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sunlit_music's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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
4.25
This book was so intense, oh my god. The world building is incredible - so well thought out and creative. I loved the way the book explained the magic system, time traveling, how monsters steal years off people's lives, and the differences and similarities between the monster world and the human world.
The romance is absolutely heartbreaking. I would say the ending is bittersweet, because the main character Joan manages to save her family members, but she is never able to see her love interest ever again. The choices that Joan has to make to save the people she loves are gut wrenching. There are no truly good choices that save everyone. She has to choose between letting her family die, or taking years off strangers' lives to save her own family.
I like how the book makes you sympathise with Joan and other morally grey characters, even when you don't always agree with them. That's the sign of a truly great writer.
I would recommend this book for anyone who likes fast paced action, morally grey characters, main characters with supportive loving families, and characters who grow and evolve over time.
The romance is absolutely heartbreaking. I would say the ending is bittersweet, because the main character Joan manages to
I like how the book makes you sympathise with Joan and other morally grey characters, even when you don't always agree with them. That's the sign of a truly great writer.
I would recommend this book for anyone who likes fast paced action, morally grey characters, main characters with supportive loving families, and characters who grow and evolve over time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Murder, Child death, Grief, and Kidnapping
Minor: Racism
azrah786's review against another edition
4.25
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
**I was gifted an ARC through the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
CW: violence, blood, murder, death, death of parents/family members, weapon use, brainwashing, interrogation, involuntary drug use, racist microaggressions, xenophobia
--
[AUGUST 2023]
Bumping my rating up to 4.25 Stars as I enjoyed this even more on the reread!
--
[FEBRUARY 2022]
Full of high stakes, a dash of doomed romance and time travel shenanigans, Only A Monster introduces us to an all new version of our world and an unconventional take on monsters which absolutely blew me away!
Joan’s life changes forever when one summer while she is staying with her mum’s side of the family in London, she discovers that they are monsters who steal life from humans in order to travel through time. In fact there is a whole community of monster families with distinctive powers living in secret and as a member of the Hunt family, Joan is one of them.
To make matters worse the cute boy who she has been working over summer with and has finally managed to score a date with turns out to be a monster hunter from legend destined to purge the world of them all. And so Joan is forced to embrace who she is and reluctantly team up with a fellow monster from a family that hates her own in order to save not just her family but the whole of monster-kind.
**I was gifted an ARC through the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
CW: violence, blood, murder, death, death of parents/family members, weapon use, brainwashing, interrogation, involuntary drug use, racist microaggressions, xenophobia
--
[AUGUST 2023]
Bumping my rating up to 4.25 Stars as I enjoyed this even more on the reread!
--
[FEBRUARY 2022]
Full of high stakes, a dash of doomed romance and time travel shenanigans, Only A Monster introduces us to an all new version of our world and an unconventional take on monsters which absolutely blew me away!
Joan’s life changes forever when one summer while she is staying with her mum’s side of the family in London, she discovers that they are monsters who steal life from humans in order to travel through time. In fact there is a whole community of monster families with distinctive powers living in secret and as a member of the Hunt family, Joan is one of them.
To make matters worse the cute boy who she has been working over summer with and has finally managed to score a date with turns out to be a monster hunter from legend destined to purge the world of them all. And so Joan is forced to embrace who she is and reluctantly team up with a fellow monster from a family that hates her own in order to save not just her family but the whole of monster-kind.
“You’re a hero and I’m a monster,” she whispered. “There’s only one way that story ever ends.”
Vanessa Len has written an exciting and unique story about fighting for your loved ones whilst flipping some well-loved tropes in the best way.
There really aren’t enough books with a monster protagonist / hero antagonist storyline and I really enjoyed how the central themes of identity and morality were explored through the various characters we meet. The pacing from the get go is quite fast which did make for a slightly unsteady beginning but in a handful of chapters the narrative smooths out and the easy flowing plot and intriguing reveals keep you hooked.
The worldbuilding though quite simple and subtle was so effective. I will always be down for a story set in London because fictional characters running around a place you are familiar with is always a whole lot of fun, but what I loved in particular was the addition of history as a facet to the setting. I mean paranormal worlds secretly coexisting within our own with spots hidden from human eyes may not be anything new but places hidden within history!? I was instantly obsessed!
In fact I really loved that history was so embedded into the essence of the story what with Joan’s love for the subject and how the time travel allowed us to visit significant places of the past in such a cool way! I’m a sucker for time travel stories despite them having the tendency to sometimes be tricky to get your head around, but Len has woven together a storyline that is not too overly convoluted that I think worked so well!
"We can't change what we've done but... we don't have to be the people we were made into."
Another highlight of this book has got to be the banter between Joan and Aaron, I loved the relationship that formed between them so much! However, I’ve got to admit that some of the other relationships (the main romance included 👀) didn’t stand out as much for me..
Though everything does take a very interesting turn as we come to the end of this first book, which along with my curiosity to learn more about the other monster families has me eagerly awaiting the rest of the series!
Final Rating – 4/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Blood, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Racism, and Xenophobia
bookwormbullet's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Gore, Child abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Racism
nicamooch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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
My jaw was not ready for the amount of twists in this book. I loved the fast pace and the way every emotion still packed a punch—this was an instantly unputdownable kind of book. The ending of chapter ONE had me reeling.
The third act had me audibly gasping multiple times. I just absolutely adore the ride this book took me on. I love the twist on the good vs evil trope. The perspective of a monster vs a hero antagonist was so well done and felt so refreshing?
Despite this story having time travel the stakes always felt serious—I was hooked until the very last page because I really didn’t know which way it would go.
This is such a phenomenal debut book (I am absolutely looking forward to the rest of the trilogy) but this was such an adventure with an epic ending I honestly felt satisfied and content with it upon finishing 😂. But alas, I am team Aaron and must know what happens 😤. I also hope we get to see more of Joan’s family in the next books—Gran was such a delight 😂.
I also love the humour in this. The banter between Joan and Aaron was golden! I loved every interaction between these two! I love love loved their dynamic 💛💛💛
Also, the absolute mastery involved to have me bawling over the relationship of two side characters within two pages 😭😭😭. I want those two to keep their HEA please 😭🙏.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Cursing
Minor: Genocide, Physical abuse, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Dementia, Grief, Racism, and Xenophobia
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