Reviews with content warning for Murder - Only a Monster

It seemed like there would be enemies to lovers and a fated love to cause tension but both of those stories didn't have any payoff for all the building up of them.

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ctara2123's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This was fucking /great/!

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brooketreads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The beginning came out of the gate hot. After that first main event and the dust settled, it was giving slight

Romeo and Juliet with that Uno reverse card.

I felt parts were getting too slow during the middle portion of the book. Although, I loved the last like 10% I was on a roller coaster of emotions, and was just left like 🫠 our MC Joan was definitely the most fleshed out of all the characters as a MC should be, but I didn’t feel anyone else was developed enough to feel connected. Joan’s relationships with the other characters weren’t very developed either, including with her family. There wasn’t enough development to actually feel sad or invested on changing the timeline. I wish the cultural elements had been more pronounced, and more. With Joan’s call to her dad, the cultural aspect just felt thrown in to say oh yeah Joan is Asian and they are Asian. Just as with the others, we didn’t get enough build up to the love interests. This story is very romance light. Also, I was pro Nick this entire book, not that I didn’t like Aaron, just for me Nick was superior. The term monster didn’t feel like it fit, unless you think of it in the context of someone who has done something evil is often referred to as “you’re a monster.” But, I think typically when I hear monster, I’m thinking something that looks scary. The magic system was pretty unique, but we didn’t really get why it works that way. I will say I didn’t always understand it. At the monster court, I had no idea what was even going on. Anyways, I did enjoy this in-spite of the criticisms I have. I finished wishing I could immediately jump into book two. And even after this review I feel like rereading.

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sandwiiche's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.75

i like the concept of this but was bored and confused for most of the book, plus the characters felt a little flat for me. the last part of the book was where the plot got interesting, but i still felt like something was missing.
i also wasn't a huge fan of the writing style as well. i think this book read more like middle grade rather than young adult, and it was missing that extra little finesse. however, i'll cut the author some slack since this is a debut novel - so props to her!!

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blackheart's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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 book was not what I expected. I enjoyed the time traveler aspect and couldn't guess where the story was going to go.

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lilly_reads98's review against another edition

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This is way too violent for me

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zoeelora's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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kspag206's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

What I loved:
1. The concept
2. The plot twists
3. The pacing
4. The way the author ripped you apart within the first 100 pages
5. The fact I actually was invested in the story

What I didn’t understand/ didn’t like:
1. The fact that she really wasn’t that “bad” until the very end of the book.
2. That the only thing that makes people monsters is the ability to steal time
3. The family powers, and how they are useful in anyway or monster like.
4. The gigantic descriptions of settings. That’s just a huge pet peeve of mine.

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