Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.
This was a great book and I'll be purchasing it for the library.

A really cute, eye-catching cover, and an intriguing premise, but sadly the writing style itself just did not gel for me.

This was such a fun quirky book. I loved the monster element and the fresh spin on gorgons and the lore surrounding them. I really liked Gormley and I loved that she grew into herself by the end of the book. There were a few things that i was disappointed in such as the lack of world building, situations that weren't flushed out or explained. The names of the characters were interesting if not a tiny bit ridiculous. The sudden situations that are neatly resolved without a whole lot of fan fair. Given that this is a monster romcom though I don't think that it ruined the over all story for me. There were a few things that i did enjoy, i liked the idea of the lesser god mountains, the small bits of chemistry in the book, and as a reptile store owner i was happy to see that the information on the snakes was done well. I liked the insight into gorgons and them having different snakes. Over all this was a fun little book.

I had so many high hopes for this book. And it followed through on all of them.

I absolutely loved everything about Snakes in Class, from the plot, to the charcuterie. It had a little of everything I love in a good story.

It was charming and whitty. And dlowed so easily. I needed a fun but good romance and this gave me just that.

I will definitely be suggesting this one to my friends.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

A unique set of characters and a whimsical setting make for a fun read. Really good read. I loved the cover. Looking forward to the next book.

A terribly cute monster Rom Com and overall a delightful read. Probably a nice recommendation for book club.

This was an entertaining read that I went into expecting silliness and that’s exactly what I got. The names, some of the occurrences….I approached them with humor and had a fun time reading. There were some things could’ve been explored more, such as the character’s backstory. There was some jumping from scene to scene as well that could’ve been smoother. Overall, it was an enjoyable read.

This was so cute. I'm a huge sucker for monster romances so I'm grateful that I received this arc. It gave Medusa vibes in the hair aspect.

Yes, yes, yes I need more of these ASAP. This was the best book! Mosters falling in love and going to monter university. Love love love. I love this new series.
I just reviewed Snakes in the Class by Catherine Haustein. #SnakesintheClass #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

Such a great book! I thought it was going to be a retelling of Medusa in the real world, but it's a total spin off. It's a funny story but it's also a story about self acceptance. The most accurate way to describe this book, for me, would be: ''What would you do if one day a semi goddess curses you... and you become the new Medusa?'' I would love to read the following books (please, tell me you're already on it!).

Thanks @netgalley for the chance to review Snakes in the Class by Catherine Haustein. Professor Gormley Grimn was a Gorgon and chemist in a monster university. There are love interests and a past life that I wish the reader knew more about. I love a good monster tale, but this one fell just a little flat for me.

I’m afraid it was a DNF, just not for me.
Couldn’t really relate how I like to to a MC.
But a really interesting and cool premise!

It's not that this was bad, necessarily, but there was nothing compelling me to keep reading. Everything in the marketing of this book- the cover, the title, the description- led me to believe this would be a cute, light hearted and easy romance and I didn't quite get that. The timeline felt disjointed, the current-time plot felt convoluted when muddied with the background context (that comes a bit late and light), and the romance felt insta-love and a bit forced.

Not going to post this on goodreads, because I don't feel as though it was poor enough to add to the low rating on there and want Catherine to feel confident enough to write more books. But I do hope that the next book comes with a bit more editing and less convenient timeline reveals.

Thank you for the ARC!

"Snakes in the Class" takes readers on Helen Gormley's journey from a graduate student to a gorgon and a professor at a Monster-only college in an alternative reality where supernatural beings coexist with humans.

FMC starts as a graduate student, unaware of the supernatural world among us. A curse transforms her into a gorgon, setting her on a path of self-discovery and acceptance.

The story delves into identity, societal coexistence, and Helen's unique challenges. The world is richly built, featuring vampires, werewolves, witches, and more, making for a diverse and engaging cast.

Helen's role as a professor at a Monster-only college adds depth to the narrative, exploring the intricacies of teaching and learning in this supernatural society.

"Snakes in the Class" is a fantastical journey of self-discovery and resilience in a world where ordinary and extraordinary blur. Whether you love fantasy or urban fantasy, this novel offers an enchanting and entertaining read, captivating readers with Helen Gormley's transformative odyssey.

Snakes in the Class following the life of Helen/Gormley from her being a young graduate student to getting cursed and becoming a gorgon to being a professor at a Monster only college. This was a fun story to follow as an alternative reality of supernatural beings living in our communities.

I thought this was cute! I wanted more spice, but this was a fun and modern twist on a lot of mythological elements and dynamics, and I thought it was fun and sexy.

Snakes in the Class is the first installment in a new paranormal romance/ fantasy series by Catherine Haustein, called Monster College Chronicles.

The name of the series and the cutesy cover gave me the idea I was going to read a cozy, cute supernatural novel with stereotypical characters, a handsome love interest and maybe a secret to uncover or enemy to fight. Instead we get a story that's - when you focus primarily on the message - intelligent and a bit philosophical. Haustein reaffirms the many issues women (still) face in society, certainly if we're different on top of that. She also touches on themes like self-awareness and self-acceptance. Sure, the environment is supernatural, but besides a spoiled goddess, a scary, power-hungry Uni president, and a bunch of racists (speciests?) the characters aren't that stereotypical. This was definitely a point in favour of the author.

The story revolves around professor Gormley Grimn. Gormley used to be Helen, a PhD- student in chemistry, who one day loses the life she envisions when she's cursed to become a gorgon by a jealous, misogynistic demi-goddess. She still gets her degree, marries and becomes a mom. Despite her partner fully embracing her otherness, scared-of-her-snakes-Helen leaves hubby and baby son behind and creates a new life as Gormley Grimn, a monster Professor in Chemistry, teaching other monsters how to hide while still being a productive member of society.

Gormley's profession, and earlier studies, are a constant in the novel. Meaning that you'll encounter plenty chemistry. Any author then runs the risk turning such information into a [Course subject 101] in the middle of storytelling, but Haustein has actually masterfully integrated it. No textbook page thumped in somewhere, but every single tidbit is part of the story. Whether in thoughts, actions or discussions - and understandable to boot. It makes Gormley as a Professor of Chemistry, as well as her students in action, believable. And that's pretty much where my positive attitude towards this novel, and the MC in particular, ends.

The story was, in essence, decently written (not taking the ridiculous names into account) on the descriptive and thematic front, though plot wise true fantasy and paranormal fans will be left out in the cold. Arctic cold. There's a relatively original take on myths and supernatural characters of legend to create the monsters and gods in the book, but... connecting to any of them was no mean feat. I especially had an enormous amount of trouble connecting to the main character. It's almost as if I'm not being made part of the story, watching from afar. I don't feel emotions, quite possibly because it seems as though our main female character doesn't.

For starters, the romance part of the story isn't grabbing me. At all. Sure, you could argue that the fact her lover Ormr Snaakemon (seriously?) is snake from the waist down - and that fact is used descriptively in the sex scenes - doesn't help. But I might have completely shipped a Gormley-Ormr coupling, had this sudden love-story not come out of left field, with one of those typical "Love forever in a week" kind of things. Worse: nothing really exciting or scary happens in the novel for them to bond over to make that instant deep love even remotely believable.

Then there is the sudden *expected* tension when a member of the Purity League, an anti-monster political party and organisation, keeps coming back to the college, and Gormley is eventually "shown how bad it can be" (is she though?) during a League rally. This made me think "Ooooh, it's finally getting somewhere! Plot! Action!" And then it didn't. Go somewhere.

The existence and sudden rise of the league is never explained and the people following it all seem blithering idjits. And that whole story suddenly fizzles out as well! It basically felt like a thought up vehicle, a 'coat rack' for Gormley to hang her change in self-awareness on - though once again we don't really see, nor feel, a true struggle, before that outcome. She goes from A to Z, doing a 180, just because.

That the main character does that more often throughout the book, and we rarely get to hear her thoughts, feel the pain of her emotions (particularly when we read of her past) becomes painfully clear - yes, pun intended - when we get a flashback to her past and to the part where Helen, now Gormley, leaves her family behind... and then for the author to switch back to Gormley now...

As a reader you expect a tumultuous inner life, an utter sadness to grab her during the 'now'. But no, in the 'now' we don't see her hanging onto one more thought of her abandoned family. Instead she's more concerned with Snaakemon (but also not), and what is behind his cloaca scales. An emotional struggle, particularly regarding her decision to leave her baby behind, should be a humongous part of her current hated identity as a monster. We don't get one.

One evening, talking about snake monogamy, she comes clear to Snaakemon about having abandoned the man she loved, and her own baby, without a word of explanation to them. You expect very intense, deeply emotional prose. Or at least a teary-eyed character. We get: "I left someone already". And there endeth that segment. Whaaaat?

What's worse: at one point in the story she is literally confronted with her past of 20yrs back, and as a reader you still get almost nothing. Oh, wait, I lie. You do get something. You get a FMC who let's herself get walked all-over when it comes to Past I, and who - concerning Past II - has a flash of jealousy, a whiff of anger and a sprinkling of worry (I personally would have utterly freaked out hearing that the reason I abandoned my child didn't exist), all in the space of minutes. Aaaand, then she happily forgets ALL of it, water under the bridge, let's fully commit to my snake man, because... well, we needed a happy end I guess.

I think Haustein has a talent for creation, but this book needed so much more to be truly palatable. We needed Gormley's inner world, to feel her self hatred, her fears about racism/speciesm and the struggle to live in society as a monster, her loathing of misogyny - particularly the internalised one - as well as her likes, her joy, her love. We also need understanding about her choices, but these two things are linked.

Plus, it would be nice when an author let's two people fall in love as fast as I can snap my fingers, to make the romance more than an intellectual understanding of "snake+snake=logical match. I also think it is a missed opportunity not to use the themes of self-awareness, misogyny, racism and (self) acceptance as obstacles, or misunderstood obstacles, in the romance. It's something for the characters to go through and grow through.

Particularly when the FMC and the MMC have known each other for years as colleagues, and the female was never interested at all (on the contrary), readers need *something*. Whether it is 'bonding through shared misery or action, or a more thematic approach doesn't much matter. But we need to connect to them as people, and then as a couple. None of these things were done, making the 'Love within X days' extra incomprehensible and cringe.

It saddens me to say this is not where the critique ends, as I'm missing the majority of world building as well. Where do the monsters come from? How did they come into existence? Are they evolved from humans, or exist pre-humanity? Where do they live? Are they of earth, live on earth or in other universes? What are their cultures, their powers? Is Manster the only monster college in existence? Do governments know about them? I could go on endlessly! In the book the gorgons and trolls get a bit of explanation in the form of their professional designations, their looks and - when it comes to the trolls - a tiny bit of culture (bling + party + free love). But you can't speak of World Building.

I appreciate the thematic content, but as a paranormal romance/ fantasy romance this book falls completely flat. The romance is badly, almost clinically, done, and the only fantasy/ paranormal bit about it, is the fact we have some myths, fairytales and legends running around. I've picked up here and there that Haustein is a great author. If so, you unfortunately won't see much proof of that in Snakes in the Class.

Two stars for the themes and the decent descriptive writing.

It was a new experience for me to read an extraordinary book like this. However, I'm gonna give a chance to the 2nd one of the series.

- Though I was so excited to read this, first few chapters were hard to understand. Don't know whether it's because of the writing or the story or something else!
- I didn't understand what exactly Gormley saw in Ormr except his snaky sex organs to be in love with him in such a short period of time!! They didn't even have any chemistry! There were only a few pages in the whole book where they actually communicated and that too felt so dull. It would have been better to make Charles the MMC. At least they had better chemistry and I liked him more. I felt the emotion in their relationship which I didn't with Ormr.
- After reading 27 chapters filled with hatred, I liked the last chapter holding some peace in it. Hope the 2nd book will be a little more peaceful!

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me a free eARC of the book in exchange of an honest review.

<b> Thank you to Catherine Haustein, City Owl Press, and Netgalley for the ARC to review. </b>

Chemistry Professor Gormley Grimn (the n is silent) wasn't always a gorgon. She didn't even always go by the name Gormley Grimn. In a past life, she was one of the first and only human women vying for an advanced degree in chemistry. Now it's her job to teach science to young humanoid monster organisms and to keep them and the outside world safe from each other. All while Manster University is underfunded and her lab is falling apart. Fortuitously she is presented with an opportunity for funding for repairs and new equipment only to find that this opportunity would require her to work with the demigoddess who cursed her - changing her into a gorgon. As Gromley explores what these changes in her life could and would mean for not only her future but those of her students we learn about her past, and join her on a journey to the discovery of new love.

For me, this book was a solid 2.75/5 stars. 1/5 steam (would have been a 2 but a lot of the descriptions around intimate moments were so intertwined with scientific musings it sterilized the situations for me). Overall I think I'd give the 2nd book in the series a chance hoping that some of my misgivings are addressed in book two and are just "haven't gotten to answering them yet because the story will reveal them later" things.

Things I enjoyed about the book:
- The world that Catherine Haustein is building for the Monster College Chronicles is an interesting puritanical/misogynistic parallel to our own. Which includes interesting character delineations and references to well-known international mythology and folklore.
- Discussions about different types of misogyny and it not just being a men vs women issue but also a weapon female characters use against each other.

Things I didn't love:
- Longish detour explanation into Gormley's life before she became a Professor. Would have preferred it to be sprinkled in as it felt like it took away from the current action and truncated the action part of the book to the later 30%.
- What was supposed to hit at quippy banter didn't resonate with me like I felt it should have.\