Reviews

Monarch by Candice Wuehle

emloueez's review

5.0

You know when you read a book description and you feel pretty confident that it's your kind of book, and then you read it, and it totally is? So strange and bitchy. It's the demonic lovechild of "Memento," "My Year of Rest and Relaxation" and at least half of the episodes of "You're Wrong About." It's definitely a bananas premise, but it largely works, save for a couple of hiccups in logic. Couldn't put it down.

prophecygir1's review

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

muh heart. muh soul.

rosiecatry's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

hellebxrus's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A

2.0

sonnyyysunshine's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

muchlibrary's review

dark funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

This is such a weird book. The storytelling around the brainwashing exercises and the family's strange way of moving through their mysterious rituals was especially clever and pulled me in to finish the book in a weekend. There is, of course, a good bit of self-harm, neglect, and abuse as would be expected from a story about a pageant queen. I was very concerned that we were about to take an ED storyline journey when suddenly it shifted into murder- the best kind of surprise!

The first half of Part II was by far my favorite. The end got a little over complicated and the passing image of an abusive Middle Eastern diplomat seemed really unnecessary in a book that is otherwise critical of whiteness. 

_amaca's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

rosiekorzie's review

5.0

I really struggled with this initially, I loved the subject matter and topics presented, but the style of presentation bothered me and the timelines confused me. It was overly complicated and slightly pretentious. But damn, about halfway through that all changed and it is now one of the best books I’ve read all year! And all the issues I had with it seem to make sense now, and I think they might be purposeful, and I love it and can’t wait to reread this one, knowing what I know now.

vegfashionista's review

4.0

This is one of those extremely hard to classify books. It was an enjoyable read and kept me engaged— though was an eclectic and bizarre experience. If you are in the right head space (ready to accept chewy prose, with some tongue-in-cheek pretentiousness, and mystery with a lot of existential philosophy and wild shifts throughout) this is for you.

flowerpetals's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25