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thissagreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This was a pretty cool story! The ending felt rushed, but I’m hoping there’s a part 2, because it left me feeling ready for the next part of Latavia’s journey. I really LOVED that Latavia and Allison didn’t end up together. The both of them had too much trauma, and they both needed to do some personal growing- so I appreciate the author not giving the reader an easy romance ending but a realistic one instead! There was so much revenge and I LOVED it!!! Some people got what was coming to them, and it was satisfying. Latavia finds out that Pastor Thomas is Don, who 200 years ago, hunted the monster’s/snake’s son down to test on him and harm him. Obviously the monster/snake is about to kill the entire town but Don/Pastor Thomas makes a deal with the monster/snake to save the town from being eaten, by finding a “willing” body for the snake to eat, once a year, as punishment for harming and shortening the life of the monster’s/snake’s son.
The only way to kill the monster is using another monster’s blood, silver, and plasma. PLOT TWIST! Don/Pastor Thomas evilly spawned Allison without her knowledge, so she could be groomed to become the human sacrifice later at 18yrs old, full of the monster’s blood. Latavia finds out but doesn’t tell Allison, and also discovers that Pastor Thomas has been trapped in the town for 200 years and was trying to escape from the monster because once you make a deal with the monster, you’re tied to it and cannot go too far, ie, can’t leave the town. Well since Pastor Thomas has some of the monster’s/snake’s blood in him, he gains near immortality and the power to shape shift. So he played by the monster’s/snake’s rules but the whole time he was plotting to kill the monster/snake while basically being a cult leader to the town, convincing the people that the sacrifices were necessary, all so he could plot to escape! He’d have Allison killed (because she’s got the monster’s blood and that can kill the monster), and then the pastor was going to skip town because he’d no longer be tied to the snake. But because Latavia was an unwilling sacrifice and told the snake last minute, she made a deal with the snake HERSELF that she’d help find and destroy the barriers for the snake, so the snake could get revenge on Don/Pastor Thomas! And in return the snake would dole out murderous revenge on those who dragged Latavia to the woods to be sacrificed. In the end, since Allison was the last barrier, thus making Latavia weak all the time she was around her, so they decided they couldn’t be together. And since Latavia and the snake were pals by the end of the book, the revenge shifted towards Pastor Thomas, who escaped when the snake was shedding and at his weakest. So Latavia and the snake left town (he can shapeshift into a small garden snake) to find Pastor Thomas. This is a read I’d recommend because it also dive into the understanding of mental illness like depression, PTSD, anxiety, etc and I think the author did a pretty decent job handling those topics.
The only way to kill the monster is using another monster’s blood, silver, and plasma. PLOT TWIST! Don/Pastor Thomas evilly spawned Allison without her knowledge, so she could be groomed to become the human sacrifice later at 18yrs old, full of the monster’s blood. Latavia finds out but doesn’t tell Allison, and also discovers that Pastor Thomas has been trapped in the town for 200 years and was trying to escape from the monster because once you make a deal with the monster, you’re tied to it and cannot go too far, ie, can’t leave the town. Well since Pastor Thomas has some of the monster’s/snake’s blood in him, he gains near immortality and the power to shape shift. So he played by the monster’s/snake’s rules but the whole time he was plotting to kill the monster/snake while basically being a cult leader to the town, convincing the people that the sacrifices were necessary, all so he could plot to escape! He’d have Allison killed (because she’s got the monster’s blood and that can kill the monster), and then the pastor was going to skip town because he’d no longer be tied to the snake. But because Latavia was an unwilling sacrifice and told the snake last minute, she made a deal with the snake HERSELF that she’d help find and destroy the barriers for the snake, so the snake could get revenge on Don/Pastor Thomas! And in return the snake would dole out murderous revenge on those who dragged Latavia to the woods to be sacrificed. In the end, since Allison was the last barrier, thus making Latavia weak all the time she was around her, so they decided they couldn’t be together. And since Latavia and the snake were pals by the end of the book, the revenge shifted towards Pastor Thomas, who escaped when the snake was shedding and at his weakest. So Latavia and the snake left town (he can shapeshift into a small garden snake) to find Pastor Thomas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, and Police brutality
Minor: Animal cruelty, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
ghostlyprince's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Animal cruelty, and Death
Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Vomit
Minor: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Fatphobia, Racism, Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Alcohol, Gun violence, and Homophobia
gatorademachinegun's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
HOLY SHITTTTTTTTTT
the most amazing ending I’ve ever read. I canopy recommend this one enough. Fast paced stand alone with Excellent queer rep and a diverse cast of charactersand a giant snake! Love him!
the most amazing ending I’ve ever read. I canopy recommend this one enough. Fast paced stand alone with Excellent queer rep and a diverse cast of characters
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Abandonment
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Fatphobia
karcitis's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Child abuse, Lesbophobia, Kidnapping, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Body shaming, Vomit, Slavery, Torture, Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, Fatphobia, Blood, and Child death
booktribe's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
When Latavia is forced to spend the Summer with her aunt in a creepy small town, she discovers that this town has secrets, and that something is living in the woods. Will Latavia make it out of this town alive?
This author’s previous novel, Bad Witch Burning is one of my favorite books of all time! And I have been waiting on Monstrous for so long! I loved the characters! Our main character Latavia was incredibly relatable and she really deserved better! And I also LOVED the monster that was living in the woods. He was such a sweetie pie when he wasn’t eating people! I also loved the puppies! One thing about Jessica Lewis, she’s gonna add lovable animals to her books and I love her for it! I also appreciated that this had mental health representation!
I did expect this to be darker and more intense though. From the description I was expecting horror and it definitely feels more fantasy with some murderous elements. Also, the story picked up really quick in the beginning but it got slow after that. I think either more should’ve happened in the amount of pages it had OR it should’ve been a shorter book. And based on the way this book ended, I feel like this might become a series and I was expecting a standalone. It didn’t exactly end on a cliffhanger, but a large part of the conflict wasn’t handled at the end and it was alluded to that that conflict would be handled later. I would definitely be interested in reading the next book if this becomes a series, but I still feel unsatisfied with the ending, especially if it really is a standalone.
Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot! There were some things I would’ve changed, but it was definitely enjoyable and I can’t wait to read even more of Jessica Lewis’ work!
Thank you Random House Children’s and NetGalley for this arc! All opinions are my own.
TW: parental abandonment, domestic abuse, child abuse, homophobia, fatphobia, suicidal thoughts
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Abandonment
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse
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