Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

Unfortunately, this book did not work for me and I struggled through it. I did end up DNFing this one because it was just so slow and drug out. I found the writing tedious and just lacking.

I did see some reviews that said the ending had a good twist, but unfortunately, I couldn't get into the book. I hope others love this one.

Their Monstrous Hearts was an interesting read, but it didn’t fully land for me. I appreciated the unique concept and the ambition behind the story, and there were moments where the characters’ emotions felt raw and authentic. However, I found the pacing uneven, and at times the narrative pulled me out of the experience rather than immersing me. Overall, it had potential and some compelling moments, but it didn’t quite come together for me.

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Going into Their Monstrous Hearts, I knew nothing about it. I was sold by the cover and just had to have it, because against sound advice, I do judge books by their covers. I was therefore delighted when I discovered that the basic set-up of this novel is an inheritance story, one of my favorite tropes.

We're following Riccardo, a down on his luck author, who is estranged from his family and about a millimeter above rock bottom. Just as he ponders how he is going to get his life back on track, and deliver his agent the pages they're demanding, a mysterious stranger arrives to inform him that his Grandmother, Perihan, has passed away. Riccardo thinks, 'what's that got to do with me? I haven't spoken to the woman for years'. The stranger, maybe a solicitor of some sort, insists that he'll want to make his way to Milan to learn more about what he's been bequeathed.

Finally deciding he could use a change of scenery, Riccardo takes them up on the plane ticket, and it's off to Milan he goes. Once there, his Grandmother's estate house isn't quite as opulent as he remembered, but it's still better than the street corner he was 5-seconds away from sleeping on.

It's decrepit and definitely giving off an ominous vibe. Curious about the state of his house, his Grandmother's friends and everything else about the current situation he finds himself in, Riccardo starts poking around; as you do. He discovers a notebook of his Grandmother's writing. As he dives into it, it gets strange. Is this fact, or fiction? A confessional, or a woman's imagination gone wild?

This is a strange story, NGL. It's not going to be for everyone, as evidenced by the current overall rating, but I found myself captivated by the audiobook. First, the wonderful dual narration helped me to envision these characters perfectly. Mentioning the dual narration makes me think, I should also mention, that not only do we get Riccardo's perspective in the present, we also get all of his Grandmother Perihan's writings, that unfold a story of the past.

The way this rolled out, there was something so intriguing about it to me. Perihan's story, I wasn't sure what to think at times as far as was it true, or was it something she was creating. Either way, I needed to know the truth. If you're a Reader who can see the grotesque in things that are too beautiful, this book might be for you. And if you know what I mean by that, you are the Reader for this book.

I know the rating at this moment looks intimidating, but there's no way I'm gonna be the only Reader who is darkly intrigued by this story. It is weird. There are some things I'll admit I'm not sure if I'm understanding the way the author intended, but I really enjoyed the mystery, atmosphere and the more monstrous aspects of this storyline. In my opinion, this deserves some more attention.

Thank you to the publisher, MIRA and Harlequin Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I would absolutely recommend the audio if you are going to check this one out. As mentioned above, I feel the dual narrators brought this story to life!

This book was very interesting to read. It was different from other books I have read. It kept me intrigued enough to say “just one more chapter”.

This lush, gothic horror novel blends atmospheric storytelling with slow-burning dread. The novel is filled with stunning symbolism centered around butterflies and transformation. Turhan’s debut is a stylish, emotionally layered tale of grief, legacy, and the monstrous beauty that hides within.

Wow. Just—wow.
I’ll admit, it took a little while for this book to sink its nails into me, but once it did, there was absolutely no putting it down.

At the heart of the story is Ricardo, a struggling writer whose life takes a turn when a stranger shows up at his door with unexpected news: his grandmother has passed away, leaving him her villa in Milan—and her butterfly collection. Once he arrives, Ricardo discovers her mysterious manuscript… and quickly finds himself at the center of something far more sinister than he ever expected.

With every page, I found myself just as captivated as Ricardo while he read Perihan’s manuscript. I was hooked.

I originally picked up this book because of its stunning cover—I’m a butterfly lover, so it instantly caught my eye. But what I found inside was even better: butterflies, death, and a chilling, cult-like group lurking in the background? Yes, yes, and yes!

This story took me on a wild, unexpected ride, and I loved every minute of it. Highly recommend!

This story follows a struggling writer who finds out that he has inherited his late grandmother's estate. With overdue bills piling up and writers block, he decides to move into his new home. The house itself is dilapidated, but the overall feeling inside the house seems to be alive. After finding a journal in a hidden place in the wall, our main character soon realizes that his grandmother was not who he thought she was.

This was an interesting read, though it took a while for the plot to pick up for me. The metaphor of the butterfly and the magical aspect of this book didn't really click for me. But, I did enjoy more gruesome scenes, weirdly. I would be interested in reading from this author again in the future.

I really enjoyed this one! The ending came out of nowhere for me— such a great way to wrap it up. The whole book felt like being swept up in a current. I disliked being taken out of Perihan’s story to present day, however the way the author tied it together made it worth it. Perihan’s account and the magic system is unique and dark. If you like gothic horror you should give this one a chance.

This one sank its claws in slow. Their Monstrous Hearts isn’t horror that jumps out at you—it’s the kind that waits, patient and sticky, behind a butterfly case, watching while you try to get your bearings. And honestly? I was a little off balance the whole time, in a way that mostly worked for me.

The story centers on Riccardo, a writer unraveling after inheriting his estranged grandmother Perihan’s Milanese estate. He finds her journals, and suddenly it’s two timelines—his increasingly weird present and her lush, uncanny past. The present-day stuff? Not my favorite. Riccardo feels like a cipher, which I get might be part of the point, but it left me kind of cold.

Perihan, though? She devours. Her sections are sensuous and strange and full of quiet, cruel magic. There’s this undertone of rot—of glamour gone a little wrong—that made her voice addictive. If the whole book had been from her POV, I wouldn’t have blinked.

The atmosphere here is thick: velvet-draped grief, creeping vines, the slow crush of legacy. Turhan clearly loves a gothic image, and sometimes that gets indulgent, but I wasn’t mad about it. It’s less about plot twists and more about a vibe—that awful, gorgeous ache of discovering your family’s worst secrets and realizing they’re still inside you.

I didn’t love the pacing. Some chapters wandered, and I found myself wishing the supernatural elements had been more tightly integrated earlier on. But the final act was satisfying in a low, bitter way, and the fey horror hit just right: sharp, unsettling, and inevitable.

This book isn’t trying to be fast or easy. But if you’re into generational hauntings, fairy-tale decay, and women who refuse to go quietly, there’s something dark and lovely here worth sinking into.

The cover of this book intrigued me so I requested it, and was excited to see where it would go. Unfortunately, it didn't really live up to the expectations that I had for it. The pace was really slow, especially in the grandma's manuscript chapters, and nothing was really happening so my attention was lost. There also weren't many horror aspects in this book as I would have liked. Yes, it does have dark and gothic vibes, but that's about it.

Thank you to Yigit Turhan, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and NetGalley for the eARC of this book. This is my honest review.

This was very slow, it felt like it drug on forever. The ending did redeem it a little bit. Definitely wasn’t my favorite.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read this book.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me and I ended up DNFing. The prologue was great and set up a pretty compelling mystery but already by the next chapter there were some pretty glaring issues with how this book was written. Very clunky and unnatural writing that completely pulled me out making me unable to enjoy the story. There is so much potential in this premise. I hope the book finds it's readers,

This book is great for readers who love a spooky, gothic vibe. The magic described and the story unfolding in the journals was very intriguing and what kept me going. I wish a little more time went into developing the characters and the love interest, although it’s not necessarily the main point of the story, it fell a bit flat and I didn’t care much for the relationship. I still enjoyed and would recommend to readers who enjoy dark, gothic novels that keep you questioning throughout the story. Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this.

Their Monstrous Hearts reeled me in right away with the premise of our MC receiving an invite from his grandmother to come to her home and then following her story in a journal she had written for him. I was very drawn to the story his grandmother told in the journal, but I felt the MC’s storyline fell flat when we switched back. The cadence appeared off, the insta-love connection felt rushed and I was constantly confused by what day/time we were in in present day. However, the magic and story portrayed through the journal was beautiful and truly captivating with a solid banger of an ending. My only wish would have been that the main character’s storyline received as much attention and detail.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA and NetGalley for an E-ARC copy of this book.

I dnfed this book 59% in... The writing was very dry in parts and I didn't feel connected to the story or the characters themselves, and I realized I just didn't care about any of it.

Their Monstrous Hearts by Yiğit Turhan had all the gothic ingredients I thought I'd enjoy—a mysterious inheritance, a crumbling Milan villa, and an ominous butterfly collection—but the execution felt flat. Broke writer Riccardo inherits his grandmother Perihan's estate and discovers her manuscript, which becomes the vehicle for most of the story as we learn about her dark past. The premise works fine and the butterfly imagery creates some genuinely eerie moments, but I found myself losing interest in both timelines, and while the ending delivered a decent twist, getting there felt like more work than it should have been.

THEIR MONSTROUS HEARTS, by Yiğit Turhan, is a gothic mystery with magical creatures and unlikely horrors. It is also rich with the themes of connection, memory, and individual sense of self.

Riccardo has writer’s block and is anxiously dodging his agent (or editor?) when a strange man appears on his doorstep. He claims to represent Riccardo’s recently deceased grandmother, Perihan, who has left him an inheritance. Hoping that this unusual bequest - a butterfly collection - could yield the funds to keep him afloat, he returns to what he remembers as a grand family estate in Milan.

The story is wonderfully atmospheric with Riccardo’s experiences becoming increasingly odd and Perihan’s servants and friends behave suspiciously. There are clearly secrets surrounding his grandmother and her death, but everyone seems determined to keep him in the dark. Adding to the dark mystery is Perihan’s journal, which tells her life story. These entries, interspersed with Riccardo’s plot line, are the real treat of the book.

Can I call this a pageturner when I listened to the audiobook? Because THEIR MONSTROUS HEARTS was wonderfully suspenseful as it built to the ending’s horrific climax. Both narrators, Luca John Filiz and Tina Nakhleh Falkenbury, did a fine job voicing Riccardo and Perihan.

My one criticism is that I didn’t feel Riccardo was an interesting character. He seemed disposable. That may have been the author’s intent, but I would have been even more drawn into the plot if I had been rooting for him.

I had a lot of mixed feelings about Their Monstrous Hearts, which is part of what made me take a bit longer to craft a review to share my thoughts. I think I wanted to like this one a lot more than I did because it has such an intriguing premise! And to be fair, I found the general plot to be very imaginative and full of some interesting concepts. However, I found that the pacing didn't fully work for me, and I struggled with some of the choices made me the author throughout. I didn't really find myself that engaged with any of the characters, which then made it more difficult for me to really feel overly engaged with the story itself as well. Overall, I did really enjoy a lot of the horror elements and thought the atmosphere was strong, so I though that was a great strength!

I was so excited about Their Monstrous Hearts, but unfortunately I didn’t really like it all that much. It’s one of those books that draws you in by its cover, and the premise is really cool, but it fell flat. I was confused for a lot of the book and ended up having to push through it. It seems more gothic fantasy than horror, but maybe that’s just me. Thank you NetGalley and MIRA for the eARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an advance reader copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Wasn't sure what to expect when I received this title. For some reason it didn't resonate with me. May have been the time, mindset, etc when I read it, but I didn't like it as much as I was expecting.

Description
A mysterious stranger shows up at Riccardo’s apartment with some news: his grandmother Perihan has died, and Riccardo has inherited her villa in Milan along with her famed butterfly collection.

The struggling writer is out of options. He’s hoping the change of scenery in Milan will inspire him, and maybe there will be some money to keep him afloat. But Perihan’s house isn’t as opulent as he remembers. The butterflies pinned in their glass cases seem more ominous than artful. Perihan’s group of mysterious old friends is constantly lurking. And there’s something wrong in the greenhouse.

As Riccardo explores the decrepit estate, he stumbles upon Perihan’s diary, which might hold the key to her mysterious death. Or at least give him the inspiration he needs to finish his manuscript.

But he might not survive long enough to write it.