Michael Greco’s Cuckoo Heartfully is a mystical and beautiful book. It tells the story of Pinky Bell, Windy, Moonch, Puso, and Nini after they leave a colloquium in a Malaysian rain forest. After their encounter with supernatural entities in the forest, they hope that they can get back to their usual lives. However, this proves difficult, especially since Pinky Bell carries something from the forest with her back to her home in Kyoto, Japan.

This triggers a multitude of strange events that affect everyone in the town. Eventually, Pinky Bell has to find a way to return what she stole and deal with the consequences of what happened in the Malaysian rainforest. On the other hand, Moonch tries to find stability in her chaotic life while Windy tries to explore a love interest. Ultimately, all the characters in this book are struggling with handling the changes in their lives, some of which are being caused by mystical forces.

If there’s one thing that makes this book unique it’s the writing style the author employs. It’s witty, fun, and playful. This makes the book a joy to read, especially since doing so makes you feel like you are solving a puzzle. Clearly, the author is adept at leaving readers yearning for more and generally wondering where the story is headed. However, this can sometimes make a reader feel like the different storylines are unrelated, but don’t be fooled. In fact, the first chapters of the book can lead you to believe that you’re reading a compilation of different short stories. Eventually everything is woven together into an intriguing story.

The different supernatural beings and occurrences in this book are fascinating and I wish we could have been given more explanations about them because I thought they were intriguing. As a reviewer I was wondering whether to categorize this book as science fiction or fantasy, but I put that aside and decided it is a wonderful blend of both genres.

It’s undeniable that the plot of this book was fully conceptualized and expertly executed. Also, it’s clear that the author has done a lot of research into Asian culture, which is a central focus of the book. Cuckoo Heartfully is an imaginative and fun adventure book that I heartily enjoyed.

Pages: 217 | ASIN: B09YNMLDT9