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.

I was hooked immediately by the premise of 'The Monstrous Kind' and was eagerly waiting for the book's release. Set in Regency London, hints of Sense and Sensibility, and something for spooky season. After reading, I'm very conflicted about this book. I started to write this review with an initial 3 stars but I'm bumping it down to 2.5 stars.

Believe me I love a gothic aesthetic, flowery word flow (the descriptions in this book are on another level), a little nod to regency matchmaking with the 'Toast'. But I can't reiterate this enough: the pacing was very painful. This was such a slow read, and it took a very long time for the true plot of the book to unfurl. It needed serious tightening up.

While I understand the need to build the fantasy-world for a reader (there's a lot that we need to learn before the story really kicks in), this one felt like pulling teeth. I was inundated with so much lore that honestly, at some point it pulled me out of the book. I was just not invested in it and felt the set up could've been done better.

The same could be said for character choices and development. I see the potential, it's right there...but it needs serious work.

I really wanted to enjoy this book and I'm really sad that I didn't. It always hurts me as a reader when I have to send these types of review, but I hope you read the book and make your own judgements.

I want to thank Penguin Teen Canada, for providing an ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Crimson Peak is one of my favorite movies, and this gave me that good Gothic energy in spades. While it took me a few tries to get through the first five percent (due to my issues with the prose; see below), once this sunk its hooks in me it was pretty easy to tear through the rest of it in a day. Great spooky, fog-laden vibes; I particularly enjoyed the dialogue, the ball/dance scene, and the various politicking between members of the Manor families.

The main issue for me with this book was the prose itself. It is badly overwritten. There are so, so, SO many similes and metaphors. Practically every single sentence gets a simile or two tagged onto the end, and while many of them are gorgeous; others are really just...not good. And I say this as someone who loves ornate prose! It seems this was a choice made to try and cultivate a Gothic atmosphere, but it was clumsily done, to the point that it detracted from my enjoyment of an otherwise great story. I think my stance on it overall is this: the author is immensely talented BUT also the book was sorely in need of an editor more willing to tell Gregovic to kill her darlings. I'd estimate a solid two-thirds of the similes could have (and perhaps should have) been cut.

Overall, I'd give this a 3.5. I really would like to rate it higher, but the constant metaphors were simply too much. That said, I'd still recommend it to people who are looking for a fun, spooky read this October, and for fans of Crimson Peak in particular.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publishers for this eARC. Wow. This book was puzzling and mysterious and beautiful and haunting. It was everything I was hoping for and more. Gregovic debuted with a bang and left us all hoping for more. She sets up a stunning narrative with is foundation in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility but adds her own monstrous twist. By the time I reached the 50% mark of the book I could not put it down. Gregovic masterfully misdirects the reader at every turn so at no point could you guess what was coming next. This was absolutely incredible and I can’t wait to read more from this author.

This book is gothic and atmospheric with a intriguing story. Unfortunately, it looks like they're marketing it wrong. I would not consider this romantacy. So if it interests you, maybe take a closer look at reviews to decide if it is right for you because you'll be disappointed if you're expecting more romance.

atmospheric. dark. lush. sign me uppppp! this was perfect for the vibes i was looking for as i enter the fall season and this book came in clutch. the writing stands out to me the most and i would love to read more from this author!

After the death of her father, Merrick Darling, the youngest of one of the most powerful Manorborn families in Britain, is returning to her family home after all but running away several months ago. Anticipating a less than happy reunion with her old sister she is immediately surprised not just by the lack of her sisters anger but the disturbing change that has come over not just her sister but the entirety of her families seat Sussex. As on of the twelve Manorborn families the Darlings have been tasked by the gods to protect the people of Britain against the terrifying fog that has taken over the country, turning all that breath it in into blood thirsty monsters, however, almost immediately upon returning home Merrick realizes that her family has been failing in their duty. Breaches are happening with alarming consistency with even her own families' Sentries being Turned. As Merrick confronts her families failures, she discovers that she had never really known anything about her family and the secrets that they have been keeping are far more deadly than the fog has ever been.

After reading this, I think calling this a Gothic horror is a little bit of a stretch. Are there monsters? Yes. Are they scary? Meh. Is it a pretty huge plothole that there are all of these people running around with immunity who haven't just gone through the fog got on a boat and went to find help from other countries? Most definitely. In terms of horror, it's just meh. Which I would be annoyed with if this didn't just shine as a courtly drama with a very straightforward commentary on lengths those in power will go to keep that power. The entire story really just revolves around a group of Aristocrats who have spent centuries oppressing a commoner population while stabbing each other in the back. And while much of that portion of the story is predictable, I found that the way Gregovic misdirects the reader over and over again creates a knot that was truly enjoyable to unravel.

In terms of characters the one thing I truly enjoyed is that Gregovic would introduce a character that upon first glance was just a perfectly done trope, or they appeared to be, when later on you realize that these characters were purposely written this way as part of the aforementioned misdirection. Especially Cressida and Tom, these two characters are a cleverly written misdirect that you can never really work out clearly until really the end of the book. Because of this, I found them to be slightly more enjoyable than some of the other side characters. The other thing I really enjoyed with these characters is the fact that pretty much everyone is a bad guy. I swear there's only four characters who are truly decent human beings in this. Everyone else is either a murderer or just a rich asshole manipulating everyone around them. And they are all that kind of evil that is elevated not because they do something truly horrible it's the fact that what they do is so self-serving it's infuriating. It's genuinely like when you read an article and you find out some corporation that makes billions a year has decided to cut everyone back to part time so they don't have to offer health insurance. It's that kind of utter disregard for those they feel that are beneath evil that makes you want to punch every single one of these villains in the throat.

World building was fantastic as well, except for the whole immunity/why the hell hasn't someone with immunity just *left* and found help thing. I also wish we had more information about the Triple Gods (I think they were called the Triple Gods, it's something like that it's 2am and my Kindle just died so can't look it up) it seems to be that this Britain had been Christian (or something similar) before the Fog appears and then all of a sudden thred Gods show up and save the day. But there's never really an explanation of where they came from.

But, the one thing I absolutely loved about this is that it's supposedly a YA, and it does not at any point read like a YA. The plot, the characters, everything is far more sophisticated and intricate than most (if not all) YA novels I've read. So if you're like me and hesitate to read anything with the YA sticker on it, this is one book that I'd say take the leap and read it.

My only complaint with this is Merrick. Merrick is most definitely supposed to be the young, naive, hot-headed, and unfairly beautiful little sister. And for the most part, I enjoyed it, especially her internal debates. She recognizes when she's being childish or overreacting or has made a really, really bad decision. But, there are times that it was like "Omg she can not possibly be that stupid!" Like that naivety which is understandable in many situations crosses the line into the standard tropey blonde female character in a horror movie where she runs into a dead end to get away from the monster/killer and can't figure out how she went so wrong when she literally could have ran out the front door a million times. And to be honest, it simply doesn't fit this character, so it wasn't just annoying it was jarring.

Overall, even though this wasn't the Gothic horror I was hoping for, I definitely would say it's an excellent Gothic Thriller/Courtly Drama. And if those aren't real genres, I don't care. I just made them up. And regardless of how weak I found the horror side of things I still think this will appeal to those who enjoy Gothic horror novels and would definitely recommend it to them, while I also believe that if your thing is Courtly Drama this would be right up your alley.

As always, thanks to NetGalley and Randomhouse Children's for the eArc!