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A review by tovetott
Never a Hero by Vanessa Len
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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? Yes
3.0
I'm so bummed ππ Only A Monster brought me out of a reading slump and I absolutely loved that book. I still love the concept of following the "monsters" of the world instead of the "hero" for once, and the world itself is super interesting.
In this book, the world and setting are incredibly detailed and well-described, which I feel is both to its advantage AND disadvantage. The settings are beautifully painted and they really make you feel like you're *there*, and the numerous highlights of historical elements and structures make sense in the way monsters travel through time to experience those things, and how Joan is a history-enthusiast through-and-through. BUT, it also takes you out of the high stakes-, tense plot, which on another hand feels almost nonexistant except for little sprinkles here and there. The story of this one is basically the exact same as the plot in the first book, but with flipped/other villains for a while. We spend more time questioning and revising what we already know than gaining new information, and it makes the book feel soooo sloooow. A good portion of the book goes to repeating dialogue from a few pages back and reminding the reader of plotpoints from the first book Multiple Times. I got really frustrated about halfway through because !! "We were there !! We know this already !! We were Right There With You Joan !! π«". They barely made any actual progress plot-wise or knowledge-wise up until the final stand at the end, and then it ended just as quickly with more questions than when I started lol.
Also, do not pull a drinking game for every time Joan's "stomach churned" or "her breath hitched". You probably won't make it through the first 100 or so pages. Also-also, Nick is an absolute GEM with the patience and kindness he shows Joan FROM THE VERY START and her being so incredibly untrusting to him made NO SENSE bcs literally EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT NOW π«π (iykyk)
Like I said though, I really REALLY love the way the setting draws you in and the surroundings are described. I LOVE the different take on the hero/monster setup and I am always an absolute sucker for soulmate-tropes across universes/timelines/lifetimes etc. Maybe it's just the new perspective I've gotten the past year from reading so many other books (thanks again to Only A Monster for bringing me back into reading), but this is almost painfully "clichΓ©" YA, which is a shame. :((
In this book, the world and setting are incredibly detailed and well-described, which I feel is both to its advantage AND disadvantage. The settings are beautifully painted and they really make you feel like you're *there*, and the numerous highlights of historical elements and structures make sense in the way monsters travel through time to experience those things, and how Joan is a history-enthusiast through-and-through. BUT, it also takes you out of the high stakes-, tense plot, which on another hand feels almost nonexistant except for little sprinkles here and there. The story of this one is basically the exact same as the plot in the first book, but with flipped/other villains for a while. We spend more time questioning and revising what we already know than gaining new information, and it makes the book feel soooo sloooow. A good portion of the book goes to repeating dialogue from a few pages back and reminding the reader of plotpoints from the first book Multiple Times. I got really frustrated about halfway through because !! "We were there !! We know this already !! We were Right There With You Joan !! π«". They barely made any actual progress plot-wise or knowledge-wise up until the final stand at the end, and then it ended just as quickly with more questions than when I started lol.
Also, do not pull a drinking game for every time Joan's "stomach churned" or "her breath hitched". You probably won't make it through the first 100 or so pages. Also-also, Nick is an absolute GEM with the patience and kindness he shows Joan FROM THE VERY START and her being so incredibly untrusting to him made NO SENSE bcs literally EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT NOW π«π (iykyk)
Like I said though, I really REALLY love the way the setting draws you in and the surroundings are described. I LOVE the different take on the hero/monster setup and I am always an absolute sucker for soulmate-tropes across universes/timelines/lifetimes etc. Maybe it's just the new perspective I've gotten the past year from reading so many other books (thanks again to Only A Monster for bringing me back into reading), but this is almost painfully "clichΓ©" YA, which is a shame. :((
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood