Power, I am learning, dulls the lines of good and evil until they are nothing but a blur. Power is good; it is evil. It only depends on whose hands it falls into: yours, or someone else’s, whether you are reaching for it or trying to tear it down. And one can never have enough.

rating: 3.75

moody, atmospheric, gothic. pride and prejudice and zombies with some hints of one dark window, bridgerton, and maybe a touch of succession.

this was a solid debut book for me. i was very intrigued by the world when it opened with a list of the manor families, aka the elite class that rule over their respective territories in The Smoke. the mist and its "phantoms" - people who became infected by it and thus transformed into zombie-esque creatures - were thoroughly eerie and creepy. while still YA subtle horror, this would be a great mood read for spooky season.

i personally enjoy slower-paced historical fantasy, esp when we get some snippets of the ongoings of the period, but when the mystery plot picked up more that definitely kept me reading. i was fascinated by characters like cressida, who i was constantly second-guessing and i enjoyed the class-society intricacies. i also appreciated the theme of classism and elitism.

i personally haven't read jane austen in years so i can't speak to the retelling aspect, but i would say this definitely leans more into fantasy than fantasy romance. it's subplot and while courting/marriage is an important part that's mostly bc of women *needing* it in those days. both killian and ames had their moments though.

some things that could've been improved for me: a bit too many similes ("like"), i wanted more of the phantoms. i also wanted more of the different manor families after the guide intrigued me.

i was very intrigued by how it ended and think the next book has a lot of promise. i also hope the romance gets a bit more focus.

TLDR: read this if you want a gothic moody mystery in a regency setting with just a touch of romance.

“Power … the Manors flash it like a coin, make you crave it, but it is a lie. The only gifts my father’s title ever bought me were resentment, hatred, and pain.” He hesitates. “I wish only for you to be free, in this and all things.”

an honest arc review ♡

I enjoyed the story but felt it could have been tightened up and shortened. The writing was good and I liked the ideas

This story is a Dark Fantasy or gothic horror inspired by Jane Austin’s sense and sensibility with a dash of Pride and Prejudice(which I love).

The world is set in the Regency era of England. It follows two sisters trying to maintain the ownership of their manor.

I enjoyed every character even the side characters and their depth and range is truly what kept me engaged in the ever twisting plot.

Political intrigue
Love triangle
Villain(s)
Poetic writing
Phantoms-zombies
Horror fantasy with a romance subplot
Solve a mystery
Secrets
Plot twists
First book in the series

This books was well written giving all of the atmospheric gothic vibes one enjoys especially in this upcoming spooky season.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5 stars

This was a pretty cool story, mixing Bridgerton vibes with monsters. And then mix in some truly appalling levels of classism and corruption and the monstrosities continue.

Our leads were very well written, very both Merrick and Killian being complex and holding some complex and justified feelings towards their families and the pretty cruel way they were raised.

I like their back-and-forth as a romantic couple and I see the potential there but a certain someone who shall not be named kind of ruined the development of their relationship because Merrick had strong feelings towards this other person (or at least told us she did) and just… ignored Killian while supposedly having feelings for him too?? I don’t know, I almost would’ve preferred no romantic pay-off in THIS book for them but they continued being friends and working towards a romantic relationship in the sequel.

Other than that, this was a really interesting world, the dynamics and politics were intriguing. The layers behind the side characters, her father, Essie, Cressida, was very interesting. The plot itself took me by surprise because the conflict is supposedly resolved by the 80% mark just for some really interesting bits of info to come to light and ruin things again in the last 20%, and not in the way I was expecting.

To conclude, highly recommend this one.

While I really enjoyed the plot & characters, I don’t believe this should have been marketed as a romantasy! So if you’re going into it for the romance, it doesn’t happen until about half way through the book. I loved the story, it had so much potential! But I do feel as if it fell a little short at times.

Oh, this story is hauntingly beautiful and the prose is to die for. But being marketed as a romantasy isn’t doing this book justice.

I wanted to love The Monstrous Kind, but unfortunately, I couldn’t bring myself to finish it. The initial setup promised a rich, atmospheric story with high stakes, yet as I delved deeper, the narrative lost its grip on me. The pacing felt sluggish, with too much focus on Merrick’s internal musings and not enough on advancing the plot. The world-building, while detailed, often felt more like an info dump than a seamless part of the story. Merrick’s character, though initially compelling, didn’t evolve in a way that kept me invested. Overall, despite its potential, the book struggled to maintain my interest.

The Monstrous Kind had an intriguing premise with its blend of gothic atmosphere and supernatural elements, but I found myself unable to finish it. The world-building, while initially captivating, became overwhelming as the story progressed. The plot seemed to meander, making it difficult to stay engaged. Merrick's character, despite being well-introduced, lacked the depth needed to keep me invested in her journey. Additionally, the pacing was uneven, with long stretches of exposition that slowed the narrative momentum. Although the book had potential, I ultimately found it difficult to connect with the story and characters.

Thank You to NetGalley and Random House for the advanced copy of The Monstrous Kind!

What a ride this story was! I very rarely read something with gothic, haunting elements; but, The Monstrous Kind took me by surprise in the best way. It took hold of me from the first page and I was eager to learn about Norland house and the eerie secrets that lie within.

We join Merrick Darling as she journeys from New London - where she’s been the toast of the social season - back to her home, Norland House, following the death of her father. When she arrives, she notices her sister, Essie, seems out of sorts, acting unusually on edge, and her cousin and his wife seem to have taken the matters of the household into their own hands. On top of mourning their father’s death, the Darling girls are also now tasked with defending against the Graylands – a toxic fog that intruded the land and turns anyone who is not Manorborn into a Phantom. The pressure seems to be too much for Essie and before long she goes missing and Merrick is left to ponder who has taken her sister and why.

This was a beautifully written story, full of all the ominous and mysterious imagery one would expect from a gothic mystery. Merrick as a main character is great to follow. She is both determined yet fearful, which gives her depth and makes her more relatable. I enjoyed the reveal at the end, and even though the ending was somewhat anticlimactic, it does not take away from the story overall. I am hoping for a second book based on the epilogue.

4 stars!

The Monstrous Kind is a gripping horror take on the Jane Austen classic Sense and Sensibility. It's the perfect balance of honoring the original while also taking it in a completely surprising and delightfully spooky direction. This is the perfect book for Jane Austen fans to curl up and read during the Fall season. The characters are well-developed and fairly complex for a YA novel. I found myself immediately invested in the dynamic between the sisters and I felt the ending of each character to be earned. This was absolutely a 5 star read and I think Jane Austen fans will really enjoy it.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of “The Monstrous Kind” by Lydia Gregovic in exchange for an honest review.

In a world shrouded by a deadly, virulent mist, Merrick Darling is returning home. She fled to the capital to find a husband but now her father has died. So she must join her dwindling family in their ancestral manor to grieve. When she arrives, though, it is quickly apparent that things are not as they should be.

Her sister Essie, the family’s heir apparent, is a shadow of her former self. Her cousin and his wife have moved in, and they are calling the shots instead. Monsters prowl the mist, and the lamps holding the mist back are mysteriously going out. The ancestral manor has weird, Gothic vibes and sometimes, Merrick gets creeped out. What should be a sad but simple time of mourning is confusing, upsetting, and deadly.

Things come to a head when Essie disappears, kidnapped from her own bed in the middle of the night. Desperately worried for her sister, Merrick begins searching for her, aided by a mysterious, magnetic member of the household Guard. At the same time, she’s being pushed into the role of heir AND she’s being courted by a Noble neighbor with a gorgeous face and a sketchy reputation. She slowly puts everything together and what she discovers threatens to topple everything she thought she knew.

All in all, it’s a good story. It has some serious Pride and Prejudice and Zombies vibes, with its combination of horror and manners. Add a dash of Jane Eyre/Rebecca style Gothic suspense and you have The Monstrous Kind.

The world-building is interesting, between the mist and the Noble house system, but these concepts could have been more developed. The isolated setting of country manor means that the reader hears a lot about the other Families, but doesn’t really get to see them in action. The mist and monsters play a role in the story, but more as plot tool than an actual issue to be solved. It could have been more exciting and more scary if the story had leaned more into that.

Merrick is a frustrating character at times. If there is a chance to make a bad decision, she will leap at it, but be confused as to why it’s going wrong. Although, to be fair, it’s even pointed out in the book that she wasn’t raised to be a leader or a thinker; she was raised to marry well and bring fresh support to the family. It’s not her fault that circumstances force her out of that singular role.

Still, it’s entertaining. IRecommended for readers who enjoy Gothic suspense, crumbling manor houses, and dangerous suitors.

A twist on Sense and Sensibility, two sisters must cope with the death of their father in a fictional regency England threatened by ghouls in a fog. I love a gothic spin on classic tales. Though I wouldn't go as far as to call this horror. The phantoms that seemingly stalk within the creeping fog are quite grotesque and violent similar to zombie attacks but are not the main focus of the story. The title's monstrous kind stems more likely to refer to what the characters are capable of, as most humans possess monstrous thoughts sometimes - but the act of evil is something else entirely. That is what I enjoyed most about these characters, from when any of them are first introduced you can't take first impressions at face value. I enjoyed the lack of trust, and even the surprise twists as Merrick Darling leaves the courting season of New London behind to return to her estate after her father's sudden death. There she finds her sister, the chosen heir to take over the manor, is shockingly not doing well. She appears frightened and reclusive, and it's not hard to imagine why when Merrick discovers there have been an alarming number of breaches in the fog, a job their manor is highly responsible for bordering the coast where the fog is prevalent. Determined to find out how she can help, Merrick starts asking questions of the guards, her visiting cousin and his wife, and ultimately reveals more than she anticipates while also trying to find her place, maybe even a husband, and resume her life away from the estate she was never meant to inherit except her sister disappears one night and she's left with more questions than answers.
The Monstrous Kind is a story about mystery, political intrigue and power, but most of all family. I'd have liked to know more about where the fog originated and the past of this pseudo-England. That aspect of the world-building could have been more developed. I'm hoping more will be unveiled in the (possibly?) next book. The descriptions were well-detailed, providing vivid imagery but at times relied a lot on personification and an overabundance similies (in my opinion - these sometimes took me out of the story instead of submerging me into it).
Overall an enjoyable read with a love interest and romantic subplot I enjoyed.

This book had everything I adore:
- Mystery and suspense
- Unexpected plot twists
- A fantastic male love interest
- Some intriguing court drama

It took a little time for me to fully dive into it, but once I did, I was hooked. This debut novel is impressively crafted, with world-building that’s absolutely top-notch. As someone who struggles with visualizing scenes, I really appreciated the vivid imagery here.

I’m crossing my fingers for a sequel!

Inspired by Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, A Monstrous Kind is a regency England romantasy that will keep you hooked. Essie and Merrick Darling are Manorborn ladies who are charged with keeping their estate safe when the mist threatens to bring vicious monsters into their home.

I enjoyed myself with this one and ended up binging the first half and the second half pretty quickly in a couple of sittings. Merrick is a very likable character and the plot is fast-moving enough that I kept finishing a chapter and would immediately move into the next. I do feel like A Monstrous Kind felt a little bit like most of the romantasy books that I’ve read but I think that’s exactly what you want with that particular subgenre. Would definitely recommend!

Y’all I have not read Sense and Sensibility. Don’t come at me! So I went into this book with no idea what might happen. Really enjoyed the gothic vibes with a touch of romance. Overall a great read!

Good gothic vibes. Sprinkled with romance and polictal aspects. This books was good. From the very beginning had me hooked. Look forward to reading more from this author

I was definitely a fan of this book overall, way more than I was of "Sense and Sensibility." Good plot, interesting characters, kept me engaged and intrigued. Only had a few issues though, one being that I didn’t like NOT being told that this was the first book in a series. I thought this was a one off book and was reading it as such, thus I was disappointed in the ending and the fact that there is more to come. I appreciate that there is more to come, but I would have appreciated knowing that up front.

The one thing that almost kept me from continuing on with the book, once I had gotten over the fact that it was written in the Jane Austen era style/manner of writing, was having an overabundance of similes and metaphors. It was distracting and happened way too much. The meat of the sentence was at the beginning, and often times, halfway through the comparison I had forgotten what the first half of the sentence had told me because the comparison was too excessive and wordy. I didn’t mind having the comparisons here and there, but some were used more than once, which was annoying, and others were way too obvious. Example: digging of nails into one’s palms and leaving marks like crescent moons. So obvious. Will never not be obvious. Be better, Ms. Gregovic. Comparisons like that are just not needed. I want a comparison I never would have thought of, one that makes the image pop and really stick out in my mind.

A good first book, and I am certainly eager to read the next one. I like the world Ms. Gregovic has created, and I’m excited to find out what happens to Merrick next.

Overall I don’t think this book was for me. I was originally quite intrigued by the concept and the description but I found myself not quite feeling fulfilled by the execution. It entirely could be my interests have changed but overall currently I think this wasn’t a match for me. I will hopefully attempt this again in the future and will therefore save on doing a public review until then.

This book was a beautiful mixture of Gothic mystery and regency romance. I really enjoyed the environment that was created, it was dark and dangerous feeling from the very beginning, and housed so many secrets. The mystery unraveled so slowly, with wonderful twists and revelations. The behaviors and societal descriptions were very much like a regency romance, very uptight and strict, and noting all the things that were improper.

Overall, it was a very engrossing read, lots of mystery and investigation with just a hint of romance.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
The Monstrous Kind’s marketing (along with the circular “romantasy” social media discourse) confirms that we collectively need to decide what “romantasy” even is, so that a subset of readers stop getting burned. It’s valid to acknowledge that any books with even a hint of kissing get raked over the coals by certain subsets of “mainstream” fantasy readers, but as someone who goes into romantasy with the expectation that it’s interchangeable with fantasy romance, ans should follow romance and fantasy genre conventions, this book was one of several that disappointed me.
As a fantasy, it’s great, as there are some great ideas in the world building. I love the translation of the Regency England social strata and how the division of the land into great Manor Houses plays into that.
Merrick is an ok lead, and I can see the parallels with the rather naive Marianne Dashwood in her. She’s not really a super proactive character, which while in keeping with her original book counterpart, didn’t make her all that interesting to follow. I was somewhat interested in her connection to the politics of the world, especially with her and Estella vying to be the Manor Lord, but even that was kind of underwhelming. I also really wasn’t a fan of the way the sister relationship was shifted, with her and Estella not being close. Elinor and Marianne of the original obviously had their differences, but they loved each other, which was the whole point of the source material.
Killian Brandon was…there, I guess? I can see what Gregovic was trying to do, as the Brandon of Sense and Sensibility doesn’t have much of a dynamic arc, either, but Austen wrote him in a compelling way. Add to the fact that the romance often felt like a subplot, which again is true for Sense and Sensibility, but I didn’t feel like the romance here was well-fleshed-out. And that brings me back to the question of whether this was a romantasy at all, because it didn’t give me the “romance” feels, even if it technically had romance elements.
While I wasn’t a fan of this book, I like Lydia Gregovic’s style and would read something else from her. And while I’d caution those who come to” romantasy” for the romance that you might not get what you’re looking for, I’d recommend it for readers who enjoy the flavor of “romantasy” that is more fantasy-focused with a romance subplot.