Book Review: Lianna and the Hombit by Valinora Troy

A book review of a fun and interesting middle grade children’s book about a girl who goes to live with her uncle when her father dies where she meets a strange glass-like bird called a hombit which needs her help.

About Lianna and the Hombit

Title: Lianna and the Hombit
Author: Valinora Troy
Cover illustrator: Laura Tolton
Illustrator: I. Murphy
Publisher: The Silver Key
Genre: Older children’s/middle grade ficiton, Fantasy
Book format reviewed: Paperback
Sweet Strawberries:

Description: Devastated by the loss of her father, 13-year-old Lianna is sent to the distant land of Nivram. Her new home and guardian are every bit as horrible as she expected.
When she meets a magical birdlike creature called a hombit, they strike an alliance: Lianna will help it complete its secret mission if it helps her get home.
But their plan goes awry and invokes the family curse. Lianna has to unravel the secrets of the past to avoid a terrible fate.

*Free copy provided by The Write Reads for review…

My review and thoughts on Lianna and the Hombit

Aw, what a wonderful fantasy story. Lianna has travelled to an unknown town across the ocean after the death of her father, to live with her uncle, a man she’s never met. Once there though she finds herself alone, her uncle not bothering to meet with her when she arrives. Soon finding herself robbed of everything that’s precious to her, Lianna eventually finds a way to her uncle’s house, though she isn’t warmly welcomed. Desperate to go back home across the sea to her home town of Robunda, Lianna decides she’s going to find a way to afford a ticket on the ship sailing there. But while staying at her uncle’s house she comes across a strange glass-like bird, a bird that can talk, which says it has a mission. Can Lianna help the bird, a hombit and will the bird in return, help her to get home?

©The Strawberry Post

I have really enjoyed this book from the first pages! Lianna is sad about being shipped off to live with her uncle, a man she’s never known and who she isn’t sure even wants her in his home. When she arrives in this new town she ends up hating the place. It’s a cold and dark place, nothing like the warm climate she’s used to, and she looks very different from everyone there. Lianna is desperate to go home, but when she stays in her uncle’s library one day she discovers a glass-like bird where the fire is, a bird that introduces itself as a hombit. I love the hombit, it’s character is a great one to contrast Lianna’s and I love what happens as the two begin working together to help Lianna find money to get home across the sea, while the hombit focuses on its own secret mission.

The setting of the story really comes to life, especially when you learn more about the sea, the strange things that have happened in the past and the connection with Lianna and her family. I like what we later learn about the ruby Lianna keeps close to her and how creative this story is in the way it’s connected to the sea. The hombit is such a cute character! I just love the way it looks in the pictures and the way it talks, especially when speaking of its mission. As the story moves on things take on a darker turn and the atmosphere of the ferocious sea and the strange connection to the rocks near the town grows. There’s never a slow moment in this story and also never a moment I could guess what was happening and I have to admit to getting quite emotional, especially with what happens later on in the story, especially with Lianna’s conection with Hombit.

The story on its own is good but it is accompanied with occasional illustrations which make it even better. These illustrations are all black, white and grey and look so good. They appear on single pages with an occasional extra small image dotted around the text. I adore the way the hombit looks on the first few pages, and the way it peeks out of Lianna’s hair on other pages too. You can really feel the atmosphere and moods of the characters and setting with the illustrations and I love all the different creatures that are mentioned in the story too, along with a little drawing of them so we can know what they look like.

©The Strawberry Post

The book builds up to a brilliant ending with so much happening and things revealed that I wasn’t expecting. The final ending is so wonderful and heartwarming and I just love how this book made me so emotional towards the end and made me honestly want to hug it when I’d finished it. There are some author’s notes at the end of the book which explain that Lianna and the Hombit is actually a prequel to the author’s fantasy Lucky Diamond trilogy, which I’m now very keen on reading. Overall I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good fantasy story with a more historical setting and some wonderful characters, especially that hombit! It’s a brilliant and exciting adventure and one I definitely recommend. It’s also now a favourite book of mine too.

Buy Lianna and the Hombit

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*Lianna and the Hombit will be published on the 29th January 2026.

About the author Valinora Troy

Valinora Troy is a children’s fantasy and horror writer from Ireland. She has a MA in Creative Writing, specialising in writing for children and young adults. She has acted as a panellist for the CYBILS awards in the middle grade speculative fiction category and served as a Reading Ambassador for Louth Libraries. Her short stories for adults have appeared in numerous publications. She is the author of The Lucky Diamond trilogy, a middle grade children’s fantasy adventure series. In 2023 she was short-listed for the Staróg Prize. When not writing, she loves visiting schools and libraries to talk to children about books and writing.
You can find out more about Valinora’s books, as well as resources for schools, and sign up to her newsletter on her website.

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-Thanks to The Write Reads for a chance to be a part of this blog tour!