A review by brooketreads
Only a Monster by Vanessa Len

emotional hopeful tense medium-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

4.0

The beginning came out of the gate hot. After that first main event and the dust settled, it was giving slight
Romeo and Juliet with that Uno reverse card.
I felt parts were getting too slow during the middle portion of the book. Although, I loved the last like 10% I was on a roller coaster of emotions, and was just left like đź«  our MC Joan was definitely the most fleshed out of all the characters as a MC should be, but I didn’t feel anyone else was developed enough to feel connected. Joan’s relationships with the other characters weren’t very developed either, including with her family. There wasn’t enough development to actually feel sad or invested on changing the timeline. I wish the cultural elements had been more pronounced, and more. With Joan’s call to her dad, the cultural aspect just felt thrown in to say oh yeah Joan is Asian and they are Asian. Just as with the others, we didn’t get enough build up to the love interests. This story is very romance light. Also, I was pro Nick this entire book, not that I didn’t like Aaron, just for me Nick was superior. The term monster didn’t feel like it fit, unless you think of it in the context of someone who has done something evil is often referred to as “you’re a monster.” But, I think typically when I hear monster, I’m thinking something that looks scary. The magic system was pretty unique, but we didn’t really get why it works that way. I will say I didn’t always understand it. At the monster court, I had no idea what was even going on.  Anyways, I did enjoy this in-spite of the criticisms I have. I finished wishing I could immediately jump into book two. And even after this review I feel like rereading.
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