Review by randirush - House of the Beast

randirush 's review for:

House of the Beast by Michelle Wong

3.5

adventurous dark 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

woah this was not what i was expecting at all. i thought this would be a more romance-heavy story, but want to note that is not what this is. while there are slight romantic undertones, that’s the extent of it as the story is centered around alma’s quest for revenge against her father. though since that is the main plot, i felt conflicted toward alma and her feelings on what she was and wasn’t willing to do to get her revenge if that makes sense — like she was fine with killing in some scenarios but then was completely against it in others, or she hated her cousin for most of the book but then wanted to check on him in the middle of the final test even though it was the opposite way of where she was going. i guess a couple things like that kind of messed with the continuity of the story — alma would say she wanted something but then would be against doing the things necessary to get it. i do enjoy a revenge story though and this is a really intriguing concept, so i had a decent time.

there are also lovely illustrations throughout the book — which i found out were actually done by the author (so cool!) — that just added such a nice touch to the reading experience!

thank you to netgalley, avon, and harper voyager for the arc!

Content Warnings