Very fun read. Unique setting and characters. I enjoyed learning the rules of that world, and following the main character as she struggled to figure out how she fit into the world.

It was an interesting take, but it wasn't super satisfying. It reads a lot younger than it should for a book with an MC who is 20. All of the relationships are so shallow, and there isn't really any character growth, so I had a hard time getting attached to anyone or caring if they died. I'm not sure what else to say. It's the first in a series, and though it doesn't suffer from being an entirety of exposition for the next book, it's not really bringing a lot to the table.

A new take on Beauty and the Beast. Although not marketed as a B&B re-telling, it has an eerie similarity.

Girl grows up thinking one thing, only to be betrayed by everything she's ever know.
Girl gets swept up into a new world with capturers that she should hate, but doesn't.
Here's where things get dicey....she's not who people want her to be, but she'll sacrifice herself anyways.
This world is imaginative, the story is written very well, but it lacks something. I'm not quite certain I can put my finger on it though. Maybe world building? Giving us glimpses at the lives of all of the species and how they came to hate one another. Could be the lack of understanding in what the motive is once the end goal has been accomplished, what each species has to lose if things for the "bad guys" pan out.

All I know is, that cliffhanger makes book two consume my thoughts.

Thank you WattPad Books, Netgalley, and Grace Collins for gifting me an eARC of Creatures of the Night. This review is being left voluntarily and all opinions are my own.

The cover of Creatures of the Night is absolutely stunning but the story itself fell a little flat. I'm not one hundred percent sure if it was the writing style or plot but I couldn't get into it.

The world that Grace Collins built was astounding and beautifully written. We learn about grief and wanting to belong and find your place, how easily one can break our trust, and how to keep moving forward even when the world we knew keeps falling apart.
In this story, Milena, 19, wants nothing more than to be accepted by her people and hunt beside them. But on her 20th birthday, she uncovers a terrible truth that tears her reality.
The plot of the story was different from what I've read before, which I appreciate. It was slightly frustrating when the characters kept Milena in the dark, but all the dots and threads come together in the end. Additionally, the twists in the story were lovely, and one of them got me.
I do feel that Milena was a very tragic character and superficial at times. She didn't think too deep and went on with what she saw on the surface and wasn't very smart when making decisions. If Milena wasn't thinking about how everything was her fault and being gloomy, her thoughts were of Elias and how beautiful he was. I think she needed a little more toughen-up.
My favorite character was Eric, and I can't wait to see some fanart or character art from him!

I will be writing another Review on my Spanish blog soon! If interested, I'll link my blog down below!

Message for the author: Congratulations on your debut!

Creatures of the Night is a great debut by Grace Collins. It features a unique premise, and some great characters! The book follows Milena, a 19 year old girl who lives in tunnels with her people. All she wants to do is go out and hunt with her fellow villagers, but has to wait until her 20th birthday. Milena was actually a really great character. She took everything in stride, and didn't always rely on others to protect her. She was able to take matters into her own hands, and do what she felt was necessary. My only complaint about her is that she was, at times, a little too "woe is me" and "everything is my fault" for my taste. I mean I got it, but I felt like maybe she could have stopped repeating that everything was her fault over... and over... and over again. But her ability to think on her feet and cope with difficult situations made up for it, in my opinion.

Elias is the leader of the creatures (think shapeshifters/werewolves). He seemed to really care about his people, and was always willing to do what was necessary to protect them. While I did like him and Milena together, I found that everything happened very abruptly. I didn't feel like there was much lead up to them connecting. In fact, I wasn't 100% sure who her love interest was going to be until they kissed lol. It seemed out of the blue, but I just rolled with it and it ended up working ok.

I think the book is really creative, but it just needed a bit more depth. There wasn't much lead up to certain aspects, and it had me feeling a little confused at some points. Everything happened very quickly, and it ended rather abruptly as well. So, while I enjoyed the book and am looking forward to the next one, I think there is some things that can be improved. Still recommend giving it a try though!

Imagine living your entire life thinking that the people you consider family are not who you thought they were at all. What if everything they were doing, telling you it was to keep you safe was not meant to do that at all.. This is the situation that the main character Milena finds herself in on her twentieth birthday, she expects to finally get to participate in a sacred ritual of her people, but instead discovers a life changing secret.
I appreciated the world building that occurred in this book and that the author decided to go a different way than is often found in fantasy, not sticking with the werewolf, vampires and faeries alone. There were twists but I would be lying if I did not say that I did see some of them coming. This book had a lot of potential there were just a few aspects that made it a three rather than four star read for me.

I had such high hopes for this book, and the beginning and middle were great! The last 25% of it, however, really brought the rating down.

The characters kept making dumb, thoughtless decisions that had me rolling my eyes in frustration. At one point, I think the main characters had betrayed each other, gotten captured in fruitless rescue missions, or sacrificed themselves for the others eight times in a row. It was exhausting, frustrating, and unrealistic to read about. I’ve always been a fan of characters that make decisions based on actual brains, not impulses. If you’re like me, then you won’t be able to stand our main character, Milena.

There was also a romantic subplot thrown in that didn’t really resonate with the rest of the story. Our heroine was only able to describe three things she liked about her guy, with one of those being his ethereal beauty. Seriously? I thought the YA genre had progressed past such superficial tropes, but I guess I am mistaken.

Part of why I’m so mad about the ending of this book is because I loved the first 75% so much. The world building was delightful to read about, and it was really cool to learn more about the wispers, hallowers, humans, and shifters that populated the landscape. One of the shifters in particular, Cassia, really stood out. Her inconsistent characterization towards the end made it a particularly jarring finish, but with the convient and totally avoidable ending, there will definitely be a second book.

Creatures of the Night is a short and addicting read, and I’d probably recommend it to someone in a reading slump. As long as you don’t go in with high hopes for the ending, you’ll probably enjoy this book.

Special warning that there is a lot of gore, death, and killing throughout this book that may be disturbing to some readers. Nothing too graphic or descriptive, but still something to be aware of.

I received an ARC of this book curtesy of Wattpad Books, opinions are my own.

I really liked the writing in this one but I couldn’t connect with the characters as much as I wanted. I also sort of wish this had been multiple pov.

What do you do when things are not what they seem and your family may be trying to kill you? Join the other side.