Gemma knows she’s not supposed to enter the magical forest behind her house, but the forest calls to her. Despite her mother's warnings about the monsters within, she can’t resist.

Virginia understands her daughter's fascination all too well. Like Gemma, her mother forbade her to enter the woods, but in an act of defiance, she ran into them—and found her true love, Ash.

Unfortunately, they crossed paths with a witch who cursed them, giving Virginia until her unborn child’s 15th birthday to break the curse or face dire consequences. Now, with the clock ticking and Virginia kidnapped, it’s up to Gemma to find her mother and undo the curse or lose everything she loves to the forest.

This dark and magical story evokes the atmosphere of a Brothers Grimm fairytale. In this forest, magic is limitless, and readers should be ready for anything.

At times, the writing is almost lyrical, taking readers on a fast-paced and haunting journey that explores the complex bonds between mothers and their children. While the focus is on mothers and daughters, the deeper messages are relatable to everyone.

Told from both Gemma and Virginia’s perspectives, the story illustrates how generational trauma affects each woman in their family. The author poignantly shows how easily fear can guide parents' decisions, often blinding them to the consequences of their actions.

While I enjoyed the story overall, I struggled with the last 20%. With so much happening throughout the book, the final chapters felt overloaded with loose ends that needed resolution. The ending was satisfying but busy; I may have skimmed the last few pages. ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 (Rounded up for NetGalley)

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey publishing for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is written like a fairy tale, or a myth. There are witches, monsters, elves, wolves, and a magical hair brush. It's pretty much impossible to stay out of the woods when you are told to stay out of the woods, it just makes them more interesting and alluring. And so, despite Virginia's best attempts to keep her daughter out of the woods and out of trouble, Gemma goes into the woods. Virginia is already in trouble with a witch that lives in the wood and it falls upon Gemma to save her mother. While this story took a while to build, the writing was beautiful and kept me moving forward. I would recommend this novel to anyone who likes spooky or magical stories. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in return for my honest opinion.

Honestly, I found this book to be just a little bit too juvenile for my tastes. It was still good, and I’d still recommend it to friends, but it was a little hard to follow for me because I couldn’t really get REALLY into it.

We Shall Be Monsters was the perfect lyrical and atmospheric fall read! In this story, not all fairies are good and not all monsters are bad. No one does dark fairytales like Alyssa Wees, and I was immediately pulled into her world of dark woods, fairytale creatures, curses, and forbidden love.

Above all, this story highlights the defiance of daughters, the fear of mothers, and the lengths we will go to protect those we love from making our same mistakes. I loved the characters, the themes, and the world building! This story is perfect for fans of Ava Reid and Holly Black.

Thank you to Netgalley, Delrey Books, and Random House for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is my second book by her and she’s very much going up on my radar. Perfect fall read with those dark witchy vibes combined with red riding hood. Loved it!🥰

I had high hopes but it fell flat. It felt like more of a YA novel than adult. Very simple themes that lacked substance.

"Where did a hero end and a monster begin?"

We Shall Be Monsters was an enchanting read! It is told through alternating POV by Virginia and her daughter Gemma. They live in a remote area, where Virginia runs an antique shop, with a mysterious woods adjacent to their home. Gemma knows that she is not allowed in the woods, her mother has told her multiple times, but curiosity gets the best of her.

Some of Virginia's POV takes place in the past, we learn she is all too familiar with the lure of the woods, which provides insight as to why she is adamant about keeping Gemma out. There is a curse on someone in their family, which leads Gemma on a quest through the fae lands to find a way to break it.

This was my first time reading a book by the author, I really enjoyed the lyrical writing style. Wees explores multiple topics like what it truly means to be a monster and how far we will go for the ones we love.

A few highlights
•atmospheric read
•dark fairy tale
•mysterious woods
•curses
•multiple POV
•forbidden love
•fae & other mythical beings
•complex family dynamics

Thank you Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for the advanced copy.

Rating: 4⭐
Release date: November 12th 2024

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced reader copy of We Shall Be Monsters!!

This was a really moving story of three generations of women who break all boundaries to protect the ones they love and try to stop the next generation from repeating their mistakes.

Alyssa Wees truly knows her stuff when it comes to flushing out a tale and world building. It wasn’t a challenge at all to see her story in my mind.

I struggled a little with the story itself in the beginning, but I’m glad I pushed through and finished it. It’s one of those stories that stays with you and that you find yourself thinking about late at night. Especially if you have children yourself. And the question, “how far would you go?”

I am such a sucker for curses and dark woods/forests! Paired with generational trauma and magic, this is an incredibly unique book that is perfect for spooky season and the upcoming fall weather. Red Riding Hood meets The Hazel Wood, I can't recommend it enough.

“Where did a hero end and a monster begin?”

We Shall Be Monsters is a dark fantasy set on the edge of a forbidden wood, featuring a coming of age, curse-breaking story. Told in alternating points of view between Virginia and her daughter Gemma, this book kept me hooked from beginning to end.

I enjoyed the magic of the forest and the exploration of what delineates hero from monster. The writing style was incredibly descriptive and the pacing was consistent, keeping me drawn in. This book is the perfect slightly spooky read for fall!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Alyssa Wees for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. Stay tuned for the release of We Shall Be Monsters on November 11, 2024!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for this ARC!

We Shall Be Monsters is beautifully written and thought provoking. The dual POV was done wonderfully and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It felt like a long form poem with aspects of Alice in Wonderland, Maleficent, and even Bridge to Terabithia. There were moments I felt wonderment, mystified, and terror. You will enjoy We Shall Be Monsters if you enjoy strong family bonds, questioning your own reality, and fantasy world building.

We Should Be Monsters is a dark, lyrical fairytale about a vengeful witch, monster father and mothers who protect above all else. It’s a great spooky and haunting fall/winter read with prose similar to Ava Reid. This is a book for you if you like dark fairytales in the vein of The Forest Grimm, Ava Reid or Kell Woods.

What You’ll Find:
🤰Mother/daughter relationship
🌳Spooky woods
😈Monsters, Fae, oh my
🖤Forbidden romance
📖Fairytale but make it horror

A dark, haunting fairy tale, We Shall Be Monsters was creepy from the start. I loved it.

This is a fantasy story of a mother-daughter relationship, how it can go wrong, and how we can mend what is broken, which we follow through the eyes of both Virginia and Gemma, mom and daughter. In a world of faeries, magic, and witches on the edge of our own human world, this complex story pulls you into their world, and at some point, you just can’t put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! It was a perfect read for this season.

My Rating: 2.7/5

I honestly really thought I was going to like it more even in the middle of the book but the ending left much to be desired.
The prose was as described and quite lyrical. I liked it until the end when it seemed to get on top of the author a bit. Characters were saying stuff that didn't quite feel natural and it definitely ended up controlling some story points.
The ending of the book was quite rushed and ended pretty abruptly. With it ending abruptly storylines were hastily tied up and one character's development suffered the consequences.
I really liked the middle of the book with the quest. I love a quest. However, the quest seemed....so so easy. Like literally so easy thinking back on all that she actually did.

I really thought I was going to love it but unfortunately the story fell a little flat for me. I did enjoy parts of it though.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a fun, easy read, but not necessarily for me at my current age. The plot is very simple and the characters have a very clear motivation, but there isn't much more here than that. It definitely is made for a younger audience and I probably would have really enjoyed this book when I was 12-15 years old.

If you are looking for a gift for a tween or if you just want a really easy read where everything is wrapped up in the end I would recommend this book, if you want something more substantial you will probably want to look elsewhere.

The cover of this book is incredible!
I enjoyed the dark fairy tale elements of this story, but the switching POVs didn't really work for me for some reason, I think it gave us too much information rather than leaving some mystery.

Book: We Shall Be Monsters
Author: Alyssa Wees
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars

I thank the publisher, Del Rey, for sending me an ARC. This is the second book by this author I have read. I have enjoyed both of them. Alyssa has this way of writing that pulls you in and wraps you into the world.

In this one, we follow Gemma and Virginia, who live in their shop in Michigan. Right away, we pick on the fact that things are not what they seem. The woods around them are not normal woods. They will take you into a fairytale-only it’s not the fairytale of childhood. This one comprises monsters, witches, and evil with no hope of escaping it. It calls to Gemma. No matter how hard she tries to be a good girl and listen to her mother, she cannot stay away from it. What she doesn’t know is that her mother completely understands how she feels. Virginia, like her daughter, is drawn to the forest. Her mother had warned her about the forest and, like Gemma, she did not stay away. It’s personal too. Ash, Virginia’s lover and Gemma’s father has had a curse placed on him. He is a monster. There is more than that. If Virginia cannot break the curse by the time Gemma is fifteen, it will end up costing everyone. Virginia thinks she has everything under control….That is until Gemma enters the forest and comes upon a certain witch. Now, Virginia fears that history could repeat itself.

This is one of those books that you have to take your time with. This is a short book, but you cannot rush it. You have to slow down with your reading and allow the story to flow through you. If you do that, then you will see how atmospheric the writing is, and how it has this touch that allows you to become completely engrossed and immersed in the world. The writing makes this feel like a gothic fairytale. I don’t know how else to describe it. This is one of my favourite things in books. I love it whenever we are given this dark and unforgiven fairytale vibe and find ourselves taken into the world. You are there in the forest with both Gemma and Virginia. You see the beauty of the world, but also the darkness that lurks within it. Everything is woven together in a way that pulls you in and makes it difficult to escape the world.

The family drama is so well done too. We have a mother-daughter duo Gemma and Viringia who are more alike than they realize. Although Virginia knows how much they are alike…Anyway, these two live were nearly cut off from the world. Both are bound together by the woods and its secrets. We see what Virginia will do for her daughter. She protects her but understands her at the same time. She knows how Gemma is feeling because she once went through the same thing. She knows what it is like to be drawn to the forest and how you cannot resist its call. Yet, she knows what it is going to cost them. Everything she does is out of love for her daughter. Gemma wants to listen to her mother and do as she says, but it is hard. When she doesn’t listen, she sees the costs first hand and it tears her apart. She knows and blames herself for what has happened. This drives her character and it makes her who she is. Everything she does is to right the wrong.
I know I have said this in other reviews, but I do love mother-daughter relationships in books. I thought that this one was well done. I think what this one work so well was the fact that we got both of their points of view. We got modern day with Gemma and the past with Virginia. By doing this, we got to see how much they are alike and what got us to the point in the book. We see the lure and draw of the forest first-hand. We see the dangers. We also see the drive to protect those we love. A lot of times in books we don’t get to see the how and the why when it comes to parents. We just know it is there. By letting us see the events that got us to this point it leaves an impact. I do not think the story would have worked the way it did if Alyssa had not done it this way.

I thought that the side characters could have been developed a little bit better. While they were well done, I would have liked to have seen a little bit more of them. They did help with the story and did play their role very well. I would have liked just a little bit more for me to make that deep connection. I’m probably the only one who feels this way, but I like to have a really deep bond with my characters. (Yes, I know writing side characters is not easy and I am not very good at writing them myself, so I am not the best judge of this.)

Overall, I did enjoy this one. If you are looking for a book with a dark and atmospheric fairytale vibe, then I highly encourage you to give this one a go.

This book comes out on November 12, 2024.

Youtube: https://youtu.be/zBS0VBDjOKo

I absolutely loved this book. It was well written and perfect to kick off the spooky months. This story is so enchanting I loved how it blended classic and contemporary together I loved how it flowed like a lyrical fairy tale.
I highly recommend this book especially during spooky season!

I have a feeling that most people will like this but I am afraid that it fell short for me. The writing was alright but I definitely wanted more out of it.

3.5 stars

I enjoyed this atmospheric, gothic-style fairy tale! Gemma and her mother, Virginia live on the edge of a dark and mysterious wood. Gemma is drawn to the forest despite her mother’s warnings to stay away.

-Dual POV
-Different timelines
-World building
-Enchanted forest
-Mythical creatures
-Mother/daughter relationship

I LOVED the first half of this book, but around halfway through I did feel like it got a little too complicated and had too much going on at once.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.