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!

I enjoyed the forest and its monsters, and the discussion of what it truly takes to be a monster. I was more interested in Gemma's quest than Virginia's flashbacks, but overall it was a solid magical, fairy-tale like story.

This book was a spellbinding journey from start to finish. A haunting fairy tale, it explores the evolving relationship between a mother and her daughter, Gemma, as they become entangled with the mysterious forces of the forest. The story was immersive and the story kept me hooked until the very last page. If you loved the eerie, otherworldly vibe of Pan's Labyrinth, this is a must-read.

We Shall Be Monsters is a spellbinding gothic faerie tale that masterfully explores the complex, intergenerational relationships between mothers and daughters. With its rich atmosphere, epic quests, and battles for honor, this book captivated me completely—everything I love wrapped into one unforgettable story.

What a thrilling read that I couldn't put down! The dark, atmospheric world Wees creates is both captivating and eerie, pulling me into a story full of twists and surprises. The characters were engaging and their journeys were as haunting as they were exciting. The blend of fantasy and suspense kept me on the edge of my seat, even if a few plot points felt a bit predictable.

"We choose which stories to tell our daughters, but not which ones they’ll believe."

Gemma, a girl living with her mother near a gateway to fairyland, often sneaks into the woods to explore despite her mother’s warnings. Virginia, Gemma’s mother, knows all too well the dangers of fairyland, and she’s willing to do anything to protect her daughter from it. But when Virginia is stolen away to fairyland, Gemma is the one who must save her mother.

This just did not keep my attention. The premise is promising, but the plot and writing are disjointed and wandering. It was a trial to even want to pick up this book, let alone get through it. The pacing was incredibly strange—a lot of attention would be given to a background moment, and then there would be something that should be a pivotal scene and it was just brushed over. There is so much telling instead of showing, and just what seems to be an overall lack of direction when it comes to this novel. Virginia’s chapters read as far too juvenile for an adult woman and she just wasn’t relatable, or likable, or really anything. This was pretty solidly a miss for me.


<b>3/5 stars</b>

Thank you to Netgalley for the arc.

Give it 3.5 stars

This book is about a mother and daughter and the supposed monsters in the woods. It's a duo POV with the mom and daughter. It kind of started off as the mother looking for this special mirror but that's not completely the plot of the book. Mostly , about fear and monsters in the woods and possibly monsters in humans.

"Yes, though the problem is not fear itself . It's what we do with it."

I don't know why this took me so long to finish. I liked it but I didn't love it. It might have been the writing.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, although I did have to push through a bit at the beginning as I adjusted to the characters and story. Yet, as the story began to unfold, I found myself quite intrigued with each passing chapter. I had no predictions of what was to come, but even if I did, I would've been wrong.

Thank you to NetGalley, DelRay, and Alyssa Wees for an Advanced Reader's Copy of this title!

When I say I want dark fairytales, THIS is what I mean. "We Shall Be Monsters" is a lush, decaying, fantastical tale of longing, boyish fairy princes, mother-daughter generational conflict, "a heart's a heavy burden", regret, enchanted hairbrushes, rotting monsters, blood, entrapments, star-crossed everything, self-acceptance, things that scream in the night, antiques, beasties, death-trapping curses, unrequited love, growing into your own power, queens(s), and the deep dark things that hide in the forest and inside of us too.

I've heard this book variously characterized as a eldritch blend of "The Labyrinth", "Alice in Wonderland", "The Book of Lost Things", and "Brave", and I would also submit elements of "A Sorceress Comes To Call" by T. Kingfisher, "The Bear and the Nightingale" by Katherine Arden, and the vibes of some of Ghibli's works as well. The story is told through the back-and-forth narratives of Gemma, a soon-to-be-15-year-old who longs for the woods, and her mother Virginia, who is desperately trying to curb that longing as someone once tried with her. This in some ways is a tale of children and teenagers, but it's also a tale of gore, sharp teeth, and the rich and heady language of a storyteller cast in shadows and secrets, and I gave my name to the fairies and stepped into the mushroom circle in enjoying it.

Congratulations to Alyssa Wees on a fantastic Michigan spook show that has sat with me for days, and I can't wait to see what you come up with next!