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A review by sreberko
Monsters Within Men by TJ Rose
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
'Monster Within Men' could be a great movie. Almost all the scenes, the dynamic between characters, the banter, the gore, and the grief - everything was written in a way that made me experience things in a more visual way than usual.
The story itself had a vibe of a young adult novel - even though both characters were adults, and there were steamy scenes between them, the way they behaved was less mature than I expected from the blurb, the cover, and their respective ages. The heavy topics that the author touches on are also more common in YA stories. It's nothing bad, but it took me off guard.
The world and military life are described in enough detail to understand what is happening, and how everything looks like, and still feel like we are in the characters' POVs. We never get to see the full picture, which makes the story more believable and easier to digest. There is not a lot of specialistic lingo, no details that need deep dive into Google to understand what exactly is happening. The only moment that bothered me was the beginning of the novel - when Zeke 'explains' what he did while working in the lab. That was one of the instants that made me think 'Okay, it's a YA story, it's too undefined for an adult who had this career ripped from him'.
The romance itself is a slow burn, and it actually makes it believable. The traumatic experiences that Zeke and Noah shared and discussed, their coping mechanisms, and challenges, it was all that bonded them in their cruel world. It made their steamy moments special, and romantic confessions deeper. I can't exactly say how much they have in common other than love for nature, traumas, and pain, but their love story still made perfect sense. I would love to see more of their growth as people AND a couple, but they both did have their journeys anyway.
The book is clearly divided into two halves: the first focuses on training and military life, and the second has more action, a couple missions, and... the ending, which is extremely movie-like. We have two subplots of semi-investigations that get to the conclusions but don't shed a lot of light regarding worldbuilding and the future of this post-apocalyptic world. It left me feeling like something was missing, and the payoff wasn't as big as I was hoping for.
Wolf was a gift and he deserves everything, including scratches and cuddles.
I wasn't Habib's fan - but I approve of a character that may be not likable but also a good person, and a valuable friend.
Newman ended up being a two-dimensional enemy of one of the MCs, which was a little bit disappointing. There are people like that, of course, but it was again more fitting for a movie than a 110k-word-long book.
It's a good story. It's engaging, well-written, and makes the reader laugh and cry. All the scenes are easy to visualize and feel like a part of the author's world. My only problem with it is that it lacks something more. Something new - because other than gay protagonists, everything else I've seen already in zombie-apocalypse movies. I was waiting for more, for a payoff, for a big plot twist or life-changing moment, but it never came. It's not a bad thing per se - it's still a solid story, properly balanced, engaging, and well crafted. Not every story has to have The Big Final Battle and the 2 Years Later Epilogue. But I did hope for a little more, even if only to see Noah getting proper mental health care, not constant 'we need our LT, get your shit together'.
Oh well, life isn't perfect.
I received the ARC from the author, and I'm leaving an honest and unbiased review.
The story itself had a vibe of a young adult novel - even though both characters were adults, and there were steamy scenes between them, the way they behaved was less mature than I expected from the blurb, the cover, and their respective ages. The heavy topics that the author touches on are also more common in YA stories. It's nothing bad, but it took me off guard.
The world and military life are described in enough detail to understand what is happening, and how everything looks like, and still feel like we are in the characters' POVs. We never get to see the full picture, which makes the story more believable and easier to digest. There is not a lot of specialistic lingo, no details that need deep dive into Google to understand what exactly is happening. The only moment that bothered me was the beginning of the novel - when Zeke 'explains' what he did while working in the lab. That was one of the instants that made me think 'Okay, it's a YA story, it's too undefined for an adult who had this career ripped from him'.
The romance itself is a slow burn, and it actually makes it believable. The traumatic experiences that Zeke and Noah shared and discussed, their coping mechanisms, and challenges, it was all that bonded them in their cruel world. It made their steamy moments special, and romantic confessions deeper. I can't exactly say how much they have in common other than love for nature, traumas, and pain, but their love story still made perfect sense. I would love to see more of their growth as people AND a couple, but they both did have their journeys anyway.
The book is clearly divided into two halves: the first focuses on training and military life, and the second has more action, a couple missions, and... the ending, which is extremely movie-like. We have two subplots of semi-investigations that get to the conclusions but don't shed a lot of light regarding worldbuilding and the future of this post-apocalyptic world. It left me feeling like something was missing, and the payoff wasn't as big as I was hoping for.
Wolf was a gift and he deserves everything, including scratches and cuddles.
I wasn't Habib's fan - but I approve of a character that may be not likable but also a good person, and a valuable friend.
Newman ended up being a two-dimensional enemy of one of the MCs, which was a little bit disappointing. There are people like that, of course, but it was again more fitting for a movie than a 110k-word-long book.
It's a good story. It's engaging, well-written, and makes the reader laugh and cry. All the scenes are easy to visualize and feel like a part of the author's world. My only problem with it is that it lacks something more. Something new - because other than gay protagonists, everything else I've seen already in zombie-apocalypse movies. I was waiting for more, for a payoff, for a big plot twist or life-changing moment, but it never came. It's not a bad thing per se - it's still a solid story, properly balanced, engaging, and well crafted. Not every story has to have The Big Final Battle and the 2 Years Later Epilogue. But I did hope for a little more, even if only to see Noah getting proper mental health care, not constant 'we need our LT, get your shit together'.
Oh well, life isn't perfect.
I received the ARC from the author, and I'm leaving an honest and unbiased review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Self harm, Pandemic/Epidemic, Murder, Suicide attempt, War, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood