The Monstrous Kind
Lydia Gregovic
An atmospheric, haunting, romantasy inspired by Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, set in a Regency England about two sisters fighting to hold on to their manor while deadly monsters prowl along its perimeters—perfect for fans of House of Salt and Sorrows and Anatomy: A Love Story. Merrick Darling’s life as daughter of the Manor Lord of Sussex is better than most. Unlike the commoners, she is immune to the toxic fog that encroached on England generations earlier. She will never become a Phantom—one of the monstrous creatures that stalk her province’s borders—and as long as the fires burn to hold them back, her safety is ensured. She wants for nothing, yet she will never inherit her family’s Manor. She must marry smartly or live at the kindness of her elder sister, Essie. Everything is turned on its head, though, when Merrick’s father dies suddenly. Torn from her New London society life of ball gowns and parties, Merrick must travel back to her childhood home, the Darling estate of Norland House, and what she finds there is bewildering. Once strong and capable, Essie is withdrawn and frightened—and with good cause. A recent string of attacks along the province’s borders has turned their formerly bucolic countryside into a terrifying and unpredictable landscape. The fog is closing in and the fires aren’t holding, which makes Merrick and Essie vulnerable in more ways than one. Because the Phantoms are far from the only monsters in Merrick’s world, and the other eleven Manor Lords are always watching for weakness. Revealing her and her sister’s current state to the rest of the Manors is out of the question, but when Essie goes missing, it’s clear that Merrick needs help. Only, who can she trust when everyone seems to be scheming, and when all she holds true feels like it’s slipping right out of her grasp?
Publication Year: 2024
The first thing that stood out to me about *The Monstrous Kind* was how slow and wordy it was. The first 30% felt like pure information dumping, and I kept waiting—hoping—for the pace to pick up. This is my first time reading a Regency-era novel with real substance, so I’m not sure if that kind of slow buildup is typical, but it made the reading experience feel like a slog. The story hinges on miscommunication between the sisters and repeated attacks by the Phantom, but neither element felt engaging enough to hold my attention. I found myself wanting it to be over. The only reason I didn’t DNF it was because it's an ARC, but I seriously considered it. As I kept reading, it became clear that one of the main issues was the protagonist, Merrick. She’s clearly privileged, yet spends most of the book complaining about her situation without making any real effort to change it. Everyone has their struggles—hers didn’t feel compelling enough to warrant the constant self-pity. Her character came across as one-dimensional, and she consistently blamed her problems on others, particularly her sister Essie and their father. Overall, this book didn’t work for me. The premise had potential, but the execution fell flat.
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~~Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the ARC!~~
2.5/5 stars rounded down.
I've only read Austen's Pride and Prejudice as of this point in this, but even I can tell how loosely this book follows its inspiration Sense and Sensibility.
I can appreciate a good Victorian writing style, where the descriptions and inner thoughts construct page-length paragraphs for the majority of the book. But the way Gregovic goes about it feels very overwhelming and overwritten. It just felt like she was writing as such so to fit the time its set in / based off of rather than it being her natural way of writing. There's also some portions that felt more contemporary, too, so I have no idea if the author was trying to strike a balance or if the modern language of today snuck in there without her really noticing.
The characters are either stupid or bland, particularly Merrick. The narrative tries to hype her up as this cunning, gun-trained woman who don't needs saving, but she's constantly making stupid decisions (i.e., agreeing to let an obvious enemy neighbor occupy her land because some guy batted his eyelashes at her) and conveniently forgets her gun when the narrative needs her to so the male love interest can come save the day. There's multiple times in the story itself where Merrick or someone else, like her cousin-in-law and sister, who specifically called her an imbecile, acknowledged her stupidity, but that really didn't make it better. There's a reveal regarding the immunity that comes accidently because she was trying to expose something else, and the fact she never realized it when it was so painfully obvious made me wanna roll my eyes into my skull. The rest of them I could care less about. Killian, the love interest, wasn't really prevalent figure in the story except for, like, one mystery hunt he went on with Merrick and the aforementioned times he'd swoop in to save her. Otherwise, he was just a nothing burger of a character.
All in all, I'm very sad I wasn't able to enjoy this more, since I've been wanting to read some more good gothic YA. I'm sure this will have its audience when it releases, but I will not be amongst them.
0The first thing that stood out to me about *The Monstrous Kind* was how slow and wordy it was. The first 30% felt like pure information dumping, and I kept waiting—hoping—for the pace to pick up. This is my first time reading a Regency-era novel with real substance, so I’m not sure if that kind of slow buildup is typical, but it made the reading experience feel like a slog. The story hinges on miscommunication between the sisters and repeated attacks by the Phantom, but neither element felt engaging enough to hold my attention. I found myself wanting it to be over. The only reason I didn’t DNF it was because it's an ARC, but I seriously considered it. As I kept reading, it became clear that one of the main issues was the protagonist, Merrick. She’s clearly privileged, yet spends most of the book complaining about her situation without making any real effort to change it. Everyone has their struggles—hers didn’t feel compelling enough to warrant the constant self-pity. Her character came across as one-dimensional, and she consistently blamed her problems on others, particularly her sister Essie and their father. Overall, this book didn’t work for me. The premise had potential, but the execution fell flat.
0This book had everything I love:
Mystery and Suspense
Unexpected Plot Twists
The best male love interest
And like court stuff
This book was great once I got into it, it just took a little bit for my interest to fully be there. This is a really well done debut novel, and the world building is *chefs kiss*. As a person who has a hard time visualizing things in my brain, I need strong imagery, and this book has it.
There better be a second one coming!!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this ARC for my honest review.
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