I finally got to this much later than planned and worried that I wouldn’t remember much of the first book, but I soon found myself caught up with the activities of the battalion and remembering all the ins and outs of the relationships.

I liked that we get to see some of those relationships fracture in this book, and get the complexities of all the events. It was also fun to travel outside of France - I’m not sure I was expecting quite so much of this to be set in England as it’s a series about the French Revolution! But it was good to see the wider impact of politics.

4 stars.

Didn't download in time and didn't enjoy book one so elected not to move forward with this title - thank you to the publisher for sending through

I absolutely adore this ragtag group of friends and the second book is no different! We left Dangerous Remedy in calamity, and at the start of this book the team have to split up. This really builds the characters, and for many of them we get to see a completely different side. There are lots of actions and a few twists to keep you on the edge of your seat, and I am highly anticipating the finale.

This took me a long time to read and get through which is a shame as I really enjoyed the first book. I'm holding out hope the third book has a strong end.

The next instalment of the battalion of the dead aeries this book picks up right where monstrous remedy ended, splitting into two stories set in England and Paris. Packed full of action and adventure this was a very readable, addictive story. Very well written.

HOW FANTASTIC WAS THIS!!!! I am waiting for the last book in the trilogy with bated breath! I didn't expect what happened this book and WOW.... I'm still on edge after finishing it! So So good!

I fell in love with Dangerous Remedy, the first book in this series when I first read it in 2020, and I reread it at the end of last year because I enjoyed it so much! The combination of French Revolution setting, a touch of fantasy, and the amazing characters and their queer relationships makes this one of my favourite YA series. When I heard there was going to be a blog tour for the sequel, I jumped at the chance to take part!

I was super happy to open the book to find a small summary at the beginning, giving readers a reminder of how the first book was left, and where we find our characters at the beginning of this novel. Despite only reading the book at the end of last year, this was seriously appreciated as it reminded me exactly where we stood.

Unlike the first book, this one takes place in both England and France. I think the reason I didn’t *quite* enjoy this one as much as the first was because of this. I’m not a massive fan of regency England settings in books, I have to really be in the mood for it, so this definitely affected my enjoyment. As half the novel is set with Camille and Al in England, I found myself impatiently reading their chapters to get back to France. These chapters were just a wee bit slow for me, the descriptions of parties and tea and dresses just didn’t keep me interested. But this is a personal preference, and definitely won’t be a problem for everyone!

That being said, I do still love Camille and Al a lot, they are an unusual team, but both are brilliant characters who bounce off each other. Another party enters the scene in England too, someone else is hunting for Olympe! This definitely ups the drama and tension within the novel, Camille and Al have a lot on their plates. Dunn has dramatically raised the stakes of danger in this novel, which really impressed me! How it could be more dramatic than the first novel is amazing work!!

I still adore all the characters in this novel a lot. Camille and Ada are my absolute favourites, and we gained some new insights into how they act apart from each other, and how this distance affects their relationship. I love how they are together, but seeing them grow and develop apart from each other was really lovely to see! Having a canon bisexual character in the novel, and it just not be an issue that she is interested in men and women is so refreshing to read.

Al is as perfectly witty and sarcastic as in Dangerous Remedy, he is a dark and comedic break within the narrative, and I love him so much. He struggles with a purpose and place during this novel, and it was lovely to see Camille support him. I also think we got a lot more insight into Olympe as a character too, she really grows in England as opposed to France. She is given quite a lot of time in this novel, and we really get to see more of her.

Overall I really enjoyed this novel a lot. It was a perfect sequel to Dangerous Remedy. The character growth and development was excellent, and the novel ends with another huge plot twist, which I really did not see coming!!

Love this book, love everything about it, the story, the characters, how it’s written, how it grips you as the reader. Finished it so fast as I found it so hard to put down. Amazing!

I loved Dangerous Remedy so much and this is the second in the seriesand follows on from the last book. I love Kat Dunn’s writing I think it emotes such strong atmosphere, I,ages and sometimes I swear I can smell the scenes and I can't help but fall in love with her books, it’s fast paced, so many plot twists and. Can’t wait for the next book to hopefully resolve everything, thoroughly enjoyed and recommended

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I really enjoyed Monstrous Design. Following on from Dangerous Remedy, it was really interesting to see the repercussions that adventure had for the Battalion of the Dead.

The protagonists were divided, both physically and emotionally, with some of them dealing with betrayals, others torn between competing loyalties, and with the Battalion scattered across England and France. This led to some very interesting storytelling, seeing things unfold from the points of view of players at odds with each other. One of the best things about this approach was that it was clear to see that although they may be choosing different sides, everyone was doing it for reasons they thought were important, no two-dimensional bad guys here. The complexity of character, along with the growing complexity of the plot, gave this novel a lot of depth.

It is exciting too! There was a lot of daring action too, and a very real sense of peril as villains closed in from all sides, leading to a most thrilling climax.

The setting is a really dark and fun mix of the Terror period of post-revolutionary France and sci-fi invention in the vein of Mary Shelley. The feeling of uncertainty and fear of that period, where things didn't quite unfold as anyone hoped or expected and no one knows what's going to come of it all give this book a wonderfully unnerving tone.

With its pacy action and complex morality, and its mix of real world history and fantastical invention, Monstrous Design is a thrilling book.

This book continues the story of Dangerous Remedy. After the ending of the first book, I found the pace a lot slower. I think what I liked about the first one is that it did move along even if I did not find the characters particularly likeable.

I certainly will be picking up the final book to see how It all ends, but this one did fall a little flat for me.

I didn't think I could love these characters more after the first book, but thus was a whole new level. I'm utterly obsessed. This is a new firm favourite series.

An enjoyable sequel! I liked that we got to see a few more different dynamics in this one - Al and Cam together (+James & Olympe) and Guil with Ada. I also liked exploring the different settings, and seeing more backstory to each of our characters + dealing with all of their past trauma (before the setting of the first back, and the events that happened in that).

Just like the first, this was filled with action, plotting, scheming and betrayal. New alliances were formed, old ones were broken, broken ones were reformed, etc. . . if a diagram was drawn there would be a LOT of lines crossing.

I did find this book a little more predictable than the first one (like I saw that final twist coming) and I dpn't think it was as well plotted - like everytime a new scheme or something was made I was like 'well that's a poor plan' or somebody would kidnap somebody and hide them at their residence and it was just like ????

But with that said, it was still an enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to the next one to see how Dunn wraps it all up!

This is the sequel to Dangerous Remedy, so I won’t say too much about it other than that I loved it! The Battalion of the Dead continue their adventures, while the story delves more into leader Camille’s past. I raced through it and enjoyed every minute.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t a 5 star read like the first book, but I definitely have faith that the final book will be incredible. This was still an extremely solid read, and I loved being back with The Battalion of The Dead and the rich setting of the French Revolution was just as fantastic as the first book. My main “criticism”, I guess, is that there just wasn’t enough action/it wasn’t well distributed throughout the book. I think what Dangerous Remedy did really well was keeping the action consistent throughout the book and keeping me on the edge of my seat. Monstrous Design had too many sections that were a little flat and uninteresting, it was very dialogue heavy and felt a bit stagnant. The ending was explosive and just as good as Dangerous Remedy, but I needed more of that throughout the book. There was also a little too much James content for me, but that’s just personal preference. Overall, this was a rich and intriguing book that unfortunately felt a bit too much like it was trying to bridge the gap between the first and final book. It didn’t stand on its own as well as Dangerous Remedy did. However, I love each characters ARC, the detail of the setting and history was immaculate, and I was continuously blown away by Kat Dunn’s masterful use of words and sentence structure. I can’t wait for the final book even though there’s not even any information about it yet. Also please look out for a video I’ll be making on my channel to celebrate the books release in June!

I thought this was a duology but there clearly has to be a sequel, right?
The first half dragged. It was kinda interesting seeing all these plans fail, change and develop due changing circumstances but ultimately it just meant that nothing happened. The second half was much more interesting and faster paced. I really liked the characters and the way they developed. The love triangle still managed to survive even after the ending in the last book. I think it's a well written love triangle even if a bit obvious who Camille wants to be with. I'm not a fan of love triangles, in general, and still didn't love this one but its fine. That's just a personal preference.

I will be reading the sequel especially after the ending!

**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

Dangerous Remedy was one of my favourite debuts of 2020 so I was super excited for this sequel and it did not disappoint!

Monstrous Design jumps right back into the story with the same fast paced, high-stakes, page turning plot but this time the setting is split, with half the members of the Battalion of the Dead running around the streets of Georgian London searching for Olympe and the other half still in revolutionary Paris keeping an eye on the Duc. The story kicks off pretty much where book 1 ended and a little “story so far” section at the starts means you’re easily up to speed!

The storytelling is as beautifully immersive as expected – the Frankenstein vibes that were apparent in the first book are cranked up even more and I admire the historical detail within Dunn’s narration that so effortlessly transports you both in time and place through the alternating points of view.

Now this second book still has its action and twists but is definitely a lot more character focused. Along with Camille and Ada, James’ perspective has been added into the mix and through these three points of view we discover more about each of the characters and their backstories. I can’t commend Dunn’s writing enough in how she has developed and portrayed the emotions of these messy individuals.

Though I did miss the camaraderie that was present in book 1 with all of the characters together in one place as well as scenes where Camille and Ada were together, I loved that the spotlight was given to other relationships. Ada and Guil were such a wholesome team up (I particularly loved learning more about Guil since he is my favourite from the gang) but I was absolutely living for the Al and Camille scenes – their bickering and banter was A+++

I’ll admit I did guess some of the twists and at times the book did start to feel very “middle book” filler-y but I thoroughly enjoyed it all nonetheless and am now eagerly awaiting book 3!

If you're a fan of the found family trope and stories where (dark) magic and science colide and haven't picked up this trilogy yet then you're truly missing out and need to pick up these books now!!
Final Rating – 4/5 Stars

Unfortunately, i am no longer interested in giving feedback on this title. I will rate this based on what I have seen of other reviews.

I very much enjoyed the second installment to Dangerous Remedy and I can't wait for the next installment in the series. There were some very unexpected developments in this book but thoroughly enjoyable!

I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys historical fiction mixed with YA!

Monstrous Designs follows immediately on from Dangerous Remedy, with a little recap for all of you like me, forgetful! I have to say that really did help set the mood and remind me where the first book ended. Kat is just a superb author, I honestly adored this sequel so much. I really do recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical ya fantasy. its perfection.