A review by wardenred
Soul Eater by Lily Mayne

dark emotional hopeful slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

“And if we both want to be together, we’re going to fuckin’ be together.”

Okay, well, *now* I understand what the hype is all about! :D

The Monstrous series has been on my TBR for a while, and I actually expected to like a lot once I finallygot around to it. However, recently I read another book by the same author (Berries and Greed) and was underwhelmed by nothing ever happening in it for pages on end. So I was a bit wary going into Soul Eater and kept my expectations low. Happy to say they were exceeded by a mile! Wyn and Danny are both awesome and work so well together. I loved following their love story, even when it got dark.

The setting here is both exciting and slightly overwhelming. I just kept wanting to get a better feel for it, you know? Maybe get a glimpse of one of those military-controlled cities, after all. Have more interactions with the other monsters in the wastelands, and not just Edin (though I absolutely loved Edin and get the feeling I'll enjoy reading his story very much, especially if he ends up getting some POV chapters—a reader can dream). Just, you know, things to spice up the endless repetition of going from place to place, scavenging for food and essentials, and sometimes pausing to get rid of some parasites. It didn't feel *super* repetitive because there was this strong romance arc I was very much invested in, but I feel like there could be more done with such promising setting—and more of it tied into the story itself. As it was, the most exciting bits, such as those humans who tried rescuing Danny when they though he was in danger from Wyn or the monster attack closer to the end, felt like very obvious hanging threads to be picked up later, rather than slightly more self-contained beats that strongly matter to the current book. 

There was also a bit of sloppiness re: worldbuilding that took me out of the story sometimes—like, how come almost every abandoned place they came across had running water and sometimes even electricity? Sure, there was an offhanded explanation that it had to do with maintaining the facilities at the military bases scattered around he country. However, that's just not how communications work. It is perfectly possible to keep the lights on and water running on a base without pumping water to all over the uninhabited lands. Not just possible, but cheaper and more efficient. Either there's something going on with it, or, I suspect, this is simply under-researched. 

And speaking of under-researched things: I kinda feel like the author got so engrossed into inventing the monster physiology that some aspects of familiar human physiology got out of hand in all those spicy scenes. :D Not really complaining though, given that those scenes for the most part were not just hot fun, but also moved the characters and relationship arc along as they should. That approach is always my favorite.

All in all, in spite of my complaints, I had a lot of fun with this story and will definitely continue the series. This is an intriguing start with lovely characters, and I expect the books will only get stronger from here.
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