Their Monstrous Hearts was such a deranged, magical, dark tale. It starts off slow, but when it really gets going, I was stressing. 🥲 I was kindly gifted the audiobook and loved how well done the narration was. The ending is so wrong and I loved it - I realize I’m weird for that. I enjoyed the diary entries that gave us insight into such a magical, yet depressing story Riccardo’s grandmother, how she came to have the butterflies anxiously what the butterflies are capable of. If you enjoy dark family secrets, magical realism and a dark, gothic atmospheric setting, this makes for a quick, haunting read. Thanks to MIRA and The Hive for my advanced audiobook. Their Monstrous Hearts is available today.

Perihan's decaying Milanese mansion provides an unnaturally sinister setting. The reader comes to know the deceased Perihan through her diary, her surviving servants, "friends," and Riccardo's own childhood memories. Perihan wrote of her immigration, leaving her oppressively religious home and embracing "the thrill of transformation." One night she meets a beautiful, mute girl with irredescent skin, surrounded by butterflies. Perihan brings her to a party, as a novelty, not even bothering to learn her name. But this "angel" is "cruelly replaced by a monster" that preys on the shallow and the superficial in exchange for eternal life.

At first, I couldn't put my finger on why the reading felt uneven. Then I realized that the third-person narration for present-day Riccardo fluctuates between direct and passive voice while the first-person diary of the past flows more naturally. Consequently, Perihan's dramatic revelation completely overshadows Riccardo, who deserved more character development earlier on. There's also a gratuitous amount of repetitive or out of place modifiers throughout. This is all, of course, up to an editor to catch. Overlooking these few structural flaws, it is like a Lovecraftian mix between The Masque of the Red Death and The Great Gatsby! A thin veneer of success and beauty hiding an insatiable, cancerous darkness, and how it all unfolds will certainly stay with you.

This was such a fantastic book. This is something I wouldn't normally pick up, but I am so glad I did.

Not only am I extremely impressed that the author wrote this on English even though it's not his first language, but the overall story was so beautifully written. It was mysterious, emotional, and impossible to put down. I highly recommend checking this one out.

I liked it but did not love it. I keep learning that slow burn isn't my thing. And it is especially hard when reading/listening to audio books. The narration, and the story telling is very beautiful and lyrical. It's a fairy tale. But one that isn't beautiful. But it is so so slow. And the horror doesn't really shine till the end.

This books in on point gothic. Mysterious house, mysterious family, family secrets, dark underlyings.. It all builds on this gothic fairy tale. And we have a diary that tells it all. You want to know the mysteries of the butterflies and this beautiful and enigmatic grandmother.. but also how long will it take? I wanted something more in between those diary entries.

I'm sure there will be readers that will love the prose and the style. But not me. I was 100 the cover buyer, as I'd pick this book just based on it! IT IS gorgeous.

Thank you to The Hive, Mira, HTP, and Harper Audio for the gifted copies!

Their Monstrous Hearts
Yiğit Turhan
Publishing Date: April 8, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Talk about judging a book by its cover… the moment I saw the cover of this one I was drawn in. I love butterflies and it was just so beautifully creepy. Then add in the Italian setting, it was one I knew I had to read.

The concept here was intriguing and had a lot of potential. Ricardo is a struggling author who has just inherited his grandmother’s estate and.. butterfly collection. When he arrives in Milan he also finds a manuscript his grandmother had been working on. As we read, we go back and forth between real life/present day and Perihan’s manuscript. It quickly becomes evident that something strange is going on. Perihan’s friends are always lurking around whispering, there is a mysterious greenhouse behind the house, the butterflies, and the manuscript tells a super eerie tale. Will Ricardo get the inspiration he needs to finish his book or is he in danger?

We spend A LOT of time in Perihan’s manuscript, quite possibly more time than we spend with Ricardo in present day. I found this made the majority of the book hard to connect with. Without a lot of time WITH the main characters it was just hard to feel invested in what was happening. I really like the book within a book concept, I just think a different balance would have hit better. The manuscript was bizarre and I found myself a bit confused by it for much of the book. Once we hit the last 20% or so the connection between present day and the manuscript start to weave together and that is where this book had its moment to shine. It just took a bit too long to get there.

🎧 The narrators themselves did a nice job with this one. However, the perspectives change suddenly and in a way that is not very clear. This in addition to the back and forth between present day and the manuscript, made it a bit confusing at times on audio. If I had to do this again I would either read with my eyes or do tandem.

Thank you to Hachette Book Group, The Hive, and Harper Collins for the gifted copy!

This was finished in nearly just one sitting. Absolutely riveting, engaging, and exciting. I'll never look at butterflies the same way again.

🖤🖤🖤🖤
4/5

This was a captivating story that had me sucked in from the beginning. The setting is what really drew me in once Ricardo was in Milan. Yiğit Turhan’s writing in this flowed so well & I found myself turning page after page. (Definitely stayed up way past my bedtime once or twice while reading this one)

Ricardo, an aspiring writer, finds himself back at the Milan villa that he grew up in with his grandparents before he was sent to boarding school. With his grandmother recently passing, he is the sole family member left to inherit her house, money, & all belongings. But her friends that she’s left behind are acting a bit odd…and while searching her room, he finds a manuscript that seems to be a fantasy embellishment of her life’s story. Or is it actually the reality of her life?

Thoughts I have after reading this…

🦋 I will never look at a butterfly the same after reading this

📖 THE ENDING. WHAT. 🤯 not what I was expecting at all!

💔 I was rooting for Lorenzo & Ricardo the whole time. The romance lover in me always wants a love story in every book now.

🐛 was Monarch the real monster in this? Or was it the humans? I’m leaning towards the humans.

🖊️ the story of the manuscript was so enchanting and captivating! I wanted more every time it ended. I really love books that include manuscripts, journals, letters, etc. So, this was a big plus for me.

🖤 overall, I really delighted in reading this mystifying book! I would recommend this to anyone that is starting to get into horror or to those that enjoy horror with a touch of magic & fantasy!

I was hooked from the beginning!!
It was amazing and engaging.
I was instantly sucked in by the atmosphere and writing style.
The characters were all very well developed .
The writing is exceptional and I was hooked after the first sentence.

"A haunting novel about the boundaries people will cross to keep their dreams alive."
Their Monstrous Hearts is a page turner from beginning to end that had me captivated. Riccardo is a writer that is struggling but he ends up inheriting his grandmother's villa in Millian but things aren't what they seem. The book was written well and all of the characters in this were interesting. I highly enjoyed this one and would recommend to any reader who loves horror. Thank you to The Hive for the paperback book and to NetGalley and The Hive for the ebook in exchange of my honest review of Their Monstrous Hearts by Yiğit Turhan.

Thank you to Hachette Book Group, The Hive, and Harper Collins for the gifted copy!

Thriller • Gothic • Horror

“Nobody runs away from fate, my dear,”

How far will you go for your dreams? What’s the line you can’t cross? And what might push you to cross it?

The cover caught my attention. My curiosity made me want to know more. The premise is interesting but had a hard time keeping my attention for most of the story. It’s a very slow burn and doesn’t pick up until the last 25-30%. Also I think I expected a different take. More traditional horror, which it’s not. But this is creepy. A bit eerie. Somewhat dark. I liked the vibes and secrets. Also the poignant message at the end. How we utilize our very short time on this planet matters. I was very touched by the author’s note.

“For in the face of fear, the true test of our character lies not in succumbing to it but in finding the strength to overcome and emerge transformed on the other side.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed the crumbling Italian villa setting of this story, and I like stories about writers looking for a new idea. Unfortunately the pacing was so slow it was hard for me to really get any real sense of dread or fear, though I was intrigued enough to keep reading and found myself invested in finding out the reveals.

Their Monstrous Hearts by Yiğit Turhan is a captivating gothic tale that left me spellbound. This darkly alluring book blurs the lines between fantasy and horror, creating a dazzling and haunting spectacle. Turhan skillfully weaves a beautiful story that explores the delicate balance between blessings and curses. Nostalgic and harrowing, this novel will forever change the way you view butterflies.

DNF @ 40%

The story is so very disjointed and confusing and I’m bored reading this right now.

Thank you to the publisher for an eARC and ALC. all thoughts are my own.

A gothic story about just how far one will go to to keep their dreams alive. A poor writer named Riccardo, who is behind on his bills, suffering from writer's block with a loom date due, finds inspiration when a stranger appears telling him that his grandmother Perihan has died and he has inherited her villa in Milan along with her famous butterfly collection. Riccardo has no other choice and when he gets there he finds her manuscript.... a manuscript detailing her past yet with fantasy elements... and soon he begins to question how exactly she died and what he will do with her manuscript since he needs one for himself.... and the answers will kill him. This was a slow burn gothic read and I definitely think this is a cozy summer horror read and would make a fun gothic movie. It's a slow build and the final twist was so much fun. I really enjoyed the ending and I loved the "monstrous butterflies" of it all. As a fan of gothic horror, this was a nice easy read!

Release Date: April 8, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I’m going to be completely honest with you, I DNF around 10%.

I didn’t enjoy the writing enough to make myself power through. It seemed to be written in a juvenile manner where the adjectives were repetitive and the characters’ emotions were exaggerated.
The cover is beautiful, but I wasn’t interested enough in the substance of the story to keep reading.
Because I didn’t make it far, I will likely not be featuring this book on my bookstagram page, thank you for understanding and for letting me try this one out. I really appreciate the opportunity!

**2.5 STARS**

Content Warning: body horror, death, murder, insect horror

+ I almost DNF’d this at 30% – it is so slow of a mystery and yet I was intrigued by Riccardo who is a struggling and poor writer who is on a tight deadline with no manuscript to show for it. His grandmother passes, and leaves him her home in Milan, Italy. With no money and too much stress, he goes thinking he can write while he is there but instead he finds a manuscript written by his grandmother, Perihan.

+ I did find Perihan’s manuscript interesting because of the time it’s written in the past and also she is from Turkey. Her life is hard from the start but it takes her to Milan where life really flourishes for her. I couldn’t tell at first if she was a good person or not. Riccardo is doing no writing but he is reading this manuscript and learning a lot about his grandmother’s life.

+ The horror and the twist comes at the end. It’s a crazy ending! But if you don’t like monstrous butterflies, stay away from this one.

~ Like I said above, this was almost a DNF. I didn’t though and skimmed until 70% into the book where everything starts picking up. I’m already not one who enjoys mystery books, and I struggled because this one is a slow one, but I just wanted something to happen in the first half with Riccardo either staring to right his book or some horror at the start. But this is a slow building horror story that ends with a bang.

Final Thoughts:

I don’t think I was the target audience for this book. For me, it was too slow for the first two-thirds of this book. I did find the characters and Perihan’s life very fascinating and the ending is wild. If you like slow building mystery and horror then you might enjoy this one.

Their Monsterous Hearts by Yigit Turhan is an unexpected story that will keep your on edge. Gothic stories usually are not my thing , but this story made me change my mind !

2.5 stars. The first about 50% of this book dragged on forever. I love a gothic book; so normally it's no big deal for a slow start, but there weren't enough little intriguing tidbits or creepy things to help with the pacing. It doesn't help that our main character (? debatable he feels more like a side character in his own story), Riccardo, is unlikeable and not in the fun way. He is just kind of boring. A down on his luck author with writer's block who is told that he inherited a house but is acting like it's the worst thing in the world when his life in Paris is basically imploding. I had very little patience for him. After about the 50% mark we get more interesting slices of Perihan's manuscript which tell an interesting story of butterfly monsters and immortality. It wasn't enough to make up for the other 50% and I found the ending a bit meh. I actually think this book would be successful as a short film or even a graphic novel. Not the best gothic horror I've read and not the worst, Their Monstrous Hearts suffers from taking too long to get to a point and not being interesting enough before we can get to the main event.

Sadly this was not a book for me. I didn't particularly find any of the characters engaging or compelling, and there wasn't enough plot development to help move things along. The premise totally drew me in, and I wish I had enjoyed it better than I did.

To say I loved this would be an exaggeration, but I did enjoy it. I thought the PoV was unique and the story was eerie throughout.

Riccardo had the worst luck in family and I feel no shame in saying I was pulling for him. The story telling was good, but the ending was very unsatisfying. I really wanted Riccardo to come out on top where he could use this experience to turn his life around - even if he was a bit defeatist and melancholy.

This is again one of those stories where the title has you thinking of monsters, but throughout the journey you realize that humans and their insatiable greed and selfishness are the real monsters.

I felt so bad for the “monster” of the story. She lived a horrible existence with Parihan because of her abilities and ended up being belittled and used up by the end.

Note: I dual read this one: physical and audio. The audio was good and I liked how it switched back and forth from the mail and female narratives.