

"A mother's strength comes from knowing that the fear doesn't go away. So you do it afraid."

"I'm glad we're here together, on the bridge to the blessed unknown, both of us without a clue."

This book is the first in the Brindlewatch Quintet, and I recommend it for those who love sweet romances without spice, genteel spiders, and sentient mountains that ignore the laws of physics.
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Mary Beth Adams
2.0 out of 5 stars Not My Cup of Tea
Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2023
The Stars of Mount Quixx is the first of a quintet of books, although I'm not sure where the story will go from here.

Constance and Ivory Ivyweather are spending their summer in Quixx, a strange town at the foot of a great mountain. Years ago, there was an explosion on the mountain, and now there is a giant crater at its base, and eternal fog covering the entire town. No one has seen the sun, moon or stars in years in Quixx, and some of its residents are moving away, going to the bigger cities.

Constance is a poised, proper 18 year old woman who worries about doing The Right Thing at all times. However, in her heart, she knows she doesn't want to follow the typical society path of getting married to someone who is rich, like her family. Her younger sister Ivory is wild, and doesn't hide her ambitions to be a scientist or inventor or something entirely unsuitable for a society maiden.

When Ivory runs away, and Constance finds her on the mountain in the presence of a monster, she is horrified and fears for their lives. But when that "monster" speaks perfect English, wears a suit and is the perfect gentleman, Constance's opinion slowly changes.

This book has some positives - it deals with hatred of the other, sexuality and transgender issues, and women's place in the world in a positive light. However, sometimes you feel like you're being hit over the head with the author's opinions. The writing is clunky at times, and the story is mildly interesting, but not captivating. I almost stopped reading it, but pushed through, and the second half of the story was better than the first.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book.
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