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kwheelzroxx's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Violence, and Police brutality
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: Homophobia
lavdisy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Short but compact is the best definition for this book. The plot has many elements I liked, such as a unique magic system that is well-explained, showing both its benefits and flaws. The heists are particularly interesting, especially during the climax. While there isn't a major twist, I was still amazed by how everything was interconnected and worked together. The historical setting adds to the perfection, enhancing the sequence and atmosphere of the story. I loved all the characters, especially Clara; her arc was great. Although the romance, which is minimal, isn't my favorite part, I still enjoyed it. I highly recommend everyone read this book because of how good it is.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Racism, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment
references to enslavement, colourism, police brutality, mention of KKKcaseythereader's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racism, Slavery, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
neens_m's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Abandonment
Moderate: Police brutality
haileyhardcover's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I’ll start with what I liked. There are a lot of side characters in this story, and every time a new one is introduced, we get a short chapter with their personal backstory. Having those set apart from the rest of the book rather than trying to weave those details into what was happening present day made for a nice reading experience. I got to understand each of the characters better on a quick little side quest. Loved that. I also appreciated the real (or just slightly altered) history in the story. I was not familiar with Clara “Carrie” Minor Johnson’s story before and I’m glad to know it now. Without spoilers, I will also say that the first portion of the epilogue made me a little teary eyed, and I’m glad it was included.
All that said, this book is about 100 pages too long. I felt like most of the time I was just slogging through so much unnecessary subplot waiting for something of substance to happen. What could’ve been a really exciting, fast paced mystery/adventure was just… meh. Picking up this book felt like a chore every time, and it’s one of those that I forced myself to finish, when I really should have just DNF’d…
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Police brutality, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Gun violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
aksmith92's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
4.0
What an innovative fantasy book! It also combined a dash of historical context about one of my favorite places: Washington, DC. Therefore, I just had a great time with this novel.
The setup: We follow Clara Johnson, a woman living and working in Washington DC, after dark moments when she was thrown in jail. She works as a typist for a pretty arrogant man but knows the work is essential to the Black community. However, on the side, she also meddles with spirits, or Enigmas, because she has the "second sight." People will come to her to get a Charm - something Enigmas will hand out to humans to help them - but only with a Trick, making their lives more challenging.
Soon, Clara notices some of her friends and neighbors are starting to go missing. When a concerned mother comes to her about her son, who looks absolutely in a daze and cannot speak, Clara is sure that the spirits are to blame. This novel works through Clara trying to figure out who is at fault and what can be done about these folks controlled by spirits. While figuring out the details, Clara is tasked with finding and stealing a magical ring, which may be the reason for the spirits and afflicted humans. Therefore, she and a team of lovely characters take on this heist. It was such a fun and exciting ride, and it had unique storytelling.
Integrated into the fantasy novel was also some incredible historical context about the Black community in Washington DC and some of the atrocities that went down during this period (1919-1925ish). Yet, it was also a fantastic display of the community's growth and perseverance to make a great life for themselves. Leslye Penelope's Author Note at the end of the novel was beautiful, and I highly encourage you to include that in the final reading chapters.
What I loved: I thoroughly enjoyed the characters - Clara was a tough-minded woman who always spoke her truth, which could not have been easy in the timeframe. This book also had a lovely found-family aspect - the wonderful characters of Aristotle, Jesse Lee, and Zelda. Plus, we had the lovely and charming Israel Lee. I was glad to see that Penelope was able to integrate a lot of these characters' backstories into the novel, as we were able to catch a glimpse into their personalities. Zelda was one of my favorite characters in this novel; she had such a layered personality and provided her friends great insight (and comedic relief).
I also thoroughly enjoyed this plot - while ghosts and the spirit world are not new themes, I thought Penelope did it justice with unique worldbuilding and exciting subplots, especially with the charms/tricks component. I also loved Clara's connection with her late grandmother and how that was integrated into the story. Penelope's integration with these fantastical elements alongside actual historical context in 1920s Washington, DC, was also phenomenal. I thought it was a nice touch to weave these historical components (like real historical people like DeBois!) into this novel.
Overall, I was deeply immersed - there is a bit of fantasy, a bit of a mystery, and even a splash of a love story. I had a lovely time with it and think Penelope is a fantastic writer!
What could've happened for a higher rating: I think the pacing fell a little short for me, and I'm trying to figure out why. I think it is because most of the book was about planning for the heist and then only briefly getting to it. The action was relatively minimal but still had very interesting components. It took me some time to finish this book, which is pretty abnormal for me, so maybe that's where I'm going when I say pacing issues.
Lastly, I was a bit confused at the end with some of the Engima...fighting? I won't go into detail about spoilers, but the end of the heist scene was thrown together quickly and was confusing with the rest of the mostly intriguing and organized plot around the spirits. Even though I had some questions about the heist scene, it was the most action-packed, which I appreciated. I was on the edge of my seat, wondering how it would all come together!
Overall, it was a great novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. In my opinion, heists are challenging to do, and Penelope did it well. I look forward to reading some of her other material in the future!
The setup: We follow Clara Johnson, a woman living and working in Washington DC, after dark moments when she was thrown in jail. She works as a typist for a pretty arrogant man but knows the work is essential to the Black community. However, on the side, she also meddles with spirits, or Enigmas, because she has the "second sight." People will come to her to get a Charm - something Enigmas will hand out to humans to help them - but only with a Trick, making their lives more challenging.
Soon, Clara notices some of her friends and neighbors are starting to go missing. When a concerned mother comes to her about her son, who looks absolutely in a daze and cannot speak, Clara is sure that the spirits are to blame. This novel works through Clara trying to figure out who is at fault and what can be done about these folks controlled by spirits. While figuring out the details, Clara is tasked with finding and stealing a magical ring, which may be the reason for the spirits and afflicted humans. Therefore, she and a team of lovely characters take on this heist. It was such a fun and exciting ride, and it had unique storytelling.
Integrated into the fantasy novel was also some incredible historical context about the Black community in Washington DC and some of the atrocities that went down during this period (1919-1925ish). Yet, it was also a fantastic display of the community's growth and perseverance to make a great life for themselves. Leslye Penelope's Author Note at the end of the novel was beautiful, and I highly encourage you to include that in the final reading chapters.
What I loved: I thoroughly enjoyed the characters - Clara was a tough-minded woman who always spoke her truth, which could not have been easy in the timeframe. This book also had a lovely found-family aspect - the wonderful characters of Aristotle, Jesse Lee, and Zelda. Plus, we had the lovely and charming Israel Lee. I was glad to see that Penelope was able to integrate a lot of these characters' backstories into the novel, as we were able to catch a glimpse into their personalities. Zelda was one of my favorite characters in this novel; she had such a layered personality and provided her friends great insight (and comedic relief).
I also thoroughly enjoyed this plot - while ghosts and the spirit world are not new themes, I thought Penelope did it justice with unique worldbuilding and exciting subplots, especially with the charms/tricks component. I also loved Clara's connection with her late grandmother and how that was integrated into the story. Penelope's integration with these fantastical elements alongside actual historical context in 1920s Washington, DC, was also phenomenal. I thought it was a nice touch to weave these historical components (like real historical people like DeBois!) into this novel.
Overall, I was deeply immersed - there is a bit of fantasy, a bit of a mystery, and even a splash of a love story. I had a lovely time with it and think Penelope is a fantastic writer!
What could've happened for a higher rating: I think the pacing fell a little short for me, and I'm trying to figure out why. I think it is because most of the book was about planning for the heist and then only briefly getting to it. The action was relatively minimal but still had very interesting components. It took me some time to finish this book, which is pretty abnormal for me, so maybe that's where I'm going when I say pacing issues.
Lastly, I was a bit confused at the end with some of the Engima...fighting? I won't go into detail about spoilers, but the end of the heist scene was thrown together quickly and was confusing with the rest of the mostly intriguing and organized plot around the spirits. Even though I had some questions about the heist scene, it was the most action-packed, which I appreciated. I was on the edge of my seat, wondering how it would all come together!
Overall, it was a great novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. In my opinion, heists are challenging to do, and Penelope did it well. I look forward to reading some of her other material in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, and Classism
Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Slavery, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Confinement, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
shubka's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Death, Murder, Cultural appropriation, and Classism
clarabooksit's review against another edition
adventurous
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? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, and Classism
Moderate: Slavery, Police brutality, and Murder
bzliz's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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
4.5
I really struggled to gain momentum when starting this book. I almost DNF’d around the 25% mark but I’m glad I kept going. At first it was because I don’t have a natural affinity for communicating with spirits books and then I was starting to grow anxious about the heist because more background kept getting piled on without feeling any pay off. But once that ball started rolling, it was worth the wait. I do love seeing tricksters get tricked.
Clara is an extraordinary character. She hits all the traits I adore. She’s resilient, driven, more than a little stubborn, and so very clever. Israel is a sweetie and I would do anything for Aristotle. Zelda is the best friend everyone needs and Mama Octavia is a powerful driving force.
I highly recommend you read the Author’s note. It makes it clear just how much research Leslye Penelope put into this book and gives some other recommendations if any particular aspects intrigued you. She gracefully handled tough subjects like slavery, racism, classism, and harm being compounded by people who wish to raise themselves by holding others down in a way that’s easy to read and reflect on, while giving the gritty real world just a little magic sprinkled on top.
Clara is an extraordinary character. She hits all the traits I adore. She’s resilient, driven, more than a little stubborn, and so very clever. Israel is a sweetie and I would do anything for Aristotle. Zelda is the best friend everyone needs and Mama Octavia is a powerful driving force.
I highly recommend you read the Author’s note. It makes it clear just how much research Leslye Penelope put into this book and gives some other recommendations if any particular aspects intrigued you. She gracefully handled tough subjects like slavery, racism, classism, and harm being compounded by people who wish to raise themselves by holding others down in a way that’s easy to read and reflect on, while giving the gritty real world just a little magic sprinkled on top.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Slavery, and Classism
Moderate: Gun violence, Police brutality, and Kidnapping
laurareads87's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
4.5. The Monsters We Defy is a fantastical heist adventure set within a wonderfully crafted historic Washington DC populated by actual historical figures - WEB DuBois, Langston Hughes, Carter Woodson, and more - that has much to say about gentrification, colourism, class division, and resistance to racism. The plot is well paced and exciting, and I enjoyed the cast of characters very much.
This novel would make absolutely fantastic television; I'd happily read more set in this world & more from Leslye Penelope.
Content warnings: racism, racial slurs, police brutality, racist violence, hate crime, enslavement, classism, colourism
This novel would make absolutely fantastic television; I'd happily read more set in this world & more from Leslye Penelope.
Content warnings: racism, racial slurs, police brutality, racist violence, hate crime, enslavement, classism, colourism
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Police brutality, and Classism
Moderate: Gun violence, Slavery, and Murder