Reviews

The Man or the Monster by Aamna Qureshi

thepagelady's review

5.0

I was up late into the night reading this book! It's full of betrayal, drama, forbidden romance, surprising twists and so much more! The Man or the Monster picks up right after the ending of The Lady or the Lion and Durhanai must live with the consequences. She is going through a lot but her character went through a lot of changes. It's definitely a series that once you start you can't stop! I can't wait to see what happens next! Thank you Rockstar Book Tours, Aamna Qureshi, and CamCat Books for sharing this wonderful story with me!

rameesa_15's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

3.75

athenezadam's review against another edition

4.0

The first few chapters of The Man or the Monster are satisfyingly chaotic. The web of politics laced with vengeance makes this sequel to The Lady or the Lion a page-turner, and Qureshi succeeds in creating an appealing character arc for the protagonist. Overall, this novel is a captivating read.

smilesgiggle's review against another edition

5.0

This book kept me up late - I couldn't stop.
Durkhanai Miangul has learned the secret of the lady and the lion. She gives her love a subtle hint - which does he meet : the lion or the lady?
The princess faces many challenges. Managing her title, her family and the court.
Gah I want to tell you about the drama, backstabbing, family drama!
Loved it!

nhussain's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

roseleebooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective 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

5.0

This was an outstanding sequel.  It forces the reader to confront the idea of forgiveness, of whether we are bound by the crimes of our past. Qureshi takes the ending of the first book and explores the consequences Durkhanai faces after she makes her choice. I appreciated the self doubt that she has and the continued character growth. I don't want to give away any of the story but will just say that this book does not disappoint. Again, the world building and characters are wonderful, and watching Durkhanai grow as a person was very rewarding. A strong ending to the duology!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, War, and Child death

Moderate: Xenophobia and Medical content

rebecca_z's review against another edition

3.0

2.5✨ rounded up

after really enjoying the first book in this series i was more than a little disappointed by this sequel

the first book was wonderfully paced, full of interesting court intrigue and forbidden romance - most, if not all of this is missing here, we have anticlimactic plots points, storylines opened and resolved in a few chapters or even pages, and an open-ended storyline which isn’t even really open or elaborated upon ?

i really enjoyed durkhanai’s character development in the series, but the poor pacing and ending did a disservice to her growth

ariana_m's review

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.5

They went from enemies to lovers then to enemies again and then to lovers coming down to the end.  This was good until the end. I think everything was just really anti climatic and also there's two ends of  the book which in all honesty I didn't really like. I mean its good that we kind of get to choose which ending to believe in but still. In all honesty I don't think the fmc would have been a good queen. I think her grandparents and her enemies were right lol. I did love the romance though. All in all it was still a good despite everything. 

czarfancypants's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

xoinesxo's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25