Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Monsters We Defy

I really struggled to gain momentum when starting this book. I almost DNF’d around the 25% mark but I’m glad I kept going. At first it was because I don’t have a natural affinity for communicating with spirits books and then I was starting to grow anxious about the heist because more background kept getting piled on without feeling any pay off. But once that ball started rolling, it was worth the wait.

I do love seeing tricksters get tricked.

Clara is an extraordinary character. She hits all the traits I adore. She’s resilient, driven, more than a little stubborn, and so very clever. Israel is a sweetie and I would do anything for Aristotle. Zelda is the best friend everyone needs and Mama Octavia is a powerful driving force.

I highly recommend you read the Author’s note. It makes it clear just how much research Leslye Penelope put into this book and gives some other recommendations if any particular aspects intrigued you. She gracefully handled tough subjects like slavery, racism, classism, and harm being compounded by people who wish to raise themselves by holding others down in a way that’s easy to read and reflect on, while giving the gritty real world just a little magic sprinkled on top.

Content Warnings

aksmith92's review

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective tense 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? Yes

4.0

What an innovative fantasy book! It also combined a dash of historical context about one of my favorite places: Washington, DC. Therefore, I just had a great time with this novel.

The setup: We follow Clara Johnson, a woman living and working in Washington DC, after dark moments when she was thrown in jail. She works as a typist for a pretty arrogant man but knows the work is essential to the Black community. However, on the side, she also meddles with spirits, or Enigmas, because she has the "second sight." People will come to her to get a Charm - something Enigmas will hand out to humans to help them - but only with a Trick, making their lives more challenging.

Soon, Clara notices some of her friends and neighbors are starting to go missing. When a concerned mother comes to her about her son, who looks absolutely in a daze and cannot speak, Clara is sure that the spirits are to blame. This novel works through Clara trying to figure out who is at fault and what can be done about these folks controlled by spirits. While figuring out the details, Clara is tasked with finding and stealing a magical ring, which may be the reason for the spirits and afflicted humans. Therefore, she and a team of lovely characters take on this heist. It was such a fun and exciting ride, and it had unique storytelling.

Integrated into the fantasy novel was also some incredible historical context about the Black community in Washington DC and some of the atrocities that went down during this period (1919-1925ish). Yet, it was also a fantastic display of the community's growth and perseverance to make a great life for themselves. Leslye Penelope's Author Note at the end of the novel was beautiful, and I highly encourage you to include that in the final reading chapters.

What I loved: I thoroughly enjoyed the characters - Clara was a tough-minded woman who always spoke her truth, which could not have been easy in the timeframe. This book also had a lovely found-family aspect - the wonderful characters of Aristotle, Jesse Lee, and Zelda. Plus, we had the lovely and charming Israel Lee. I was glad to see that Penelope was able to integrate a lot of these characters' backstories into the novel, as we were able to catch a glimpse into their personalities. Zelda was one of my favorite characters in this novel; she had such a layered personality and provided her friends great insight (and comedic relief).

I also thoroughly enjoyed this plot - while ghosts and the spirit world are not new themes, I thought Penelope did it justice with unique worldbuilding and exciting subplots, especially with the charms/tricks component. I also loved Clara's connection with her late grandmother and how that was integrated into the story. Penelope's integration with these fantastical elements alongside actual historical context in 1920s Washington, DC, was also phenomenal. I thought it was a nice touch to weave these historical components (like real historical people like DeBois!) into this novel.

Overall, I was deeply immersed - there is a bit of fantasy, a bit of a mystery, and even a splash of a love story. I had a lovely time with it and think Penelope is a fantastic writer!

What could've happened for a higher rating: I think the pacing fell a little short for me, and I'm trying to figure out why. I think it is because most of the book was about planning for the heist and then only briefly getting to it. The action was relatively minimal but still had very interesting components. It took me some time to finish this book, which is pretty abnormal for me, so maybe that's where I'm going when I say pacing issues.

Lastly, I was a bit confused at the end with some of the Engima...fighting? I won't go into detail about spoilers, but the end of the heist scene was thrown together quickly and was confusing with the rest of the mostly intriguing and organized plot around the spirits. Even though I had some questions about the heist scene, it was the most action-packed, which I appreciated. I was on the edge of my seat, wondering how it would all come together!

Overall, it was a great novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. In my opinion, heists are challenging to do, and Penelope did it well. I look forward to reading some of her other material in the future!

Content Warnings

laurareads87's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

4.5. The Monsters We Defy is a fantastical heist adventure set within a wonderfully crafted historic Washington DC populated by actual historical figures - WEB DuBois, Langston Hughes, Carter Woodson, and more - that has much to say about gentrification, colourism, class division, and resistance to racism. The plot is well paced and exciting, and I enjoyed the cast of characters very much.

This novel would make absolutely fantastic television; I'd happily read more set in this world & more from Leslye Penelope.

Content warnings: racism, racial slurs, police brutality, racist violence, hate crime, enslavement, classism, colourism

Content Warnings

carefulfearanddeaddevotion's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

OMG!!!! My fav book of the year so far! (sorry Seven Husbands)

Very very few issues, to the point where I can't even verbalize them.

Absolutely adore the characters. They're just the kind I like: a l(ot)ittle damaged, sassy, a little bitchy, magical, charismatic. Israel Lee, I wish you were real so I could kiss you on your mouth<3<3 Clara Johnson, you're cool too, don't get me wrong, but he's so so perfect <3 I love him and Clara together: confident, kind-hearted ladies man falling for the grumpy closed off girl? sign me the fuck up. The rest of the cast is really cool too, the villains aren't extremely fleshed out, but it works cause they're sprits.

The plot was also really up my alley, urban magic? a heist?? a ragtag group??? yes yes yes. I really loved exploring 1920s DC, and how the black people who lived there managed to carve out their own space despite Jim Crow. I also liked that besides

the cop Clara killed before the start of the story

and passing mentions (usually when discussing racism), white people were casually absent from the story.

Highly highly recommend.

Content Warnings

joisaddler's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Content Warnings

kaelablue's review

Go to review page

adventurous funny hopeful 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

4.75

Final showdown felt a little quick, but other than that this book was wonderfully crafted and a super fun read.

Content Warnings

gogglor's review

Go to review page

adventurous informative 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

As soon as I saw the summary was “Fantasy heist set in Black Washington DC in the 1920’s” I think my library card caught fire with how quickly I checked it out. So glad the book itself turned out to be just as engaging and rich as the summary promised. 10/10, already planning to read it again.

Content Warnings

mal_reads_books's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.0

This was one of the more interesting stories I've read in a while. I loved how rich and immersive the setting was. It felt authentic and was full of fun, dynamic, unique characters. To me, this was the most enjoyable aspect of the book.

The side characters’ abilities and their backstories involving the deals they made with the spirits were also interesting. I actually preferred these characters over the protagonist, Clara, whom I didn't care much for. I loved how they were all misfits who banded together and became a "found family." I liked how the story included cameos of real Black historical figures like Langston Hughes. Even Clara was based on a real person.

Additionally, the author did a good job weaving themes of classism, colorism, and racism into the story. She handled these heavy topics well, approaching them with nuance.

While the writing was generally engaging, the story had pacing issues in that it lost my attention at times. This was usually whenever a new character was introduced with an introductory chapter; it would take me out of the story for a bit.

And while I did like the characters, I felt they could've have been better developed. Not sure why, but I kept getting two of the side guys, Aristotle and Jesse Lee, mixed up.

All in all, it was a pretty good, thought-provoking read. It has room for improvement, but is worth checking out. I'd love to see a movie adaptation for this.

Content Warnings

More...