Reviews with content warning for Cannibalism - Monstrilio

One of my favorite books of the year. It was equal parts beautiful, sad, and gross. so many things to love about it:

- I loved that each perspective and character was fleshed out. Through Magos I learned how grief can take different forms, and how it can push people to extremes. Lena allowed me to see Monstrilio clearly for who he was, with no judgement. Through Joseph I saw how one has to learn how to reconcile their past with their future, and how grief can still manifest. While Monstrilio is a manifestation of his parents' pain after the loss of their son, I loved how his perspective allowed us to see him as an individual. Not a replacement for a lost boy, but as someone with their own feelings and desires. I really felt for him the entire chapter, where majority of the time he had to suppress anything that would disappoint his parents. Ngl I almost shed a tear at the end of his perspective.

- This book spans multiple years and countries, and I liked how seamless the transitions seemed. Everything came full circle in Firgesan and I just thought that was beautiful!

- Uncle Luke is also my uncle!! I loved the support system that M had throughout his life. They (for the most part) accepted him for who he was.

Amazing from beginning to end.

Content Warnings

noura's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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melizzya's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.25

I expected more horror elements and therefore found myself a bit bored at the beginning until the story and it's characters slowly and unexpectedly captured my heart.

The characters are not likeable in a conventional way, but their flaws and struggles quickly made me sympathize with them. Especially Monstrilios point of view at the end of the book was so different from how people view him and even though he seems a bit distant I grew so fond of him.

This book explores so many different topics like how people deal differently with grief and loss and the importance of love and acceptance. It is hard to put into words how this book made me feel, but it left me both sorrowful and with a warm feeling. It is a beautiful story with diverse and engaging characters, but definitely more in the literary genre with a sprinkle of horror elements.

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ambersim's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.5

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anareads19's review against another edition

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dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

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writingcaia's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad slow-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? It's complicated

4.75

I’m still processing but this was a brilliant, beautifully writen and crafted, intriguing, and gory story.
The characters are strong and alive, although not always likeable.
Though grief is a big theme of the book, I found that parenthood- protecting your child no matter how monstrous they are, loving them, understanding them, and setting them free no matter how hard- is the biggest of all. The idea of “monster” is very aligned with odd, strange, not necessarily evil which is something to debate as well, the same with dealing with the consequences of the actions taken due to trauma and denial.
There’re many touching moments, with M particularly, tears threatened to fall.
Overall, it was really a great one to read, and a story I won’t forget and will likely get back to on and off for the foreseeable future.

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za_hra's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious relaxing sad 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? It's complicated

3.75

A book which teaches us that you cannot bring back the dead or replaced the ones that you’ve lost. Not matter how much you love someone you also cannot change who they are. The first two sections written from the POV of Magos and Lena I didn’t enjoy as much as the final two from Joe and M’s POV. I found Magos unlikeable and almost child like in her narration.

Lena, I wasn’t sure what the point was about her not being able to sleep but Joe I understood and despite his willing ignorance of who M really was, I didn't find it as frustrating as Magos' delusion of who M really was.

M’s section was the best. Despite demonstrably being a monster he doesn’t feel like one and you want him to be free. At some points the story felt rushed like the plot was being progressed quite significantly in a matter of sentences but for a debut novel it's good. Would've given 4 stars had the first two sections been more enjoyable for me.

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freshie's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

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