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ghostlydreamer 's review for:
Monstress, Vol. 3: Haven
by Marjorie M. Liu
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
I'm pretty sure every single adult character in Monstress is hot, just saying.
With that out of the way, once again, I would like to give ALL the praise to Monstress. Volume 1 astonished me. Volume 2 wowed me. Now, Volume 3 has enamored me. There's no other way to put it. If you're reading this review, you probably already know these things, because you've probably already read volumes 1 and 2. But if you needed a reminder to keep going for some bizarre reason, then this is it.
Let's start with the artwork. As we know, it's absolutely stunning. You can tell just by the cover of this book. What's great about it is its not misleading; the attention to detail we see in the cover will continue throughout the rest of the book. I honestly can't think of a single series where the level of detail in Monstress is matched.
As I mentioned earlier, the characters are visually appealing. They're nice to look at. Some of them are REALLY nice to look at (just saying). While it took me a minute to remember who some of them were, that's no fault of the book. It's simply because I took too long between books (again) and needed a minute for my memory to catch up. Each of these characters are dynamic, and their motives, if not always entirely clear, give you something to think about.
I love that despite Maika being our main heroine, she is not perfect. In fact, she can be downright disagreeable, cold, and stubborn. But I love her for all those things. She's been through trauma, and her anger and trauma have hardened her. Her cold words and sometimes impulsive actions make sense when viewed through that lense.
Corvin was pretty to look at, and a character I'd oddly forgotten about entirely up until his appearance. I love that I don't always know how to feel about the characters and their motives. It keeps the story moving, making me yearn to read more so that I can get some answers.
Master Ren, of course, was sick of everyone's shit, and I loved him for it. But he was also breaking my heart. And I would STILL die for Kippa, if there was any room for doubt there. The way that little fox girl holds her tail and finds something to be happy about even when things are bad makes my heart warm. Her Innocence is the kind that only a child can possess.
Our cast of supporting characters, including our villains, were also diverse and kept things interesting. They deserve as much praise as our main cast of characters.
Then we have the worldbuilding. Perhaps due to the incredible artwork, the world is rich and inviting, even at its darkest moments. It's completely immersive, and I'm sure I could reread this and pick up details that I never noticed before. The backdrops aren't rushed. There is so much detail that goes into every aspect, and I love that. While I don't think I'd ever like to live in this world, it certainly looks pretty enough to be tempting.
The story is also surprisingly easy to follow along with. Yes, the plot is a bit complicated, but I think that simply comes with the territory. All high fantasy books can be a bit confusing and complicated at times, especially if you're like me, someone who takes far too long in between books so that by the time I get to the next one, it takes me a moment to remember everything that happened before. Maybe it's because this was specifically designed to be a graphic novel, but given that high fantasy novels aren't normally written in this format, it does an incredible job. Once you remember what's happening, it's easy to follow along with everything else that's happening. The art is clean. The panels are simple enough to determine the order of. The plot is original and captivating from start to finish. The pacing is excellent as well. There's always something happening, but even those rare moments of downtime are done well; they don't drag.
I won't get into the plot, but it's fantastic, and I still continue to love the bits of worldbuilding spread throughout, told us by the cats. That's one of my favorite parts of every chapter, and I love being able to connect the dots to other events related to these snippets in the main story.
As always, 10/10 recommend, and I will continue to rave about this series until the end of eternity.
With that out of the way, once again, I would like to give ALL the praise to Monstress. Volume 1 astonished me. Volume 2 wowed me. Now, Volume 3 has enamored me. There's no other way to put it. If you're reading this review, you probably already know these things, because you've probably already read volumes 1 and 2. But if you needed a reminder to keep going for some bizarre reason, then this is it.
Let's start with the artwork. As we know, it's absolutely stunning. You can tell just by the cover of this book. What's great about it is its not misleading; the attention to detail we see in the cover will continue throughout the rest of the book. I honestly can't think of a single series where the level of detail in Monstress is matched.
As I mentioned earlier, the characters are visually appealing. They're nice to look at. Some of them are REALLY nice to look at (just saying). While it took me a minute to remember who some of them were, that's no fault of the book. It's simply because I took too long between books (again) and needed a minute for my memory to catch up. Each of these characters are dynamic, and their motives, if not always entirely clear, give you something to think about.
I love that despite Maika being our main heroine, she is not perfect. In fact, she can be downright disagreeable, cold, and stubborn. But I love her for all those things. She's been through trauma, and her anger and trauma have hardened her. Her cold words and sometimes impulsive actions make sense when viewed through that lense.
Corvin was pretty to look at, and a character I'd oddly forgotten about entirely up until his appearance. I love that I don't always know how to feel about the characters and their motives. It keeps the story moving, making me yearn to read more so that I can get some answers.
Master Ren, of course, was sick of everyone's shit, and I loved him for it. But he was also breaking my heart. And I would STILL die for Kippa, if there was any room for doubt there. The way that little fox girl holds her tail and finds something to be happy about even when things are bad makes my heart warm. Her Innocence is the kind that only a child can possess.
Our cast of supporting characters, including our villains, were also diverse and kept things interesting. They deserve as much praise as our main cast of characters.
Then we have the worldbuilding. Perhaps due to the incredible artwork, the world is rich and inviting, even at its darkest moments. It's completely immersive, and I'm sure I could reread this and pick up details that I never noticed before. The backdrops aren't rushed. There is so much detail that goes into every aspect, and I love that. While I don't think I'd ever like to live in this world, it certainly looks pretty enough to be tempting.
The story is also surprisingly easy to follow along with. Yes, the plot is a bit complicated, but I think that simply comes with the territory. All high fantasy books can be a bit confusing and complicated at times, especially if you're like me, someone who takes far too long in between books so that by the time I get to the next one, it takes me a moment to remember everything that happened before. Maybe it's because this was specifically designed to be a graphic novel, but given that high fantasy novels aren't normally written in this format, it does an incredible job. Once you remember what's happening, it's easy to follow along with everything else that's happening. The art is clean. The panels are simple enough to determine the order of. The plot is original and captivating from start to finish. The pacing is excellent as well. There's always something happening, but even those rare moments of downtime are done well; they don't drag.
I won't get into the plot, but it's fantastic, and I still continue to love the bits of worldbuilding spread throughout, told us by the cats. That's one of my favorite parts of every chapter, and I love being able to connect the dots to other events related to these snippets in the main story.
As always, 10/10 recommend, and I will continue to rave about this series until the end of eternity.