Cover Image: Monstrous Heart

Monstrous Heart

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Member Reviews

I was first drawn to this book purely by the vibes - that cover, the blurb and the comparisons to VE Schwab. The story skates between an ocean-infused fantasy world and historical realism in a strange but compelling way.

The writing is lush and descriptive and I'm sure some would describe as flowery and overwritten but I didn't mind this. The characters themselves were interesting but a little flat, and at times a little cartoonish in the heroes versus villains roles. I loved the sea creatures but my main struggle was with the worldbuiling as I felt it was more complicated than it needed to be.

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I sincerely apologise for taking so long to read this book, but I am so glad I did. When I say this book destroyed me emotionally! The vibes in this book were immaculate, and the cleverly crafted tension between Arden and Jonah kept me hooked from page one. I cannot wait for this story to continue, and to explore the world further. Claire McKenna has convinced me to read everything else she writes, as it has been a long time since I have loved a book so much! Easiest five stars of my life!

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This one is difficult for me to review if I’m honest. It’s not something I particularly enjoyed, because I found it very hard to follow. I do know that the writing style was lovely, despite the story itself being difficult to understand. Even trying to give a brief run down is hard because I still feel like I don’t really know what happened.

We follow Arden who has taken on a job in a lighthouse, she gets this position because of something to do with her magical abilities. 🤷🏼‍♀️ I know that’s vague but as I said, I found it hard to follow. She is a head strong individual who instantly gets warned away from her neighbour. He is said to be a horrible monster who murdered his entire family and kidnapped a local women to make his wife. But Arden, being who she is, doesn’t want to take other people’s word for it and would prefer to make up her own mind.

Arden soon learns that not everyone around her can be trusted and there is more to this small town and her job than she realised.

This story just didn’t quite work for me. We get dropped straight into a world and a magic system that made no sense to me. There was little explanation, and even having finished the book I still feel clueless to the magic, world and history. Even the characters confuse me still.

I think this one just wasn’t for me personally, but it might appeal to others, especially those who enjoy a more complex story line.

I do absolutely adore this gorgeous cover though.

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In Monstrous Heart, we follow Arden, tasked to keep the lighthouse burning with her magical blood. Readers are promised a gothic feel so there’s a melancholic voice in the narration which works well with the story. However, there were some instances where the prose felt excessively flowery to the point of confusion (at the beginning). Despite that, I did like how the narration complemented the story and overall atmosphere of the novel.

Unfortunately, the world-building felt lacking in some areas. Whilst there was focus on certain aspects (such as characters) which was great, the narration never solidified the world thereby leaving readers confused and baseless. For example, terms and concepts were presented yet never fully explored. Also, the novel utilised words and places from our world (‘Fiction’ and ‘Manhattan’) as names of places which felt jarring upon reading.

Despite that, I did like how Arden was portrayed to be determined and hard-working. I also liked and was intrigued by the concept of sea monsters and the world. I just wished the world-building was fleshed out more.

Monstrous Heart held so much promise, however, I feel that this book wasn’t for me. If you’re a fan of flowery writing and a determined protagonist, this may be for you. The elements in this story held great potential and I am curious to see more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

CW: sexual assault, attempted rape, and violence

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A great concept that fell flat.

This book throws you in the deep end of a fantasy world, where some peoples blood has magical properties. The story follows Arden Beacon, who's blood can produce cold fire. She is part of one the more powerful blood families but was late to demonstrate her abilities. She is stationed in a small fishing town to tend to the lighthouse. The premise of this book promised sea monster and epic, gothic fantasy, but fell incredibly short. It was hard to follow the world, with many universe specific terms thrown around with little to no explanation. At times, I felt like I'd missed something important, but on rereading the previous few paragraphs, the information just isn't there.

This book had the ingredients to be fantastic, but was just poorly executed. It felt like a first draft rather than the final copy.

I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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I was not expecting this, Monstrous Heart was interesting and i did enjoy it. I think it was very well written. Overall i liked the story.

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That gorgeous cover made me check out the premise and Monstrous Heart is marketed as gothic, dark romance for fans of Outlander and the Binding.

From the cover you'd think this is a YA book, but personally I would rather place it as New Adult or even Adult due to the heavy emphasis on sexual assault and violence (magic users cut themselves to use their blood).

I loved the concept of the sea monsters, their parts and how to use them and I'd have loved to read more about them. There were also hints about different cultures and religions, but sadly those weren't fleshed out more.

I wasn't a fan of the main character being in constant danger of sexual assault and the whole story and world had a big issue with misogyny and consent in general (men kidnapping and raping women on Deepwater Night). This might be where the Outlander reference comes in.

There were some plot holes surrounding Bellis and the Islands and the ending did not satisfy me at all. Altogether this had some promising elements in it and I still want to check out other works from this author, simply because I could hardly put the book down after my initial confusion in the first few chapters.

Monstrous Heart would immensely benefit from including some illustrations, maps and an appendix to make it easier for the reader to follow the magic system.

Thank you Harper Voyager and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

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I voluntarily wrote a review of this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.
I'll admit, I was unable to download the epub, so I borrowed the audiobook instead. It's a wonderfully written tale about the monsters of the sea and the guilds that try to control people with 'powers'.
I only wish there was a glossary which told you about the powers, bloodletting, and shadowing. It actually made it quite confusing at times. The sex scenes too, may have been overdone by the third time. In the end, once I persevered, it became very interesting, so I will have to see what happens next.
3.5 stars

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I received this book as an earc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am truly shocked by the lack of good reviews for this wonderful tale. Claire Mckenna's writing style is unlike any other I have seen before, and might have you looking up the meaning of words, or leave you utterly astounded by her proficiency in writing in such a way.

At the beginning I was confused as to what was going on. The book opens in a way that had me wondering if I was perhaps missing something, and due to the less-than-great reviews I had read for it prior to starting it, I considered abandoning it before even completing the second chapter. Not doing so was undoubtedly the best choice.

Once you get past the initial confusion you are immersed into a wonderful world of magic, sea monsters, conspiracies and betrayal. I would even go as far as to say this is my favourite book to date.

Arden is not your typical heroine. She does not have it all figured out, only to be thrown of course by a man. In fact, Arden is considered a failure, for the power in her blood is weak, so when she is sent to vigil to takeover for a now deceased family member she sees this as an opportunity to prove herself.

She's met with trial and tribulation on all fronts, forced to endure the machinations of men in order to achieve that which she wants most her degree, and freedom to love and marry who she chooses. The townsfolk whisper of her neighbour, Jonah Riven an alleged murderer of both his wife and family, a monster, a brute and a beast. Arden is drawn to him, despite the warnings of many, only to discover all is not as it seems, and there is a much darker power at play.

This story will keep you on your does, nothing is as it seems indeed. The romance is devastatingly heartbreaking, the emotions of the characters tangible, undeniably beautiful and enthralling and much of the world is left open to the interpretation of the reader.

I will be recommended this to all my friends. And I urge you who reads this review to not be discouraged by the ornate language or the initial confusion, for this is a story worth reading a million times.

I can only hope there will be a sequel.

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Monstrous Heart is a book with a great premise, and that's what made me what to read it. However, it never quite came together for me. The prose was flowery and verbose, but little of it contributed to the world building, which felt underdeveloped. I had so many questions about the setting and background to the story that were never answered. I also struggled to relate to the romance element, which seemed to come out of nowhere and be more lust than love. I've no objection to sex scenes in books when they are meaningful, and the first one did work well, but subsequent occurrences seemed unnecessary, as they didn't add anything to the story or characters. I think there is a great story concept buried in this work, but the execution of that story left me cold. I'd opened the first page wanting to be caught up in the promised dark, Gothic romance, but it never happened. For me this is 3-star read. I thought there was a lot of potential, despite the obvious flaws, and I am sure some readers will take to this work more than I did.

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