The premise for Only a Monster, by Vanessa Len, was so great and intriguing—Joan is a Monster in a family of monsters, who doesn’t actually realize any of this, right up until she *does*.
She has to come to terms with all these realizations, because she’d been a typical teen until that point. Also, where there are monsters, there are monster slayers, and who better to have a crush on?
This book was truly a really fun and fresh take on a genre inundated with “special” teens, and I enjoyed it immensely.
I would recommend this one to anyone who enjoys YA sci Fi/fantasy, as this is a distinctly young take on the genre, IMO:
4 well-earned ⭐️!
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperTeen for the Lovely ARC.

ONLY A MONSTER was the Urban YA Fantasy I have been craving! I inhaled this book with fierce characters and a quiet but sizzling romance. The magic system in this book was utterly unique and awesome, Joan's family's ability to leech time from humans added a complex layer of worldbuilding and one that was well thought out.

One of the reasons I found this book so captivating and enthralling is because Len weaved in high, heart-pounding stakes with consequences that leave readers on edge. I was turning the page eager to get to the end and to see how everything played out.

Truly an awesome debut and I cannot wait for the next installment.

Interesting time heist with monsters! Vanessa Len did a great job making the story original and leaving the ending open to more or to leave it be.

This book was fantastic!! I am a huge fantasy fan, but I think this would even appeal to those who are unsure of the genre. The characters were amazing and I couldn’t read this one quick enough. Very action packed!

This was such a disappointing read for me. Based on the premise alone, I desperately wanted to love ONLY A MONSTER, but I had to slog through it. I'm sure the novel will appeal to many readers, but this just wasn't for me. The story doesn't seem to start in the right place, characters feel underdeveloped and two-dimensional, and much of the dialogue feels disingenuous. I can't quite put my finger on what it is exactly, but something about the quality of the writing feels bland. While the author clearly has potential, I won't be reading the rest of this trilogy. I do, however, look forward to Len's future projects after a little more growth.

It’s been a minute since I read fantasy, but when I first heard about "Only A Monster", I was immediately intrigued. Morally grey characters, tension between the main and the love interest taken to a whole other level, and time travel? Yes yes yes. Sign me up for all of the above.

What I love so much about this book is the writing. The dialogue is emotional, sharp, and funny. It’s so well written, and makes the characters feel real and tangible. Joan is an easy character to root for; she’s been through a lot in a short amount of time and just wants to save those she loves. She has a pretty strict moral compass that is tested again and again, which is always interesting to read about. Aaron is a fantastic character as well, adding both a bit of conflict and a lot of banter. Seriously, I love him. He made each scene he was in fun and/or emotional. I would love to learn more about him in the next book. Nick is a trickier character simply because he and Joan are meant to be enemies, and that point is made over and over again. But all of it is riveting.

The prose itself is also wonderful, with descriptions that make it easier to fall into the book like the characters fall through time. I read the bulk of the book in a day because I didn’t want to put it down. The prose fills in what the dialogue doesn’t with action and descriptions so I never felt lost – unless I was meant to for the purpose of unravelling the mysteries with the characters.

I think truly the only part I struggled with a bit was the beginning and the ending, just in terms of pacing. It starts off as a relatively quiet story which was surprising and meant it might take a couple chapters to become hooked. Once it picks up, it stays fairly fast paced and intense for most of the book. That being said, I wish the ending hadn’t been quite so rushed because I feel like everything happened so fast as to feel a little out of left field. But because there’s a sequel, I’m not worried. I know we’ll get more answers and get to know the world Len created even better.

"Only A Monster" is the perfect book for those who love high stakes and morally grey characters. I really enjoyed this book, and I know I’m not alone in this. The characters and the magic within the story are so fascinating and captivating. I could easily read more about them, so you can bet I’ve already added the sequel to my TBR. Curl up with cup of tea and a warm, buttery croissant while you travel the streets of London, both in the present and the past. The journey awaits, all you have to do is jump into the pages.

I never thought I would find a time travel book that was easy to follow and would break me. This book was filled with beautifully complex characters and even though it's a full cycle, I NEED more. I lost sleep to sprint to its and and I need some time to recover, but I'm grateful.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

Here, as with many of the YA books I've read lately, especially debut novels, there is a lot of promise. Len is not unskilled and the ideas presented in the book are intriguing, but the execution is lacking.

The biggest disappointment for me lay in the premise itself. Monsters versus heroes, with the protagonist a monster herself, on the wrong side. A deeply morally grey story. Not so much! Both Joan and Nick are zealous and virtuous, both hellbent on doing <i>good</i>. Arguably, Nick's massacring dozens of people can be presented as morally grey, but if he's doing it to protect humanity and not, y'know, for kicks or personal gain, it's very much <i>doing the right thing</i>. They're both very straightlaced and it's boring.

Not to mention that the term 'monster' is used here with the gravitas of 'wizard' or 'time traveller'. Nothing particularly monstrous about these monsters - at least, nothing more monstrous than what's regularly seen in people: greed, racism, pride. While the monster power isn't great for humans, it's true, the rest of their powers are just that - magic/special powers, not particularly terrible or intrinsically evil. The 'monster vs hero' concept billed as a dramatic struggle is wildly overblown. I wish my expectations had been tempered.

Another thing I wish I'd known before getting into this book is that it's a time travel story. I have nothing against time travel on its own, but I don't typically prefer to read it because it's difficult to execute well. Time travel has a lot of rules and things to get right, and if the author doesn't, the reader falls into a time warp. Len mentioned in an interview that she'd spent years planning out the rules of time travel and the Monster universe, and it was still chock-full of plot holes.

The pacing is a bit uneven throughout. The story picks up fairly quickly, then lags, then speeds up again. Logically, I know the stakes are high (Joan needs to resurrect her entire family!) but I never really felt the urgency, possibly because Joan's inner monologue repeated the same thoughts and quotes over and over, effectively desensitizing me.

The world-building is right out of Harry Potter. A shadow society of people with magic powers, living ralongside humans but invisible. The Ravencroft Market is Diagon Alley. Aaron Oliver is Draco Malfoy. Joan is an amalgam of Harry (the Chosen One) and Hermione (a half-blood).

The setting particularly hurt me because I <i>adore</i> London. I spent three months studying there and have returned several times. I love that city. Joan's London was straight from the pages of guidebooks; there was no sense of place anywhere except maybe Ravencroft Market. It felt so awkward to read about Joan going to <i>Kensington High Street</i> over and over; Len wrote about tourist landmarks and there was no sense of the real, hidden London. I had literally imagined her Google mapping how long to get from Trafalgar Square to Wapping on foot while writing; then I read an interview where she admitted never having visited London until she was mostly done with the book, and that all of her research was done via Google Street View! It felt clinical, and none of the characters sounded particularly British. This is why writers are encouraged to write what they know - learning a city through Google Street View doesn't teach one anything about the soul of it and readers get a sanitized landscape.

I won't bother talking about the romance because there's nothing to talk about. Please don't ask me to care about a relationship that happened almost entirely offscreen (in another timeline) with a murderer. I also didn't get what Aaron saw in Joan other than naïveté and self-righteousness.

Ultimately, the book left more questions than answers. I suspect that we'll get answers to some of these questions in the second book, and I might pick it up out of curiosity.

Oh, and for some reason I'm irrationally annoyed about all of the single-syllable names in this book. Len couldn't think beyond four-letter names? Joan, Nick, Ruth, Gran... then Tom, Gus, Ada, Aaron, Jamie... honestly, half of the time I had to remind myself who was Joan and who was Ruth because they are both old-lady names.

Only a Monster by Vanessa Len is the first book of the Monsters trilogy. Sixteen-year-old Joan is sent to visit her family in London. She volunteers at the historic Holland House there. When fellow volunteer Nick asks Joan out on a date, she thinks she’s set for the perfect summer. But then Joan discovers her family are monsters. And Nick is a monster slayer. In the aftermath of events that leave Joan reeling, she must team up with Aaron Oliver, heir to a monster family who cannot stand her family. Joan must embrace the monster in her if she is to save her family and herself.

This book has so many awesome elements to it. It’s dark, romantic, and full of fascinating characters. I devoured every page. I’m anxiously awaiting the sequel.

When I think of monsters, certain ideas come to mind. Well, I can assure you that none of your ideas come into play in this novel. Vanessa Len creates a wholly original world and mythology. I buy it; I just don’t understand why it was envisaged in the first place.

Despite my confusion about the world’s needs a redefinition of monster, I thoroughly enjoyed how interesting the people calling themselves monsters are.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperTeen for an advanced review copy. I always love it when you find a book that keeps you reading and you never want to put down. This was that book. Fast paced, well done characters, imaginative storyline. Sure it has some typical YA tropes but the way the author weaves them into her storyline, makes them believable, makes you root for her characters is so well done that in the end, you don't really care that it's a trope. Loved it.

Thank you HCC Frenzy for sending me an eARC for an honest review.

4/5 stars

CWs: violence, murder, death, torture

This was a really entertaining read! I liked the characters a lot, and I thought the concept of the monsters and stealing time was really cool. The pacing was good, and I thought the author’s writing style was super easy to follow. I would have liked a little more explanation on some of the monster families and powers, but I followed the story easily enough.
Joan was a good character. I liked her determination, and her emotions were easy to connect with. I was rooting for her the whole time. I also liked the other characters. I thought they were all well-written and they had many layers. I liked Aaron and I liked how he changed through the story.
The time travel aspect was a little bit confusing, but it was also confusing for the characters when they’d travel, so it made sense. I thought the different monster families and their powers were super interesting, and I’m excited to see what the author does next with this world and characters.

Time traveling monsters and 90s references.... How early is too early to demand for the publication date for book 2?

Vanessa Len weaves a tale about unlikely heros - is the "hero" the hero or is the "monster" the hero? Is it an enemies to lovers romance or an enemies to lovers triangle?

This book is a page turner & a fabulous hand-sell title for those "advanced" readers who are a little too young for some of the more mature themes in the young adult genre. The romance stops at kissing the violence isn't detailed & gory. I would feel comfortable selling this book to a 12 year old & other 30 somethings who love getting lost in fantasy books. Our store is DEFINITELY stocking this title & promoting it ALL summer long!

But seriously - when is book 2 coming??

Book Report for Only a Monster (Monsters #1) by Vanessa Len

Cover Story: Lots to Look At
BFF Charm: Natalie Imbruglia
Talky Talk: There Be Monsters
Bonus Factor: Grey Characters
Factor: Series Starter
Relationship Status: Tentatively Tempted

Content Warning: Only a Monster features scenes of graphic violence and torture and murders/deaths of family members.

Cover Story: Lots to Look At
At first glance, this is a very pretty, art deco-inspired cover. Look more closely, however, and you’ll find a lot more to it, from the upside-down manor house that is maybe on fire to the ornate pendant the woman is holding to the sea monster battling the ship. All of these things are thematic, but not entirely accurate to the book’s plot. Was I the cover designer (ever the armchair critic), I might have culled some of these things and focused instead on one or two.

The Deal:
Everything changes the day Joan Chang-Hunt is supposed to go on a date with Nick, her fellow volunteer at the Holland House museum. She arrives at their meeting point early, but a chance encounter with a neighbor sends her—literally—into the future.

Upon returning home to her grandmother’s house, Joan learns that she’s a monster, with the power to steal life from humans and use it to travel to other times. Joan wants nothing to do with the “gift,” but the next day things get even worse when she discovers that Nick isn’t exactly who he seems, either: He’s a human hero whose sole mission in life is to hunt—and kill—monsters like Joan and her family.

BFF Charm: Natalie Imbruglia
Joan’s the kind of person that—in theory—I’d want to be BFFs with in a heartbeat. I mean, she can literally travel through time, which is a pretty badass power to have. But, the fact that she has to take life from humans to do it (plus the fact that I don’t think she could take me with her) isn’t the greatest. She’s very conflicted about that aspect of her powers herself, which makes me like her more as a person (monsters are people, too!), but I’d be a little afraid that she’d “need” to take life from me at some point, me being an easily accessible human if we were friends, and I am pretty attached to the idea of living as long as I possibly can. There are definite tradeoffs in this relationship that I’m not sure make it all worth it, regardless of how perfect of BFF material Joan seems like on paper.

Swoonworthy Scale: 6
Until he turns on his hero qualities (which, TBH, are not very heroic, viewed through Joan’s perspective) Nick seems like the perfect summer crush. He’s handsome, caring, thoughtful, fit, loves history, and is truly kind. I can’t blame Joan for falling for him, even if we don’t really get to see much of their chemistry before all hell breaks loose.

On the other hand, there’s also Aaron, the son of a rival monster family that Joan’s stuck with after the aforementioned hell breaking. He’s also handsome and fit—like unfairly so—but he’s the opposite of Nick in pretty much every other way. He’s rude and snarky, bigoted and impatient. But Joan soon begins to rely on him for more than just his monster knowledge, and the way he looks at her is … let’s just say there’s something there that wasn’t there before.

Talky Talk: There Be Monsters
The world Len created for Only a Monster is an interesting one. It’s very familiar, save for the part that monsters who steal life and can travel through time exist among us in a very “yer a wizard, Harry” kind of way, except for the fact that the monsters do know what a cell phone is. (There’s even a hidden/secret market that’s very reminiscent of Diagon Alley.)

The idea of a wholly separate and unusual society living just outside of our own is a fascinating one. I would have liked a bit more fleshing out of where this society came from—Was it ever part of our own? What happened to split it off? Etc.—but I have an inkling that Len will dive more into that in future books. Since Joan was just learning who and what she was in this book, it made sense for us readers to go in equally blind and discover as she did along the way.

Bonus Factor: Grey Characters
I love a morally grey character, especially when they’re shown to be more than their questionable actions. (Or in spite of them?) Villains and anti-heroes alike, give me a (literary) person who isn’t a Disney Prince or Princess and has a lot of nuances to their personality and I’ll find them unapologetically appealing. No one in Only a Monster is totally black or white, which makes them all the more compelling!

Factor: Series Starter
I went into this book thinking this was a standalone, or possibly a duology. According to Goodreads, it’s the start of a trilogy. Which, I know, but it’s a good thing in this case; the book ends satisfactorily, with no cliffhanger, but does leave a lot of open-ended questions and threads that need to be more fleshed out to create a more cohesive story. I was left both wanting more and being OK if that’s where it ended.

Relationship Status: Tentatively Tempted
Our first date wasn’t as action-packed as I might have expected, Book, but you surprised me with being more than I thought you were at first glance. I’m hesitantly looking forward to our second date. I want to know more—but I have my life to think about, too!

A good addition to any YA library collection. Well rounded characters and a fantastic setting make this book hard to put down. It avoids the pitfalls of happily-ever-after and replaces that overused trope with the ideals of courage and sacrifice in the face of difficult choices as a vehicle for survival. We will be adding this title to our collection.

I am relieved to see this is a series because it was paced so strangely; like an author trying to force a lot of information into a standalone and realizing they forgot to tie up a LOT of loose ends. I would have rated this much lower if it were a standalone, so here's to me looking before writing!

It is very difficult to review this book without spoiling all the fun parts of it (plot, tropes, etc.), so I will try to keep things pretty vague here. We have a biracial and half-monster/half-human protagonist named Joan. "Monsters" in this book are different than you'd think, and I'm hoping that is expanded upon more in the other books; essentially, monsters can steal life from humans by touching their necks and using that life to travel in time. Different monster families (clans, basically) also have unique powers to their group.

The main plot here is Nick, Joan's crush reveals himself as the mythological "hero" figure and starts murdering all monsters, including Joan's family. She escapes with a rival family member about her age who seems to be Nick's opposite: Aaron. You can see where this is going, I'm sure...

The world-building in this is so complete and unique. You discover things as Joan does, so you don't suffer from info-dumping like in a lot of urban fantasy. I am left with a lot of questions, especially after a complete banger of an ending that tapers off into an intriguing epilogue. I'm eager for book two and will definitely seek it out when it's published! 3.5 stars

Ah that ending! I love when a book grabs you from the beginning and yet turns out to be different than you expect! Loved these characters and cannot wait for the sequel!

𝒴ℴ𝓊'𝓇ℯ 𝒶 𝒽ℯ𝓇ℴ 𝒶𝓃𝒹 ℐ'𝓂 𝒶 𝓂ℴ𝓃𝓈𝓉ℯ𝓇. 𝒯𝒽ℯ𝓇ℯ'𝓈 ℴ𝓃𝓁𝓎 ℴ𝓃ℯ 𝓌𝒶𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓈𝓉ℴ𝓇𝓎 ℯ𝓋ℯ𝓇 ℯ𝓃𝒹𝓈.

Only a Monster is a younger YA fantasy read (rated for ages 13 & up) and it took me about 15-20% to get into the story as it initial felt a little young for me, but then the story took a surprising turn and I wasn’t able to put it down! I read the remainder of the book in one sitting and absolutely devoured the story.

The story is written from Joan’s POV and I connected with and enjoyed her voice. The other characters were mostly really interesting and different but I would have liked more early on development between Joan and Nick as it felt a little rushed. The synopsis doesn’t give much away, so I’m not about to either, but I will say the story has an fresh unique version of monsters, and this book was entirely something I didn’t expect. I ate the story up and can’t wait for the sequel!!

𝑮𝑶 𝑮𝑹𝑨𝑩 𝑶𝑵𝑳𝒀 𝑨 𝑴𝑶𝑵𝑺𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑵𝑶𝑾 𝑺𝑶 𝑾𝑬 𝑪𝑨𝑵 𝑫𝑰𝑺𝑪𝑼𝑺𝑺! ❤️🥰👹

My rating: 4.5 stars

Thanks so much to Harper Collins Ca, Literary Bounds Tours and the author Vanessa Len for the ARC copy! Receiving an ARC in no way affected my review and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Olivers see.
Hunts hide.
Nowaks live.
Patels bind.
Portellis open.
Hathaways leash.
Nightingales take.
Mtawalis keep.
Argents sway.
Alis seal.
Griffiths reveal.
But only the Lius remember.

A good idea, but ultimately I wasn't a fan of this book. Joan is thrust into a journey to accomplish this big mission, but there wasn't sufficient buildup before the journey began to help me build a connection with her so that I would want to join her on that journey. Along the way, Joan kept making hasty and uninformed decisions because she didn't know the history or lore of the different families, while the others alongside her kept pulling her back to the main road. When she would ask questions, characters would sometimes deflect or delay answers which perpetuated the situation. Some bit information is revealed later on, and she does end up making a big choice in the end, but by that point it was too late to build any emotional connection.

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our list for order this year and will recommend it to students.