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lc_books's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
If you loved the Penny Dreadful series, this book is going to satisfy your want for something similar!
Ordinary Monsters took a tight hold of me from the very first page and it would not let go!
In this gothic, victorian inspired world there are children with extraordinary gifts, primarily with enhanced regenerative cells. For example, there is a boy who can completely heal himself no matter the injury, and another girl can make herself entirely invisible. These children are called The Talents.
Agents hunt down these talents and take them to a British Estate where they learn to control their gifts and are protected from outside forces, especially from one Jacob Marber - a terrific, chilling villain with so much depth and a great past you can't help but love and hate!
J.M. Miro is a world building master. His descriptions of certain places are beautiful and gritty and painful. He's taken inspiration from all your favorites and collided them together successfully.
Magic school for mutants? Check! Lovecraftian horror? Check! Dickensian conditions? Check!
And the author has taken his time to introduce every character and make you care about them. But don't get too attached because this world is dark and unforgiving.
All in all this was a great first read from a new author and J.M. Miro might be a new favorite of mine. I look forward to the second book.
Ordinary Monsters took a tight hold of me from the very first page and it would not let go!
In this gothic, victorian inspired world there are children with extraordinary gifts, primarily with enhanced regenerative cells. For example, there is a boy who can completely heal himself no matter the injury, and another girl can make herself entirely invisible. These children are called The Talents.
Agents hunt down these talents and take them to a British Estate where they learn to control their gifts and are protected from outside forces, especially from one Jacob Marber - a terrific, chilling villain with so much depth and a great past you can't help but love and hate!
J.M. Miro is a world building master. His descriptions of certain places are beautiful and gritty and painful. He's taken inspiration from all your favorites and collided them together successfully.
Magic school for mutants? Check! Lovecraftian horror? Check! Dickensian conditions? Check!
And the author has taken his time to introduce every character and make you care about them. But don't get too attached because this world is dark and unforgiving.
All in all this was a great first read from a new author and J.M. Miro might be a new favorite of mine. I look forward to the second book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Gore, Bullying, and Child abuse
Minor: Blood, Racism, and Child death
jhbandcats's review against another edition
adventurous
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
5.0
I really loved this book. It reminded me of lots of other books but it’s its own creature. It’s got the feel of Addie LaRue and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, and it’s got talented kids and a special school like X-Men.
By the end we’re following at least three storylines, all about a great evil that’s going to release the dead into our world and the forces of good that are fighting to keep that from happening. The children are unusual - one has a separate flesh giant that smells of rotting meat but the rest are more appealing - and the monsters are indeed monstrous.
I’m delighted to report that there’s a hero cat. I’d have given this five stars even if there weren’t a hero cat, but the hero cat puts this firmly in the ten-star category.
By the end we’re following at least three storylines, all about a great evil that’s going to release the dead into our world and the forces of good that are fighting to keep that from happening. The children are unusual - one has a separate flesh giant that smells of rotting meat but the rest are more appealing - and the monsters are indeed monstrous.
I’m delighted to report that there’s a hero cat. I’d have given this five stars even if there weren’t a hero cat, but the hero cat puts this firmly in the ten-star category.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Grief, Gun violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Gore, and Death
kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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? No
4.5
I actually quite liked this. I still call bullshit on the only black character coincidentally being the character that has to kill themselves then heal themselves repeatedly to help the white chars but everything else was pretty good. White authors using black pain to further plot, color me surprised. Surprisingly fluff-less for a book this big, most chapters had a purpose and I liked that! Would read another in this series, but i hope it’s not this big
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Hate crime, and Racism
Moderate: Murder, Ableism, Slavery, Blood, and Gore
thesupermassive's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gun violence, Blood, and Gore
Moderate: Racism
bonniejpg's review against another edition
Interesting story, but I struggled with some of the writing. One passage was especially confusing due to unclear pronoun usage - the entire meaning of the passage changed depending on which character “he” referd to. I read and reread this passage so many times and still could read it either way. Very possible that it’s just me, but I ultimately decided It wasn’t worth it to keep going and risk running into similar issues.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Murder, Gore, and Violence
fate_of_ansley's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Racism, Cursing, and Gore
Moderate: Cannibalism and Drug use
longstorysteph's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Child abuse, Racism, and Death
Minor: Sexual assault
librarianlayla's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
4.0
4/4.5 stars.
Prepare yourself for a heartbreaking, raw, ride. Beautifully written, darkly descriptive, and intense.
The only reason this doesn't get the full 5 stars is because there was very little ebb and flow of emotions. It is mostly fraught, with very few light moments to break up the harshness. But I did enjoy it greatly, and am looking forward to the sequel!
For fans of Miss Peregrine's, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and The Nevers.
Prepare yourself for a heartbreaking, raw, ride. Beautifully written, darkly descriptive, and intense.
The only reason this doesn't get the full 5 stars is because there was very little ebb and flow of emotions. It is mostly fraught, with very few light moments to break up the harshness. But I did enjoy it greatly, and am looking forward to the sequel!
For fans of Miss Peregrine's, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and The Nevers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Grief, Toxic relationship, Death, Blood, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Hate crime, Racism, Addiction, Racial slurs, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, Child death, Gaslighting, Torture, Drug use, Physical abuse, and Self harm
katieo156's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
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? Yes
3.5
I enjoyed the story, but this could easily have been two books. There was such a long arc to get to the central setting that I was wearing thin on patience. I'm glad I kept going- I did like the characters and their grit, but I wish we had learned more about the magic and mythology of the book. It was vaguely alluded to and then kind of info dumped, but I feel like there's more left to learn that didn't need to be kept hidden for a sequel. I wondered the whole time if everyone's instant intense love for Marlowe was part of his powers because it was mentioned so frequently and so soon after anyone met him- guess not.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Excrement, Gore, and Violence
massivepizzacrust's review against another edition
dark
tense
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Confinement, and Death