Only a Monster by Vanessa Len

The sweeping romance of Passenger meets the dark fantasy edge of This Savage Song in this stunning contemporary fantasy debut from Vanessa Len, where the line between monster and hero is razor thin. Don't forget the rule. No one can know what you are. What we are. You must never tell anyone about monsters. Joan has just learned the truth: her family are monsters, with terrifying, hidden powers. And the cute boy at work isn't just a boy: he's a legendary monster slayer, who will do anything to destroy her family. To save herself and her family, Joan will have to do what she fears most: embrace her own monstrousness. Because in this story...she is not the hero. Dive deep into the world of Only a Monster: hidden worlds dwell in the shadows, beautiful monsters with untold powers walk among humans, and secrets are the most powerful weapon of all.

The conceptualization of this novel is beautiful. The magic system is thoroughly thought out and executed impressively, and the characters and their relationships are done well. For a fast-paced book, it did not feel too unrealistic or rushed, and Len masters the time-traveling. Absolutely ADORED this read, and I know Monsters #2 already has a nice place on my tbr.

Books, Coffee & Passion

Only a Monster was so enjoyable and entertaining. I had a lot of fun reading it. The monster families' secrets and powers were very compelling.

The world-building was captivating, and the dynamics between humans and monsters as well as the time-traveling kept me engrossed in the story. The characters were solid too. Joan was ok, I did like her more towards the ending. Aaron and Nick were the most complex characters in my opinion. Aaron was an intriguing character and probably the most promising. His hideous family also seems to be the most thrilling of the twelfth monster families, I bet there are a lot of secrets regarding them.

I'm curious to see how it will play out in the next book. Nick was a layered character but I didn't like him much. Certain revelations in the final third of the book did make him more interesting though.

We follow the story through Joan's POV. It might have been more beneficial if we had more than one POV. The writing was ok, I loved the London setting (especially the Whitehall Palace) and the timeline details.

Overall, it was a fascinating and unique perspective of heroes vs monsters stories.