There are few things I like more in a sequel than adding in another POV, and I was so excited to find that in Monstrous Nights! I quite liked Asen's character in Foul Days, so to have his POV too this time was excellent, and of course what dual POV book would be complete without dual narrators? Zura Johnson was once again a compelling narrator who read Kosara perfectly! Tim Campbell as Asen was also an excellent choice. I would absolutely recommend listening to this book to anyone who is interested! Especially anyone who isn't familiar with Slavic folklore or names, breezing through the pronunciation by listening just makes the book that much more enjoyable.

I devoured this book in less than 2 days, I find the world so interesting and love the way Genoveva Dimova writes with a touch of humor in the dark and dreary times. It's a comforting and fun read, and while there is so much going wrong and trauma and grief under the surface for the characters, I found both books so enjoyable. The ending was a satisfying conclusion. While I felt like I could have done without the bit of romance in Foul Days, I liked it in Monstrous Nights!

If you like the style of T. Kingfisher's internal monologues from Swordheart or the Saint of Steel series, you'll enjoy Kosara and Asen's thoughts about each other as well.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ALC!

MONSTROUS NIGHTS is the sequel to FOUL DAYS which I absolutely loved when I read it back in June so I was excited to learn we'd be getting the second book in the Witch's Compendium of Monsters duology so quickly! The story picks up where the first left off, and we're following Kosara (a witch) and Asen (a human detective) on opposite sides of the wall that divides the worlds of monsters and humans. Asen is investigating a series of witch murders which leads him back to Kosara's world.

I really enjoyed the relationship between the two in the first book along with the Slavic folklore touches and the humor the author brings in and all of that stays true in the new installment! It is a great book for the season with dark fantasy vibes which dips into horror elements.

I really really loved this duology, the narrators were perfection. They brought this story to life, at some points I was stressing out in a good way. I hope more people listen to the audio version because it really helps with the name pronunciation and story in general.

What a fantastic little series (The Witch’s Compendium of Monsters) this turned out to be. A wonderful Eastern European folklore inspired pair of novels, of which this is the second filled with fantastical monsters and positively dripping in ambiance and place.

I came to this series in an odd way. The first novel, Foul Days, was included in my “Caffeine & Legends” subscription box a few months ago. I purposely put off reading it until August when I desperately wanted fall to get closer and tried to “manifest it” if only in my mind. It absolutely hit the spot. In spite of a few “first novel” hiccups here and there I was utterly engrossed with the world of monsters and folklore from the eastern part of Europe – an area sadly underserved in the fantasy world. Here we see versions of the classic monsters of western fantasy (vampires, werewolves, etc.) but with wonderful differences that drip “Slavic” for lack of a better word. The sorts of things you might find in The Witcher novels…but also very different.

And then I saw the availability of this audiobook version of the sequel and jumped at the opportunity to read it. This time…I really was trying to manifest fall (it has been a “thing” with me lately, I guess). So I waited as long as I possibly could.

Here we have a world that is not quite our world and not quite “not” our world. The cities of Chernograd and Belograd come across vividly imagined – so much so that it is hard to believe that they’re not real places filled with witches, corrupt cops, smugglers, ghosts and monsters. There are so many memorable characters, main and side. And you are pushed right back into it – six months after the Foul Days of the prior novel. Asen and Kosara are both same and changed, but events are in motion that will change their world forever.

I won’t get into the plot – it has a number of twists and turns that you, as a reader, should simply sit back and enjoy. I loved that you are painted with different things where you say to yourself, “Ah! This is what the main plot will be!” only to discover that this is either a red herring or just tangential to what is going on. It has that wonderful feeling of a plot that was designed for two novels – they fit together like a glove. You don’t -have- to read the first novel, but you really should and the two novels should really be viewed as two parts of a whole story – one with a satisfactory ending and enough links to wonder…could there be more there somehow?

Fast paced. Brilliantly imagined. Very different from any other fantasy I’ve ever read, while also somehow feeling very familiar in hidden ways. And let me single out the narrators here: Tim Campbell and Zura Johnson are EXCEPTIONAL. This is clearly a tricky novel to narrate, given the difficult to pronounce locations, characters, monsters, etc. And yet they knock it out of the park. I found myself impressed at their seamless ability to get through some names that, reading the print version of the prior novel, I’d often struggled with.

If I had one real complaint, and it isn’t exactly a complaint, it would be regarding the guide to monsters present at the end of the novel in both books. Not that it exists – hardly! It is an essential inclusion to the novel. The problem is that for something so essential (given my unfamiliarity with these names – I still have no idea if they’re original or something from Balkan folklore), having it at the end of the audiobook is less useful. I might have considered putting it at the beginning. Or supplying it as a PDF. In the case of this book, I often found myself going back to my phyiscal copy of Foul Days to reference it and I wasn’t sure if it would be included here at all. It is less useful (even if interesting) having it at the conclusion of the book.

But that’s quite apart from the reality, which is that this is a wonderful addition to the fantasy genre by a terrific new voice. I can’t wait to see what she does next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a chance to read/listen to an advance reader copy of this novel. You can pre-order the physical copy here! Available everywhere October 22nd!

We are back with Kosara in Chernograd, after the Zmey has been dispatched, life should go back to normal. But a witch ends up dead, snow falls in the summer and Foul Days monsters appear at night. Kosara and Asen will join forces to get rid of the Zmey once and for all.

What I like about this series is its atmosphere, it’s cozy but gritty, and the characters are smart and interesting. The side characters add lovely interactions and few memorable moments (cake and wirkolak book club).

Slow burn romance between Kosara and Asen had me rooting for their happiness throughout. I also love all the magical moments and monsters, overall I’m a big fan of fantasy based on Slavic folklore! Looking forward to read more from Genoveva in the future.

Dual audiobook narration by Zura Johnson and Tim Campbell had great flow and I’m a huge fan of the accents, especially by Zura. It makes the story very believable and I wouldn’t want it performed any other way. Great use of voice acting to show emotions and distinguish each character, well done!

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the audiobook to review.

I think it’s a safe bet that if you enjoyed Foul Days, you’ll love Monstrous Nights. It keeps the same vein of Foul Days while still being a new and fresh read. I actually enjoyed Monstrous Nights even more than Foul Days, so in my opinion, there’s no book two slump happening here. Dimova continues to excel with her world building, engaging characters, and surprising story lines. I especially love Kosara as she goes head to head with a certain individual. I just really enjoy her character as a whole, so I find anything having to do with Kosara fascinating, but I especially loved her unraveling the mysteries of the shadows she inherited. I also enjoyed getting to see more of Asen and watching him navigate challenges without Kosara. I read this via ebook and audiobook and loved that it was dual narrators to voice Kosara’s POV and Asen’s POV. This was a satisfying conclusion to the duology. I highly recommend checking it out but especially reading via audiobook.

Dimova is officially one of my favorite authors now!

What this duology reminded me of:
T. Kingfisher
Naomi Novik
Katherine Arden
but then with rat pack/zoot suit vibes also

I really enjoyed Foul Days and even her shorty story, Ace Up Her Sleeve, and Monstrous Nights is no exception.
The story telling that Dimova achieved was phenomenal. I was glued to the pages the entire time. The monsters became more complex in the second book and the story was resolved in a satisfying way.
I loved all the folklore, the familiar and the unfamiliar.
Overall I am so excited to see what else she can come up with.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the audioARC of this book!

HANDS DOWN the best second book in a duology I've read in a VERY long time. This duology is actually a valid and complete story having two full books. It doesn't drag on and it doesn't try to introduce new random weird plot lines that don't make sense. We get satisfying conclusions to every plot and I am SO thrilled with everything.

Kosara and Asen were amazingly exceptional in this book. With interesting developments that twist their relationship different ways, we see them constantly drawn to one another in the most beautiful way. I absolutely loved their slow burn through these two books.

I also loved that this duology had so many morally grey characters and decision-making. "Who are we to decide the fate of others?" It's such a big theme throughout this book in particular. It's so hard to say too much without spoilers... I know most of what I'm saying is so generic haha

The narrators were very good; they do have accents but they're appropriate for the environment. As someone who sometimes has trouble with accents in narrators, I wasn't bothered by them at all.

Highly recommend to fantasy lovers, especially those who want something with no spice (as this has none!) but still want a lovely romance behind the very intricate main plot.

Once again I was brought back to a story full of folklore , monsters, and magic. This book was a super fun story with a quest full of twists and turns.

A perfect sequel. I loved this duology so much to the point both books are in my top ten of books read this year. The stakes were high, the characters at risk of danger so often, and yet there was something so cozy and comforting about it all. Will absolutely be reading everything from this author in future, especially if it involves werewolves in book clubs.

Monstrous Nights
Dropping us straight back into the world of Chernograd only a couple of month after the events of book 1, but this time we get dual POV and Asen is back! Yet again witches are being separated from their shadows and Kosara is investigating who or what is responsible. After trapping the Zmey in the wall, things have been affected on both sides and a permanent remedy must be found. This is a perfect completion of the story begun in Foul Days, and I’m sad there is no more time to spend with my favourite witch and copper!

A delightful duology. Two people deny their feelings for each other while they’re constantly harangued by monsters of Slavic folklore and an asshole human smuggler (the smuggler is human, he’s not smuggling humans (I think)). There’s high stakes but this was a cozy read for me. I only wish the emotional moments hit harder than they did.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor for the ALC!

Monstrous Nights has alternating POVs from Kosara and Aden, and the narrators' performances were both outstanding. I loved the developments on the different creatures and side characters, but I wanted more romance between the two main characters. Overall I really enjoyed this duology conclusion, and this series was so unique to anything I have read before.

I received an ALC from Macmillan Audio via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Listen, I have a feeling this duology is going to be vastly underrated but it’s SO GOOD!!! I was immersed and the monsters felt so real. I felt the author did an incredible job at building a concrete world and it was so intriguing.

This book wasn’t *as* good as book 1, but I think it was just a little lull in the middle. It does improve and get intriguing in the end! I love the women power displayed in this. The need for women to work together was such an important concept by the end and I love the character’s mini arc in realizing this (she has a greater arc so I feel like this was a smaller part). The FMC is so great and I love her strength. She’s a fighter and I really appreciated it.

Overall a superb series! The audiobook narrators were great voices that added to the experience. I do wish the male voice was at the same pace as the female as I felt he was a bit faster, but overall not too noticeable.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review!!

This was a solid second installment in the series. The audio narration and production was excellent. The story kept me engaged throughout and I’m looking forward to what comes next.

While the first book seemed to have solved Kosara's problems with Zmey by trapping him in the wall with his sister, all is not well. There were repercussions with the "czar of monsters" being kept away from his realm and that is only part of the issues. Monsters are showing up in summer and it is still snowing like winter and it is like the Foul Days all over again. I was happy to dive right back in to the story and I admire Kosara, who despite all the setbacks with her twelve shadows (that make her one of the most powerful witches) not listening to her (and making unsanctioned changes) and her still hearing Zmey, does her best. And luckily Asen is on the trail of dead witches which lead him back to Kosara for help. He loosens up in this book ( and considering what happens, that is a very good thing) which makes me like him more and him and Kosara work well together, when Kosara actually admits to needing help instead of shouldering everything herself. Honestly, that is the main thing in this book, how it will take help from others to solve this problem that has gotten massively out of control (you get more back story in this book about how and why Zmey is the way he is).

This has a very satisfying ending to a well written duology. I really enjoyed listening to it (really helps me know the pronunciation of names and really gets me feeling the atmosphere of the book). The narrators do a great job and it is easy to tell which character is speaking. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this fun chance to listen to this audiobook and review it!

Thank you to NetGalley and to MacMillan Audio for the ARC of Monstrous Nights by Genoveva Dimova.

I LOVED the first book in this series - Dimova is a new force in the folklore fantasy realm and I think she is so incredibly talented. I love the world she has created here, and, if anything, my largest complaint about this book is that it is too short. The first audiobook, Foul Days was about 3 hours longer, and I feel like Monstrous Nights needed the same treatment because there is so much happening here that I would have loved to have expanded upon.

In this book, we pick up 6 months after Foul Days, and Kosara is now one of the strongest witches in the city, though her 12 shadows are a bit more unruly than helpful. She is helping the people of the city with their ailments and issues, but for some reason the weather has been getting colder and colder, just like it does before the Foul Days usually begins. Kosara is brought to the scene of a murder of another witch who has had their shadow stolen, and she is once again looking to see who in the city is trying to cause trouble. Meanwhile, Asen is back in Belograd, and he too stumbles upon a similar witch murder, that leads him to his nemesis Konstantin Karaivanov, and then, back to team up with Kosara. From there, the adventure and murder mystery ensues.

Again, I wish this book was longer because there is so much happening and so much being taken on and resolved. Monstrous Nights does complete the duology. Kosara and Asen develop a lot as individuals (though I wish we saw more of them together) .I wish we got to spend more time with the other creatures and people of Chernograd -- I don't know, I guess I just wanted more of every part, generally.

I can't wait to see what Dimova releases next - she is a must read author for me now.

The audio is fantastic -- there is a part where Kosara's accent is influenced by her shadows and I loved the way that was represented by the narrator. It was the finer details that really made the story pop.

I love dark, folklore inspired fantasies. I also love disaster sad-sack characters falling in love. So this duology is a win-win.

These were just some of my notes as I was reading and I feel like they sum up my overall thoughts pretty well:

-I think Dimova does such a remarkable job of blending dark folklore with humor and intrigue.
-There is a humorous edge to so many of these characters that I adored. And some really sweet, silly moments that made me laugh. It was a nice balance to the themes of grief and guilt that so many of these characters are experiencing.
-It's canon that they read monster romance! I love this for everyone involved.
-Kikimoras are a real bitch. Would not recommend.
-Look at all of these queer monster loving fools! I love them.
-I do wish there had been just a pinch more of romance. The slow burn really slow burned but I still wanted just a little bit more. (even like a little epilogue with them being sweet and happy.)

The narrators did a fabulous job with this book! (I ADORED that it was Dual POV)

Huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced audio!

3.25 stars

🎧Audiobook🎧 is well-narrated.

OK. First-off, I absolutely loved the first book in this series! The world-building is creative, detailed and so well thought-out. In the first book, I found the characters truly likeable and they pulled on my heart-strings. I dashed through every adventure with them, hoping desperately for a solid (if not truly happy) ending. And though I had only read/reviewed *Foul Days* only ~6 months ago, I reread and re-enjoyed that book before beginning this second installation.

I was SO EXCITED to read this second book by Genoveva Dimova, until.......

The shift from a one-person to two-person viewpoint probably could have worked well in this book - if it wasn't THESE two characters!! Not only did the witch completely lose all of the personal development that she gained in the first book, but now the cop (whose viewpoint we see for the first time in the second book) is just as self-conscious, un-confident and whiny as she had been and now reverts to. I swear that the amount of adventure fades for the first half of this book, only to make way for an onslaught of "I will never be enough", "I'm so stupid" and "There is zero chance that they return my feelings" - from both of them. Honestly, it went on long enough to ruin my love for this series!

I'm glad that I didn't completely give up on reading this audiobook, as things did sort-of pick up in the last half or third. The magic gets more complex, as do the consequences. The reasons that I loved the first book somewhat faded back into the fold. That said, it wasn't a true redemption.

I know from experience that healing and personal growth are cyclical, but both of these characters lost both that and any pull on my heart-strings as they whined their way through the first half of the book. Any balance that may have been an illusion due to the one-person viewpoint disappears. And it created my perception that neither of these people were even mature enough to maintain any kind of relationship whatsoever. Basically taking what I perceived to be more of an adult first book, and reverting the second into the kind of popular romantasy and YA that I thoroughly avoid.

There are so very few fantasy and sci.fi books these days that don't centre on romance, and I was so disappointed to see this series and this author be affected by the market in this way. Let's ditch the washing of all stories with romance to make them sell, and let fantasy and sci.fi maintain adventures, with a possible side of relationships rather than being complete overtaken.

Huge gratitude to Netgalley and the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for an Audio-ARC of this book, in exchange for my (probably too) honest review. I really WAS so thrilled to receive this audiobook!!

Yes.

Loved it.

Super fun duology. I’d happily read 10 more.

It’s the perfect blend of humor and seriousness and action.

I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what else Genoveva Dimova can cook up for future books.

Thanks to Tor and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an advanced copy and ALC to review! Can’t wait to add it to my shelf when it releases.