I unfortunately couldn't get through this one. I did not enjoy the narrators style at all which made it even more difficult. I do not have much of an opinion beyond this since I had to dnf. Thank you but this one was not for me.

It took me a while to get through this book, the buildup was terribly slow, but the ending was a good one. I did grab the e-book in hopes that it would be easier to follow than the audiobook, I was wrong. While the premise of this story was interesting; the execution just was not there for me.

Thank you to NetGalley & Harlequin Audio for the audiobook.

I have the beautiful special edition of this book, but I wanted to listen to the audiobook as well. Oh boy, I could listen to Luca's voice all day long.
This was such a unique, mystifying story that not old held mystery, but brought up a lot of feelings about my relationship with my gma, and just her strength as a person throughout her life. This was a beautifully written and narrated book.

Their Monstrous Hearts was a super interesting read. I loved the character study and the writing felt propulsive. I'd read more from the author.

I really tried with this book but I could not get in to it and it felt like it dragged along so much on each chapter and would not get to the point of the actual story.

The narrator was the reason I finished the book. It was his performance that captivated me the most. I can’t say quite the same thing about the story itself. Through symbolism, I knew exactly why horror was the grand theme of the story. I just felt like the execution into a full fledge novel was maybe not it for me? If this was a novella maybe my attention to the story would’ve been different but either way, I enjoyed the advance listening copy for this book.

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.

Unfortunately, this book didn’t work for me. I gave the audio a good effort. I made it 60% in and found myself disinterested and disconnected. I feel like the writing was fine and it started out intriguing enough. But I lost interest about 20% in. I cared for the present storyline more than the past and I think that the past was an important factor. So that didn’t bode well for keeping me engaged. Sad to DNF this one.

Thank you Harlequin Audio and NetGalley for access this ALC.

So, yes, this cover is amazing, and it really fits the book. Riccardo is struggling and thinks an inheritance will help him -- I know from reading other horror books that the safest thing to do when you feel like you're at rock bottom is have an agent sell the property! Riccardo has inherited his grandmother's home and her butterfly collection, and there is also a manuscript...
The main points of view are Riccardo and his grandmother via the manuscript, and i found myself wishing I could warn him that he needed to be careful! This book had gothic overtones that helped build the suspense, and just keeps getting more and more tense.
Thanks to NetGalley, I got to listen to the audiobook, which was very well done. I especially enjoyed Riccardo's point of view.

Unfortunately, this book did not really hit for me. I had such high expectations for this as the reviews I was seeing were mostly positive. This was so very slow to get to any of the truly "horror" elements of the story and then when it did it just happened really fast and was over. I thoroughly enjoyed the story telling once it did hit the history, but felt this could have been explored a little bit more. All the 'action" therefore was left to about the last 20% of the book. The ending was not really a twist or horror either, as the telling of the history basically gave away what was to happen in the end. If you are a fan of The Skeleton Key (movie) you will see this coming.


Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the ALC.

👧🏻 A Mysterious Girl
🦋 Butterflies
🎉 A Party
📖 A Manuscript
🌳 The Immortal Forest

This is wonderfully creepy & interesting. Very unique. Dark. Mysterious. Great storytelling!

*I received an audiobook review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is my honest feedback about the book as an avid reader.*

Super grateful to the author, Harlequin Audio & NetGalley for letting me listen to & review this! 💜

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! I loved the narrators. Especially Perihan's. Her voice had the ability to pull me in and engross me in the story!

The overall concept for this book sounded amazing and the cover is fantastic! Unfortunately, I struggled to finish it though I am glad I did.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC.

Usually I really like found notebook/diary stories, but this one kind of dragged out. Riccardo didn't feel like that interesting of a character to me, and he is pretty clueless. He's really there just to find his grandmother's manuscript and deliver its story to the reader. EVERYTHING happens at the end of the book and EVERYTHING is a metaphor.

The narrator did a good job, but this was a difficult book to listen to on audio. I may have enjoyed it more in physical format.

I DNFed about 50% through. I wish the narrator had a buffet town while telling the story. I don’t care for the story either. The character and plot were flat in my opinion. In the future I’m willing to give it another try. Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin audio for this ALC

Didn’t love this one. I tried. I wanted to. But I just couldn’t. Too much repetition for me to enjoy. We got it the first 10 times. But the narrator did a great job.

A slow-burning, atmospheric mystery with Gothic undertones. When struggling writer Riccardo inherits his grandmother Perihan’s crumbling villa in Milan, he hopes for inspiration and a fresh start. Instead, he finds an eerie house full of unsettling butterflies, cryptic old friends, and a diary that might hold the truth about Perihan’s death or drive him to his own.

The writing is moody and immersive, perfect for fans of quiet suspense and literary mysteries. I loved the sense of decay and unease, and how the house almost feels alive. The pace is deliberate, so it may not be for everyone, but if you like stories where the dread builds slowly, this one might stay with you.

This book had all the ingredients for a great story… I loved the premise, the eerie atmosphere, and the Italian setting (always a favorite of mine). The use of butterflies in the horror element was also really unique and creative. Unfortunately, the execution didn’t fully land for me. The writing and structure felt a bit underdeveloped, and I found myself confused and disconnected in the middle. The beginning and end were definitely the strongest parts, but I struggled to stay engaged throughout.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy of this book. I initially debated DNF’ing around the 12% mark, but I pushed myself to read through to 25% to give it a fair chance.

While the premise—a Gothic thriller involving an aspiring male writer dealing with his grandmother’s death and mysterious occurrences tied to monarch butterflies—sounded intriguing, the execution just didn’t work for me. The pacing was slow, the atmosphere lacked the eerie tension I expected, and I struggled to stay engaged. Around the 18% mark, we began getting his grandmother’s perspective and some strange activity started happening in the house, but even that wasn’t enough to pull me in.

The writing was okay, but ultimately, this story wasn’t a good fit for me. I appreciate the opportunity to read it early, but I’ve officially decided to DNF.

I think I really enjoyed the concept and characters, but the way the story was actually told and the way we gained information was a little too disjointed and jumpy for me😕 I honestly think if I just had Riccardo’s pov and Perihan’s manuscript, I would’ve been a bit better, but getting Licia and Lorenzo’s and even and omniscient pov really took the suspense and tension out of the story for me🥸 And also, bc I listened to the audio and had the physical book, the narrator for Riccardo’s voice would have these weird moments where it would sound like a clip was recorded separate from the original audio recording and was just spliced in after the fact😭 And it would be in like the middle of a paragraph, so it would literally take me out. But it never happened with Perihan’s narrator either, so idk😭