WOW so good!!! This was so unexpected and extremely impressive given it’s a debut novel for this author. I absolutely loved the depth that this story and these characters carried. Everything felt so multidimensional in these characters’ desires, vendettas, secrets, conflicts, … really everything! I was locked in from beginning to end and absolutely loved how visual this novel is - from the intricate physical drawings all the way through to the words on the page that painted a picture of such an elaborate and interesting world. This author also really excelled at crafting powerful moments for the main character that made me say ‘oh hell yeah’ out loud on multiple occasions.

My only issue would be towards the end where there was a fair amount of infodumping, which I would have preferred to get more bits and pieces of spread earlier through the story to help bring the ending together in a more impactful way. I had been feeling everything so intensely throughout the story but then became a bit detached in the ending as I was trying to process what was happening. All in all, I would highly recommend this book to others and think it will be a fantastic book club pick for all fantasy (and romantasy!) readers.

HUGE thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for the digital ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Voyager for the ARC. I really wanted to like this but unfortunately it was not as enjoyable as I expected. I really like stories where the main characters are on a journey to take revenge, but this was barely satisfying. The relationship between Alma and Aster is pretty boring, like he does have a thing for death, but he's not a hot monster. I was expecting something more dangerous and tense, but everything in this story unfolds rather easily for Alma (not enough blood and gore and destruction for me), and the relationship with Aster also lacks tension, he mostly goes along with what Alma wants and we don't really see the starting stage of their relationship, so it's pretty boring. The side characters also lack depth. The world building is alright, The good part and reason why I give this 2.5 stars is the fight scenes. I love reading women fighting with swords, and there is a good amount of fighting, so I enjoyed that.

This was such a unique read and I loved every part of it. The characters and the world building were beautifully done. I will definitely be buying this book when it comes out!

I can not even compose into words how much I loved this book! It’s has the characters, the world building, plots with twist and turns. Love love how it was not saturated with romance. It’s the perfect touch of everything! 5/5 stars. Only set back is I have to wait till July to talk about this with my friends!!!

Where do I even begin? I don't imagine I would have enjoyed House of Beast more than I did. This was even more stunning and incredibly unique than I would have imagined. Every character felt real and unique, and each had reasons for you to both love and dislike them. Alma and Aster were a perfect duo, each with their flaws, but I loved them both regardless. The story was intricate and complex, motivations clear, politics and magic coming into every decision. Each of the Houses all felt well-developed. Those twists at the end caught me by surprise as well!

Thank you Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

I'm still very excited to read this but the Kindle formatting was extremely off and very difficult to read, so I'll pick this up once published.

3-stars since NG requires it.

Shoutout to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for letting me read this early! This book was not something I personally thought I'd enjoy because I'm not a huge fan of romance fantasy but I thought the cover was creepy enough to be promising and I was correct! This book is full of horror (in the best way possible). To put it simply, it is a well thought out and developed story of a young girl who must essentially sell herself to death but in the process finds, you guessed it, an unexpected love. A very unexpected love. One thing I will say is if you can get your hands on a physical copy of this once it is released you will be delighted because it includes illustrations and the formatting of the pages is lovely. The formatting feels very purposeful as an added bonus to the story itself. If you like your protagonist to be smart and determined then this is a must read for you!

I received this DRC from NetGalley.

I really enjoyed this one. It was fast-paced and kept me intrigued. I think the author did a really good job with both the world building and with making the characters easy to connect with. Even the side characters didn't feel flat.

I appreciated that even though the story was about a young girl, she wasn't annoying or making incomprehensible decisions like what happens in a lot of YA. She also wasn't just inexplicably the best at everything all the time. I also liked her dynamic with Aster. Some of the reveals with him weren't surprises, but it still played out in a satisfying way.

Also, the illustrations were a nice touch. I think I'll have to get a physical copy at some point.

What a treat, such an epic and sweeping dark fantasy with beautiful and immersive illustrations. Loved it so much I couldn’t put it down. Once the world was built and the lore was woven, I was hooked. I know it was over four hundred pages but it didn’t feel long enough. Which, in my estimate, is a pretty good gauge that your story is just phenomenal. It felt like I was reading someone on par with Pan’s Labyrinth or the dark grittiness that pairs with whimsy we’d see in a Laika film. But it was very much its own singular story. I’d love to see this adapted into a beautifully illustrated anime.

"A gripping fantasy novel marked by divine rituals, intense combat, and twisted romance, House of the Beast is a tale of revenge, resilience, and the power of love to see us through the darkness."
I had all the feelings reading this book! In a desperate exchange for her dying mother's medicine, Alma reaches out to her estranged father for help. In return she must be a part of House Avera, the most frightening house. And they take her arm. Her mother dies not long after and I felt rage for Alma! This was such an amazing dark fantasy book, that I would recommend it to everyone!

A huge thank you to NetGalley & Harper Voyager for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion! That being said, let's get into this review!

I think my biggest problem was this book is that it's labeled in the Romance genre, so I was expecting a romance plot or at the very least, sub plot. That wasn't the case in this story, at least not that I found. While there were some romantic feelings between the two main characters, Alma & Aster, this wasn't romance. My other issue with this story was the pacing! At times, I felt like everything was moving too slow, even during some of the action scenes. I found myself loosing interest and my focus going in and out. I would have to go back and re-read some parts because I started skimming instead of reading, just so I could get out of the scene. Also, I don't really see how this is "gothic" or "dark academia" themed. Sure, there was a lot of black & gold buildings & decor, but that doesn't really make it "gothic". Nor is there really much of any academia. it was mentioned that she was studying, and she had one tutoring session (on page), but that's pretty much it!

Okay, now for my positives! I absolutely loved this plot. The whole "taking revenge on my dead-beat, narcissistic father by taking the title he so much wants"? Oh yeah, I'm here for it! There were a lot of parts that were very well written and even brought tears to my eyes. I loved all the characters, even the horrible family members! You know someone writes a good, horrible character when you can't even stand to read their name on the page! I related a lot to Alma and her growth throughout the second half of the book was so immaculate, I just wanted to read through the book at hug her. She went from feelings so utterly alone and afraid, to being okay with being alone, to knowing that even if she's alone, she has made life long friends along her path. Her growth was beautiful. Even though Aster had issues, I still really enjoyed him too. His story was horrible and his actions? All I can say without spoiling anything is I understand. I also really enjoyed the art throughout the book! It really helped bring a great visual to the characters & bring the story to life!

Overall, this was a really good debut fantasy novel but reader beware, there are some trigger warnings including:
- abusive relationships
- unaliving of animals
- violence & gore
- mental health issues

Summary: Girl reaches out to her estranged father to save her dying mother, but finds more than she bargained for when she’s conscripted to serve a dark god.

🗡️ Forbidden love
🗡️ Revenge
🗡️ Anime-vibe battles
🗡️ Yearning
🗡️ Morally gray
🗡️ Tragedy

Just wow. I am wowed. I’m honestly not sure how to classify this book. But I’ll say that it’s a gothic revenge novel that will rip your heart apart and give you a hug.

The characters are all perfectly fleshed out and flawed and admirable and awful, and I would die for most of them. The FMC/MMC relationship has enough yearning to put Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennet to shame. The story itself if innovative and engaging and moves along at a steady, if a bit slow, pace that approaches a frenzy in the third act as all the threads are pulled together into the wonderful and horrifying conclusion.

To top it off, Michelle Wong has abundantly peppered the book with gorgeous black and white illustrations that bring life and clarity to the text. Very Tolkien-esque.

If I had to classify this book into vibes, I’d say Sword of Kaigen meets V for Vendetta meets Final Fantasy meets The Great Gatsby. Yeah… just trust me. You need to read this.

Release date is set for August 5 and the deluxe preorder design is to die for. 🩷 Thank you to Michelle Wong and Harper Voyager for this ARC version in exchange for my honest review.

whimsical beautiful FOR THE MONSTERFUCKERS!!! what a beautiful story, perfect for villain lovers. a true dark romance and super fun, unique world. extremely satisfying fantasy in a world of cookie cutter romantasies.

What an original, unique book! This may be an absolutely insane take, but to me there are parts of this that read very much Studio Ghibli vibes, but if Studio Ghibli was way darker and way less cosy. I loved the way Alva changed over time, how her motivations shifted and her opinions changed as she got older and experienced more. I love the tension between Alva and Aster, and their weird relationship of being each other's closest friend and maybe more, but also always holding things back from each other. Also must mention how beautiful the illustrations were!

How to put this into words that are worthy of the book.

This is bloody, gothic, full of unhealthy relationships, and tastefully done. I love a good book with zero green flag characters and this delivered.

There's, 💀 trials, romantic elements, politics, and so much more.

Such a good narrative fueled with thrilling intrigue. 4 stars and I enjoyed the pace of the story as well as the characters.

<b>ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.</b>

<i>3.5 ☆</i>

A simple, chronological story of a girl and her invisible friend that I was able to devour in a day.

The story was nostalgic in a sense where everything felt pretty simple. I was able to pretty much predict where everything was going. The characters weren’t fleshed out much, like Aster- all we got from him was that he likes to kill and likes Alma. okay. But enough happened that moved the story along where I didn’t get bored. Bittersweet endings always get me somewhat.

I don’t even know where to begin!?! This book is PHENOMENAL. This is the kind of fantasy you curl up in a dark corner and just vibe your way through morally gray characters.

Not only is this a well-written fantasy with politics budding out of every corner, but while reading there is BEAUTIFUL illustrations throughout the book!!!

In the beginning, the books follows our FMC, Alma, at the early age of 11 and what brought her to where the majority of book’s time line takes place. Eight years later, an invisible to everyone but her physical manifestation of the Elder God, and plot of revenge, this is an absolutely wild ride.

This book has extremely dark moments and certain times random violence would catch me off guard. I absolutely loved it.

With high fantasy can sometimes feel rushed, but this is not something House of the Beast deals with. It’s fast-past with moments of peace and the next moment chaos has sounded. The characters were entertaining and kept me hooked. Certain characters surprised me by the ending and I love having moments like that. Everything wrapped up so well and the satisfaction felt by the ending was delicious, I will savor it for a while.

Pub Date August 5 2025

ARC provided by Avon, Harper Voyager publishing and NetGalley. Thank you.

review posted to NetGalley & Goodreads

I usually don’t read romance/romantasy books, but I’m glad I was able to get a copy of this book! (Thank you Net Galley and publisher!)
The world building and mythology mixed in some eldritch vibes with more traditional fantasy elements and I was here for it.
The characters were interesting and there were enough twists and mystery to keep me reading til the end. Combat scenes were fun to read and the gore really picks up in the second half of the book.
The romance angle was not really compelling for me- but I’m not a huge fan of romance, so take that with a grain of salt! There is no spice in this one, so it felt more YA to me.
Overall, this book was entertaining with interesting world building, light romance elements, engaging plot twists, and a satisfying ending. After such a strong debut, I’m excited to see what Wong writes next!

I had a really hard time getting into this book. I don’t read too much gothic stuff but I do enjoy dark romance as well as fantasy. So when the arm got chopped off I went with it until I saw the picture of it severed. I also was taken aback by the father and daughter relationship. However I continued to read to see if it changed. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for a gothic based fantasy book but this wasn’t the book for me. I am definitely one of the few people that feel that way so if you like gothic style and fantasy I would go for it!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.