BOOKS | Review: Tales of a Monstrous Heart by Jennifer Delaney

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. 

BOOKS | Review: Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett

Name: Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales (Emily Wilde #3)

Author: Heather Fawcett

Publisher: Orbit

Date published: February 2025

Genre: Fiction, adult, fantasy, romance, cosy, academia

Pages: 368

Rating: 5/5

Emily Wilde has spent her life studying faeries. A renowned dryadologist, she has documented hundreds of species of Folk in her Encyclopaedia of Faeries. Now she is about to embark on her most dangerous academic project studying the inner workings of a faerie realm - as its queen.
Along with her former academic rival - now fiancé - the dashing and mercurial Wendell Bambleby, Emily is immediately thrust into the deadly intrigues of Faerie as the two of them seize the throne of Wendell's long-lost kingdom, which Emily finds a beautiful nightmare, filled with scholarly treasures.
Emily has been obsessed with faerie stories her entire life, but at first she feels as ill-suited to Faerie as she did to the mortal world - how could an unassuming scholar like herself pass for a queen? Yet there is little time to settle in - Wendell's murderous stepmother has placed a deadly curse upon the land before vanishing without a trace. It will take all of Wendell's magic - and Emily's knowledge of stories - to unravel the mystery before they lose everything they hold dear.

- From Goodreads.

This was another excellent book in the Emily Wilde series, I could honestly read an endless amount of stories about Emily and Wendell's adventures. They're never predictable, and have a wonderful amount of humour, romance and fascinating folklore. I think the way stories and legends of the faeries were used in this book was especially clever and it was exciting the way the stakes had raised over the series as we spent the majority of the story in faerie for the first time, but Emily and Wendell were still as endearing as ever. 

I think it was lovely how the author managed to include all the familiar and loveable characters from the previous books without it feeling forced, and also introduced us to other interesting new characters who were all very intriguing. I think this along with the creativity in the world building means that there would always be more to explore in the world and it wouldn't be possible to grow tired of new stories within it. Even though this book felt it wrapped up the story that was started in the first book well, there is plenty of room for more, and I would always be happy to come back to this world, especially if that meant seeing more of Emily and Wendell, who I just adore. Their relationship was just as heartwarming as in the previous two books, and I can't get enough of how devoted they are to each other.

I will definitely continue to read more of Heather Fawcett's books, I think she has a brilliant writing style and her books always have a wonderful imagination. I will be very excited to see what she comes out with next.