Just finished reading ONLY A MONSTER by Vanessa Len. Thank you to @literaryboundtours & @hccfrenzy for my eARC copy in exchange for an honest review. Official publication date is February 22nd, 2022.

Cute Boy, Star Crossed Lovers, Enemies to Friends, Magical World, Time Travel...This book had it all and it hit it out of the park without being the same story I've read multiple times. Len kept me guessing and wondering how this would turn out & I was wrong at every turn. I can't wait for the rest of this trilogy.

I was granted eARC access to Only a Monster by Vanessa Len via NetGalley in conjunction with the HarperCollins Canada Influencer program and #FrenzyPresents. Thank you for the opportunity! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.

Only a Monster is a breath of fresh air in the YA Horror landscape! This is a plot I've never seen done before and the prose is beautiful. Joan is a 16 year old history nerd about to go on her first date with a fellow museum volunteer (am I reading about my own 10th grade summer?!) but it's all about to go horribly wrong. Joan is half-human, half-monster, and the monster half of her family has neglected to explain her heritage to her because she didn't think she had any monstrous powers. Oops.

Enter a world where monsters hiding in plain sight, looking entirely human, steal time from unsuspecting humans in order to jump through time. Each monster family, each magical lineage, has their own secondary power, and Joan's family are talented thieves. Unfortunately for Joan, she's about to become tangled up in a timewar to save all of monsterkind and the guy showing her the ropes about her time travel ability in this trial by fire is the heir to her family's most hated rival family. And then there's the sticky situation with that cute boy she wanted to date: he's the prophesied monster slayer, human-born to kill their kind, and he's disrupting the true timeline.

Oh my goodness! This book was an adventure and a half and I was very reluctant to put it down for sleep. I needed to know how it ended! I won't say this is going to be my favourite book of 2022 because it's only February but it's going to be on the top 20 list for sure. (If top 20 doesn't sound like much, keep in mind that my Goodreads challenge goal for the year is currently set at 250 and I'm ahead of schedule.)

I love this time travelling version of vampire-like monsters that Vanessa Len has created, and all of the primary cast! Even the "bad guys" are compelling, interesting, and not entirely hateable. The mystery and suspense elements are so well done, and although some things were easy to see coming a little before they happened, I didn't ever feel like the surprise had been spoiled or that the mystery wasn't mysterious enough. This is all very well written.

The will they, won't they of the forbidden romance between Joan and Nick is heartbreaking! This is one of those stories where you completely understand why the love is forbidden, why they can't be together, but you don't care and you're rooting for them to somehow find a way to make it work right up until the very end.

On the topic of love, there's absolutely beautiful LGBTQIA+ representation here! One of the side characters is a man in love who has made every single decision over the last couple of decades with a single goal in mind: rescuing the man he loves.

I'm so glad that this is clearly already labelled as a book one because I can't wait to continue reading this series!

Only a Monster by Vanessa Len is a time travel book. But it is unique in how that time travel happens. It is also a story about the ties of family. About history and tradition. About myth and fairytale. And about what truly make someone a monster…or a hero. The vibe will remind readers of Dr Who meets Harry Potter. There is timey-wimey stuff as well as something very similar to Diagon Alley. Fair warning…while no mention of it, there feels like there may be a book 2 in the works and this one doesn’t even officially come out until Tuesday.

I absolutely loved this book. I of course loved that Joan works at a museum like me which I’ve never really have seen in a YA book so I loved that! Joan is a complex character and her struggle to handle all of her feelings about finding out she is a monster was really well done and interesting to read. I also enjoyed seeing her develop and navigate her friendships/relationships with both Aaron and Nick. The world building and action was so well done as well! I can’t wait to find out what happens in book two after the cliffhanger this book ends on!

Only a Monster is a solid debut. Author Vanessa Len tells the story of a ceaseless struggle between humans and monsters, conflicts between the monsters themselves, and a pair of doomed lovers who have to sacrifice what they hold so dear for the sake of their families. Only A Monster tackles themes of loyalty, betrayal and family through a fast-paced and emotional narrative and an exciting take on time travel.
The story follows Joan Hunt-Chang—an English-Chinese half-human half-monster, as she discovers the truth about her family and her nature and what threats await her in the world of monsters. Joan explores the twisted politics of monsters and how they jump through different periods of time, as well as the legends of the chosen human who is meant to destroy all monsters, while also grappling with her own sense of identity and her loyalties to her family and her love interest.
I was pleasantly surprised by the plot. I usually steer clear of content that hinges too much on time travel, as it never quite makes sense and always has some sort of logic holes which hinder my enjoyment. Fortunately, in the case of Only a Monster I wasn’t bothered at all; the rules are interesting and straightforward and make sense without loopholes and paradoxes that might cause a headache. The magic system of this world overall was quite unique and I found myself very entertained seeing how magic of each monster family influenced their reputation and politics—it’s well crafted and rather detailed, and I wish this was an adult fantasy novel, so that we could see more of it. Still, Len leaves enough of the time traveling mechanisms and the monster magic a mystery to keep the readers intrigued for the sequels.
I enjoyed the characters. They were fun to follow and rather easy to root for. I really liked how the duality of Joan’s identity is woven into the narrative: Joan’s uncertain feelings about her being half-monster, as well as her apprehension were portrayed authentically and didn’t feel overly drawn out. Her inner conflict regarding her identity, her family, her blood was entertaining to read and fleshed her out as a character rather nicely. Joan’s love interests and side characters felt like their own characters—their lives didn’t revolve just around Joan and I rather liked that. Though some character relationships weren’t exactly my cup of tea—I’m never really invested in romantic soulmates—I ended up not being as invested in the drama of the main couple. I have to mention how one of the side ships completely stole the show for me in the last part of the book. I was absolutely floored by how much yearning and tragedy was so succinctly fit into a few chapters and just how much it resonated with me. Frankly, I wasn’t as affected by the tragedy of Joan and her love interest Nick, as I was with Tom and Jamie. Even though I can feel a semblance of a love triangle brewing, I don’t really mind it. Usually, I can’t stand those, but here it felt organic and easy to follow without any one of the contenders being completely insufferable, and I’m excited to see how the relationships develop in future books.
I really enjoyed the pacing of this novel—though it felt rushed at times, Only a Monster turned out to be a real page-turner; events happen quite quickly without overwhelming the reader. I think my main gripe with the book comes from how rushed some parts of the book feel; especially towards the finale, everything is happening so quickly and information is revealed at such a rate, that the reader doesn’t quite get satisfied when the main reveals are made and the conflict is resolved.
Overall, I had fun reading this book. There were times when it felt a little bumpy and I wished it was an Adult Fantasy, which would have allowed the author to expand on familial politics, the magic system and the plot itself, but I still ended up being satisfied with it. Only a Monster is by no means perfect, but it’s still a fun read and a great YA debut. I’m excited to see what happens in the sequel and what Vanessa Len has in store for her readers!

DNF @ 20%

I was so excited for this book but I just couldn’t get into it. I wasn’t a fan of the writing at all, it just felt clunky to me and kept pulling me out of the story. I thought it was maybe because it was in third person, but it was really just that “Joan this” and “Joan that” was used way too much. Every sentence felt like it started off like that.

The plot itself sounded promising and I actually think I would have really enjoyed it if getting through didn’t feel like such an impossible journey. It also felt very very young like not even YA but maybe MG? Like I love YA obviously but this just wasn’t that.

I have already recommended this book to SO MANY people. Think Laini Taylor meets Victoria Schwab in a time traveling world with a very creative magic system. I can’t wait to see where this series goes, though it’ll take me a bit to get over this book hangover!

Go pre-order this book! Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for allowing me to read Only a Monster. This book is a young adult fantasy novel. It features Joan a sixteen-year-old girl who is about to have her life turned upside down. As a kid I loved a good scary story, Joan has grown up hearing many as well. But unlike the scary stories I've heard, Joan’s stories are true. Once I started reading I could not put this book down. It is action-packed with so many twists and turns. Along Joan’s journey, you will meet a ton of awesome characters like Ruth, Tom, Nick, and Aaron. I hope one day get to hear more from them! I would love to delve into the other 12 monster families. I am dying to know what Joan's life looks like and who may still be a part of it! Are you team Nick or team Aaron? All I know is I am definitely team Joan.

The premise of this story was so unique to me that I immediately knew I had to read it and I am so thankful for the opportunity to do so. This book had a magical realism feel, one of my favorite genres, that just seems to carry you through this period of Joan's life all while confronting love, monsters, and yourself. What more could you want from a book!

This was a good read. The story had some of the good YA fantasy tropes while also bringing some fresh ideas to the genre. Sometimes, I did feel like there was a lot going on, and like many, I questioned if calling the monsters "monsters" was really apt. But, overall it didn't detract too much from the story and I will definitely be reading the second novel!

EXCERPT: “Only a Monster by Vanessa Len subverts the notions of a monster and a hero by centering the voice of a monster and questioning just what heroism is. It’s a remarkable achievement that creates another dimension to what monstrosity is, although the novel is somewhat diluted by the seemingly sci-fi environment in which this takes place.”


Full review published online at Asia Pacific Arts Magazine.

After mysteriously loosing half a day after an encounter with a neighbour, Joan Chang-Hunt, learns the truth about her family; they are monsters, with terrifying, hidden powers; including the ability to time travel by shortening the lifespan of humans to fuel their gift. Then there's Nick, her crush at work who turns out to be the hero, a legendary monster slayer who will stop at nothing to destroy her family and kind. To save herself and everyone she loves, Joan will have to embrace her own monstrousness, because she is not the hero.

"Only a Monster" was a breath of fresh air, especially for a YA fantasy, taking the classic trope of hero versus villain but blurring the lines between good and evil. Vanessa Len does a remarkable job of humanizing the monsters without redeeming their harmful practices. The narrative highlights how situations in life aren't simply black or white, there's many shades of grey in between. Doing the right thing is not always an obvious choice. This riveting read is clever, original, intriguing and spellbinding with time travelling, star-crossed romances, enemy-soulmates and magic. Despite actually enjoying an open-esque style ending for once, I'm really looking forward to the next two books in "Monsters" series to see if the ship I'm rooting for makes it (I love Aaron Oliver if you must know).

This book was nothing like I expected it to be, in fact, it was much better.

(I'm going to get sued for this)
Did I read the same book as everybody else?

Rating: ✨ (though I will leave it at two stars because it physically pains me to lower it further)

Because either I got brainwashed into thinking this was horrid or this book was just not for me. Which is IMPOSSIBLE, because helloooo, monsters? Antagonists???? Villains??? What part of that doesn't scream BOOKSY PICK UP THE DANG BOOK RIGHT THIS MOMENT?
I don't even know what went wrong- Oh got it! Every. Thing.
Let's face it, this will be a super long rant with extra sarcastic remarks and unrivaled pettiness. Why? Because the fact that I hated this book breaks my heart.
And in consequence of that, I need to say that the things I will murder concerning this book are of no ill will to the author herself. In short, I'll be burning the book, not the writer. ( I know from experience she is so sweet and awesome, and I really hope she never reads this-)

Possibly myself too because I hyped this up for too long, KNOWING that the outcome would be less than perfect.
Which has happened before, so really, it shouldn't anger me anymore.
But it does.
A-freaking-lot.

*deep breath keeps the demon away*

Let's start with the fact that there was absolutely, literally nothing, nada, that screamed monsters about this. (you'll get sick about how much I mention this information)
Oh wait, is lack of personality and personal ambition considered monstrous? Silly me, I should've considered that.

*flicks on zippo lighter with glee*

I'll try to be as honest as I can whilst still maintaining the nice version of Booksy and to complete such an ardours task, I'll divide this by the stars the book lost.
Like my hopes.
And dreams.
And will to live-
Also, stars it gained.

-0.5 The Plot:

I really do have to say nice things about it first because I feel horrible right now and being a human is difficult and having emotions is a nuisance and if someone ever said these things to me, I would run away crying.
Dramatically.
With onion tears.

And possibly a beheaded body dragging behind me, because why not?

When someone mentions villains, I'm there.
If they say there are monsters, I don't care about my wellbeing, take me.
And if there are time travelling plot lines thrown in for the torture of it? What are you waiting for???? Throw me into a van and sacrifice me to Zeus if it means I can read it.

Yet when I began this wonderful journey of amputating a part of my soul to gift it to a book I was hoping would emotionally wreck me, something felt wrong.

More like, a few things were missing.
Like the monsters.
And logic.
(I promise I'm not usually this salty, but it's painful to acknowledge that this story didn't live up to its hype)

At the start, I attributed my stale feelings to the shock of having the opportunity to read such a book, then I questioned whether it was me. Later on, I totally and completely gave up on the idea that this was going to get better. As it is still an ARC, I cannot say too much. However, if I were to have the ability to go back in time (hehe), punch myself in the throat and tell that stupid little child to calm down and not get so hyped-- I would.

On the brighter side of the volcano, I'm considering swimming in:
~There were some parts that were thrilling, yes.
~Others when I felt my freezing heart melting itself.
~Some that surprised me and made my eyebrows strive to meet my hairline (however impossible it may seem).

But in the grand scope of things, when I finally closed the book for the last time and took a slight breath to compose myself, the good things were completely obscured by the unlikable instances the plot strived on giving me.
I considered overdosing on chocolate, y'all. It was serious.

-0.5 The Writing:

I truly believe there's a road for improvement and considering this is a debut novel, I can overlook grammar mistakes because come on, I make grammar atrocities every time I open up the computer. However, this book --including the plot and writing-- gave me more of a middle grade vibe than a YA one. Let me explain:

I wasn't given the chance to actually care about the characters because the writing portrayed them as superficial and thin in existence.
The repetition of certain phrases left much to be desired.
Fights scenes were unseasoned, not enough blood for the amount of stabbing-

And you know what? Maybe I would've enjoyed it more if the book was classified as Middle Grade. I would've been given a slight warning beforehand, and I could've related more with younger characters whose decisions matched their age. And their thought process made sense for thirteen-year-olds.

Don't get me wrong, I was surprised when a few sceneries were described with beauty and written elegance, but it was overshadowed by certain dialogue prompts that made my brows furrow in slight frustration.
I rarely critique a book's writing because I'm not an author (at least not yet) so who am I to judge how a person writes when they've poured their soul into it? But in this case, I do see how the author of this book can grow as an Enchanter of Words (not me running out of ways to say the word author, pfffft) and I think that the way to grow is to hear others opinions about it. Of course, when they aren't rude.

Also, that page where the word 'said' was repeated 11 times almost killed me.
I wanted to cry.

-0.5 The Pace:

For this one, I'll be very brief because my thought process can't seem to expand more than that.
It was all over the place, I'm sorry but it was. I really thought this was a standalone. Things were moving way WAY too quickly for it to be a series - oh but it is.

*smile through the tears, darling. Smile through the tears*

-1 The characters:

They were simply pieces of stapled cardboard. Shiny edges, pointy ends, useless existence. You get it-

Nonetheless, the MC was good, decent, nice. Fought for her family, fought for what she thought was right (especially without thinking it through, she really loved doing that) which I enjoyed, but her main characteristic is that she's a monster but actually not.
Also, she's speshul.
And possibly has a thing for history affairs.

On a great note though, her being biracial and having that diversity implemented in the story was incredibly refreshing and something I would love to see more of! I think I connected with her sense of selflessness for the ones she loved. No matter what, family was extremely important to her, which I admired.

Then we have the background characters- that will be totally skipped to save time for the rest of the ranting.

Aaron is a complete disgrace. There, I said it. Y'all KNOW I'm all for the broody, arrogant, slightly concerning male love interest who makes my heart pound just by blinking. Imagine someone whine and question everything for HOURS. That's him and I hate the feelings that he failed to invoke because how can a 'monster' not be good for me ???

Luego, we have the other half of the sad triangular thingy, Nick. At first I didn't see the point of him being alive, and then I was like... ooOOOOoooo, I see you.
*wink wink*
I totally see, you know.
...
Hm
Maybe I see a little too much.
What are you doing??? Stahp
You know when there's a character that at first you don't root for, and then you do, and then you DON'T? And the pain is all the more prominent? That's my personal relationship with him.


+0.5 Love Triangle:

Of course, we cannot possibly forget about the love triangle.
*chokes on disappointment*

To be honest, I'm completely trash for that trope. Can it be utterly frustrating? Of course.
But it's the drama I crave. Thus why I added half a star. To feel better about my decisions.
However, the supposed love triangle in this book didn't even make SENSE. The intrigue? Let's fly over that. Chemistry? Pfft, who needs it? *sigh* I am so sorry for those who have been reading this venting session until this point, because I'm going to get so much worse.

And enemies to lovers?? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
THERE'S NONE OF THAT HERE-
I KNOW-
WE WERE MISLED-

-2 'MONSTERS':

This is where smoke starts to come out of every orifice I have in my body. I won't spoil, pinkie promise!! But when a book is marketed as monster friendly, you know what I expect? *whispering* Monstersss.
Blood drinking, skin craving, marrow drenching monsters. Even if they're atrocious humans. Even if they perform stealing souls art. A monster by pure definition is a 'large, ugly, and frightening imaginary creature' (thank you Google). And that can be manipulated! Killers are monsters. Abusers are monsters. Kids can be monsters. Cruelty is monstrous. Yet none of the characters did anything actually monster like.

Kill something, for goodness’s sake-

On a closing note, I'll repeat that this wasn't against the author. If you loved the book, I'm genuinely happy for you! Please tell me the good things, so I can feel better. But there were simply too many things I disliked for me to properly fall in love with it. The plot was endearing and interesting enough at first, then turned into an abrupt ending with literally no logic in sight. Characters made me feel nothing, pace destroyed me and the thing that I was most looking forward to --the enemies-to-lovers-- was made a mockery.

I feel horrible yet vindicated.
I need professional help.

~👑Special thanks to Netgalley and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!👑~

What a debut! Only a Monster is the best YA book I have read in recent years. Vanessa Len does a beautiful job creating a complex world of monsters who have the ability to time travel. The universe, the side characters, the build up, is all excellently done. But the real beauty of this book is the discussion of morality and ethics that permeates the world of monsters. Monsters have the ability to time travel but what is the moral cost? I am really focusing on YA books that my students will engage with and this just moved to the top of my recommendation pile. I will continue to wait impatiently for the next book in this monster series to come out. It has moved to the top of my can’t wait to read the list.

Thank you to #Netgalley for ARC

One if the most original and creative stories I've read in a while. I loved how the story of hero and monster was flipped on its head. Joan was an easy character to relate to and connect with. While I liked the story of Nick and Joan, I did think that Aaron was a better pick and am hoping to see him again in the next book. This was a standout debut of 2022!!

This is a fresh contemporary fantasy that I think fans of the shadowhunters series would enjoy. It's got time travelling "monsters". I say monsters in quotes because they look like normal humans, but where they get their powers from is what makes them monstrous. I really liked the way the monster world was set up with unique family houses each with their own special powers and secret monster hideouts throughout London. The monster market kind of gave me Diagon Alley vibes. This book is also full of morally grey characters. Both the "heros" and the "monsters" do equally questionable things and it's interesting to see where the line between good and bad gets drawn.

The story begins with Joan accidentally discovering her time travel powers and that she comes from a family of monsters. Very quickly Nick, the boy she's dating, is revealed to be the "hero", a mythical legend destined to kill all monsters and he's not too thrilled that Joan happens to be a monster herself. She escapes him along with another monster, Aaron, and they travel back in time hoping to undo the damage Nick caused to their families.

My favourite part was the heist sequence. I always enjoy the "sneak into a fancy party to steal something" trope. There were also quite a few twists in this section that I didn't see coming and really sucked me into the story.

I don't often read item travel stories because I have a scientific background and it's hard for me to stop overthinking the time travel device. This book uses a similar time travel method as Stephen King's 11/22/63 where the timeline resists change. However, once I stopped thinking too much about the time travel magic system, and just went along with the story I enjoyed it a lot more. Also by suspending your disbelief, the time travel system allows for some unique scenarios to occur.

This next part is a little spoilerly, so proceed with caution
The romance fell a little flat for me. Right at the start there is some insta love with Nick, but then he (view spoiler) so I thought she was going to be over him. Especially when we are then introduced to Aaron, a fellow monster from a rival family that's kind of a pompous ass, but is in my opinion the superior love interest. On the run together, I was really looking forward to something developing between them, but while it seems that Aaron is into Joan, Joan is still hung up on Nick for some reason. I suspect this love triangle is something that is going to be developed a lot more in the sequels.

If you like time travel, books set in London, contemporary fantasy, magical families, morally grey characters, love triangles, and tragically fated soulmates, you'll like this book!

I got approved for this at 2:23 today. It’s 9:45. I’ve finished it. I got home from work and started this and then absolutely devoured it.

This flew by. The writing style was interesting. The story was unique. I liked the ending and the story. I’m not sure I connected with the characters the way I wanted, but I did like them!

Some parts of this were a little cheesy but overall a really fun read. A 3.5 rounded up!

I really want to thank Netgalley for this review copy of Only a Monster by Vanessa Len.

Only a Monster was one of my favourite books to review so far. It was such a fun read! It was the best combination of tropes that make a really new story with some really great twists and turns but which still feels comforting and familiar.

The main character that the story follows is Joan. She knows that her mother and father are from two different worlds, but never knew that her mother's side were actual monsters. This was something she found out by accident which led to her using a skill that only monsters have the ability to harness. This starts off a chain reaction that leads to the adventure of the ages.

The story is artfully crafted with multiple trope staples that only make you fall in love with the characters and the plot more. The plot never felt like it was getting repetitive. I would highly recommend this to any YA fantasy lover that wants more magic, balls, handsome enemies forced to be nice, heists and some time travel thrown in for good measure.

I cannot wait to show this to all the readers that I can! It truly deserves all the praise it can get!

Only a Monster made my soul sing. I've been hoping and begging the world for biracial Asian representation my entire life and Vanessa Len really gave it to me. My childhood self couldn't be happier with how incredible this book is. I was so excited to see a time travel right, a monster girl and a cute monster hunter boy, a love triangle, a time travel battle, and so much more all with a biracial Asian protagonist. There's no way to properly explain what it feels like to finally feel seen in a book, but this book is incredibly dear to my heart. I am so grateful to Vanessa for writing this, to Harperteen for publishing it, for every single person who contributes to getting a book to publication. I can't wait for kids who look like me to have books to turn to with characters that look like them too.

Joan just wants to have a normal summer working at the historic Holland House with her super cute coworker and crush, Nick. When Nick asks her on a date, it feels like summer is going according to plan and everything is going to work out. Until she learns the truth about her family, that they're real monsters and Nick isn't just a cute boy, but a legendary monster hunter who will do anything to bring down every monster who has ever used their powers. Now if she wants to save herself she's forced to work with Aaron, who is beautiful, ruthless, and heir to a rival monster family.

Seeing biracial Asian representation is so important to me and I'm so honored to have had the chance to read this. Joan is not only Asian and white but she is also half monster and half-human. Throughout the book, she gets treated as mixed from both aspects and it really deepened the feeling of estrangement from both sides, which is a constant feeling for so many mixed-race people like myself. I loved how Vanessa Len was able to really show Joan's complex family dynamic and how it was heavily influenced by Joan being half monster and half-human. The way that Joan's family worked so hard to shelter her from her other half and the way that Joan grows to discover and embrace her monster half tore my heart to shreds. I'm so proud of Joan for beginning her journey of embracing both halves of herself and I'm so proud of every biracial kid who can read Joan's story and start to embrace who they are as well.

Wow.
Wow.
Wow.
That's all I can say.

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC of this amazing book! WHEN I SAY AMAZING I MEAN OH MY GOSH. I can't imagine the intense fan base that will come from this book. Every character was SO well thought out and made. So round, so real. I felt like I was traveling with Joan, Aaron, Ruth, and Tom. And NICK. OH NICK MY HEART. It's after midnight and I think I'll be staring at a wall for an hour.

ONLY A MONSTER by Vanessa Len has taken my heart on a whirlwind. From the moment the book begins until it ends, I was enraptured in its mystery. I cannot wait until book two. I am a fan. Wow.