A surprising and playful collection, this book reimagines classic fairy tales and folklore within a surreal, contemporary setting. The mix of dark and often sweet elements makes for an engaging read, blending mythic characters with a modern twist. I thoroughly enjoyed the inventive and imaginative storytelling.

Monstrum is a beautifully gothic collection of short stories by Lottie Mills, winner of the BBC Young Writers' Award for The Changeling' (which is included in this book), and it is incredibly difficult to sum up the powerful emotions they evoked within me in a short review.
Beautiful and raw and terrifying.

A collection of thought provoking , beautifully formed fairy tale inspired short stories that will stick with me for a long time.

Each one differs from the next but all share the theme of disability and difference. I laughed and cried on multiple occasions and wanted to share so much of this collection with loved ones.

There’s not much else to say other than this a truly, truly memorable collection of stories that will strike a chord with many and I hope Lottie Mills is eternally proud for sharing all of them with us because I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to read them.

Well written and engagin short stories, each of them original and intriguing. i loved the storytelling and the style of writing.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Monstrum is an exceptional exploration of otherness told through the lens of fairy-tale, not the twee Disneyfied versions but the unflinching life lessons taught by Grimm and Andersson. The milage does differ on these stories, but on the whole Mills has finely crafted an exceptional deep dive into the minds of those who society often buffets against or tries to polish into something more 'palatable'.

Rating: 5/5 stars

“Then she takes her husband’s hand, and they follow their merman to the place where all strange, outcast things must be carried in the end. To the sea…”

There are only a handful of short-story collections I’ve rated a full 5-stars over the past few years. It’s only normal that you will enjoy some stories more than others, and having a collection with only outstanding stories is exceedingly rare. Monstrum is that exception. Each of these stories is a tentatively tender yet subtly dark exploration of Otherness in all its monstrous beauty. A lovesong to the Monstrous and living life on the margin, with a slight dissonant note to it; exactly the way I love it.

These stories read like modern fables about characters who are, for some reason or another, outcast by society for their differences, and now make a life in the margins. We’ve seen the trope done countless times, but Lottie Mills shows us a different angle. She shows us the beauty of that marginal life, and the strange but profound connections found within it. We find patchwork families, hybrid-bodies and queer love (romantic and otherwise) here.
The metaphors in here aren’t shy about their real world counterparts; there’s a lot of disability/chronic illness, bodily difference and queerness in the widest sense of the word in here. Yet rather than feeling on the nose, that clarity helps to ground the collection. Stunning prose and imagery, heartfelt connections and a final story that actually put a lump in my throat make this into a collection I will cherish and remember for a long time to come.

If you enjoy disability-fiction, queer magical realism, or stories that otherwise explore what its like to be “othered” by the world around you (think Kirsty Logan, Jen Campbell or Julia Armfield) this one is for you!

My personal favourite stories: The Changeling, The Bear-children, The Body, The Merman.

Many thanks to Oneworld Publications for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This is a collection like no other. Monstrum is sticky, creepy, poetic and just so so so good!
Mills prose lends itself beautifully to the messed up fairytale esque atmosphere she has found herself in, and each short story within Monstrum grabs you with it’s long, spindly fingers and keeps you hooked on every page.
The main theme of the collection is disability and as a disabled person, I think this portrayal is perfect. Each story is unexpected, messy and so unreal (literally) that you cannot look away. Disability IS messy, so why the hell not turn it into a bunch of creepy fairytales!

This is an insane debut and I cannot WAIT to see where Mills goes!

Thank you to Oneworld Publications and Netgalley for the ARC!

I loved this collection so much. So much so that it has taken me almost two weeks to find the words. I have however, found myself thinking of it often and figured it was time to find some words to rave about it.

I’ll start by saying how much I love Lottie’s writing style. Her prose style lends itself so well to the unsettling fairy tale atmosphere.

Every tale in the book has a clear message/moral behind it, much like the fairy tales we all know and love, but with such depth in terms of societal commentary on disability, connection, and difference.

I was apprehensive at the start of the collection that the stories may inadvertently portray stereotypical views of disability. But I could not have been more wrong. Lottie balanced the references to stereotypes with the community and morals incredibly well.

I find myself being drawn to rereading this one already, and I cannot wait to recommend it to all my short story-loving friends.

It is rare that I give a short story collection 5 stars, but I was truly blown away by this collection and could not possibly see myself rating it any lower. I am so looking forward to what is ahead for Lottie!

If you are in any way intrigued by the idea of dark yet thought-provoking fairy tale-like stories, then look no further. This needs to be your next read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Oneworld for the e-arc. All opinions are my own.

Short stories can be a little hit and miss for me but I really enjoyed this collection. All the stories are about being different or “other” in some way and, because they were all written by the same person, they had a sense of coherency about them.

The Body was a favourite, it felt a lot like a black mirror episode. I also really enjoyed The Merman, which made me both sad and angry. The Pain was my least favourite (but was still a 3 star story).

The book that I recently read left me in awe. I was completely blown away by the first story and wondered if the following ones would be able to top it, but to my amazement, every single short story was a gem in its own right. It's a rare occurrence to come across a collection of stories that are all equally captivating.

The author has an exceptional talent for drawing the reader into the story. After reading this book, I have no doubt that we will be seeing great things from her in the future.

The stories are a brilliant mix of tenderness, sadness, emotion, eeriness, and a dark fairytale atmosphere. It's an experience that leaves a lasting impression on the reader. The book was so engrossing that I felt a sense of sadness when I reached the end.


Thank you to the Author, publishers and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This review is honest and my own.

I loved this strange and unearthly look at otherness. Each of the stories made me think and each of the tales stayed with me for some time. I will go back and re-read this beautifully surreal book. This is one I will recommend to everyone.

Within Monstrum's pages lie ten tales of those who some would consider abnormal, other or monstrous. In the hands of others they would likely be the antagonists, but in those of Lottie Mills they're protagonists who are given a life and voice of their own. These are original tales with a fairytale sensibility or new takes on classic fairytales. Ones that are so vividly realised they live in the memory long after reading.

Thanks to NetGalley, Oneworld Publications and the author for an advance review copy.

This is an absolutely phenomenal short story collection. The way Mills portrays compassion and acceptance is so real. I felt so moved reading this. The whimsical fairy tale approach coupled with a real reflection upon humanity and how monstrous people can be - stunning.

My favourite stories were The White Lion (highly recommend for fans of Angela Carter), The Selkie, and The Body. But the real prize of them all was The Merman. I need a full length book of this story because it was just incredible. What a debut!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC

I first heard of Lottie Mills when she won the BBC Young Writers award in 2020 and as such, I was very excited to see that a compendium is due to be released in May. I was overjoyed ot be gifted an ARC from Oneworld publications and "Monstrum" is every bit as intriguing and enchanting as I expected, and then some!

The strength of the narrative is exceptional. Mills crafts a stunningly ambient space, full of fluid darkness and light, equally undulating around dthe storyline and forming into places and people as a sculptor would with clay and stone. .The reason I describe it in this form, is because the clay is carefully moulded into shape, formed and allowed to harden, whereas sculptures either chisels away at a set piece to create a thing of beauty or weaves multiple entities together to create something new entirely. Please exuse my drawn out analogies, this is purely inspiration in trying to describe this rare talent

Monstrum is a compendium of fairy tales reworked and reimagined for a contemporary world and as you are all probably more than aware by now, I adore a good fairy tale retelling and this collection is fresh and unique, ideally placed in contemporary fiction. I enjoyed this book so much that I have read it through three times over the last three weeks and it is one I will likely continue to read over and over

Absolutely a talent to watch and certainly a highly recommended compilation

Thank you to Netgalley, Oneworld Publications and the outstanding author Lottie Mills for this fantastic ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

#Monstrum #NetGalley

“Don’t be afraid, my love,’ her father says. The sky is just singing along.”

Lottie Mills debut collection of stories is described as a meditation in otherness. Each story looks closely at how appearances affect and shape how society sees individuals and brings out the best and worst in people.

This collection is written beautifully, each story left you thinking about it and feeling that unease of how cruel and unfair this world can be.

All these tales address different aspects of disabilities and perception. In one a mother rejects her daughter in favour of a doll she has hand made, a father and daughter build a life for themselves on an isolated beach only to have it shattered when they are discovered by other and a merman appears to an elderly couple on a beach who take him in but once the towns people find out he captured and treated poorly.

The author with her lyrical prose looks closely at acceptance of differences within society through a black mirror style of storytelling. Some stories were darker than others and a few were pulling at my heartstrings.

I enjoyed this collection and will definitely be buying a physical copy once its published.

A beautifully written collection full of swans, bear children, dolls, white lions, mermen and dark fairytale imagery incorporated into the real world and all its complex situations, which is used to explore disability, otherness and bodies. As someone with a disability myself, I’m so happy this collection exists and to see more characters with disabilities in fiction- I can’t wait to see what else this author writes! The story ‘The Pain’ will stick with me for a long time, it’s so weird and yet kind of comforting to see someone else put your pain into words like that. Very rarely can I finish a collection, go back and look at the table of contents and remember what every single story was about but I can in this case and will be thinking about them for a long time- highly recommend!