Reviews with content warning for Panic attacks/disorders - Soul Eater

Okay, well, *now* I understand what the hype is all about! :D

The Monstrous series has been on my TBR for a while, and I actually expected to like a lot once I finallygot around to it. However, recently I read another book by the same author (Berries and Greed) and was underwhelmed by nothing ever happening in it for pages on end. So I was a bit wary going into Soul Eater and kept my expectations low. Happy to say they were exceeded by a mile! Wyn and Danny are both awesome and work so well together. I loved following their love story, even when it got dark.

The setting here is both exciting and slightly overwhelming. I just kept wanting to get a better feel for it, you know? Maybe get a glimpse of one of those military-controlled cities, after all. Have more interactions with the other monsters in the wastelands, and not just Edin (though I absolutely loved Edin and get the feeling I'll enjoy reading his story very much, especially if he ends up getting some POV chapters—a reader can dream). Just, you know, things to spice up the endless repetition of going from place to place, scavenging for food and essentials, and sometimes pausing to get rid of some parasites. It didn't feel *super* repetitive because there was this strong romance arc I was very much invested in, but I feel like there could be more done with such promising setting—and more of it tied into the story itself. As it was, the most exciting bits, such as those humans who tried rescuing Danny when they though he was in danger from Wyn or the monster attack closer to the end, felt like very obvious hanging threads to be picked up later, rather than slightly more self-contained beats that strongly matter to the current book.

There was also a bit of sloppiness re: worldbuilding that took me out of the story sometimes—like, how come almost every abandoned place they came across had running water and sometimes even electricity? Sure, there was an offhanded explanation that it had to do with maintaining the facilities at the military bases scattered around he country. However, that's just not how communications work. It is perfectly possible to keep the lights on and water running on a base without pumping water to all over the uninhabited lands. Not just possible, but cheaper and more efficient. Either there's something going on with it, or, I suspect, this is simply under-researched.

And speaking of under-researched things: I kinda feel like the author got so engrossed into inventing the monster physiology that some aspects of familiar human physiology got out of hand in all those spicy scenes. :D Not really complaining though, given that those scenes for the most part were not just hot fun, but also moved the characters and relationship arc along as they should. That approach is always my favorite.

All in all, in spite of my complaints, I had a lot of fun with this story and will definitely continue the series. This is an intriguing start with lovely characters, and I expect the books will only get stronger from here.

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fuzzywilson's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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readingqueen12's review against another edition

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dark hopeful medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Very sweet, characters are lovely. Some repetitive dialog that is mildly annoying but overall a very easy, sweet read despite violent, post-apocalyptic setting.

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potalian's review against another edition

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medium-paced

3.5

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whatthefridge's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This story hit upon many of my guilty pleasures. The cherry on top is Danny is functionally demisexual (it’s not an explicit label, but he did assume he was fully asexual before Wyn) and Wyn is fantasy-level intersex (he’s not human so I think he can get a pass for having both a penis and a vagina, both perfectly good for fucking).

The majority of the plot is a meandering road trip with no goal in mind. They’re just taking things a day at a time. But it worked for me. And there was always some sort of stakes or tension, and I felt like there was a decent balance between external threats and interpersonal relationship stuff.

The reason why it’s not a full 5 stars is because I have many lingering unanswered questions…

- How did Wyn discover Daniel’s name? We never find out
- What are the odds that something on Daniel’s military stuff has a secret tracking device? It was nagging at me the entire time
- How come every single place they come across has working hot water? Or just any running water at all. It’s a little too convenient after a while
- Why didn’t Daniel react to the fact that he wakes up in a random bed of someone long forgotten? Just no reaction at all after making such a big deal out of it. And then there’s the casual use of the towels, which are not motel towels. These had to have been used towels from ages ago, but it’s entirely glossed over
- How did the military discover that Daniel was having sex with Wyn? There’s not even an offhand mention of seeing them together in any intimate way, like holding hands, it’s just thrown in like it’s a publicly known fact (there’s demons later on that act the same way, like everyone knows Daniel and Wyn are together somehow without ever mentioning how they know this)
- How did no one at the military base notice that Wyn’s head was growing back? They had Wyn’s body ready to dissect but somehow never noticed such a glaring detail??
- If it took Edin years to grow back an arm, how did it only take days for Wyn to grow back half his head? Is it because they’re different species? I wish the concept was brought up even if it was just a one line hand wave
- How did Wyn even get them out of the military base that second time? Did Wyn have to slaughter his way through while carrying Daniel’s body?

None of these questions ruined the experience for me. It’s just stuff that kind of nags at me.

What *did* bug me more than it should have was

the reveal that Wyn sensed Daniel was meant for him since the beginning. I dunno, I just preferred the idea that Wyn was merely curious about the human who didn’t try to kill him and then feelings grew from there. I’m not against mate-bond stuff, but it does take away some agency from characters.

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vania_alex's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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palm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense 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

4.0

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hariboreads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring tense 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

Fantastic book! The bleak background to this story was a little hard to take at first but the connection and chemistry between the 2mmcs was just mind blowing. Every interaction, every conversation just added more fuel to this smoking hot fire

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