Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
I was given an advanced copy from NetGalley to review this sequel to "The Ravens" and it certainly did not disappoint. I really had enjoyed the first one when I read it last year, and as a sorority girl myself (Alpha Gamma Delta, represent), the idea of a sorority coven struck me as completely epic. "The Monarchs" was exciting just as "The Ravens" was, and I'm big fans of both Scarlett and Vivi, the main characters. The overall plot kind of read like a Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode, which again, fine by me since I enjoy the show. However, I did find it a bit hard to follow at times because there was so much going on, and so many secondary characters. I felt like in the end most of these side plots were resolved, although a few things that happened had me raise an eyebrow (example: nobody remembers anything that happens or acknowledges a particular character death due to "memory reworking", just seemed a bit like lazy writing to me). The story was very fun and I always enjoy the elaborate parties the Kappas throw. It would be super cool to see some kind of live-action version of these books. I also wonder if this is really meant as a duology or if we will get more stories in "The Ravens" series. Solid 3.5/5 for me.
What a great second book and conclusion for the duology. I like that this connected to the first book but still has its own original plot. If you like watching tv shows set in college with lots of drama this book series is for you. Lots of witch vibes, Greek life, boyfriend trouble, etc. I enjoyed the character arcs, specifically for Scarlet. Enough new characters were introduced that I wasn't able to accurately predict who was the demon or how each new male character would play into the plot.
⭐⭐.5
Thank you to Clarion Books and Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
After reading The Ravens, I was looking forward to returning to the witchy sorority and the atmospheric setting that came with the first book. Unfortunately, The Monarchs didn’t quite live up to my expectations.
I wasn’t the biggest fan of the miscommunication happening in the first book, but after what the Kappas went through, I thought this would have been kept to a minimum. Instead, this book was a series of miscommunications, hiding secrets about things that should have been shared, and ultimately a lot of bad decisions. The most bizarre part of this to me is how Scarlett and Vivi decided not to tell their parents anything (or at least with any persistence), which is an understandable thing to do, but after so many instances of people hiding things and not telling the truth it was just getting old.
I also felt like the Kappas were less likable in The Monarchs than in The Ravens. The whole plot of them competing with the other sorority to reclaim their status felt superficial, and I found myself really not caring or rooting for them despite their situation. I also felt that this book could have been a great opportunity to develop the main characters further (especially Scarlett, who is struggling to find confidence in her new leadership role), but we don’t see as much of this aside from the ending.
All in all, I prefer The Ravens over The Monarchs. While this book did have some remnants of the previous book that I enjoyed (the setting mainly), I felt like there was so much more that could have been done in terms of plot and character development.
CW:
Spoiler
Death of a prominent character, self-harm, murderYou can find more of my reviews here: www.julieannasbooks.com
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
{3.5 stars}
Another exciting installments of The Ravens story. Now that Vivi is more familiar with her powers, the sorority sisters are trying for campus domination again. When their first party goes awry, they are in trouble of losing their standing to a rival sorority. When they suddenly lose access to their magic they realize something more sinister is a foot.
I enjoyed the action of this one, it gives a little more detail on the magic and the forces of good and evil. It was a bit more catty at times though, too much boyfriend drama for my taste. Overall a quick fun read though.
Thanks to Clarion Books via Netgalley for access to this novel. All opinions above are my own.
Another exciting installments of The Ravens story. Now that Vivi is more familiar with her powers, the sorority sisters are trying for campus domination again. When their first party goes awry, they are in trouble of losing their standing to a rival sorority. When they suddenly lose access to their magic they realize something more sinister is a foot.
I enjoyed the action of this one, it gives a little more detail on the magic and the forces of good and evil. It was a bit more catty at times though, too much boyfriend drama for my taste. Overall a quick fun read though.
Thanks to Clarion Books via Netgalley for access to this novel. All opinions above are my own.
Full blog post available 21st March 2022: https://inkandplasma.com/2022/03/21/the-monarchs/
Character - 4
Atmosphere - 6
Writing - 5
Plot - 5
Intrigue - 5
Logic - 3
Enjoyment - 5
Rating: 4.71 / 2 stars
-
Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for the eARC of this book. It has not affected my honest review.
One of the biggest points of frustration with me in this book was actually something that frustrated me in The Ravens too. The way Scarlett is characterised is mostly fun to read, a powerful and passionate witch who cares about her sister above nearly everything else. I love that, in principle, and the budding friendship between Vivi and Scarlett in The Ravens and continuing friendship in The Monarchs is a delight. But the way Scarlett acts with her love interests? So fucking annoying. In book one, she gets annoyed at Mason and Vivi for kissing – even though she was trying to date Jackson. In The Ravens, Jackson has another love interest and Scarlett gets annoyed and jealous again – even though she’s flirting with a new character and agreeing to dates. This hypocrisy is beyond irritating to me, and it made me less interested in Scarlett’s romantic arcs. In The Ravens I loved the way that Scarlett was challenging the way that she was raised and her family’s beliefs. In The Monarchs, she seemed to lean back into her elitist beliefs with no hesitation.
Half of the conflict in Vivi’s section of the book was entirely caused by her refusing to explain things or answer questions. This was miscommunication taken off the scale because the book didn’t even attempt to justify why Vivi didn’t just… answer questions. Instead she kept secrets with no explanation and it caused her conflict with Mason and her sorority sisters, even though at the start of the book there was a whole passage where she talked about feeling as though she can tell Mason anything. Why didn’t we get to actually see that, then? Instead, the way she reacted leads me to my biggest gripe with The Monarchs.
I repeatedly had some like, consent ick issues with this book. There’s a love spell sub-plot, which obviously has some super squicky consent issues, and I don’t think that this was addressed enough in the end, but I could accept this. It’s seen as a horrible use of magic and manipulative abuse. But on the other hand, Scarlett and Vivi both use their magic in ways that I found equally manipulative and gross, and that was just seen as ‘I shouldn’t do this, oh well’. Scarlett attempted to read a guy’s thoughts on their first date, and Vivi used magic to make Mason forgive her for something instead of having a conversation. The fact that this wasn’t challenged because it was done by the good witches? Ick.
There was a lot going on in this book. By the time I reached a third into the book, there were so many plot lines going on that it kind of felt like things were just being thrown at the wall to see what sticks. Ultimately, they did resolve into a kind of cohesive ending, but I did feel like we had several aspects suddenly brought up that weren’t mentioned at all in the first book – demons?? witch hunters?? companions?? – so it felt like I had missed a whole book in the middle of a trilogy, rather than going into the second part of a duology. The blood magic was super interesting and totally underutilised, and it took over 50% of the book for me to start actually feeling invested in the plot. Even then, I managed to guess the plot twist about halfway through. Once we’d reached the halfway point the book got a lot more interesting and I enjoyed the second half enough that I felt like I was racing through it and I’m definitely glad I finished the book.
This wasn’t a terrible book, I guess, but I was disappointed. The first half was significantly poorer than the second, and as a result it felt like the second half was badly paced. If we’d had those plots seeded throughout the book then it wouldn’t have felt so rushed. Ultimately, this series is a fun magical romp but I wish that there was more focus on the magic than the weird not-quite romantic subplots.
Character - 4
Atmosphere - 6
Writing - 5
Plot - 5
Intrigue - 5
Logic - 3
Enjoyment - 5
Rating: 4.71 / 2 stars
-
Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for the eARC of this book. It has not affected my honest review.
One of the biggest points of frustration with me in this book was actually something that frustrated me in The Ravens too. The way Scarlett is characterised is mostly fun to read, a powerful and passionate witch who cares about her sister above nearly everything else. I love that, in principle, and the budding friendship between Vivi and Scarlett in The Ravens and continuing friendship in The Monarchs is a delight. But the way Scarlett acts with her love interests? So fucking annoying. In book one, she gets annoyed at Mason and Vivi for kissing – even though she was trying to date Jackson. In The Ravens, Jackson has another love interest and Scarlett gets annoyed and jealous again – even though she’s flirting with a new character and agreeing to dates. This hypocrisy is beyond irritating to me, and it made me less interested in Scarlett’s romantic arcs. In The Ravens I loved the way that Scarlett was challenging the way that she was raised and her family’s beliefs. In The Monarchs, she seemed to lean back into her elitist beliefs with no hesitation.
Half of the conflict in Vivi’s section of the book was entirely caused by her refusing to explain things or answer questions. This was miscommunication taken off the scale because the book didn’t even attempt to justify why Vivi didn’t just… answer questions. Instead she kept secrets with no explanation and it caused her conflict with Mason and her sorority sisters, even though at the start of the book there was a whole passage where she talked about feeling as though she can tell Mason anything. Why didn’t we get to actually see that, then? Instead, the way she reacted leads me to my biggest gripe with The Monarchs.
I repeatedly had some like, consent ick issues with this book. There’s a love spell sub-plot, which obviously has some super squicky consent issues, and I don’t think that this was addressed enough in the end, but I could accept this. It’s seen as a horrible use of magic and manipulative abuse. But on the other hand, Scarlett and Vivi both use their magic in ways that I found equally manipulative and gross, and that was just seen as ‘I shouldn’t do this, oh well’. Scarlett attempted to read a guy’s thoughts on their first date, and Vivi used magic to make Mason forgive her for something instead of having a conversation. The fact that this wasn’t challenged because it was done by the good witches? Ick.
There was a lot going on in this book. By the time I reached a third into the book, there were so many plot lines going on that it kind of felt like things were just being thrown at the wall to see what sticks. Ultimately, they did resolve into a kind of cohesive ending, but I did feel like we had several aspects suddenly brought up that weren’t mentioned at all in the first book – demons?? witch hunters?? companions?? – so it felt like I had missed a whole book in the middle of a trilogy, rather than going into the second part of a duology. The blood magic was super interesting and totally underutilised, and it took over 50% of the book for me to start actually feeling invested in the plot. Even then, I managed to guess the plot twist about halfway through. Once we’d reached the halfway point the book got a lot more interesting and I enjoyed the second half enough that I felt like I was racing through it and I’m definitely glad I finished the book.
This wasn’t a terrible book, I guess, but I was disappointed. The first half was significantly poorer than the second, and as a result it felt like the second half was badly paced. If we’d had those plots seeded throughout the book then it wouldn’t have felt so rushed. Ultimately, this series is a fun magical romp but I wish that there was more focus on the magic than the weird not-quite romantic subplots.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved The Ravens and this one continues the story perfectly. It starts right after winter break , while Vivi and Scarlett are still picking up the pieces of what happened the first half of the year. (Trying not to give spoilers for those who haven't read the first book...) Strange things are happening to their magic and Kappa is being challenged for their place in the Greek life hierarchy. As they start investigating, they learn they may be dealing with forces even more dangerous than before. Can they save themselves, their magic, and their beloved coven before it is too late? Highly recommended for grades 8 & up. Must read the The Ravens first or it really won't make sense. I hope that there will be more in the series!
ARC provided by publisher
ARC provided by publisher
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated