Tidings of Hardship by Rob Snyder

Tidings of Hardship is the first book in the Mixed Tidings duology

Seventeen-year-old Alex longs for the day when he graduates from high school and leaves his abusive parents’ house forever. But before that can happen, Fate intervenes. . . . One night, during a tense family dinner, Alex notices a gremlin crouching in the corner of his parents’ dining room. A moment later it suddenly disappears. Alex finds himself questioning his sanity and wondering what he really saw that night. Over the next several weeks, he catches sight of several more bizarre entities.

These strange sightings are a glimpse Alex has been given into a hidden reality where a war is being waged between demons and legendary creatures of the Natural World. And the demons are winning. Nearly all beings from the Natural World have been caged up, and Mother Nature and the God of the North Wind have been considering what resources they have left to combat their foes. But they are not entirely alone. Three long dead heroes have been stirred from their complacency in the afterlife and are ready to seek out someone they can train to fight back against the demons and inspire hope among humanity. Alex’s newfound ability to see gremlins has piqued their interest.

This debut novel by Rob Snyder offers a rich and elaborate world of complex characters and an engrossing plot.