Name: Tales of a Monstrous Heart (Tales of a Monstrous Heart #1)
Author: Jennifer Delaney
Publisher: Gollancz
Date published: August 2024
Genre: Fiction, adult, fantasy, romance, gothic, academia
Pages: 468
Rating: 4/5
Be careful of the dark and those that call it friend.
Katherine
Woodrow is Fey, and all she wants is to graduate from the Institute of
Magic. But when the prejudiced mortal council threaten her position at
the institute, she is left with only one option: accept a Mage
Partnership with the elusive Lord Blackthorn.
Emrys Blackthorn is
a riddle Kat is fearful of solving. The mysterious, cursed war hero
with his stormy eyes and unpredictable ways leaves Kat with more
questions than answers. What she does know is that she is irresistibly
drawn to him... No matter how forbidden it might be.
When a
string of murders and fey disappearances herald the return of dark
magic, Kat and Emrys are thrown into a world of ancient books that hide
hideous monsters, dark fiends who play with nightmares and mortal men
who wish nothing more than to see them both burn.
But what haunts
them both are secrets even ghosts dare not whisper, while insidious
shadows lick their teeth and sharpen their claws, waiting for the moment
that all tales will come to light - even the monstrous ones.
- From Goodreads.
This book had a wonderfully intense atmosphere, it was very gothic, with a lot of sinister details. I thought the world-building and magic system were fascinating and the magic especially made for some thrilling moments.
Katherine and Emrys were both intriguing characters and I think their dynamic was very compelling and it was exciting to follow their relationship and see it grow and change as they got closer. Both of them had their secrets and mysteries, so it was interesting to see them decide if they could trust each other and tell each other the truth.
My only real problem with the book was that it felt like it could have used another round of editing. There were some quite easy to spot grammar mistakes, but it was more that it felt like some descriptions and explanations of events were hard to understand, and I also could not always follow why characters were unhappy with each other or how they had reached certain conclusions. It seemed like with a little more time spent on the editing, these bumps in the story could have been smoothed out.
Overall though, I still enjoyed the book and found myself speeding through it quite quickly. I was eager to find out how the mysteries unravelled and I was invested in the romance. I will definitely be picking up the next book. I would recommend this if you like Howl's Moving Castle, Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson, and stories with sentient houses and dark, gothic romance.
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