Gemma Cassata and her mother, Virginia, live in an isolated antiques shop in Michigan that borders on a magical forest. Gemma knows she's not supposed to enter, but she somehow always finds herself having grand adventures inside it. She also never remembers them after telling her mom. Virginia has a reason for wanting to keep Gemma away from the forest, a secret she's keeping in hopes of saving her from the curse that separated her family. But when things come to a head and Virginia disappears, can Gemma regain the memories she's lost and find the courage to rescue her family?

It has some good moments and good writing, but it's a book with a personality problem. The jumps between Virginia and Gemma change enough that it's like trying to read a romantasy and a YA simultaneously. They're similar and related, but the tonal shift between characters felt a little jarring. There's existential questioning next to chosen-one vibes, and it just didn't click for me.

I see what Wees was going for, and I can appreciate that it's highly imaginative without enjoying the reading.


Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine | Del Rey for the read!

I am a bit conflicted how I feel. I enjoyed reading this fantasy book, but I also felt frustrated with the characters. The author truly did their job because I enjoy that fantasy world building while also getting annoyed with the characters actions. Half of the time, I was questioning why some of these characters were doing half of the time.

It was enjoyable and even with familiar parts, it kept things fresh and had a good message about mothers and daughters.

Thank you to the author and Netgalley for the ARC.

I found myself forcing my way through this book. If I had read this any other time, I would have seriously
loved it. So I will say, it was cleverly written and the plot was so good. Where it lost me at this time of my life, were the characters themselves. I just didn't vibe with them.

That being said, the plot is very strong and I would definitely recommend this to fantasy lovers.

I could not get into this one at all. The writing didn’t suck me in but I’m hoping others enjoy. Would still reccomend

We Shall Be Monsters is a novel about a mother and daughter who live on the edge of a magical forest in Michigan. The daughter, Gemma, is drawn to the forest, while her mother tries to keep her away from it as much as possible. The two get drawn into I love when fantasy novels are set near where I live, so I was excited to read it.

This was kind of a weird one! I was expecting Fantasy fantasy with magic and fae, and while that is part of it, and this is definitely more of a family drama with some fantasy elements that was more of a metaphor to what the family was going through than a full, independent fantasy realm. Not necessarily a bad thing, just not what I was expecting. I was looking forward to reading a fantasy instead of a coming of age family drama, so I think my disappointment/confusion colored my reading experience.

I did enjoy reading it but found the overall story and characters just a little less than I hoped for. Near the end of the book I was just waiting it to wrap up. As you can tell from this review, I'm a fantasy girlie, so I would have liked more exploration of the fae realm and the forest expanded. You can't set a fae realm portal in Michigan and then barely spend any time there!

If you're more into family dramas than fantasy, this one might be for you! 3 stars from me. Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the eARC of this book, my thoughts are my own!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of We Shall Be Monsters by Alyssa Wees!

Where do I even start with this absolute masterpiece of a book! First I want to say that I was very torn on my rating. Everything about this book was perfection, the complicated characters, the hauntingly lyrical prose, the descriptive imagery; and I was very tempted to give it 5 stars. However for how short of a book it was, it took me almost a month to read. I have no idea why, once I was reading I was hooked, but I never felt the irresistible urge to pick it up. The writing was phenomenal, but it also felt a little dense at times, and I think that might have had something to do with it. So while I genuinely loved this book to pieces and will most definitely be thinking about it for a while, I feel the need to give it 4 stars because of how long it took me to get through it.

“A truly curious girl will never cease her pursuit of the unknown, even if it means she must whet her fingernails to bloody points as she claws her way through the wood of the door.”

Now on to the story and characters!
I was not expecting to love both of the alternating storylines so much, I figured I would have a favorite and the other chapters would drag a little. That was not the case however! Both Gemma and Virginias stories were crafted with the perfect amount of adventure, obstacles, and romance. The way their stories intertwined was genius and really highlighted the beauty and struggles in mother/daughter relationships.

“It’s an old story, isn’t it? The sins of the mother, repeated, because the daughter tricks herself into believing that she can save her own daughter from the ache of regret.”

One of my favorite parts of the story however was the constant question of what makes a monster and what makes a hero, and if one can be both.

“I did not know what a monster was. Or what made a monster different from a hero if both wanted to kill the other. Perhaps it had to do with intention? But the results were the same-death, destruction.”

Throughout the book we find empathy and understanding for the monsters and discover faults with the hero’s in a really thought provoking manner. Every single character (even the side ones) shows growth and development while the book simultaneously explores topics of womanhood and motherhood.

“Even that she-devil knew that a greedy prince is more palatable than a woman who simply wants to be left alone. I’m too monstrous even to be a monster in my own story.”

I was also very pleasantly surprised that I didn’t guess the twist at the end! I had an idea of what I thought would happen but was completely off the mark. All in all I would 100% recommend this book to those who love dark adventures, botanical horror, and gothic fairytales!

Beautiful dark fantasy of three generations of women with ties to the magical woods. Great for those who prefer lyrical writing. Loved the story, struggled a bit with the alternating POV chapters. What is a hero? What is a monster? What is magic but a wish? What makes a good mother? How do we protect those we love? Lots of fairytale elements, that meld into a wild adventure.

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me get a sneak peak. All thoughts are my own.

I read Nocturne by this same author and enjoyed it to an extent even though u felt the writing wasn’t the best. Sadly I didn’t enjoy this one too much either and ended up not finishing it.

A dark magical realism fairy tale, We Shall Be Monsters made me feel that if only I had a forest at the edge of my yard, these creatures would be waiting for me. I liked this story, this world, and I liked that there was adventure as well as deep dark soul searching. I would have liked to see a little more character development and a little more of the protagonists proving themselves and the antagonists more flawed. I came away with almost a reason to like everyone (okay except for the Slit Witch) except for Silvanus, and he ended up being disappointing. I wanted a reason to hate him or at least really really really dislike him.
I also felt ripped out of one world when the POVs would switch. I’m generally not a fan of dual timelines and alternating points-of-view and these changes felt extremely abrupt. However, I did really enjoy this book and look forward to reading other books by this author.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This gave me ALL of the Labyrinth vibes and I loved it!! It gave such a good "oh we must go on a magical quest to defeat the monster" Truly, I really enjoyed this book. I really liked Gemma and also Silvanus's characters as well. It also kinda reminded me of Quest for Camelot, which really also helped.

i don’t read non-linear timelines often but this was honestly a better read than i originally thought it would be. a haunting story of the bonds between mother and daughter but set it in a grim fairytale setting, 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 really hits home of “mother knows best”.

read for
- non-linear plots
- horror
- mother / daughter relationships
- faes & witches
- vivid worldbuilding

after my initial struggle (and reread of the first handful of chapters) i was intrigued. the story follows virginia and her daughter, gemma, who live in an antiques shop on the edge of a dark forest. even with the best of virginia’s warnings about the forest, one day gemma finds herself within the woods and this is where it all unravels.

i won’t give away much more so you’ll have to see for yourself the way wees has a way with words, a classic fairytale structure with a twist.

ty netgalley & del rey for the arc -

This book has a gothic atmosphere and that was my favorite part. The writing was very solid but ultimately I found this book extremely boring.

Love me a dark, gothic story. What a refreshing fairytale. I'm quite the sucker for gothic storylines, in general, and this did not disappoint.

We Shall Be Monsters has an interesting premise and strong atmosphere. While some parts felt slow, it’s a solid read for fans of dark, character-driven stories.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

Unfortunately, I did not care for this story as much as I wanted. I think for me it was the characters, I was so disconnected and felt like there wasn’t anything within the story that connected me to them. I felt like they were just words on a book instead of actual people. Although, I did lie the premise of this book and I’m so thankful to have read this as an eARC!

We Shall Be Monsters features evocative world building and a wonderful use of the fantastic. I enjoy this genre a great day and Alyssa Wees brings a literary creativity to the story.

We Shall Be Monsters is a fantasy novel which touches on themes of family, mother/daughter relationships, love, and legacy. Set in the woods behind the protagonist's childhood home, interwoven timelines of mother and daughter combine to show the power of various types of love and courage. The book is easy to fall into, and a quick read. I would recommend to fans of stand-alone fantasies. LBGTQ+ friendly. World building could have been emphasized a bit more, but it did not take away from the story. Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!