Only a Monster – Book Review

Book Title: Only a Monster
Author: Vanessa Len
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance
Target Audience: Young Adult
Publication date: February 17th 2022
Format: Kindle

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What it’s about

It should have been the perfect summer. Sent to stay with her late mother’s eccentric family in London, sixteen-year-old Joan is determined to enjoy herself. She loves her nerdy job at the historic Holland House, and when her super cute co-worker Nick asks her on a date, it feels like everything is falling into place.

But she soon learns the truth. Her family aren’t just eccentric: they’re monsters, with terrifying, hidden powers. And Nick isn’t just a cute boy: he’s a legendary monster slayer, who will do anything to bring them down.

As she battles Nick, Joan is forced to work with the beautiful and ruthless Aaron Oliver, heir to a monster family that hates her own. She’ll have to embrace her own monstrousness if she is to save herself, and her family. Because in this story . . .

. . . she is not the hero. 

Get Only a Monster here

Author

Vanessa Len is an Australian author of Chinese-Malaysian and Maltese heritage. An educational editor, she has worked on everything from language learning programs to STEM resources, to professional learning for teachers. Vanessa is a graduate of the Clarion Workshop in San Diego, and she lives in Melbourne.

What I Thought

Thank you Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was such a refreshing read. I have never read anything like this before and was such a great and original concept. Joan was such a great character that considering her situation she showed her humanity towards everyone. No one person was truly evil to her and she saw the good in everyone. Trying to navigate the monster world sounds truly horrendous at the best of times so it was nice to see she had guidance.

I loved the fact that there were different families of Monsters each with a unique skill. My only downside to this was the beginning felt a little choppy but the rest of the book more than made up for it.

I didn’t realise when I started this book this would be a trilogy but I would be interested in reading the other two in the series as I still have questions. Specifically regarding Jean’s eyes and what Aaron meant by them?

Star Rating

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