The Quarter Year Crisis Book Tag

Francesca LucyLeave a comment

Hi hi hi! I knew that I’d been away from my blog for a while, but I didn’t realise just how long it’d been until I saw that the last post I made was in August 2022… It’s been a very busy year and I finished last year with an embarrassingly low GR challenge result but, now that everything’s finally settling back down, I figured it was the perfect time to come back!

It’s a few weeks late but I saw this tag going around and had to jump on board. Without further ado, the Quarter Year Crisis Book Tag:

How many books have you read so far?

I’ve read fifteen books so far this year! I’m (almost) on track for my end-of-year goal, but it’s definitely been an up-and-down few months of reading; some months, I’ve read a handful of pages, and others, I’ve read four books in one week. I have so many good books on my TBR at the moment so I’m hoping to pick up speed in the next month or so…

Have you already found a book you think might be a 2023 favourite? If not, what was your favourite book you read that wasn’t quite five stars?

I’ve read a few books so far that I already know will likely be included in my favourite reads of the year, but the one that I’ve been forcing on everyone I know is Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross (which I expect to be posting a review of next month…!). It’s magical, immersive and beautifully written with a romance that I adore and a cast of characters to fall in love with, and I absolutely recommend to anyone who enjoys fantasy.

Any 1-star books / least favourite book of the year?

There are a million books on my TBR and my reading time has become limited in the past couple of years, so I’ve made a habit of DNFing books very early on if I can’t see myself getting into them – and, for that reason, I haven’t read a single book below three stars this year! I’m sure there will be a few later in the year that fall short of expectations but, so far this year, I’m very happy to say that I haven’t had any huge reading disappointments.

Most read genre so far?

It’s actually a tie between two (quite unsurprising) genres: YA thriller and YA fantasy. YA fantasy is my favourite genre ever, but YA thrillers are my go-to books to get out of a slump or if I plan on settling in and reading a book in one or two sittings, so it’s completely understandable that these two have completely dominated my reading so far this year.

A book that surprised you?

I was hoping not to re-use any answers, but the book that surprised me the most was actually Divine Rivals… I really wanted to enjoy it when I was approved on NetGalley but, from the description, I expected it to be very trope-driven rather than plot-driven. And, yes, there were plenty of tropes thrown in there, but the story itself completely surpassed my expectations.

A book that’s come out in 2023 already that you want to read but haven’t yet?

Unseelie by Ivelisse Housman! This has been on my most-anticipated list since it was announced early last year and I cannot believe that I haven’t purchased a copy yet. I’ve been on a book-buying-ban for a few months but I can’t wait to finally get my hands on this and completely devour it.

One goal you made that you’re succeeding at

I’ve been reading largely for blogging purposes or to keep up to date with the currently-hyped books and trends for the past few years and I found that I lost a lot of the enjoyment of reading, so my number one goal this year (that I’m currently succeeding it!) was to read for enjoyment’s sake again. I’m focusing on genres that I love, and books by authors that I love, and I’m definitely finding my passion for books again that I worried I was losing.

One goal you made that you need to focus on

I’d like to read a little more adult fiction this year because I’ve been getting a huge amount of recommendations from friends and colleagues that I haven’t got round to, and I haven’t actually read a single adult book so far this year (oops).

And that’s the tag! I’m so excited to be back on here again but have not been keeping up to date with everything in the book-blogging world, so please let me know any other new tags that you’d recommend 🙂

Happy reading!

ARC REVIEW: Mindwalker by Kate Dylan

Francesca LucyLeave a comment

First of all, hi! Second of all, my first book review of the summer is a 5* review of one of my most anticipated releases this year!!!!

I’m so, so grateful that I got the opportunity to read an eARC of Mindwalker by Kate Dylan because this book has literally everything I’m looking for in a thriller. It was such a fun read that I’m still obsessed with nearly a month after finishing, and I’m very excited to share my thoughts. So:

Mindwalker is a completely wild sci-fi/cyberpunk thriller that follows Sil, a genetically modified teenager with a supercomputer in her mind that allows her to enter and control other people’s brains. At eighteen years old, Sil’s employment and life are both almost up and, in an attempt to die a legend, she finds herself caught up in a scandal, a compromised mission, and a plot to overthrow the company that she’s idolised for as long as she remembers.

I knew before I picked this up that I was going to love it and it absolutely did not disappoint. Mindwalker combines enemies-to-lovers, Marie Lu-level sci-fi world building, a page-turning plot and an incredibly fierce, slightly unhinged female protagonist to create one of the most exciting books I’ve read all year.

The pace didn’t slow down for a second, and whilst the characters were by far my favourite thing about this book, the plot was an absolute thrill ride. There was a lot of explanation needed due to the amount of futuristic tech in the story, but this was done so well that it was incredibly easy to understand the tech that Syntex was using without wasting a lot of time describing it.

I cannot stress enough how much I loved this book. It reminded me a lot of slightly older dystopian YA, like Divergent and The Hunger Games, but with plenty of modern tropes and elements that made it feel completely new. I’m so excited to read everything Kate Dylan writes from here on in and seriously can’t recommend this one enough!

Rating 5/5

Mindwalker publishes on 1st of September! If you read it, I would absolutely love to know what you thought (and also if you have any recommendations of anything similar!!)

THE ARC by Ben Oliver – BLOG TOUR & GUEST POST

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Hi! Today’s blog post is very exciting, as it’s my stop on the blog tour for The Arc by Ben Oliver! When Chicken House reached out about this blog tour, I was so quick to say yes because The Loop and The Block were two of my absolute favourite reads of last year. So, first things first, thank you to Chicken House for the early copy and the opportunity to be part of such an exciting blog tour 🙂

Before I share my thoughts on The Arc, feel free to check out my blog tour reviews for books one and two here.

Synopsis of The Arc (please note, there will be some spoilers for books one and two below):

Luka Kane is dead, executed in front of a crowd of Alts who cheered despite the fact that the truth of their oppressive leaders had been revealed to them.

But one Alt, Chester “Chilly” Beckett, did not celebrate; his eyes have been opened to the truth. Luka’s corpse is dragged away, but Chester remains determined to find out what is going on in the Laboratory on the 65th floor.

There, he finds three subjects tortured in an attempt to extract a regeneration formula… and one of the subjects is, impossibly, a face he never thought he’d seen again. A bold escape sets in motion a race against time as Happy’s plans to release planet-eating nano-bots into the world draw nearer. The Loop team must reassemble, survive Happy’s final attempts to rid the world of the rebels, and figure out how to halt the apocalypse before humanity is destroyed.

Review:

This book is everything I hoped it would be after the ending of The Block. The plot twists made me scream, and the introduction of an Alt as a protagonist added such a fascinating perspective that we didn’t really explore in the first two books. Chester was fascinating as he developed, from his very first appearance on page one when he realised what he was doing but was not entirely sure why he was doing it.

It was also really great to see so many familiar faces from the rest of the trilogy, including one in particular that I’m sure readers of books one and two would be especially thrilled about. One of my favourite things about this series is just how much the characters grew throughout the first two books, and it was great to see this progression as they took on Happy one final time in The Arc. It was as action-packed as I hoped, full of futuristic tech, and a great ending to a really enjoyable trilogy.

Now onto the most best part of the post! Thank you very much to Ben Oliver for providing the following fascinating insight into where he writes:

“Where I Write” – Ben Oliver

I’ll be honest, I’ve answered this question in the past and made something up about liking to write at my office at home because it’s comfortable and I know where everything is, but the truth is kind of boring: I’ll write anywhere!

I quite like writing in hotel rooms, I don’t know why but I always find myself getting lost in the world when I write in hotel rooms, maybe it’s because I’m staying somewhere so unfamiliar that my work-in-progress is a little bit of familiarity and comfort to cling on to.

I also like writing in cafes and coffee shops (I wrote most of The Arc in a Starbucks in a retail park next to a gigantic Tesco). I think the background noise of a cafe is somehow great for focusing my mind and cutting out distractions. I don’t like writing to music (especially songs with lyrics), but I do like the background hum of a coffee shop.

I’ll write in my car if I have long wait to pick someone up. Sometimes I stay late and write after work (I’m a teacher of young people with additional support needs), I can write in waiting rooms, at the beach, on trains, planes, boats. I think my final answer is, I’ll write anywhere, I just love writing, as difficult as it can be, as infuriating as it can be, I love it and I’ll do it anywhere. And the best part is I can do it anywhere because writing is not only the act of putting words on the page, it’s the act of imagining the characters, figuring out the plot, building the world, coming up with twists and turns, figuring out arcs, adding little details that bring it to life, and that can be done (sometimes literally) in your sleep.

And that’s it! If you’ve read The Loop, The Block or The Arc, I would love to hear your thoughts – and I highly recommend you check out the rest of the stops on the blog tour as well for some wonderful reviews and some other great posts from Ben Oliver 🙂

APRIL TBR

Francesca LucyLeave a comment

Hi! I haven’t posted anything in forever but I figured it was time to make a comeback.

Between reading things for work, other commitments in my free time and, honestly, a pretty terrible reading slump, I think I’ve read like three full books in the past two months (not good for my blog or my GR challenge, oops).

So when I decided I wanted to start posting again, I figured that a more positive post than my pitiful March wrap-up would be a hopeful April TBR. Reading-slump-permitting, these are the books that I will hopefully be checking out this month:

Blood to Poison by Mary Watson. From what I can gather, this book is a super exciting combination of fantasy, history and female rage, which I’m completely here for. I was blessed with an eARC of this a while ago and am very much hoping to get it read before it publishes later this month!

The Dragon’s Promise by Elizabeth Lim. The fact that I have an eARC of this sitting on my NetGalley shelf that I haven’t read yet feels like a legitimate crime. If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you’ll probably know that Elizabeth Lim books are my all-time, absolute favourites and I don’t think I can bear to leave this one waiting any longer…

All That’s Left in the World by Erik J. Brown. Literally everything about this book looks good. The cover is gorgeous, the post-apocalyptic LGBT romance premise sounds flawless, and the fact that I’ve already read and loved the first 10% of it feels like a good sign.

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill. I haven’t read this book yet obviously, but I already want to talk about it with everyone I know?? It sounds completely incredible and, if you’ve already read it, please tell me that it lives up to expectations because I may have set my hopes a little too high already…

The Revelry by Katherine Webber. This book was a total impulse-buy from the buy-one-get-one-half-price section in Waterstones, but it looks so exciting! It sounds eerie, creepy and hopefully twisty, and I’m hoping to get through this one in one or two sessions – wish me luck!

And that’s it 🙂 I would love to hear what you’re planning on reading this month, and if you have any tips for getting out of a reading slump, please please share them in the comments below!!

January Wrap-Up

Francesca Lucy2 Comments

Hi! February’s reading so far is not going great, but January actually ended up being a really fun reading month for me. I took a break from reading ARCs so I could fall back in love with reading and started powering through some other books that have been on my TBR forever. And it worked! Because I ended up reading seven books which, for me, is a super strong start to the year.

About the books I read in Jan:

First up is House of Hollow. I’ve had a copy of this book since it came out but I lost it somewhere in my house and didn’t want to buy a new one in case it showed up… But, like heroes, Hot Key Books sent me a proof as part of a very exciting giveaway win in December and I finally got to read it! This is a really fun, dark, twisty fantasy, with a fascinating protagonist. It was a really quick read for me because I couldn’t put it down, and the plot twists and dramatic moments absolutely did not disappoint. It’s a very satisfying first read of the year and was absolutely worth the wait. 4.5/5

An Arrow to the Moon is next (the only ARC I read in January!!! Review to follow…). My expectations were unrealistically high for this book and, although I didn’t love this one as much as I originally hoped, it was still a fun, very easy read, inspired by the story of Chang’e, the Moon Goddess. The characters felt very young and parts of the story seemed a little jumpy but, other than that, the overall story was really interesting and the romance really cute. 3/5

Next up: Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town. I bought this book forever ago because I’m obsessed with the title, and I had no idea really what it would be when I started. It’s actually a collection of short stories about the lives of different protagonists in different small towns, all tied together by relationships with characters in the story before. Despite the short time we spend with each character, the stories all felt so real that I grew attached to quite a few, and I really enjoyed seeing how each of the characters dealt with their own challenges, which included both the somewhat trivial problems of fictional teenagers and some very real social and political issues. 4/5

My fourth read of the month was All of This is True. This is such a unique read, which tells the story of a group of teenagers who befriend their favourite, NYT-bestselling author, only to discover that she’s only spending time with them so she can use their lives as the plot of her next book. It’s a dramatic book with a very varied set of protagonists and a few interesting twists, and it’s a very quick read as it’s told largely in journal entries, interviews and message threads. 3.5/5

The next book I read was Heartstopper Vol. 2. I’m saving these volumes for days that I’m not feeling great, because it’s such an adorable, heart-warming series to pick up when you don’t feel like reading anything else. I love love love Nick and Charlie and I’m so excited to see what happens next in their story. 4/5

My only audiobook of the month was Empress and Aniya. This is another one that’s been on my TBR forever and the audiobook (at around four hours long) was so un-intimidating that I decided not to put it off any longer. The target audience of this one is likely slightly younger than me, but I still found it to be a really sweet book about friendship, love and empathy. Also, the narrator is amazing, and I’d fully recommend if audiobooks are your thing. 3.5/5

Finally, my last read of the month was It’s Behind You. Very much in the same vein as Good Girls Die First, this one is a creepy horror/thriller full of jump-scares, possible hauntings and overly dramatic protagonists, set in a sealed, haunted cave. I’m not entirely sure how I felt about the ending, but the book overall was really great and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. 4/5

And that’s it! I’d love to hear what you think if you’ve read any of the above, so let me know in the comments 🙂

My Top 10 Reads of 2021

Francesca Lucy3 Comments

Hi! I’ve been awol for a while now, but I decided today that it was time to come back and that it (hopefully) isn’t too late to be doing a post that everyone else did in the first week of January…

Anyway, I read 73 books in 2021(!!!) and picking my top 10 was so much fun! So many wonderful books came out last year and it was definitely difficult to decide, but I finally narrowed it down and have 10 exciting YA fantasy, contemporary and thriller recommendations. So, without further ado, the 10 best books I read last year:

Number 10: XOXO – This was one of my last reads of 2021 so was a very last-minute addition to this list! If you love k-dramas, or idols, or cutesy YA contemporaries, I 10000000% recommend this book. It’s a super fun, super sweet, very easy read, and turned out to be exactly what I needed when I was going through a really difficult time last month. It’s my new comfort book, for sure, and I already want to read it again.

Number 9: Jade Fire Gold – This was such a fun, action-packed fantasy read! It fits right into its genre, but I found the protagonists especially easy to root for and I got completely sucked in by the plot. It was a cover-buy that turned into one of my favourite fantasies of the year and, if that sounds like your kind of thing, I’d completely recommend.

Number 8: Once Upon a Broken Heart – I read the Caraval series for the first time fairly recently and, whilst I loved Jacks, I didn’t love him as part of the love triangle that he was in, so I was really excited to learn that he was going to be a protagonist in this one. This book flawlessly lifted him to be one of my favourite protagonists of the year, and I’m so excited to read the next part of his story.

Number 7: All of Us Villains – I’m obsessed with this book. I read it in November last year and I literally still cannot get it out of my head. The multiple perspectives meant I found myself rooting for different characters at different times, but Alistair Lowe is genuinely one of my new favourite protagonists ever and I desperately need to read more about him. Anyway… if you like morally grey protagonists, dark magic and Hunger-Games-esque Battle Royale plots, this book is IT.

Number 6: Gilded – So this book and the next one are both the newest books from very established YA writers that I’m embarrassed I haven’t read before. I’ve had a few of Marissa Meyer’s books on my shelf for years but this is the first one I got round to reading, and I cannot believe how much I’ve been missing out. The world-building was incredible, the protagonist was super fun to root for, though reckless to a fault, and the love interest is a definite new favourite for me.

Number 5: Defy the Night – As with Marissa Meyer, I can’t actually believe I haven’t read any of Brigid Kemmerer’s books before and I’m definitely a little mad at myself for it. Defy the Night is fun, exciting and pretty reminiscent of the 2014 YA that made me fall in love with reading in the first place. It’s not a short book but I was so hooked that I found myself reading it in literally every spare second I had until I was done and got through it, fairly obsessively, in a matter of days.

Number 4: Not Here to Be Liked – This book is the most unexpected one on this list because it’s pretty far from my usual favourite genre, but I completely adored it! It’s incredibly feminist and informative but, while many books with this level of agenda sometimes feel a little too forcefully educational, this one just felt inspiring and fascinating. This, alongside an adorable romance plot and a fiery, unapologetic protagonist, got it added to my top 10 list faster than most of the other ones here.

Number 3: Cemetery Boys – This was literally my first read of the year, and I read it because it was recommended for my ’12 friends, 12 books’ TBR. The description alone had me convinced I was going to love it, but Yadriel and Julian were such perfect protagonists, the LGBTQ+ representation was incredible and, despite having read like a hundred books since this one, I still can’t get it out of my head.

Number 2: Spin the Dawn – This book completely blew me away when I read it. I admit that I wanted it initially because of the cover, but Elizabeth Lim’s storytelling was so mesmerising that I fell completely in love. The sequel, by the way, is equally perfect and Elizabeth Lim’s other recent novel, Six Crimson Cranes, is ALSO incredible! After reading three of her books in quick succession last year, I’d definitely consider her one of my new auto-buy authors.

Number 1: As Good As Dead – …is my absolute favourite book of the year and, honestly, one of my favourite books ever. I was obsessed with A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder when I first read it, and I loved book two, but book three took this series in a direction that I wasn’t entirely prepared for but fell completely in love with. This book was so dark, so twisty and so incredibly clever that I will literally never ever stop recommending it to everyone who will listen.

And that’s all of them! I’d love to hear what your favourite reads of last year were, and if you agree with any of my choices!

NOVEMBER WRAP-UP

Francesca Lucy3 Comments

I can’t process a couple of things about this wrap-up. The first is that it’s already the end of November?? It seems impossible that we’re weeks away from Christmas now and, although I’m very excited about that, it’s also terrifying to think about… The second thing I can’t process about this wrap-up is that I read EIGHT books this month. EIGHT. As in: double what I read last month. So happy to have had such a good reading month and crossing my fingers that I don’t find myself slumping in December to make up for it!

Anyway, I read a lot of great books this month and I’m very excited to talk about all of them.

First up is Only a Monster by Vanessa Len – This was my first read of NetGalley November and I absolutely loved it. It took the villain protagonist trope very literally and I loved how conflicted I felt about 90% of what happened. Although it took me a while to get into it, it was very much worth the read. 4/5

Lock the Doors by Vincent Ralph – This was a very quick and easy thriller read. Sadly not one of my favourite books of the month as it was a little jumpy and I didn’t find myself overly invested, but it was still a fun read with an interesting protagonist, and it definitely got better towards the end. 2.5/5

Jade Fire Gold by June CL Tan – This is an absolute MUST read for YA fantasy lovers. It’s definitely similar in many ways to a lot of other fantasy books out there right now, but it was still a unique and impressive read with characters that I loved, incredible world building and some very dramatic climactic scenes. My favourite book of the month, for sure. 5/5

After the Rain by Natalia Gomes – Unfortunately, I didn’t love this book. It’s been on my TBR for a while and I made myself read it for Netgalley November, but I didn’t connect with the characters or their friendship as much as I hoped I would. The author does handle sensitive topics very well and I did appreciate the characters’ journeys towards recovery, but that was sadly the only thing I really enjoyed about it. 2/5

Heartstopper Volume 1 by Alice Oseman – I was starting to feel a little intimidated by my TBR this month so decided to take a break and read a fun graphic novel instead. This book is so sweet and so worth the hype, and I’ll definitely be picking up the next few volumes asap. 4/5

If This Gets Out by Cale Dietrich and Sophie Gonzales – This is a sweet contemporary read about two members of a world famous boy band who fall in love, and how they deal with the complications of it. It seemed really genuine in its portrayal of their relationship, and handled some other sensitive topics with the side characters as well. Although not my usual genre, I did really enjoy it. 3.5/5

Hotel Magnifique by Emily J Taylor – This book is more my style than anything else on this list. It gave off major Caraval vibes and I instantly fell in love with both of the main characters. It reads as slightly younger YA and I’m definitely above the YA target audience, but the setting was very well-developed, the story was fun and it was perfect as a quick, escapist read. 4/5

Finally, The Girls are Never Gone by Sarah Glenn Marsh – such a fun read. It has ghosts, it has a creepy mansion, it has romance, it has influencers. The YA horror vibes reminded me of Anna Dressed in Blood (which is one of my all time FAVES) and I devoured this book in basically one sitting. It was definitely a little cliched at times but, to be honest, that kind of made me enjoy it more… 4/5

And that’s it!… phew. I’d love to hear what you think of any of the above, and what your favourite book of the month was! All best wishes for a good reading month in December ❤

ARC REVIEW: JADE FIRE GOLD by June CL Tan

Francesca Lucy3 Comments

First of all, thank you to Hodder for the eARC of this incredible book, and SORRY to Hodder for taking so ridiculously long to pick it up. I’m kicking myself for leaving it unread on my shelf for so long when I knew how much I was going to love it, and I’m very happy that I finally got round to it. Anyway!

Jade Fire Gold tells the dual stories of Ahn, a young woman who finds her life completely upended, and Altan, a former prince, as their lives and missions completely and unintentionally converge.

Ahn is an orphaned young girl living with a kind stranger in a small outskirts town, who is uprooted suddenly when she discovers that her father is a very senior ally to the royal family that desperately needs her help to solve an age old problem. Altan, meanwhile, is a presumed-dead outlaw former heir to the throne who realises that Ahn may be the key to regaining his position, and knows that he needs to do whatever it takes to do just that. What follows is an intense and epic adventure, filled with magic, slow-burn romance and a lot of action and adventure.

This story was so much fun to read. The imagery was vivid, the magic was intense (very ATLA-esque) and both protagonists were so well-developed that I found myself equally excited every time the perspective changed to either of them. I did find that the pacing was slightly odd at times, and that weeks seemed to pass by in the space of one or two lines but, whilst this was off-putting at first, I found by the end that it just allowed much more time to develop the story.

It’s rare in a fantasy book that the fight scenes are my favourite part, but it was definitely the case with this one as they were so intense and perfectly described that I found myself completely sucked into the action. I genuinely cried at multiple points and I felt so emotionally connected to the characters by the end of the story that I was truly sad to have to put it down. The romance was also really beautifully done, as what could very easily have been insta-love based on their first interaction turned into a beautiful slow burn romance with a couple of tropes and clichés thrown in along the way that I really found myself enjoying.

I think it may be obvious, but I adored this book. I couldn’t get over it for days after putting it down. The characters are still living in my brain at this moment, and I’m so excited to see what June CL Tan releases next.

Rating: 5/5

ARC Review: You’ve Reached Sam by Dustin Thao

Francesca Lucy1 Comment

Hi, readers! I read You’ve Reached Sam way back in April and somehow convinced myself that I’d already shared my review when, in fact, I never did. So, since it published this week, I thought I’d share now!

You’ve Reached Sam follows Julie, a high-school girl who is trying to come to terms with the loss of her long-term boyfriend and the unravelling of all of the plans that they had for the future. Her mourning takes a sudden turn, though, when she calls Sam’s phone in a moment of weakness and he actually picks up.

What follows is a heart-wrenching story of love and loss, and an emotional portrayal of a young woman dealing with grief and the urge to move on.

This book is as emotional as you’d expect it to be. It’s completely filled with touching scenes about Sam and Julie’s relationship, heart-breaking moments of grief as she tries to cope with her loss, and touching friendships with Sam’s family and friends as they all struggle to move on in different ways. It’s the kind of book that makes you want to cry for the majority of the time you’re reading (I personally cried during the very first chapter…) so, if you want a book that will break your heart, this is a solid choice.

Some of Julie’s actions are flawed and, normally, I would criticise a protagonist for their mistakes, but everything she does is because of her grief and mourning and that really comes across throughout. I got frustrated when she missed opportunities that I wished she would take, but it was so understandable for someone in her position that, instead of being critical, I felt largely empathetic.

This was a really bittersweet, emotional story about young love, loss and figuring out what’s important in life. It’s a poignant contemporary with fantasy elements that I would absolutely recommend if you’re looking for a book to make you cry.

Rating: 4/5

ARC REVIEW: Only A Monster by Vanessa Len

Francesca Lucy2 Comments

Thank you thank you thank you to Hodder for gifting me an eARC in exchange for an honest review! I’m SO glad I got the chance to read and review this book and I don’t think I’m going to be able to get it out of my head, ever…

Only A Monster follows Joan, a teenage girl sent to stay with her mother’s side of the family, who finds out that there’s more to them – and herself – than she ever realised. Namely, that they’re monsters, and that means she’s half-monster too.

If that wasn’t enough, Joan then discovers that the cute boy that she’s been volunteering with, crushing on and generally obsessing over, isn’t just a human either: Nick’s a monster hunter, fabled as the only one who can unravel the hidden world that they’ve created.

When Joan suffers an unimaginable tragedy at the hands of the boy she’s in love with, she’s forced to team up with her worst enemy in an attempt to repair the damage that Nick’s done, before it’s too late.

I’ve read so many YA books that have flipped tropes and age-old stories on their heads, but I’ve never read anything that does it quite like Only A Monster. It’s a typical hero story except, for the first time ever, I had to root against the hero, and the moral-greyness of it all was completely flawless. I found myself confused by how I felt about all of the characters at so many different points that, while I knew who I was supposed to be supporting, I was never entirely sure if that’s actually how I felt. It made for a very confusing but incredibly unique reading experience, with one of the best uses of the anti-hero trope I’ve ever read.

It definitely took time for me to connect with the three main characters – Joan, Nick, or Joan’s now-ally, Aaron – and I was worried initially that I wasn’t entirely rooting for any of them. I didn’t particularly ship Joan with anyone at the start and I couldn’t figure out if I trusted her family or not (what with them being monsters, and all) so I was definitely concerned for the first few chapters that I wasn’t going to get into this story at all. But, somewhere in the middle, I became completely hooked, and developed a mild obsession with all three characters that took me completely by surprise. Joan developed into a strong-willed fierce heroine (villain??), Aaron became the newest addition to a long line of arrogant, fictional posh boys that are super easy to fall in love with, and Nick got more and more complex until I genuinely couldn’t figure out how I felt about his mission.

The story was fairly fast-paced, but there was so much world-building included too that the hidden monster world within our own was completely believable and fully developed. It was so easy towards the end to get completely sucked into Joan’s world that I found myself anxiously turning the pages, genuinely concerned about what would happen next, until the very last chapter. Even during the times when the story was slightly slower, I was already so invested that I couldn’t stop reading for even a second.

I had high hopes for this book, and yet it took me completely by surprise how wholly I got sucked into it. I have so many questions that I want answering in the next book and, honestly, I don’t know if I’ll be able to get this one out of my head until then.

Rating: 4/5