I really like the writing on this one, but the story fell flat towards the end

The setting of this story sounds interesting. Real monsters lurking in the woods and a girl who goes missing. I think I struggle with combining real world and fantasy so when it happens I have a harder time enjoying a book and you would think I would recognize I am like this and pick books based on this, but the cover of this book is so intriguing.

I didn’t really like any of the characters and I hate when this happens. Just one. Give me one character with hope. Or just give me one that I love to hate. None of the characters really stuck with me. *shrug* I just finished this book this morning and I’ve already forgotten the main character’s name. She is the Queen of Swords though???

Not a bad read though and the writing flows like butter. Does butter even flow? Where Am I Even Going with This?!? Well the writing is way better than this review. If you think real monsters lurking in woods and a girl gone mysteriously missing sounds like your thing, then check it out.

Thank you so much to Net Galley and Sourcebooks Fire for this ARC in exchange for a free and honest review.

This is a good YA paranormal story that has a strong creepy factor along with a strong female heroine. This book forces a sister to put it all on the line to try to save her sister from a paranormal force. It’s hard to know how to battle it when it’s something you’ve never experienced it before.

Skye and her younger sister Deirdre are very different and Skye spends most of her time hanging out with Deirdre and protecting her from bullies. But Skye is ready to move on and make friends, so when they move across the country Skye knows that this is her chance. She makes friends, but Deirdre isn't happy about it. She feels like Skye is abandoning her. Deirdre starts making her own "friends" out of sticks and bones and when she goes missing, Skye soon finds out that there is more to Deirdre's friends than just sticks and bones.
Skye tries so hard throughout the book to be a good sister to Deirdre and I couldn't help but feel bad for her. Deirdre is very manipulating. She uses her mental state to guilt Skye into staying with her. I can understand Skye's need to get away. I also felt that Skye's parents were always more on Deirdre's side than Skye's. Well, her mom was as least. Her dad tried. The friends Skye makes are an interesting bunch, but I only ever trusted William. He seemed the most honest.
The story itself is unique and intriguing. It gets very dark at times and some of the decisions made were hard for me to comprehend. The "monsters" were so freaky and well described that it wasn't hard to feel fear along with Skye. They were definitely something I would not want to encounter. This is a well written story with some psychological aspects that will keep readers wondering.

"I've done my best to bury that person, to forget the roots winding down into the dark. I don't want to follow them. I'm afraid to find out how far down they go. But they were there all along, underneath."

I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Sourcebooks Fire. Trigger warnings: death, child death, animal death, abduction, some blood/gore, violence, drowning, mild body horror.

Skye and her younger sister, Deirdre, were always close, bonding over the imaginary worlds they created together. Deirdre was the queen of the kingdoms, and Skye was her protector, both in the the real world and otherwise. At sixteen, Skye is done playing pretend, and all she wants is to start over in their new home. While Skye is cautiously making friends with the popular kids at school, Deirdre is still failing to fit in or even try. She becomes increasingly obsessed with the woods behind their house and in building creatures out of sticks and bones. When Deirdre disappears, Skye realizes that there is something monstrous in those woods, and she may be the only one who can save her sister.

I adored Bérubé's debut novel, The Dark Beneath the Ice, and Here There Are Monsters was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. They're both slow-burning, atmospheric novels with plenty of scares and an emphasis on character, but otherwise, Monsters falls somewhat short of the mark. A major part of the problem is the pacing since nothing much happens for nearly half the book. Other than Deirdre going missing, there's nothing creepy going on, or even the hint of anything supernatural. The chapters also move back and forth between present-day and Deirdre and Skye's relationship before they moved, which drags at the pace of an already slow novel. What happened before isn’t nearly as interesting as what’s happening now, and there was probably a better way to streamline that.

For a story that's so heavily focused on its characters, I wanted more from Deirdre and Skye's sister relationship. The flashbacks do more to show how their bond was toxic and co-dependent than it does to show what they have in common or why they love each other. Present-day Skye is never anything but openly disdainful to her sister or outright wishing that she would change. It's difficult to like either of them, and I'm very fond of unlikable characters. Skye is casted as strong because she can physically defend herself, but there's little indication that her strength is internal as well. She rarely attempts to fight back against the monsters of the woods and instead spends a lot of time dragging her feet on things she agreed to. There’s a trace of romance with a neighbor, but like most of Skye’s relationships, it’s hugely twisted. Deirdre is almost never on-page except in Skye's memories, and she's part imaginative, fascinating character, and part manipulative, spoiled brat.

The plus side is that, once the horror kicks in, it's compelling and original. Bérubé's many-voiced monsters made of animal bones are top-notch creepy and, unlike a lot of monsters, they don't get less creepy the more we see of them. I wish the novel had delved deeper into the source of their power, since it's clear they're only one manifestation of whatever horror lurks in the woods. In contrast to the rest of the book, the ending is a little rushed and far less impactful than it should have been. Skye's development is too little/too late, so we don't get a chance to see whether she's truly changed or how, and the magic seems boundless and without consequences. There’s an emphasis on humans being as monstrous as any monster, but it’s not a very satisfying theme. All in all, the conclusion doesn't provide an adequate payoff for the rest of the book. Love the overall concept, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this book.

I really tried to get into this book but I couldn't. It was very slow going and there was a lot of emphasis on past events. It did pick up its pace towards the end of the book and wow did it get wild. I enjoyed the crazy sister aspect and creepy woods setting. This book was just not for me.

First off, Very interesting read. I don't think I can quite compare it to anything I have read before. Quite an eerie vibe to the story as well as intriguing. I had no idea where the story was going to go which is brilliant, left me guessing! I struggled reading the first 50% of the book as it was a really slow build up. Only issues I had is I wish the ending could have been fleshed out a little more, I would have liked to have seen how the relationships with the main character and her friends turned our further in time. Thanks for the opportunity!

Here There Are Monsters is about family ties, fitting in, teenage angst and the supernatural. Skye is burdened by the strangeness of her sister Dierdre. She loves Dierdre, but Dierdre is strange and causes Skye to bring out parts of her personality that she'd rather keep hidden. When Dierdre goes missing, these mixed feelings bring up all sorts of issues for Skye.

I enjoyed the mystery of Dierdre's missing persons case and of the push pull of Skye's relationship with her. I really enjoyed the relationships with the other teens in Skye's life. The relationships seemed genuine and the progression of Skye's relationship with William was interesting to follow.

Beyond those points I did not enjoy this novel. Dierdre's and Skye's activities seemed unrealistic for girls of their age. I did not feel the parents' reaction to having a missing child was believable, mostly though I just did not like the main plot or the ending. I will not get into specifics of why I did not like the ending, because I do not want to provide spoilers.

Overall I was not impressed. The writing was ok but the characters and atmosphere were dry. The story was confusing and disjointed. I do not enjoy leaving negative or harsh reviews but I don't have pleasant things to say about this book. I definitely won't remember reading it in a few months. It was weird and didn't make much sense. Two stars because of the writing style.

This book was amazing. At the same time, I kind of hated it. Rather, I hated Skye.
The writing was dark, imaginative, and magical. When I had to put the book down, I couldnt stop thinking about it, about where exactly this story was going to head.
The world created was creepy and kind of suspenseful, but I could see why Deirdre was so drawn to this world with no rules.
I felt like Skye was in incredible selfish character, one who couldnt take responsibility for her own actions and was always using her sister as an excuse. It made it really hard for me to like her as the main character, although I wasn't much fonder of Deirdre, in the end.
Regardless of how I felt for the characters, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, it was a fresh story in a genre of books that was getting a little predictable.

I sincerely appreciate being given the chance to read and review, but this book was not for me. I found it incredibly slow and really had to push myself through it. I can see this being a favorite for several people, just not me. The cover is attention grabbing and really sets the mood, but the beginning is what really hooks you. I just wish the rest was just as good.

I will write a full review of this book on my blog that will release in June. I enjoyed reading this book. It felt like a really solid YA horror title. It didn't stand out as something really special to me, in that it was fairly predictable and the ending was a little disappointing. However, I found it suspenseful and atmospheric, and I was interested in the outcome. Definitely something I would recommend to other horror readers, and handsell at my shop.

I received this ARC for free in exchange for an honest review.
Wow.
I have not read anything like this before and I dont even know what to feel right now. It was a rollercoaster of emotions from start to finish, for me. Deirdre is a complete enigma. Mental disorder? Or is it reality? Is the basis of your questioning throughout the whole book. I actually liked that I was still questioning for a long long time what the hell was going on. Well done and beautifully written.

This was not my favourite. I found that the first half of the book dragged along. There was so much self reflection by the main character while mentioning things that had happened without actually fully explaining things to the point it became tiresome and I almost lost interest in what the secret would turn out to be.

I finished this book though, because I was really interested in the "monsters" and the magical woodsy aspect of the story that I wanted to know how things were going to turn out.

The ending was a little disappointing to me too. I didn't find the ending satisfying. I do love a happy ending but since it was a story between two sisters, there was no real love there. It didn't resolve how I wanted it to.

This book is described as being like the Blair Witch Project, but I didn't find it nearly as scary. It wasn't really frightening. There was just so much fighting and things going wrong to actually be scared of anything that was going on.

It was an interesting story, but I wanted so much more.

Here There are Monsters is a creepy story. The cover caught my attention immediately. It's so macabre. The story itself was something I probably shouldn't have read. I found it truly unique and suspenseful, but it's also disturbing. The reality aspect, creepiness aside, is terrible. Imagine this for real. I read it and skimmed through some of it. It's well written and original. I just couldn't read it because it messed with me a little bit. If you like creepy menacing stories, this one is for you. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

WOW. This book was messed up. It kept me hooked on each page and sitting on the edge of my seat, though! I could feel my eyes widening at some parts and I had to remind myself that people would look at me weirdly if I didn't stop that.
This book was such a mind twisting story, that I felt stressed while reading it. I could relate a bit to the MC in that she felt tethered to hers sister, had trouble making friends, moving across the country, etc. What I couldn't relate to was the sister being completely insane and manipulating her older sister like that.
One thing I did enjoy seeing was realistic consequences for the MC's actions. Tell a crazy secret? Instead of the friends sticking around, they actually have brains and realize that that is not okay.
I need the MC to go to therapy after all of this. Really all of them, but her especially after what she had to go through with her sister when they were younger, what she went through at her last school, and then all of the stuff that just happened in this story.
If you're looking for a super spooky and mind twisting book this fall, something that will leaving you with your mouth hanging open after you've finished , then add this to your Fall 2019 TBR.

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this book. The book focuses around 16 year old Skye who has a 13 year old sister name Dierdre. Her sister is a little on the strange side and refuses to grow up. Dierdre had created kingdoms for her and Skye when they were kids. Dierdre was the queen and Skye was her protector (as she was in Dierdre's real life)
Things begin to change when they move. Skye wants to be normal for the most part. She stops devoting as much time to Dierdre and begins to have a life of her own.

Dierdre disappears and this is where the book took a completely different turn. It had some of a Blair Witch feel to it. The book tried really hard to be creepy at points and it did at some moments, but some of the moments did feel like a little bit of a cheese fest.

What I did enjoy a lot about this book was the characters. I don't think I have ever read a book that had more real characters than this book. Skye was not perfect but she wasn't also overly flawed. She was a good person who had some darkness/badness to her. Much like normal people. She wasn't evil or dark or anything like that, but she had moments of darkness as most people do. We are not perfect, we all at one point or another may have had a bad thought or two. I love that Amelinda wrote Skye that way, it made her so much more real.

This was an extremely interesting read, but it did walk a very fine line between creepy and overly creepy. If you can get past that, you will love this book!

I struggled with this one slightly.

This was a dark and bittersweet tale of a young girl named Skye who moves into a small town to live a normal teenage life but unfortunately what holds her back from getting what she want is her younger sister Deirdre who is a bit... strange and whimsical. Having a very immersive imagination. After accepting their new life, Deirdre disappears.

The story is laid out in an interesting way, alternating between day and night after Deirdre's disappearance as well as past events to fill in gaps which adds a really creepy factor.

My main problem with this is writing and plot pacing. Some sections of the book seemed clunky and out of place and I noticed I kept picking up my phone and scrolling through Twitter or Instagram or bringing up YouTube and watching a Markiplier playthrough. My attention span for the story dwindled tremendously the farther I got and I realized I stopped caring. I can absolutely see people loving this book and I wish I had because it is unique. I will definitly still be looking out for future releases by this author because I'd love to see her delve into Fantasy.

I actually really enjoyed this read. It's a perfect spooky autumn night read. It's fast with a darkish ending. An interesting debut. I'm interested to see what Berube does next

I loved this book and absolutely would recommend it to middle and high school readers. In fact, I've already told friends and students to put it on their wishlists. Without giving too much away, one of my favorite things about this book is that there is no clear-cut "bad" or "good" guy (or gal, as the case might be). I liked that you were never quite sure who to root for, because it sets this book apart from most others I've read. The author creates a clearly defined sister relationship that is brutal in its honesty about how one sibling might feel if the other isn't considered quite "normal", yet the fierceness of love exists between them. This is truly one of the most unique books I've read in years. Berube is now on my must-read authors list.

I am sorry I was not able to finish this book or start the book because the cover scared me too much, I know it sounds silly but it is true this face is very scary. So congrats to the illustrator of the cover . thank you for understanding yours truly, a reader.