This is another one of those ones that's a little hard for me to review as I had mixed feelings. But for a start - that cover!! So much cover love do I have for this, that my expectations may have been just a wee bit high. I was expecting a bit more with the "monster" angle (which in this case is really kind of exchangeable with Fae, or Witches, or basically any humanoids with strange abilities) and I wanted more of an ACTUAL monster heroine. Touching people on the backs of their necks in order to steal time from them, while a cool ability does not scream "monster!" to me. I was thinking overall it would be a bit darker or more gothic in tone (I guess you could call this Dark Fantasy "light"). **Thank you to both NetGalley and HarperTeen for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

That being said, once I got over the fact that I wasn't going to be getting those things out of this particular book, I settled in and enjoyed it for what it was. A fun YA Urban Fantasy. The concepts of the monster families and their individual powers was definitely the strength of the world building here, and I'm anxious to learn more about them as the trilogy continues. There's also definitely potential for an interesting love triangle so I'm hoping that develops.

Where I had the biggest disconnect was the Time Travel elements. The time travel itself got a little tricky here, and with so much of it, and so many characters going to or referencing different times, and different versions of themselves in those times you have a lot of room for confusion and errors of logic. I could have done with a lot less of it, as it was distracting - pick one or two other timelines/places that are significant to the future of the plot and stick with them. Ironically, I liked the vibes of the olden times referenced by certain characters, but we didn't spend any actual time there as a reader. The Monster Court, and the palace as a building "outside of time" itself was a great concept and I loved that portion of the book.

The ending of this one felt somehow anti climatic to me, It definitely wasn't what I wanted to happen as a reader, but I also can't say more without giving a major point away sooooo....I will leave it with it featured a version of a trope I'm not particularly fond of.

All that being said, I did like this, I enjoyed it while I read it, but it never engaged me emotionally or gave me any kind of feels. There are definitely great and unique concepts here, but it was just a bit all over the place for me. I will definitely read the next one however, as I feel that one will be more fleshed out and (hopefully) limit the amount of time travel happening and zero in more on the plot itself.

It's written a little "young" so as an adult reader I struggle sometimes with the YA books that are written youngish, so that could be part of my emotional disconnection as well.

Still I will definitely recommend it to Teen readers, especially those who like Urban Fantasy or more contemporary settings, as well as those who want a relatively "clean" read but that's still full of action and adventure and some darkness.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this story. The time plot was fascinating, complicated but presented in a way that was easy to grasp. I also really enjoyed the twist of being a monster—very clever. The resolution to the conflict was perfect for the story.

I wish Aaron’s story had ended differently—maybe there’s a sequel planned? It felt like so much potential not tapped into there, and I’m really hoping for more.

Imagine if you could travel through time...but to do so, you had to steal an equal amount of time off the lifespan of someone else. Would that make you a monster?
This book started off a little rocky for me. It felt like things were just happening, a lot of telling, not showing. But as the story wore on, I got more invested. This is a really interesting concept with good character development. Definitely interested in the next one.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy for review.

Thank you to Vanessa Len and HarperCollins Children’s Books for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is glorious and don’t know what to do with my life while I wait for the next 2 books.

Joan is supposed to have a quiet summer in London working at the historic Holland House. She has a cute coworker name Nick who she feels an instant connection with. After an incident Joan finds out she is not who she thought she was. She is a half human half monster. She is then plunged into a world she didn’t know existed alternate timelines and monsters. The nice boy she thought she knew is actually the legendary monster slayer and he won’t stop until all monsters are brought down. Joan must team up with the handsome and cold Aaron Oliver from a rival monster family and if she wants to save everyone she loves she must embrace her monstrousness.

I absolutely adored this story. I loved the time travel and magic system amongst the 12 monster families. The details included were spectacular. I felt like I had stepped through time with each character. I would love to see a map of the monster family regions and learn more about each family’s abilities in greater detail.

I loved the own voices rep in this story. As a Chinese adoptee I felt for Joan how she was half Malaysian half English and even amongst the monsters she never felt as though she fit in completely. I really enjoyed how the author played with this aspect of family and belonging. I also appreciated how the author included and handled the fantasy xenophobic content and real world micro aggressions. I think it’s important to address and found it worked well and was realistic considering the differing ethnic backgrounds included and the monsters vs humans plot within the story.

Reading this story meant so much to me. Growing up there were very few fantasy books that included Asian characters and if they did they were usually side characters. Joan is front and center and I really appreciated all of the Asian rep. I loved that Chinese and Malaysian cultural aspects were also included. I really enjoyed that the monster families prove their identities using chops.

I did wish there had been a little more romance. Just because selfishly I’m a sucker for romance. I did feel that there was a strong star crossed lovers aspect but wanted the lovers to actually spend more time together on page. I did find myself also longing for a love triangle. I can’t choose between Joan and Aaron or Joan and Nick!!!

Overall Only A Monster is an amazing debut and I am absolutely blown away. I loved this book and it’s definitely a top favorite all time read. I cannot wait to read the next books and I definitely recommend this book.

**I received this complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review.**

I was so excited to read this as soon as I read the excerpt, and it did NOT disappoint. I really enjoy stories with different perspectives from the norm, and getting to see a human cast as the villain was a fantastic change of pace.

I loved the glimpse into the monster world and the various new magic systems of the different families; I'm really hoping we get to learn more about them in future books in the trilogy. I also really enjoyed the way time traveling worked in this book; it was a completely different approach than I've ever seen before to traveling to different times, and I loved that it had a cost.

The characters are so memorable and don't make the typical choices I'd expect them to in YA fiction. Joan faces so many trials and dangers in this book, and while she may not always make the "good" choice, she definitely always makes the right one.

I can't wait to watch the story continue. With two more books in the trilogy to look forward to, I can't even begin to imagine what directions the story will take.

I would have never guessed this was Vanessa Len's first book. It was really good and it had my attention from the very beginning.

There were some aspects that were a little rough for me though. After Ruth time travels and finds Aaron and Joan, it is constantly repeated that it has only been one night for Joan and 2 years for Ruth. Its almost condescending in a way, like the reader can't comprehend the timeline so it has to be repeated 100 times. I'm still really confused about the Oliver families powers, especially Aaron's. He was being all cryptic at the end and I couldn't figure out if he was saying that the weird eye power was just his?

Things I loved about this book are FRANKIE AND HER BOW TIE, Frankie and her stub legs and Frankie falling asleep swaddled in Tom's jacket like a baby. I really liked all of the main characters, even the 'bad' one; I did find Joan annoying at the beginning, but she matures throughout the book. Aaron was my favorite and like Joan, I wonder which era he grew up in, and I hope we get to learn more about him in the subsequent books. He is so fascinating to me. There were some historical sites used in the book which for a history buff like me was cool; I got to look the places up, look at pictures and learn the history of them.

According to Goodreads, there are 3 books in the series, the next one not slated to come out until 2023!! I'm not sure how I'm going to last that long. I do hope we get to explore more of the character's backgrounds, powers, and maybe the different families. Things I need: Aaron, Frankie (obvs), Tom and Jaimie, and since it's a wishlist, I'll take some Nick too, lol.

I really enjoyed this book because it was new and interesting. The main characters were very interesting and the plot was nothing like I have read before.

Monsters and romance? COUNT ME IN! This was so so good. Though for sure it’s not heavily on the romance side, I absolutely devoured this, I had so much fun deep diving in to this new world that the author created. I loved every single character. The energy and the relationships gave me butterflies and I really couldn’t stop smiling throughout the book. This was perfect and truly an honour to read!

This was such a fun and interesting book with plot centering around monsters and beasts. Lots of plot twists kept me gripping for more!

I loved this book! It's one of the most interesting and well written YA fantasies I've read in a long time, and I hope this series and Vanessa Len will be huge bestsellers. Recommended for fans of Kerstin Gier's Ruby Red trilogy along with Cassandra Clare's The Infernal Instruments and Sarah Rees Brennan's The Demon's Lexicon, among other similar titles.

Book about monsters being the main characters in a book? Absolutely! That’s what hooked me from the very beginning with this author. Where do I even begin? This book has so many different plots going on at once and not once does it become infuriatingly confusing or annoying and it’s absolutely monstrous. I loved this so so much , I love everything about the plot, the pacing and the writing. I loved Joan and I loved Tom and Ruth and I even adored Jamie. They were amazingly written and I cannot wait to see what else this author has planned. This was an amazing beginning to something that will surely be one of the best fantasy series I’ll ever have the pleasure of reading. This was a delight and a very easy 5 out of 5 stars!

Only A Monster was definitely one of the most interesting books I've picked up this year. Only A Monster follows our main character, Joan, who is half-human and half-monster. Joan is a teenage girl who has a short summer job in London, where she meets Nick, her longtime crush. However, after witnessing a traumatic event, Joan is forces to join teams with her enemy, Aaron Oliver, a monster.

I found this book having a good plot right from the start, with in diving head in to what we needed to know. The fantasy elements, along with the time travel was something I really enjoyed. Despite all that, the questions that arise out of this book was actually something I liked, even though I usually don't like books where too many questions occur. I want to know so many things about the universe still, and I don't think they were plot holes in this book. I took it as the fact of Len setting up the next book with all these unanswered questions.

The romance between the two characters who I wanted to see something happen... it's weird, because for me it was more of a subplot, but turned out to be major? I don't know, I found it interesting, as I don't recall ever reading something like this. I liked the way the romance did end, with our other counterparts (if you know, you know!) The only thing I did NOT like, was the love triangle vibe... I'm excited to see where this will go in the sequel. Not only Joan and [car horn blares], but I liked Tom and Jamie, too. Their love was unexpected, but also so heartbreaking.

Within this, I felt like something that aggravated me was the decision making. Even so, I'm not the creator of this universe, but some stuff probably should have been possible, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I also felt that the ending was uneventful. I was upset with the that Joan, and even Ruth, both sacrificed something so powerful. I hope it'll come back for them, since I'm tired of seeing the trope of women giving up their power for some bigger cause. Overall, I really do recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy and sci-fi elements, maybe even horror! There was once scene in particular that gave me the heebie jeebies, you'll know when you get there! A great 4.5.

Thank you to Netgalley, HarperCollins, and Vanessa Len for providing me with an e-book arc in exchange for an honest review.

eware!!! Major spoilers ahead!!

LISTEN

I have not read a book this excitingly unique in a long time!!

I’d like to say thanks to HarperCollins for giving me an ARC through Netgalley because this was a hugely anticipated book for me and it did not disappoint at all!

My favorite bits:

- The main character Joan, is just so dang easy to enjoy. I LOVE her voice, and being in her head was genuinely so easy especially because there are a few aspects of this book that could be hard to keep track of if you didn’t pay extra attention but Joan’s narration kept me engaged the entire time and I just really really loved her so much. Her decision making made sense to me and I really enjoyed her arc through the entire book. Also her powers are SO COOL.
- The romance *cries* was so darn good. Jamie and Tom? *cries x2*
- I won’t lie I didn’t expect the slight sci-fi aspect of this? Like there is a lottttt of time travel timelines to keep track of and usually I hate sci-fi adjacent things but the way this fantasy world was built and utilized time travel as magical? And all the monsters and abilities??? INCREDIBLE, innovative, genuinely so so cool. my brain was definitely working over time to keep all the timelines straight at some points but that has nothing to do with how well written and constructed it was and everything to do with the fact that I’m really just not very smart lmao 😂
- All the little twists and turns? Very well thought out, I was so impressed by how creative they were (and sad too :/)
- THAT. ENDING. RUDE. But also I love pain so EXCELLENT.
- Monster families. Enough said.

The bits I hope we see progress
- The ending was satisfying in that bittersweet way I love but there was just one thing that I’m kind of :/ about and that’s Joan briefly mentioning she thinks her super special magic is gone after she used it all up. I really hate when female characters have to sacrifice their cool magic to save the day so I’m hoping this was just how she maybe felt in the moment but that it’s not actually the end of exploring that part of herself because there’s a ton more potential to see how she nurtures and grows her monster side! But PLEASE don’t let this one little thing deter you from reading this, because the situation makes absolute sense why the character would feel this way, I PROMISE it’s not like those other books where she gives up her powers for no reason, I just hope we get to see more later on that’s all!


Overall I was very impressed with this book and with the concepts and characters and I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy/ get the next book in the series!