Thank you so much to Epic Reads for providing this book as a physical ARC in exchange for an honest review!
One-Sentence Summary:
After tragedy strikes her family, Joan must team up with family and former enemies in an attempt to thwart her family’s killer just after finding out about her own powers.
My Review:
I mean, damn. This book is nothing if not interesting.
As always, we shall start with characters! I actually really liked all of the main characters, especially Joan, Aaron, and Nick. They were all very mysterious, but clearly in a purposeful way. I hated a lot of background characters, but it was clear I was meant to. Aaron was probably my favorite since I don’t love POV characters, but everyone was actually really great! I’d definitely read more about these guys.
In terms of interpersonal relationships, this book was certainly intriguing. A lot of the family dynamics were super complex, and there’s a lot of emphasis put on trust or lack thereof. Some stuff really seemed to come out of nowhere with the romance, so my favorite parts were the friends. Joan and Aaron bonding as survivors and with others made me really happy for them that they could find some solace in their tragedies. I couldn’t really get a strong hold on Nick and Joan, but I liked both individually as characters. Only a Monster really kept me on my toes with everything!
Plot and worldbuilding were definitely the strangest here. I did enjoy both, but the last few chapters did make me a bit mad. It just seemed like what Joan was thinking and feeling was literally untrue, but I guess I got where she came from? VERY strange regardless. I loved the magic here, it made the power of the monsters both desirable and deadly. Overall, this plot was full of twists and turns, but the worldbuilding was immaculate.
I’d definitely recommend this book to dark fantasy fans looking for things like love triangles and time travel. Only a Monster actually took a lot of tropes that I don’t love reading about and made it into a huge success for me. Thank you again to the publisher and I can’t wait for the sequel!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5
The Fiction Feature 