redhairedashreads's review against another edition
5.0
5 stars - I loved it!
“I would wait my whole life for you…I would wait forever for you, Jugs.”
Well Lily Mayne really knows how to make you feel everything! Lore was a beautiful story filled with love, devotion, heartbreak, and change. From the very beginning I couldn’t put Jug and Lor’s story down and it put me through the wringer.
Lor and Jug had a beautiful and sweet romance that was a rollercoaster ride of emotion. They fall hard for each other but circumstances cause them to spend years apart. Lor was a character who had fantastic growth. We see him step up in his role as Moric and bring change to his fiefdom. We see him fall in love for the first time and the heartbreak and devotion that follows as he waits for Jugs. I didn’t expect to cry during this book but Lor’s heartbreak and happiness really got to me. I never expected to fall in love with these characters so hard since they were brand new to this series, but Mayne continues to suck me in with her wonderful characters.
While this story is very different from the previous books, I still loved it. This book does cover a lot of time, hence why it's so long, with it starting 20 years before the monsters even crossed over. I love that we are getting to see more from the monster realm and that we get to see the origin of the rifts.
Overall, this was another wonderful and very emotional book. I can’t wait to read Lyri’s story and see what will happen next in the series, especially since all the couples are headed to the monster realm.
Trigger Warnings: references to the death of a parent; unexplained illness; grief and depression;
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Mental illness, and Grief
Minor: Death of parent
_isabel_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.5
I really don't know how to rate this. So yeah. I loved most of it, but I despised a good chunk of it too.
Maybe "despised" is the wrong word, but Lily Mayne chose a few tropes that, in my world, have no place in a romance novel.
But yeah.
First of all, the good:
The first 60% of "Lor" was absolutely lovely. A bit slow maybe, but I still loved it.
I adored the monster world setting: it was so fascinating and so clever.
I also loved the whole cast of main and side characters. I admit, Jugs remained a bit underdeveloped as a MC because most of the story is told through Lor's POV and because of *insert spoilery, despicable trope here* reasons.
Lor was a wonderful protagonist though and I LOVED him: he's so sweet and insecure and shy and endearing and lovely. I loved being in his head.
And all the side characters? Absolutely iconic. Lyri already owns my soul and I cannot wait to read his book and discover his adventures and how, precisely, he ends up meeting Cat. All the other characters were equally precious! We meet a lot of new monster species too, and I wonder about a certain sneaky, giant, warmongering bastard.
I also loved seeing the monster apocalypse from the monster's world point of view and I'm so excited to see what will happen after that last chapter.
Why 3.5 stars then?
If there's one thing I despise in my romances is
I hate it so, so much. It makes me angry, frustrated and unspeakably sad.
Lor spends THIRTY YEARS without Jugs, because he's in a stasis, TEN YEARS without Lyri and I hated every moment. It was so, so unfair and so cruel.
I understand that, from a series-wide plot point of view, it makes sense. This way, Lor and Jugs' story joins up with the rest of the monstrous couples' stories and especially, Lyri and Cat's. But I still hated it. I skimmed a good 30% of the book: I couldn't wait to be finished. So yeah, that was disappointing.
I still loved good chunks of "Lor", and of course, the last few chapters where we finally get to witness their much-awaited HEA.
I'm still BEYOND excited to read Lyri's book: I honestly can't wait, especially considering what happens in that last chapter.
Maybe "despised" is the wrong word, but Lily Mayne chose a few tropes that, in my world, have no place in a romance novel.
But yeah.
First of all, the good:
The first 60% of "Lor" was absolutely lovely. A bit slow maybe, but I still loved it.
I adored the monster world setting: it was so fascinating and so clever.
I also loved the whole cast of main and side characters. I admit, Jugs remained a bit underdeveloped as a MC because most of the story is told through Lor's POV and because of *insert spoilery, despicable trope here* reasons.
Lor was a wonderful protagonist though and I LOVED him: he's so sweet and insecure and shy and endearing and lovely. I loved being in his head.
And all the side characters? Absolutely iconic. Lyri already owns my soul and I cannot wait to read his book and discover his adventures and how, precisely, he ends up meeting Cat. All the other characters were equally precious! We meet a lot of new monster species too, and I wonder about a certain sneaky, giant, warmongering bastard.
I also loved seeing the monster apocalypse from the monster's world point of view and I'm so excited to see what will happen after that last chapter.
Why 3.5 stars then?
If there's one thing I despise in my romances is
Spoiler
time jumps and the agonizingly horrific "seperated for years and years because of *reasons*" trope.I hate it so, so much. It makes me angry, frustrated and unspeakably sad.
Lor spends THIRTY YEARS without Jugs, because he's in a stasis, TEN YEARS without Lyri and I hated every moment. It was so, so unfair and so cruel.
I understand that, from a series-wide plot point of view, it makes sense. This way, Lor and Jugs' story joins up with the rest of the monstrous couples' stories and especially, Lyri and Cat's. But I still hated it. I skimmed a good 30% of the book: I couldn't wait to be finished. So yeah, that was disappointing.
I still loved good chunks of "Lor", and of course, the last few chapters where we finally get to witness their much-awaited HEA.
I'm still BEYOND excited to read Lyri's book: I honestly can't wait, especially considering what happens in that last chapter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Medical content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Xenophobia
bimeariver's review against another edition
emotional
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? It's complicated
5.0
to be written.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Grief
Moderate: Gaslighting and Classism
Minor: Death of parent and Murder
cluckieduck's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
slow-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
5.0
Another amazing read from Lily Mayne - queen of the monsters.
How, Lily? How?? How do you keep coming up with new and inventive ways to rip our hearts out and piece them together so amazingly?
The fact that this was supposed to be a cute little novella and turned into this behemoth of a story, yet none of it felt drawn out without purpose - bravo.
RTC
How, Lily? How?? How do you keep coming up with new and inventive ways to rip our hearts out and piece them together so amazingly?
The fact that this was supposed to be a cute little novella and turned into this behemoth of a story, yet none of it felt drawn out without purpose - bravo.
RTC
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, and Violence
Moderate: Terminal illness, Alcohol, Gun violence, Death of parent, Cursing, Confinement, Classism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: War, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts
greystory's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Since reading it, the Monstrous series has been the golden standard by which all other series, fantasy, and monster romances are compared. "Sure I enjoyed this book, but was it as good as the Monstrous series?" That might be unfair, given how masterful Lily Mayne's writing is and how well she does... everything. Any faults that could be argued for are minor and I love that she considers reader feedback. If I ever write anything, if it's even half as good as this series, I'd be pleased and proud and happy with that. I cannot express how much I love this series and this world and these characters. It feels so, so real like Lily Mayne isn't making up a story but rather documenting and sharing these incredible stories she has access to from some privileged peek into their world.
This isn't a review of Lor. I can't. It's too much. I haven't reviewed any of them in the series but I plan to reread the series before Lyri and maybe do a proper review then. Said reviews are probably going to be a wall of me gushing about how much I love everything.
This isn't a review of Lor. I can't. It's too much. I haven't reviewed any of them in the series but I plan to reread the series before Lyri and maybe do a proper review then. Said reviews are probably going to be a wall of me gushing about how much I love everything.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Terminal illness, and Grief
Moderate: Gaslighting
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Drug use, and Homophobia
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