There were definitely good aspects to this novel. I loved the fact that the love interest was an Aboriginal young adult with aspirations towards ending up in parliament and the self awareness of what that would mean for his people.

I liked the fact that it was a full blown mythology set in Sydney, Australia.

The problem for me is that there are too many of these magical gay boy YA novel series', and that they hit basically the same plot points.

One minute, Connor is sad that his best friend Olly isn't talking to him because he's 'too boring'. The next minute, he's cutting class and coming across Sally who is breaking into his all boys high school in order to unearth a Monument, which is basically a god in this world. Shortly thereafter, Connor completely forgets about best friend Olly--who we never actually see on the page--and is in love with Locky. I really do feel, though, that Locky was the best character of the book.

An additional issue I had with this one was that I didn't think it was all that well planned. It read like something that had new ideas and mythology (like some light time travel) dropped in the middle of it without really foreshadowing it or acknowledging something like that might exist in the world earlier in the story.

There were a lot of times when my ability to suspend belief just... couldn't. I probably won't read the next book in this series.

I am not a massive Fantasy reader, but I am a big fan of Will Kostakis, so that's why I was keen to try this one. He didn't disappoint.. The great characters and witty banter were all there, alongside a group of, once buried, now very much in our world, Gods.
As a non fantasy reader I liked that the books had fantasy elements, while being firmly placed in present day Sydney.
The inclusiveness portrayed in the characters was also nice to see. This wasn't a book 'about' a gay character or an indigenous character...the were just people (for the most part), and their sexuality or ethnicity was just part of who they were... not a big deal, as it should be...just god to see representation across the board as a matter of course.

I always knew that I was the kind of reader who would forgive a lot of flaws in exchange for a charming protagonist, but I guess I never realised just HOW many flaws.

Like, this book. This book. Set it Sydney, which was cool. An aboriginal character, which I love to see. And the plot, on paper, is interesting and full of neat reveals. But.

Ok, so, say you're walking down to the shops. And you turn the corner, and there's a parade just parading down the street. Floats and people on stilts and the whole bit. You'd be pretty surprised and you'd wonder what the occasion was, but you'd also just kinda shrug and go with it, right. Huh, a parade. Cool.

This is basically the exact reaction every single character in this book gives to every shocking reveal.

Hey, gods are real! What! Huh, ok.
Hey, you're a god now! What! Huh, ok.
Hey, time travel! What! Huh, ok.
Hey, I've shot you and you're about to die. What! Huh, ok.

Everything is instantly accepted. Also basically instant is the solution to any and all problems. Needed items are found on the next page. These hundred-year-old hidden sanctuaries are found within hours, and the puzzles inside are solved within seconds.

It makes it feel like everything is being rushed through, a feeling that gets worse towards the end of the book. The prose grows choppy and starts to feel more like a cliff notes version of this story than the story itself. And there's this one bit at the end which, no spoilers, but the characters were about do something and I thought, well that's obviously really dumb because 'x' has already happened a bunch of times... And they do it. And 'x' happens again. And, just. Siiiiigh.

And yet. Look up there. Look at those stars. Four of those suckers, and I don't regret a one. Because all of these many, many flaws are delivered to us via the most charming and hilarious protagonist, Connor. Connor easily save this book, and this book needed a lot of saving so that's doubly impressive. He reminded me A LOT of Eliot from Sarah Rees Brennan's brilliant In Other Lands, and I wish this book could have been longer or at least paced slower so there could have been more quiet moments with him. He made this mess completely enjoyable.

So, four stars for Eliot but a whole lot less stars for the rest of it.

This has definitely been one of my favourite reads of the year. It was so much fun. I loved being able to read a fantasy that was set in Australia! I really loved the diversity too. The representation of a gay indigenous Australian was so wonderful to see. I loved Connor's relationship with Locky. The dynamics between Connor and Sally were really well developed too and I loved that Sally was such a realistically flawed character. The story of the monuments is super interesting and I can't wait to learn more about them in the next book! I had so much fun reading this and really felt like I was part of the adventure. Can not wait for the rest of the series.

Actual rating: 4.5/5

Monuments by Will Kostakis is an incredible fantasy book set in Sydney, Australia. I am so glad that Kostakis based his story in Australia as fantasy books set here are quite rare. I also appreciated the main character, Connor, being Greek Australian. I was so glad to finally relate culturally to a character in a book and some parts of the story surrounding his family were very touching and made me quite emotional.

Another one of the main characters, Locky, is an Indigenous Australian Aboriginal from the Wiradjuri tribe. The lack of Indigenous Australians - particularly as main characters - in Australian books is shocking and I am so glad to see them be a part of newer Australian stories.

The plot of the book was intriguing and - sometimes - rather confusing which is why I rated it 4.5 instead of 5. I thought that Kostakis mostly explained everything really well, but there were times I felt very confused. By the end, everything definitely made more sense, but some aspects I personally felt weren't explained enough.

I absolutely was not expecting anything that happened which meant I was constantly on my toes and couldn't put the book down. The story was so unique and with all the new information as revelations were made, it became more complex and intricate. Some parts of the book did feel a bit rushed, however. I would have loved it to be longer, but I understand that this is aimed for younger readers, so it's the perfect length. I just wish I had the second book already!

The characters were interesting, but I was disappointed that we didn't get to know the gods more; another reason why I rated 4.5. The main trio's reaction to the rather shocking events in the book - particular Connor and Locky - seemed quite calm for the most part. That slightly pulled me away from being immersed in the story as I couldn't imagine being in that situation and not freaking out completely at everything.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and cannot wait for the sequel next year!

A truly unique and intriquing story, set in Sydney, Australia!

The statue gods idea? Amazing.

I also thought that the characters were vibrant and well-rounded, as well as being diverse with both indigenous and queer+ rep, which is a huge plus!

The book was fast-paced, and the twists kept on coming. I couldn't put this one down for even a second!

Rating: 4.5/5