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.

Wow, I had no idea what this book was about going into it, and I was so pleasantly surprised!

This book is honestly such a vibe. We've got a culty type of situation happening, ritual things going on, a young man lost and trying to find his way and ALL THE BUTTERFLIES.

Honestly, it's pretty bleak. But I loved the way the story was told, present day, but with our MC reading his dead grandmothers manuscript and learning about her life that way.

And the ending? Heartbroken. Damn. But also, so fitting and truly I wouldn't have wanted it to end any other way. It took me a while to get into it, but once I was in it, I was hooked. All the quirky characters, the dark vibe and the perfect setting!

Riccardo's grandmother Perihan died, leaving him her estate in Milan. It's a villa with her famed butterfly collection, but they're not as grand as he remembers them. In fact, the pinned butterflies seem more ominous. As a struggling writer, Riccardo doesn't have too many options. After finding Perihan's diary, he hopes to make sense of her death and maybe use it as inspiration for a novel. This assumes he lives long enough to write it...

We first meet Riccardo in his Paris apartment where he hasn't submitted anything to his agent or editor, he's behind on rent, the fridge is empty, and then the electricity is turned off. The invitation to his grandmother's villa comes at an opportune time, and finding Perihan's manuscript helps him feel closer to her. There are butterflies everywhere in the house, the gardens, and the manuscript. He at first thinks he can cannibalize the manuscript into his own novel, especially after its contents grow more fantastic and feels less like reality. As he reaches this part of the manuscript, the people around him seem less and less friendly.

While we get long excepts from the manuscript itself, I didn't enjoy them. The passages were descriptive and relayed parts of Perihan's early life, but they meandered and I didn't like the younger version of Perihan presented there. I wanted to know more about what was happening in the present day, when the household staff seemed off and mentioned a ritual. It isn't until the halfway point of the novel that we start to get an idea why the manuscript is so important. This is where the tension in the novel increases, both in the manuscript and around Riccardo. The final quarter reveals the ultimate plan, and the real reason for Riccardo to be in Milan. It comes together in a chilling manner, and truly takes on the aspects of a horror story.

The line "Even monsters endured their suffering in their monstrous hearts" had stuck out to me around the halfway point, and it's definitely a driving theme for the book.

I loved the creepy suspenseful world that Yigit Turhan created. Each of the characters had a level of desperation that took them beyond the limits of their comfort. My heart ached for Ricardo and all that he wanted out of his life. And his grandmother- I loved her character, until I didn't. At the close of this story I was reminded of the movie the Skeleton Key but only loosely. I wish I had gotten more answers around the monster his grandmother kept. All in all, it was a very dark, gothic read filled with troubled people and I was entertained throughout!

The premise of this book was so interesting, but unfortunately it just didn’t hit for me. None of the characters were likable, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but none of their motivations made sense either. The monster was an interesting concept, but then the way it acted didn’t make any sense either. So it’s fine with slaughtering tons of people who happen upon it, but it leaves Perihan alone, who constantly abuses it? Also, Perihan’s manuscript was strange too. So she was writing it for herself in the future, so why did she constantly add ‘My dear Riccardo’ every couple chapters? That doesn’t seem right.

The book switched perspectives a lot, which took away a lot of the mystery and intrigue about what was gearing up to happen, and also felt a bit clunky. I think it would’ve gone better if it was only told through Perihan and Riccardo’s perspectives.

Overall, the beginning and the ending were fairly solid, but it slogged in the middle with too many uninteresting details. I think that there was a lot of potential in this story, and with some heavy editing it could be very interesting. 2/5 stars.

This was so good. I loved the plot and characters. It was paced perfectly. I didn't wanna put it down and was on the edge of my seat

Amazon and Barnes&Noble Reviews posted
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**TL;DR**: Quick and creepy!
**Source**: NetGalley - thank you so much to the publisher!

**Plot**: Ricardo discovers his grandmother’s life and discovers something terrifying.
**Characters**: No one here was a nice person.
**Setting:** We were confined to a manor and a memoir that kept us in Italy. It wasn’t great but also not the point of the novel.
**Horror:** This was a tense horror novel with a slow build. If that isn’t your thing this isn’t going to work.

**Thoughts:**

Their Monstrous Hearts has two things going against it if you’re looking to pick it up. The most common complaint is the writing, the next is the slow build through the bulk of the book. For me both of these were not a bother, but I can see the issues.

The writing is something I give grace too here. This is our author’s English language debut and for me the choppiness of it added to voice. It was rough, and felt hasty which sped up the story. We’re also reading the amateur manuscript of a woman detailing her life for most of the book, I don’t expect it to be mind blowing.

The second big issue I’ve seen is that the book is slow and I’ll agree. If you’re not down for a slower build this is a miss. The book is also short so though the build is slow, the tension grew at a perfect pace for me. The characters were unlikable and did some really weird things that had me shocked at times.

This one isn’t going to be for everyone. I can see that, but if you’re okay with the two things I mentioned, it is fun and creepy. I never though butterflies would be disturbing, and I loved the ending. I would recommend it to the right reader!

I really, really wanted to love this. The atmosphere was great, the suspense was great, the characters were a little lacking in development but had promise, and while the first few chapters were enthralling, I just slowly lost interest. The beginning and the end were the best parts, but the middle left something to be desired.

This book is unfortunately another example of me not meshing with the writing. A lot of very short staccato sentences - "I did this. I walked there. I sat down". However, I do understand that english is not the authors first language so I think that people could really love this! I'm just not great at focusing when I'm not loving the writing

This book had the potential of a great story. I love the atmosphere and the setting. Unfortunately the writing and structure didn’t meet my expectations. I found myself lost and confused halfway through and the writing didn’t help at all. The beginning and end were the strongest parts but it just fell short for me. I feel like the author will definitely be better with the more they right but this one just needed more help with the prose.

I was intitally captivated by the premise of this read. I was a little disappointed in how hard I felt it was to get into it. I struggled with the constant changing of POVs and the slow burn. It was definitely not the book for me!
I did really enjoy the happy ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the eARC!

really good mystery. Kept me on my toes and loved all of the characters and what they went through on this journey. Loved that they a happy ending happened.

Audiobook: 2/5
Book/Story Overall: 3/5

I found this read to be a little disappointing. Like many readers, the cover instantly caught my eye, and the concept and story pitch really hooked me. I was looking forward to a fully immersive reading experience—and once I had the audiobook, I dove right in.

That being said, I would not recommend the audiobook to anyone. There were some voice and accent choices that really pulled me out of the story and didn’t feel cohesive. The effort to differentiate characters felt forced and noticeable in a distracting way. Also, because of the way the story is written, you frequently shift between different POVs, but there’s no clear distinction outside of the male and female voices—which made the switches feel jarring and sometimes confusing.

If you’re someone who enjoys slower reads—a really slow burn—you’ll probably enjoy this book more than I did. It had its descriptive moments, but it could’ve been much more atmospheric. There’s a lot of telling instead of showing, and I never really felt immersed in the world.

The story had a strong beginning and a well-done ending, but the middle dragged considerably. That’s where I think slow-burn readers might really lean in, whereas I struggled with the lack of gradual build in pacing. I don’t mind a slow burn if it feels like it’s steadily rising toward something, but this felt more like a long, flat road that suddenly drops into a fast-paced finale.

I honestly considered DNFing this book multiple times, but I kept seeing other readers mention that the ending was worth it. For me, it didn’t quite land that way. When a book takes too long to get to the point, I start to lose interest—and that’s exactly what happened here.

I also had to stop listening to the audiobook because the narration felt flat. The only moments that caught my ear were due to the foreign accent or POV shifts—otherwise, I didn’t feel any connection to the characters through the audio. The narration ended up deepening my sense of disconnect instead of enhancing the experience.

That said, I do think there will be fans of this book—especially those who enjoy slow-paced literary horror with emotional twists. There’s definite potential in the story, and it could’ve gone in so many different directions. Because of that, I’m still intrigued to see what this author does next.