A review by kimsbookerynookery
House of the Beast by Michelle Wong

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.0

Thank you NetGalley and HarperVoyager for the opportunity to read this book early in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

A woman with a chip on her shoulder and vengeance in her heart with a monster whispering in her ear? Yes, the description for this book was exactly what I was looking for but sadly the book itself didn’t live up to my expectations. 

The world and story itself were highly imaginative and had great potential. I loved the idea of the deeply competitive, envious aristocratic family scraping their way to the top. I loved the idea of a bastard FMC using her family’s endless power-grabbing to enact her revenge for her mother. I also LOVED the idea of her working with an eldritch monster to reach her goals. The execution just didn’t hit quite right. 

The story starts with an 11 year old Alma, as she sacrifices herself to join her neglectful father and devote herself to House Alvera, and its Beast, in order to save her mother. When her mother dies she vows to work with the eldritch beast, Aster, that’s been pestering her in order to bring her father down. Then 8 years pass and we see none of the character development nor do we experience Alma’s bond with Aster strengthening over time. The result left me feeling like Alma never really developed into an adult and I had to keep reminding myself she’s 19 not 11. 

As for the rest of the characters, they all felt a little 2-dimensional and only there to serve the plot. Even Aster (the monster) fell pretty flat as he manifested as just a cute boy with a crush on Alma for 95% of the book. 

Personally, I do think this book could have used a little bit of editing back. There were so many moments where Alma is having a conversation and right in the middle her thoughts explain something else that slightly relates. There was a lot of exposition like this that just threw me off in the middle of a scene. Since much of the world-building was done this way and all of it was interesting/important, just not presented well, this book would have benefitted from the use of epigraphs at the beginning of the chapters. 

Where Wong’s writing really shines though is in the action scenes and gruesome descriptions. All of the competitions and especially the last 30% in the Umber Gate with the grotesque  monsters were immaculate. The descriptions were visceral and I could see everything happening like a movie in my head. It made me ultimately very interested in what she will write next given this is her debut novel. 

Truly I did find the overall book intriguing with so much promise. I am excited to see what Michelle Wong comes up with next. 

Thank you NetGalley and HarperVoyager for the opportunity to read this book early in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.