This book would not end. I enjoyed the set up of the world, but it felt like so much exposition. I wanted to love this book. Anything with the word "gothic" in the description usually gets at least 3.5 stars from me. I just could not with this book.

This author LOVES a metaphor and a simile. It was almost every other sentence and some of them didn't make sense, for example my favorite line, "the paper felt cold like cream" huh?

I know it was trying to sound lyrical but for me it felt forced, and overtly descriptive to the point, and I can't believe I'm saying this, it was too descriptive. I know gothic literature is supposed to be aggressively descriptive, but this was too much as it pulls you out of the story.

I ended up DNFing The Monstrous Kind by Lydia Gregovic because the writing style felt a bit too young for my current tastes. I can see it being a great fit for readers who enjoy a lighter, more youthful tone, but it just didn’t quite deliver what I was hoping for.

3.5⭐️

I genuinely found this story to be intriguing. I was shocked by the ending, the way nothing really tied up neatly. While frustrating because of how much I want more from the main characters, there is something very realistic about that.
The prose is beautiful. Almost too filled with metaphor at first, but I found it to be more enjoyable once I stopped resisting and let the story take me with it.
Hoping for a sequel!

This was one of my favorite reads of 2024! It was fun and I really enjoyed the plot twists and world building!

I haven’t read a book like this before, it was so interesting and detailed. I couldn’t put it down after I picked it up. I nearly pulled an all nighter to finish this. The world building and the plot were so interesting and I loved being a part of it !can’t wait for more 5/5.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Children’s for an e-arc of The Monstrous Kind.

Confession time: I’ve never read Jane Austen novel, but I know enough and have read bits that I knew somewhat of what I was getting into.

with that being said… I REALLY ENJOYED this!!!!

I loved the gothic vibes and the mystery at the heart of the story.

Merrick is returning to her family home as her father has died, and also where she left her sister months before to deal with the estate. Her sister was named Manorlord of the estate and Merrick has now taken on the role of finding a husband, since there isn’t much more a woman can have in her status as an Archdaughter. Oh and at her home there are phantoms, supernatural beings who kill humans, along with a fog which turns humans into monsters; both which have been around for centuries.

When Merrick returns home not is all what it seems though - cousins have come to stay and her sister is acting strange. But why have there been so many breaches to the fog as of late? The manorlords are those that rule over the country and are in charge of keeping the people safe, but what happens when things seem to be spiraling out of control and your sister is kidnapped before her ascension to Manorlord?

While I loved the writing and vibes of this book, one thing I was confused about was this being called a romantasy - because it is not, at least by my definition. While there is a touch of romance subplot, I wouldn’t say it’s a romance as the main focus wasn’t on the relationship, but more so the mystery of the Phantoms and murder happening in the story while bits of a romance occur.

All the said though I very much enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it to people as it was such a mysterious read with so much scheming. I loved how everything came together at the end and really loved the ending!

Now I’m off to read some Jane Austen novels.

I enjoyed the atmosphere of this moody gothic novel but it didn't stick the landing so to speak. I struggled with the plot and characters.

DNF at 20% There was just something about this one I couldn’t get interested in it. It seemed to have all the ingredients for a “good” book but I just didn’t find myself caring about the characters at all.

This book was such a fun and fascinating read. The thrill and mystery adds perfect layers to the story. The main character is relatable and frustrating at times. I loved reading this book and will recommend it to friends.

This book was good! I liked it but didn’t love it. I definitely see potential in it and look forward to seeing what else the author does.

⚠️DNF⚠️
This was one of those books where the idea sounded amazing. And it had moments of greatness… Okay, maybe it had moments of being good, but I was so boreddddddd. It didn’t go anywhere at any rate of speed.
I just couldn’t continue reading it, I’m sorryyyyyyy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Can't decide on my feeling about this book. Overall I enjoyed the writing, the idea, the characters, the mystery and all. But after a while the book stopped grabbing my attention and by the end I was not that interested anymore. That was disappointing because the synopsys is very up my alley. But I do see a lot of potential from the author so I would keep an eye on what she writes next!

The Monstrous Kind is a historical fantasy romance about Merrick Darling, the daughter of the Manor Lord of Sussex, who is immune to the toxic fog that has encroached on England for generations.

I enjoyed the concept of this story, at first it felt like One Dark Window, and since I was reading these side by side, I saw many similarities. I really liked the gothic regency feel, but after a while it didn’t feel as fun. The writing was well done, but the story lacked the pull to keep me interested. I felt like the plot of the Phantoms was kind of lost along the way. It felt like they were just plot devices instead of the point of the story.

This book was classed as a Romantasy, but unfortunately I did not feel like it was at all. There was definitely a romance aspect, but it came in about halfway through the book and I wouldn’t say it merged into “Romantasy” territory. It just felt like a loose love triangle and I knew which was going to be endgame.

This was a good in-between book for me while I was reading a few end of the year reads. It was easy to follow and the world building was done well. This is definitely going to be good for the right person, it just didn’t hit as hard for me.

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

There were parts of this book that I did like, and parts that I did not like. It was a good book, but not the greatest book.

I loved the vibes of this book. It gives major gothic Bridgerton vibes with more death and slight horror and that was something that I thoroughly enjoyed. However, on that point, I didn't like how much of the book didn't play more into this. There were too many "fade to black" scenes where something would happen that would add more to my rating if it played out, but then suddenly, we move to the next chapter and the FMC is waking up in her bed and does a brief "recap" or what happened after the scene faded to black, or something along those lines. I very much would have preferred to read those scenes, rather than the very slow introduction to the romance, which got dragged out way longer than it should have for a romance book.

Speaking of the romance, the blurb states that this is a "romantasy" book, which I feel is pretty far from the truth. We get introductions to two potential love interests, but they aren't really explored at all and the development is basically non-existent for one of them, while the other is just a bit boring and bland. And of course, with that last 10-15% of the book, there's obviously going to be some changes with what was established relationship-wise.

I really do think that this book could have been so much better if there was a better ratio of romance to "apocalyptic mist and killer Phantoms". We were exposed to plenty of death, but for being a society, with multiple manors, each worried about the mist and the potential for breaches, I really wish that they upped the stakes in some of the scenes and really explored that more as well.

A very interesting book that definitely reminded me of Austen. I loved the world building and the characters were really interesting! I can't wait to read more from this author in the future.

The Monstrous Kind blends gothic regency vibes with paranormal intrigue in a loose retelling of Sense and Sensibility. While the monster battles and mystery elements were captivating, the slow start and unresolved ending left me wanting more from this standalone. Despite these drawbacks, the atmospheric setting, strong heroine, and unique concept make it a solid pick for fans of spooky, romantic dramas

There were parts of this that were great, like the zombie/monster battles (I am a sucker for anything zombie!) and mystery elements that had me cheering the main character on. I enjoyed that while her goal was to get married and be a lady, she could still fight and hold her own when it came to the monstrous outbreak. This is a loose retelling of Sense and Sensibility, and where I can see that in the political intrigue aspect and sister relationship, I do still feel like this stands on its own. The thing that I did not like about the book was the ending, it felt a little like I was left hanging which is disappointing since this is a standalone. Overall this is a solid read for anyone who likes creepy paranormal mixed in with there romantic and family dramas

Absolutely adored this book. Gregovic is an auto-buy from here on out, I can't wait to see what worlds she weaves for us next!

Fun and refreshing!! Finally seeing original ideas pop up and I loved how this translated. This is a step out of my genre but the plot was so rich and her prose was so good it made me love it immediately. Absolutely must read in my opinion!!

The Monstrous Kind by Lydia Gregovic is a romantasy inspired by Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility and I absolutely loved this concept, and the beautiful cover is very fitting as well.
 
The story is about the Darling sisters, and they live in Regency England that is threatened by a mysterious fog and monsters. The sisters do everything in their powers to protect the Darling Manor and the house itself was such a cool setting with the perfect Gothic vibes.
 
Merrick is a woman who is very modern for the time and very intelligent and curious, but her options are limited. She always does the best of things and stays strong with everything going on in this book. She is a great heroine.
 
The plot is very captivating, and I was immediately hooked by the story. The only thing I wish was different is the romance. But because this is a ya book it wasn‘t very elaborate and barely scratched the surface. My favorite part of this book was honestly the writing. It’s so atmospheric, vivid and hauntingly beautiful and because of it I enjoyed this book so much. I’m already looking forward to reading more by this author.
 
If you’re looking for a fantasy read with a nice historical setting and beautiful writing and atmosphere, definitely check out this book. 4 stars.
 
(Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an arc.)