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Tales of a Monstrous Heart #1
Tales of a Monstrous Heart
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 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.
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 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.
468 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 29, 2024
162 people are currently reading
7960 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Delaney
2 books125 followersJennifer Delaney lives in Liverpool, England. She has a BA and MA in Creative Writing from Liverpool John Moores University.
Jennifer has always had a deep love of fantasy, troublesome characters, heart stopping romance and all things gothic.
Tales of a Monstrous Heart is her debut novel. The first book in her gothic fantasy trilogy.
Jennifer has always had a deep love of fantasy, troublesome characters, heart stopping romance and all things gothic.
Tales of a Monstrous Heart is her debut novel. The first book in her gothic fantasy trilogy.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 471 reviews
December 5, 2024
2.5 stars.
I have to express my disappointment that this book did not meet my expectations. While the author crafted a unique world that successfully captured my interest and kept me turning the pages, it ultimately fell short due to significant flaws.
The dark and melancholic atmosphere created a sense of immersion that I found compelling, and I appreciate the author's ability to evoke such strong feelings. However, the book suffers from serious issues, primarily with the characters and pervasive grammatical errors that should have been addressed by the editing team. Unfortunately, the author's debut was mishandled in this regard.
Now, let's get to the core reasons why this book didn't resonate with me. The characters were a major drawback. Kat, the main protagonist, starts promisingly, but her transformation into a damsel in distress upon meeting her love interest is infuriating. Despite her evident powers and potential, the narrative required her to be helpless or reliant on him, undermining her character. I find it frustrating when authors resort to this trope to advance a romance.
Kat’s relentless self-pity became unbearable. While I understand her life experiences have been difficult, her tendency to constantly dwell on her past became repetitive and tiresome. Even when her love interest, Emrys, opens up about his struggles, she somehow manages to redirect the conversation back to her misery. This incessant cycle of introspection was simply frustrating to read.
Additionally, it was beyond silly that Kat’s powers were often restrained for the sake of creating situations where Emrys could swoop in and rescue her. This approach undermined her strength and diminished any sense of agency she might have had.
The reason she restrains her powers out of fear of what she might become is utterly disappointing and frankly unoriginal. It’s time to stop portraying female protagonists as always hesitant to embrace their abilities or drowning in guilt for acting against their abusers. This trope is tired and does a disservice to the strong narratives we could be exploring. We need to see more stories where women confidently harness their powers without being bogged down by unnecessary fear or remorse. It's high time we moved past this cliché.
Speaking of the romance, it left much to be desired. Their chemistry felt more like a familial bond than that of romantic partners. Emrys was okay, but honestly, I found it hard to care for him. The broody, dark-haired love interest is becoming a tired cliché—can we not have some variety in male characters?
On a positive note, there were elements I genuinely enjoyed. William was a highlight; he brought a refreshing energy and charisma that outshined the main leads. Additionally, I’m a fan of sentient houses, and this one had an intriguing personality that I appreciated. The world the author created was fascinating, and I wish more focus had been placed on it rather than on the lackluster romance.
I have to express my disappointment that this book did not meet my expectations. While the author crafted a unique world that successfully captured my interest and kept me turning the pages, it ultimately fell short due to significant flaws.
The dark and melancholic atmosphere created a sense of immersion that I found compelling, and I appreciate the author's ability to evoke such strong feelings. However, the book suffers from serious issues, primarily with the characters and pervasive grammatical errors that should have been addressed by the editing team. Unfortunately, the author's debut was mishandled in this regard.
Now, let's get to the core reasons why this book didn't resonate with me. The characters were a major drawback. Kat, the main protagonist, starts promisingly, but her transformation into a damsel in distress upon meeting her love interest is infuriating. Despite her evident powers and potential, the narrative required her to be helpless or reliant on him, undermining her character. I find it frustrating when authors resort to this trope to advance a romance.
Kat’s relentless self-pity became unbearable. While I understand her life experiences have been difficult, her tendency to constantly dwell on her past became repetitive and tiresome. Even when her love interest, Emrys, opens up about his struggles, she somehow manages to redirect the conversation back to her misery. This incessant cycle of introspection was simply frustrating to read.
Additionally, it was beyond silly that Kat’s powers were often restrained for the sake of creating situations where Emrys could swoop in and rescue her. This approach undermined her strength and diminished any sense of agency she might have had.
The reason she restrains her powers out of fear of what she might become is utterly disappointing and frankly unoriginal. It’s time to stop portraying female protagonists as always hesitant to embrace their abilities or drowning in guilt for acting against their abusers. This trope is tired and does a disservice to the strong narratives we could be exploring. We need to see more stories where women confidently harness their powers without being bogged down by unnecessary fear or remorse. It's high time we moved past this cliché.
Speaking of the romance, it left much to be desired. Their chemistry felt more like a familial bond than that of romantic partners. Emrys was okay, but honestly, I found it hard to care for him. The broody, dark-haired love interest is becoming a tired cliché—can we not have some variety in male characters?
On a positive note, there were elements I genuinely enjoyed. William was a highlight; he brought a refreshing energy and charisma that outshined the main leads. Additionally, I’m a fan of sentient houses, and this one had an intriguing personality that I appreciated. The world the author created was fascinating, and I wish more focus had been placed on it rather than on the lackluster romance.
November 25, 2024
ˋ°•*⁀➷ 4 stars
very minor details mentioned!
ahem..... YEARNING 💳💥 PINING 💳💥 NEED 💳💥 TENSION 💳💥 MYSTERY 💳💥 INTRIGUE 💳💥
jennifer delaney served me all this wrapped up in a magically gothic romantasy — and boy, did i eat it up 🤌🏼
• katherine woodrow — literally the only word that sums up this woman is BADASSSS istg. she was chewing everybody up like she was getting paid for it. facing prejudice and discrimination in legit everything and still being a bad bitch was so fun to read. despite being strong and powerful, she's also incredibly vulnerable and open at times, which i found so refreshing in this genre (as of late). i honestly couldn't get enough of her and the way she moved and thought. her aura was written to be like ethereal??? it was so intriguing to me to get little bits of her backstory and having more of her magic revealed throughout the book.
• emrys blackthorn — he is exactly what i wanted him to be as soon as i heard 'inspired by jane eyre'. he's what these men who believe they're cool and mysterious think they are 😭😭😭😭 him and his funny asf sentient house were so howl's moving castle coded i ADORED them. honestly, he is just a beautiful man inside out, and that's saying a lot coming from me 💀 lord emrys blackthorn's girl can do no wrong, and he'll make sure you know it!!! i love a man who supports women's rights AND wrongs fr 🤝 (but seriously, she does no wrong)
• a few qualms i have is there are a good few info dumps that i feel could've been executed better and not just in one big go. there was also a lack of explanation surrounding the fairfax manor arc?? why did they have to stay in the house? what was keeping them there?? i've also seen a lot of people raising the issue of editing; i will say there are a few mistakes, but i honestly wasn't even phased??? i was either too engrossed to notice, or there's been some exaggeration 😭😭 anyway i don't think it took away from the story at all, but maybe an editor can go back in to patch things up.
+ miss delaney has talked about being dyslexic and she still WROTE 💜, let me tell you!!!!! prose and character writing were an absolute slay.... as well as some of my fav quotes i just had to share ;
• "𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖 𝙬𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙫𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙚, 𝙆𝙖𝙩. 𝙏𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙨𝙤 𝙄 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪." CRAZY WORK.
• "𝙊𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙄'𝙫𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙙, 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙗𝙞𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙖𝙡𝙡?" EAT YOUR HEART OUT, MR. DARCY 🫦🫦🫦
• "𝘼𝙡𝙖 𝙀𝙧𝙞𝙖." IF YOU KNOW YOU KNOWWW
• '𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙢. 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙚'𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙬𝙖𝙮. 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙚.' ............i'm crying blood
• and the ending... now why would you do that to me????? i've been left foaming at the mouth RABID!! buttt, i was anticipating this book, and i was defo not left disappointed, so i guess i can live with the romantasy rabies for awhile 😋
very minor details mentioned!
ahem..... YEARNING 💳💥 PINING 💳💥 NEED 💳💥 TENSION 💳💥 MYSTERY 💳💥 INTRIGUE 💳💥
jennifer delaney served me all this wrapped up in a magically gothic romantasy — and boy, did i eat it up 🤌🏼
• katherine woodrow — literally the only word that sums up this woman is BADASSSS istg. she was chewing everybody up like she was getting paid for it. facing prejudice and discrimination in legit everything and still being a bad bitch was so fun to read. despite being strong and powerful, she's also incredibly vulnerable and open at times, which i found so refreshing in this genre (as of late). i honestly couldn't get enough of her and the way she moved and thought. her aura was written to be like ethereal??? it was so intriguing to me to get little bits of her backstory and having more of her magic revealed throughout the book.
• emrys blackthorn — he is exactly what i wanted him to be as soon as i heard 'inspired by jane eyre'. he's what these men who believe they're cool and mysterious think they are 😭😭😭😭 him and his funny asf sentient house were so howl's moving castle coded i ADORED them. honestly, he is just a beautiful man inside out, and that's saying a lot coming from me 💀 lord emrys blackthorn's girl can do no wrong, and he'll make sure you know it!!! i love a man who supports women's rights AND wrongs fr 🤝 (but seriously, she does no wrong)
• a few qualms i have is there are a good few info dumps that i feel could've been executed better and not just in one big go. there was also a lack of explanation surrounding the fairfax manor arc?? why did they have to stay in the house? what was keeping them there?? i've also seen a lot of people raising the issue of editing; i will say there are a few mistakes, but i honestly wasn't even phased??? i was either too engrossed to notice, or there's been some exaggeration 😭😭 anyway i don't think it took away from the story at all, but maybe an editor can go back in to patch things up.
+ miss delaney has talked about being dyslexic and she still WROTE 💜, let me tell you!!!!! prose and character writing were an absolute slay.... as well as some of my fav quotes i just had to share ;
• "𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖 𝙬𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙫𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙚, 𝙆𝙖𝙩. 𝙏𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙨𝙤 𝙄 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪." CRAZY WORK.
• "𝙊𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙄'𝙫𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙙, 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙗𝙞𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙖𝙡𝙡?" EAT YOUR HEART OUT, MR. DARCY 🫦🫦🫦
• "𝘼𝙡𝙖 𝙀𝙧𝙞𝙖." IF YOU KNOW YOU KNOWWW
• '𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙢. 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙚'𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙬𝙖𝙮. 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙚.' ............i'm crying blood
• and the ending... now why would you do that to me????? i've been left foaming at the mouth RABID!! buttt, i was anticipating this book, and i was defo not left disappointed, so i guess i can live with the romantasy rabies for awhile 😋
October 15, 2024
— 5 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"Out of all the punishments I've endured, why is being forbidden to have you the worst of them all?"
📖 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 384 pages
👤 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Jennifer Delaney
🏢 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫: Gollancz
📅 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞: 29 August 2024
What you can expect:
— Adult Gothic Fantasy Romance
— First Instalment In A Trilogy
— First Person X Single POV
— Jane Eyre Inspired
— Fey X Scarred Dark Mysterious Lord
— Sentient & Meddling House
— Forbidden Romance
— Close Proximity
— Tending To Each Other's Wounds
— Dark Academia
— Murder Mystery
— Found Family
— 'Who Did This To You'
— Slow Burn Romance
— Morally Grey Characters
— Non-Binary Flirts
𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲:
Tales of a Monstrous Heart is the first instalment in a new trilogy by debut author Jennifer Delaney. To say I'm thrilled and in awe is an understatement. I've been highly anticipating Tales of a Monstrous Heart for months after following the author on social media and if I could give higher than a five star rating... I would. Knowing this story is a debut publication for author Jennifer Delaney only adds to my delight, and I cannot wait to see what comes next for Delaney as a writer and how she continues to explore in the Tales series. This richly seductive and gothic tale was unputdownable with its compelling narrative, enticing setting, haunting mystery and well-explored storyline. The pacing was steady from beginning to end as we are granted ample time to discover our main cast of characters and divulge into the lore of their world, and I look forward to see what comes next in the story after that explosive ending left my jaw dropped and my heart racing. I devoured this book and its contents in one sitting whilst barely coming up for air... that's how good it is.
𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭:
I was thoroughly submersed into the plot of Tales of a Monstrous Heart from the very first page as we are immediately thrust into an action-packed first chapter. Faced with the prejudice of her heritage and an innate need to fit in amongst her human peers, Katherine Woodrow desperately tries to keep her chaos to a minimum to little success. Unfortunately for her, fate is fickle and in the mood to play games. With her magic at risk of being 'cleansed' and being cast out of the Institute, Kat has begun to lose hope until she receives partnership papers from the mysterious and presumed dead Lord Emrys Blackthorn. Lord Blackthorn provides Kat with the opportunity she desperately needed, until she finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery as her fellow Fey continue to turn up dead with sinister forces at play. At no point did I find the plot to 'lull' or drag as we follow Katherine and Emrys in their bid for answers. The history of their world plays a recurring role in the mystery that they desperately seek to unveil, and I really enjoyed how this was incorporated into the developing plot. It became clear that nothing is said or done without reason, and I look forward to see where the rest of the series will go as more secrets are revealed and mysteries are unravelled.
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬:
Katherine Woodrow is my kind of main character with her feisty and formidable nature. When we are first introduced to Kat, she is doing everything she can to blend in with her human peers and hide her Fey heritage. All she wants is to be viewed as an equal, and it broke my heart to recognise how strong of a character she is that has been forced with submit to the will of others. Her bravery and resilience manifest in the defence of those who need it... even the undeserving. Kat is willing to do whatever it takes to protect the few people in her life that she cares for, and I had the best time seeing just unhinged she could become in response to that protection. She's intelligent and resourceful, and her loyalty is unparalleled. I felt immense pride for Kat's character as she began to unravel the 'truths' she had been given and analyse the world around her as it is. Kat really comes into herself and her identity as a powerful Fey which was a monumental moment after spending so many years trying to be accepted for who she wasn't. Her trauma broke my heart after slowly learning about what she had endured as the plot progressed, and I'm really eager to see where her character will go after that epic ending to the book. Jennifer... you'll be receiving my therapy bill.
LORD Emrys Blackthorn. Phew. What a character he turned out to be. I've been practically salivating over this man as a result of Delaney's teasers in the last few months, and to say he did not disappoint is the understatement of the year. Dark and broody. Horrifically scarred and mysterious. Check and check. And yet despite his imposing presence, I was pleasantly surprised to see how soft natured and compassionate Emrys could be. His patience and guardian-like regard towards William was so endearing and special. This bond helped showcase that as secretive and seemingly unreachable his character is, Emrys is still capable of forming lasting close bonds despite how selective he may be in his approach to them. His willingness to trust in Kat from the beginning had me opening up to his character and eager to learn more about him and his past. His mysterious allure pulled me in, and I completely understand Kat's attraction. Also... I love a man with a protective streak that still recognises his woman's ability to defend herself. I was consistently swooning at his attempts at protecting Kat from friend and foe alike… just to start laughing at her stubborn disregard as she went on to do what she wanted anyway. This poor stoic man just wanted to discover the answers to the murder mystery plaguing their lands and live his life in solitary, just to be left baffled and frustrated (yet attracted) by his stubborn Fey companion. I still very much feel like there is more to Emrys's character than what was revealed, and I look forward to being granted a more intimate insight to his character in book two.
William and Alma were the best supporting characters that I could hope for. William's youthful and positive outlook on life despite how devastating his past circumstances were. Alma's unrelenting and loyal nature. They acted as a perfect balance to one another and I adored their joined page time. I was thrilled to see them forge a solid companionship as the story progressed, and I look forward to see where their roles and character arcs develop throughout the trilogy. And of course, a special mention to the devious and alluring Thean. Whilst I was constantly plagued by the instinct that this is not a character to be trusted, I can't help to admit that I found myself looking forward to their appearance on-page. There's definitely more to this character than meets the eye and knowing what I now know by the end of Tales of a Monstrous Heart, I suspect Thean will have a much bigger role to play in coming books.
𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭:
The relationship development between Kat and Emrys was written to absolute perfection. The pining and the longing. The tension and the forbidden nature to their attraction. I was eager to see how their budding attraction would be addressed as Emrys is technically a mentor to Kat and therefore is arguably the one with the most power in their dynamic, however I was thrilled to see that this was handled wonderfully and didn't make their interactions in any way uncomfortable. Kat goes into their partnership ambled with knowledge of her own and even finds herself educating Emrys on knowledge he is not in possession of. This helped to create a balance in their uneven power dynamic and establish a mutual respect long before their attraction is even addressed. Trust was slow to build as both characters had endured their own horrors and trauma which affected their ability to emotionally let people in, and it was a beautiful and slightly chaotic journey to follow as their tentative trust began to grow along with the story. Nothing makes me more giddy than watching two broken people start to find pieces of themselves in the other, and it was hilarious to watch as a sentient house became their biggest supporter and matchmaker. Also, did I mention that Tales of a Monstrous Heart includes nicknames that are personal to them? Swoon. Kat and Emrys have burrowed their way into my very heart and soul, and I'm really rooting for the series to end with their happily ever after.
𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
I don't think I could fully articulate just how much I loved Tales of a Monstrous Heart, and I hope I've managed to somewhat do it justice in my review. There is not a single complaint to be found from me, and I think it done a wonderful job setting up the explosive plot that I'm expecting to see in the sequel. I will absolutely be rereading this as I await book two in the hopes of rediscovering the small 'easter eggs' that I have undoubtedly missed during my first read through. I cannot praise and recommend this book any more, and I already know it has solidified a spot in my top three reads of 2024.
𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"Out of all the punishments I've endured, why is being forbidden to have you the worst of them all?"
📖 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 384 pages
👤 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Jennifer Delaney
🏢 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫: Gollancz
📅 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞: 29 August 2024
What you can expect:
— Adult Gothic Fantasy Romance
— First Instalment In A Trilogy
— First Person X Single POV
— Jane Eyre Inspired
— Fey X Scarred Dark Mysterious Lord
— Sentient & Meddling House
— Forbidden Romance
— Close Proximity
— Tending To Each Other's Wounds
— Dark Academia
— Murder Mystery
— Found Family
— 'Who Did This To You'
— Slow Burn Romance
— Morally Grey Characters
— Non-Binary Flirts
𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲:
Tales of a Monstrous Heart is the first instalment in a new trilogy by debut author Jennifer Delaney. To say I'm thrilled and in awe is an understatement. I've been highly anticipating Tales of a Monstrous Heart for months after following the author on social media and if I could give higher than a five star rating... I would. Knowing this story is a debut publication for author Jennifer Delaney only adds to my delight, and I cannot wait to see what comes next for Delaney as a writer and how she continues to explore in the Tales series. This richly seductive and gothic tale was unputdownable with its compelling narrative, enticing setting, haunting mystery and well-explored storyline. The pacing was steady from beginning to end as we are granted ample time to discover our main cast of characters and divulge into the lore of their world, and I look forward to see what comes next in the story after that explosive ending left my jaw dropped and my heart racing. I devoured this book and its contents in one sitting whilst barely coming up for air... that's how good it is.
𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭:
I was thoroughly submersed into the plot of Tales of a Monstrous Heart from the very first page as we are immediately thrust into an action-packed first chapter. Faced with the prejudice of her heritage and an innate need to fit in amongst her human peers, Katherine Woodrow desperately tries to keep her chaos to a minimum to little success. Unfortunately for her, fate is fickle and in the mood to play games. With her magic at risk of being 'cleansed' and being cast out of the Institute, Kat has begun to lose hope until she receives partnership papers from the mysterious and presumed dead Lord Emrys Blackthorn. Lord Blackthorn provides Kat with the opportunity she desperately needed, until she finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery as her fellow Fey continue to turn up dead with sinister forces at play. At no point did I find the plot to 'lull' or drag as we follow Katherine and Emrys in their bid for answers. The history of their world plays a recurring role in the mystery that they desperately seek to unveil, and I really enjoyed how this was incorporated into the developing plot. It became clear that nothing is said or done without reason, and I look forward to see where the rest of the series will go as more secrets are revealed and mysteries are unravelled.
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬:
Katherine Woodrow is my kind of main character with her feisty and formidable nature. When we are first introduced to Kat, she is doing everything she can to blend in with her human peers and hide her Fey heritage. All she wants is to be viewed as an equal, and it broke my heart to recognise how strong of a character she is that has been forced with submit to the will of others. Her bravery and resilience manifest in the defence of those who need it... even the undeserving. Kat is willing to do whatever it takes to protect the few people in her life that she cares for, and I had the best time seeing just unhinged she could become in response to that protection. She's intelligent and resourceful, and her loyalty is unparalleled. I felt immense pride for Kat's character as she began to unravel the 'truths' she had been given and analyse the world around her as it is. Kat really comes into herself and her identity as a powerful Fey which was a monumental moment after spending so many years trying to be accepted for who she wasn't. Her trauma broke my heart after slowly learning about what she had endured as the plot progressed, and I'm really eager to see where her character will go after that epic ending to the book. Jennifer... you'll be receiving my therapy bill.
LORD Emrys Blackthorn. Phew. What a character he turned out to be. I've been practically salivating over this man as a result of Delaney's teasers in the last few months, and to say he did not disappoint is the understatement of the year. Dark and broody. Horrifically scarred and mysterious. Check and check. And yet despite his imposing presence, I was pleasantly surprised to see how soft natured and compassionate Emrys could be. His patience and guardian-like regard towards William was so endearing and special. This bond helped showcase that as secretive and seemingly unreachable his character is, Emrys is still capable of forming lasting close bonds despite how selective he may be in his approach to them. His willingness to trust in Kat from the beginning had me opening up to his character and eager to learn more about him and his past. His mysterious allure pulled me in, and I completely understand Kat's attraction. Also... I love a man with a protective streak that still recognises his woman's ability to defend herself. I was consistently swooning at his attempts at protecting Kat from friend and foe alike… just to start laughing at her stubborn disregard as she went on to do what she wanted anyway. This poor stoic man just wanted to discover the answers to the murder mystery plaguing their lands and live his life in solitary, just to be left baffled and frustrated (yet attracted) by his stubborn Fey companion. I still very much feel like there is more to Emrys's character than what was revealed, and I look forward to being granted a more intimate insight to his character in book two.
William and Alma were the best supporting characters that I could hope for. William's youthful and positive outlook on life despite how devastating his past circumstances were. Alma's unrelenting and loyal nature. They acted as a perfect balance to one another and I adored their joined page time. I was thrilled to see them forge a solid companionship as the story progressed, and I look forward to see where their roles and character arcs develop throughout the trilogy. And of course, a special mention to the devious and alluring Thean. Whilst I was constantly plagued by the instinct that this is not a character to be trusted, I can't help to admit that I found myself looking forward to their appearance on-page. There's definitely more to this character than meets the eye and knowing what I now know by the end of Tales of a Monstrous Heart, I suspect Thean will have a much bigger role to play in coming books.
𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭:
The relationship development between Kat and Emrys was written to absolute perfection. The pining and the longing. The tension and the forbidden nature to their attraction. I was eager to see how their budding attraction would be addressed as Emrys is technically a mentor to Kat and therefore is arguably the one with the most power in their dynamic, however I was thrilled to see that this was handled wonderfully and didn't make their interactions in any way uncomfortable. Kat goes into their partnership ambled with knowledge of her own and even finds herself educating Emrys on knowledge he is not in possession of. This helped to create a balance in their uneven power dynamic and establish a mutual respect long before their attraction is even addressed. Trust was slow to build as both characters had endured their own horrors and trauma which affected their ability to emotionally let people in, and it was a beautiful and slightly chaotic journey to follow as their tentative trust began to grow along with the story. Nothing makes me more giddy than watching two broken people start to find pieces of themselves in the other, and it was hilarious to watch as a sentient house became their biggest supporter and matchmaker. Also, did I mention that Tales of a Monstrous Heart includes nicknames that are personal to them? Swoon. Kat and Emrys have burrowed their way into my very heart and soul, and I'm really rooting for the series to end with their happily ever after.
𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
I don't think I could fully articulate just how much I loved Tales of a Monstrous Heart, and I hope I've managed to somewhat do it justice in my review. There is not a single complaint to be found from me, and I think it done a wonderful job setting up the explosive plot that I'm expecting to see in the sequel. I will absolutely be rereading this as I await book two in the hopes of rediscovering the small 'easter eggs' that I have undoubtedly missed during my first read through. I cannot praise and recommend this book any more, and I already know it has solidified a spot in my top three reads of 2024.
𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲.
October 7, 2024
EDIT - my original review seems to have disappeared.
But also, I think I was allowing my annoyance at the poor editing to overshadow my enjoyment of the story.
The first thing I'll say is that the editing team should be ashamed to have let a book with this many mistakes go to print. The job of the editor(s) is to enhance a book and make it as wonderful as possible. They should be working with the author to pick up the issues that they may become blind to.
On page 7, the mistakes begin. Clearly someone has done a 'replace all' without checking.
If it happened just the once I could have let it pass, but that mistake happened at least 5 times in the book.
Then there's missed words, incorrect punctuation, sentences that make no sense and repeated words throughout the entirety of this text. If I'd been on the team for this novel, I would be embarrassed, yet they don't seem to have acknowledged these mistakes once. And if I was the author, I'd be annoyed at my editors and publishers - she deserved much better.
It's like they didn't have a proof reader.
On a positive note, the authors writing style shows promise, with elements of style and world building throughout. At times it's a little messy as it throws in history at the reader to bring context to single sentences. It could be done in a smarter way, but this is a debut, and I have faith that with time this author could really refine that.
I found the characters interesting, and I wanted the book to continue and to learn more about the world and the magic system because I was interested. That can sometimes be a rare achievement for a debut author!
There are a few things that didn't make sense and some continuity errors, which again should have been picked up by the editing team.
For example, when we moved to Fairfax Manor, I had to go back and check that I hadn't missed something.
My understanding was we were there for a night, but we seemingly moved in with no solid explanation as to why.
I truly believe that a good editor could have fed that back, and the author could have made small changes or added in additional detail to tie up a few of these ends.
The connection between the characters was well developed, if somewhat predictable, but that's exactly what I was looking for in the book and I really enjoyed it.
The ending was interesting, and not exactly what I was expecting which was really refreshing.
In conclusion, the issues with this book are down to EDITING - which to quite a large extent is not the author's responsibility, and I'm sure she trusted her team to give her novel the attention it deserved, but sadly they did not.
Gollancz should apologise to the author for letting this happen. It is their responsibility to ensure the book is to the highest standard.
I understand the author is also disappointed by how people have behaved towards her, and that really does suck and she doesn't deserve it, and if the previous version of this review contributed to that, then I apologise.
As much as I'd like to read the next installment the editing has put me off, because it took away so much from the complex, detailed world that the author had spent such a long time building, and the characters whom I was growing to love.
I think that the publishers should issue an apology and a re-edit of this book, with the assurance that the sequel will be given the attention it deserves.
But also, I think I was allowing my annoyance at the poor editing to overshadow my enjoyment of the story.
The first thing I'll say is that the editing team should be ashamed to have let a book with this many mistakes go to print. The job of the editor(s) is to enhance a book and make it as wonderful as possible. They should be working with the author to pick up the issues that they may become blind to.
On page 7, the mistakes begin. Clearly someone has done a 'replace all' without checking.
If it happened just the once I could have let it pass, but that mistake happened at least 5 times in the book.
Then there's missed words, incorrect punctuation, sentences that make no sense and repeated words throughout the entirety of this text. If I'd been on the team for this novel, I would be embarrassed, yet they don't seem to have acknowledged these mistakes once. And if I was the author, I'd be annoyed at my editors and publishers - she deserved much better.
It's like they didn't have a proof reader.
On a positive note, the authors writing style shows promise, with elements of style and world building throughout. At times it's a little messy as it throws in history at the reader to bring context to single sentences. It could be done in a smarter way, but this is a debut, and I have faith that with time this author could really refine that.
I found the characters interesting, and I wanted the book to continue and to learn more about the world and the magic system because I was interested. That can sometimes be a rare achievement for a debut author!
There are a few things that didn't make sense and some continuity errors, which again should have been picked up by the editing team.
For example, when we moved to Fairfax Manor, I had to go back and check that I hadn't missed something.
My understanding was we were there for a night, but we seemingly moved in with no solid explanation as to why.
I truly believe that a good editor could have fed that back, and the author could have made small changes or added in additional detail to tie up a few of these ends.
The connection between the characters was well developed, if somewhat predictable, but that's exactly what I was looking for in the book and I really enjoyed it.
The ending was interesting, and not exactly what I was expecting which was really refreshing.
In conclusion, the issues with this book are down to EDITING - which to quite a large extent is not the author's responsibility, and I'm sure she trusted her team to give her novel the attention it deserved, but sadly they did not.
Gollancz should apologise to the author for letting this happen. It is their responsibility to ensure the book is to the highest standard.
I understand the author is also disappointed by how people have behaved towards her, and that really does suck and she doesn't deserve it, and if the previous version of this review contributed to that, then I apologise.
As much as I'd like to read the next installment the editing has put me off, because it took away so much from the complex, detailed world that the author had spent such a long time building, and the characters whom I was growing to love.
I think that the publishers should issue an apology and a re-edit of this book, with the assurance that the sequel will be given the attention it deserves.
October 6, 2025
4,5/5
Wszystkie miłośniczki romansów z naukowcami - siadajcie i czytajcie, bo Jennifer odrobiła lekcje jak dostać wysoką ocenę od czytelniczek szukających powolnie rozwijającej się (zakazanej) relacji.
Kat jest fey, przez co jest dyskryminowana i nękana w magicznej akademii. Rada uczelni nie życzy sobie, by dziewczyna skończyła szkołę ale jej ostatnim ratunkiem staje się, owiany legendą, Lord Blackthorn, który proponuje magiczne partnerstwo. Mężczyzna weźmie pod swoje skrzydła młodą naukowczynię, pozwalając rozwijać jej swoje badania, podczas gdy on zajmować się będzie tajemniczymi zaginięciami fey.
Kat jest bohaterką, którą od razu polubiłam ze względu na jej inteligencję i zapał do nauki. Współczułam jej każdej przykrej sytuacji, gdy mierzyła się z dyskryminacją na uczelni i kibicowałam gdy kolejny raz, wykazała, że ma głowę na karku i złote serce. Dziewczyna często wpada w tarapaty, przez swoją chęć zdobywania wiedzy - był to element jej uroku.
Emrys jest jak zamknięta księga, którą Kat jak i czytelnik chcę przejrzeć z każdej strony i poznawać! To idealny poprowadzony zakazany romans między "mentorem", a studentką - bo nie dość, że ich relacja rozwija się powoli, to jego fascynacją nią wynika z jej pracy, pomysłów i wspólnych badań. Blackthorn może i jest lordem, ale od pierwszego spotkania traktuje z szacunkiem Kat, grozi każdemu, kto ją wyzwie oraz przede wszystkim, podziwia ją jako badaczkę, wielokrotnie komplementując.
"Cóż za nikczemną rzecz zrobiłaś, Kat. Sprawiłaś, że marzę tylko o tobie."
W książce nie brak jednak mroku, który wydziera się przez strony, by wydostać się na zewnątrz - grymuary skrywające potwory, zmiennokształtni bohaterowie oraz lokalizacje wyjęte ze snu każdej książkary - mroczne biblioteki, "żyjący" dom, ciemne lasy oraz wykwintne przyjęcia arystokracji.
Autorka dawkuje nam kolejne wątki, bo choć zaczynami od nauki i magii, pojawiają się aspekty polityczne i konflikty, które budują fabułę na dwa kolejne tomy.
Historia zdała mój test, bo takiego zakończenia się nie spodziewałam. Poszłabym szukać drugiego tomu w bibliotece, ale poczekam, aż wydawca zapieczętuje go czarami, by nic z niego nie uciekło.
Wszystkie miłośniczki romansów z naukowcami - siadajcie i czytajcie, bo Jennifer odrobiła lekcje jak dostać wysoką ocenę od czytelniczek szukających powolnie rozwijającej się (zakazanej) relacji.
Kat jest fey, przez co jest dyskryminowana i nękana w magicznej akademii. Rada uczelni nie życzy sobie, by dziewczyna skończyła szkołę ale jej ostatnim ratunkiem staje się, owiany legendą, Lord Blackthorn, który proponuje magiczne partnerstwo. Mężczyzna weźmie pod swoje skrzydła młodą naukowczynię, pozwalając rozwijać jej swoje badania, podczas gdy on zajmować się będzie tajemniczymi zaginięciami fey.
Kat jest bohaterką, którą od razu polubiłam ze względu na jej inteligencję i zapał do nauki. Współczułam jej każdej przykrej sytuacji, gdy mierzyła się z dyskryminacją na uczelni i kibicowałam gdy kolejny raz, wykazała, że ma głowę na karku i złote serce. Dziewczyna często wpada w tarapaty, przez swoją chęć zdobywania wiedzy - był to element jej uroku.
Emrys jest jak zamknięta księga, którą Kat jak i czytelnik chcę przejrzeć z każdej strony i poznawać! To idealny poprowadzony zakazany romans między "mentorem", a studentką - bo nie dość, że ich relacja rozwija się powoli, to jego fascynacją nią wynika z jej pracy, pomysłów i wspólnych badań. Blackthorn może i jest lordem, ale od pierwszego spotkania traktuje z szacunkiem Kat, grozi każdemu, kto ją wyzwie oraz przede wszystkim, podziwia ją jako badaczkę, wielokrotnie komplementując.
"Cóż za nikczemną rzecz zrobiłaś, Kat. Sprawiłaś, że marzę tylko o tobie."
W książce nie brak jednak mroku, który wydziera się przez strony, by wydostać się na zewnątrz - grymuary skrywające potwory, zmiennokształtni bohaterowie oraz lokalizacje wyjęte ze snu każdej książkary - mroczne biblioteki, "żyjący" dom, ciemne lasy oraz wykwintne przyjęcia arystokracji.
Autorka dawkuje nam kolejne wątki, bo choć zaczynami od nauki i magii, pojawiają się aspekty polityczne i konflikty, które budują fabułę na dwa kolejne tomy.
Historia zdała mój test, bo takiego zakończenia się nie spodziewałam. Poszłabym szukać drugiego tomu w bibliotece, ale poczekam, aż wydawca zapieczętuje go czarami, by nic z niego nie uciekło.
October 3, 2024
Hard to review because I liked the characters and overall vibe but at no point could I fully comprehend what was going on or why
September 8, 2024
This book has a good gothic vibe, but unfortunately, the whole time I kept wondering what the point of the story was. The characters' motivations are very weakly developed, the plot feels superficial, and the stakes are nonexistent. Because of this, I found it hard to get into. It felt like I was reading several hundred pages of situation descriptions that were supposed to be important for some reason that I just couldn't grasp. It's a shame because the premise of the book sounded great, and I was really excited.
April 11, 2025
Rating: 5 stars!
"What a wicked thing you’ve done, Kat. To make it so I only dream of you.”
Tales of a Monstrous Heart is a slow-burn gothic romantasy inspired by Jane Eyre and drenched with forbidden love and endless yearning. This book was one of my most anticipated 2024 releases and it far exceeded my expectations. Tales of a Monstrous Heart is the first book in a trilogy by Jennifer Delaney and the fact that this is a debut makes it all the more impressive. The fact that I couldn’t immediately devour any further books by Jennifer after finishing Tales was criminal.
If you take just ONE recommendation from me, let it be this one. This book has bewitched me, consumed me, ruined me for any other. Tales of a Monstrous Heart is officially my most highlighted book, and I had an absolute blast reading it. The tension, the banter, the love, the AUDACITY! Words truly cannot begin to describe the rollercoaster of emotions I felt while reading this book (but I’ll try my best).
If, like me, you love fierce and feral FMCs (with swords), I am honoured to point you in the direction of Katherine Woodrow. Kat is a Fey attempting to graduate from the Institute of Magic and needs to secure a Mage Partnership. However, she is faced with prejudice everywhere she turns, particularly from the Institute’s council, who will seemingly do anything in their power to prevent her from succeeding. Against her better judgement, Kat is forced to accept a Partnership with the elusive Lord Blackthorn as a last resort. Chaos ensues. Kat is the manifestation of everything I love in a character - brave in the face of adversity, loyal, intelligent, and maybe a little unhinged. The way her character developed throughout the book left me in tatters. Watching her deal with her trauma and internalised resentment of her Fey heritage broke my heart and I’m so ready to be battered all over again in book two.
Lord Emrys Blackthorn. My, my, my. I must admit that a good 75% of my highlights are his TANTALISING, LYRICAL, SEXY interactions with Kat. I was hanging onto his every word; Kat, I get it girl. Emrys is mysterious, secretive, brooding, scarred, WET AND HALF DRESSED (IYKYK) (HE’S SO HOT), and yet he’s also thoughtful, loving, compassionate, and willing to sacrifice anything for those he cares for. The thing I adored most about Emrys (and there are many things I do adore about him) was his immediate and unfaltering acceptance of Kat, despite her stubbornness, her heritage, and the chaos that comes with her as a package deal. AND he gives her a nickname with left me permanently swooning. I have SO many questions, more than I began with, and I’m very excited to continue to thirst over him in book two.
Tales of a Monstrous Heart’s best kept secret is the SIDE CHARACTERS! I could read a book about every single one of them. Alma, William, Thean, you ALL have my heart. I don’t want to say too much about them because they were a very pleasant surprise, and I’d love for everyone to experience it, BUT I will say that the friendships in this book truly healed a part of me. I have so much love for these characters and I’m excited to see new readers fall in love with them as I did.
The pacing and plot progression in this book was truly fantastic; I was captivated from beginning to end. Readers are immediately thrown into the deep end, beginning Tales in a forbidden library of dark and dangerous texts, and ending Tales with their hearts wrenched from their chests, questioning everything, and yearning for more. I seriously cannot express how much I adored this book. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to read this wonderful book early, BUT I am nothing if not impatient and the wait for book two will truly be torturous. I am very excited to reread this book alongside everyone else when it releases in August.
Thank you so much to the publisher for the eARC, and for putting up with my endless raving.
"What a wicked thing you’ve done, Kat. To make it so I only dream of you.”
Tales of a Monstrous Heart is a slow-burn gothic romantasy inspired by Jane Eyre and drenched with forbidden love and endless yearning. This book was one of my most anticipated 2024 releases and it far exceeded my expectations. Tales of a Monstrous Heart is the first book in a trilogy by Jennifer Delaney and the fact that this is a debut makes it all the more impressive. The fact that I couldn’t immediately devour any further books by Jennifer after finishing Tales was criminal.
If you take just ONE recommendation from me, let it be this one. This book has bewitched me, consumed me, ruined me for any other. Tales of a Monstrous Heart is officially my most highlighted book, and I had an absolute blast reading it. The tension, the banter, the love, the AUDACITY! Words truly cannot begin to describe the rollercoaster of emotions I felt while reading this book (but I’ll try my best).
If, like me, you love fierce and feral FMCs (with swords), I am honoured to point you in the direction of Katherine Woodrow. Kat is a Fey attempting to graduate from the Institute of Magic and needs to secure a Mage Partnership. However, she is faced with prejudice everywhere she turns, particularly from the Institute’s council, who will seemingly do anything in their power to prevent her from succeeding. Against her better judgement, Kat is forced to accept a Partnership with the elusive Lord Blackthorn as a last resort. Chaos ensues. Kat is the manifestation of everything I love in a character - brave in the face of adversity, loyal, intelligent, and maybe a little unhinged. The way her character developed throughout the book left me in tatters. Watching her deal with her trauma and internalised resentment of her Fey heritage broke my heart and I’m so ready to be battered all over again in book two.
Lord Emrys Blackthorn. My, my, my. I must admit that a good 75% of my highlights are his TANTALISING, LYRICAL, SEXY interactions with Kat. I was hanging onto his every word; Kat, I get it girl. Emrys is mysterious, secretive, brooding, scarred, WET AND HALF DRESSED (IYKYK) (HE’S SO HOT), and yet he’s also thoughtful, loving, compassionate, and willing to sacrifice anything for those he cares for. The thing I adored most about Emrys (and there are many things I do adore about him) was his immediate and unfaltering acceptance of Kat, despite her stubbornness, her heritage, and the chaos that comes with her as a package deal. AND he gives her a nickname with left me permanently swooning. I have SO many questions, more than I began with, and I’m very excited to continue to thirst over him in book two.
Tales of a Monstrous Heart’s best kept secret is the SIDE CHARACTERS! I could read a book about every single one of them. Alma, William, Thean, you ALL have my heart. I don’t want to say too much about them because they were a very pleasant surprise, and I’d love for everyone to experience it, BUT I will say that the friendships in this book truly healed a part of me. I have so much love for these characters and I’m excited to see new readers fall in love with them as I did.
The pacing and plot progression in this book was truly fantastic; I was captivated from beginning to end. Readers are immediately thrown into the deep end, beginning Tales in a forbidden library of dark and dangerous texts, and ending Tales with their hearts wrenched from their chests, questioning everything, and yearning for more. I seriously cannot express how much I adored this book. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to read this wonderful book early, BUT I am nothing if not impatient and the wait for book two will truly be torturous. I am very excited to reread this book alongside everyone else when it releases in August.
Thank you so much to the publisher for the eARC, and for putting up with my endless raving.
July 18, 2024
A hauntingly beautiful, slow burn Gothic Romantasy inspired by Jane Eyre in a dark academia setting.
Kat is half fey in a world which has despised non-humans for centuries. She is a pawn in the Council’s hands to keep the brewing fey rebellion quiet, to keep a revolution against mortal power at bay.
Kat requires a mage partnership, the last requirement to graduate from the institute. To grant her the freedom to wield her magic. Something no fey has survived long enough to do. The only person willing to take her on is Lord Emrys Blackthorn- the last expert in dark magic.
There’s a magical house who makes it mind known, moves rooms around, and definitely want the two to get together.
There’s also a precious apprentice to Lord Emerys called William and Kat’s best friend who struggles to hide her wild transfiguration magic by pretending to be her maid! I would definitely read spin-offs books on both of them.
“I've come to understand that a witch is simply a being beyond a man's control.” A being beyond their limits. Power was theirs, made of nothing but fury and chaos, woven into perfect balance. “So perhaps I am.”
The Council are full of a bunch of grumpy old men who hate Kat and the power she has and the fey she represents, the natural magic she has. The games they played and her place often leaves her burdened with guilt for the things she had to pretend not to see or hear in order to survive herself.
Lord Emrys…. The slow burn was really good! Full of lingering looks, shy and quick touches, a forbidden relationship….
Normally I don’t typically like the romance portion of books, but Jennifer made the romance move along with the plot and it never became a pining focus.
The mere presence of him, the anticipation that he might touch me.
Seeing one of his rare smiles, the way his eyes shifted colour when he looked at me. The smell of forbidden herbs and old books whenever he was around. How carefully he handled me, like I was something that needed care.
The writing was very accessible and easy to breeze through. I think this will make it a hit for the trending bingeable romantasies taking over booktok!
I enjoyed this and would recommend it, however it didn’t quite have that element which made me obsess over it. I think I just wanted more.
There is a lot of self-doubt which I felt was brooded over too much and a few things which felt too predictable and I predicted the big twist etc. However, I think this might be the type of reader I am.
I would recommend this if you enjoyed A Deadly Education!
Thank you to the author and Gollancz for sending me the physical arc!!!
Bookstagram
Kat is half fey in a world which has despised non-humans for centuries. She is a pawn in the Council’s hands to keep the brewing fey rebellion quiet, to keep a revolution against mortal power at bay.
Kat requires a mage partnership, the last requirement to graduate from the institute. To grant her the freedom to wield her magic. Something no fey has survived long enough to do. The only person willing to take her on is Lord Emrys Blackthorn- the last expert in dark magic.
There’s a magical house who makes it mind known, moves rooms around, and definitely want the two to get together.
There’s also a precious apprentice to Lord Emerys called William and Kat’s best friend who struggles to hide her wild transfiguration magic by pretending to be her maid! I would definitely read spin-offs books on both of them.
“I've come to understand that a witch is simply a being beyond a man's control.” A being beyond their limits. Power was theirs, made of nothing but fury and chaos, woven into perfect balance. “So perhaps I am.”
The Council are full of a bunch of grumpy old men who hate Kat and the power she has and the fey she represents, the natural magic she has. The games they played and her place often leaves her burdened with guilt for the things she had to pretend not to see or hear in order to survive herself.
Lord Emrys…. The slow burn was really good! Full of lingering looks, shy and quick touches, a forbidden relationship….
Normally I don’t typically like the romance portion of books, but Jennifer made the romance move along with the plot and it never became a pining focus.
The mere presence of him, the anticipation that he might touch me.
Seeing one of his rare smiles, the way his eyes shifted colour when he looked at me. The smell of forbidden herbs and old books whenever he was around. How carefully he handled me, like I was something that needed care.
The writing was very accessible and easy to breeze through. I think this will make it a hit for the trending bingeable romantasies taking over booktok!
I enjoyed this and would recommend it, however it didn’t quite have that element which made me obsess over it. I think I just wanted more.
There is a lot of self-doubt which I felt was brooded over too much and a few things which felt too predictable and I predicted the big twist etc. However, I think this might be the type of reader I am.
I would recommend this if you enjoyed A Deadly Education!
Thank you to the author and Gollancz for sending me the physical arc!!!
Bookstagram
September 13, 2024
UPDATED WITH REREAD NOTES!
Thank you NetGalley and Gollancz for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!
This is like Howl's Moving Castle and Jane Eyre had a little dark academia baby and I'm so here for it. After getting to read the sampler a whole back, this book has been a very anticipated read for me!
A scholarly, half-fey FMC desperate to prove her worth, a brooding and mysterious Lord who has a great many secrets, a shapeshifting maid, a horned manservant and a definitely-sentient house all make this a page-turner for sure.
I loved this darkly gothic world, full of rich lore and history, steeped in magic both small and grand, beautiful and terrifying. I cannot forgive Jennifer for that cliffhanger though 😅
This is the sumptuous gothic romantasy you need in your life. A highly entertaining read I thoroughly enjoyed.
** Once TALES was released, I did a reread as it was chosen as my book club's September pick. Usually I wouldn't reread a book so soon after my first read through, but somehow I was more than happy diving back in. I loved being able to spot all the little details I missed before, and just how much foreshadowing Jennifer had in there! This book is 100% a contender for best of 2024. I feel in my bones it'll be head-to-head for the 1st place spot. I will be shouting from the highest buildings to get everyone to read TALES and love it as much as I do!
Thank you NetGalley and Gollancz for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!
This is like Howl's Moving Castle and Jane Eyre had a little dark academia baby and I'm so here for it. After getting to read the sampler a whole back, this book has been a very anticipated read for me!
A scholarly, half-fey FMC desperate to prove her worth, a brooding and mysterious Lord who has a great many secrets, a shapeshifting maid, a horned manservant and a definitely-sentient house all make this a page-turner for sure.
I loved this darkly gothic world, full of rich lore and history, steeped in magic both small and grand, beautiful and terrifying. I cannot forgive Jennifer for that cliffhanger though 😅
This is the sumptuous gothic romantasy you need in your life. A highly entertaining read I thoroughly enjoyed.
** Once TALES was released, I did a reread as it was chosen as my book club's September pick. Usually I wouldn't reread a book so soon after my first read through, but somehow I was more than happy diving back in. I loved being able to spot all the little details I missed before, and just how much foreshadowing Jennifer had in there! This book is 100% a contender for best of 2024. I feel in my bones it'll be head-to-head for the 1st place spot. I will be shouting from the highest buildings to get everyone to read TALES and love it as much as I do!
September 4, 2024
I spent most of this book being confused. I know authors don't want to just lore dump but you need to tell us some things! I feel like the world building was done but just never explained well to the reader. Add that to the constant grammatical errors, typos and what I can only assume is a find and replace mishap (causing any instance of 'Verr' to be capitalised including when part of another word e.g oVerrun, oVerriding) and it made this book really hard for me to get absorbed in.
January 1, 2025
DNF 47% Chapter 21 Last book of 2024!!
I kept reading so long because the world building was working for me for a while. But then the lack of development needed (she's perfect) with Kat and her apparent knowledge on how to do absolutely everything from being a professional healer (taught by her mother up until age 11) to a mage (who knows things no one else does), researcher genius (releasing papers that cOuLd ChAnGe the WoRLd) and an artist apparently (how does she have the time). It was a fully developed character without us seeing experience or growth moments or even a reason for any of it.
The romance was cute and slow so I didn't mind it.
The side characters William and Alma existed purely to highlight Emrys and Kat existing.
Last book of 2024 🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️
I kept reading so long because the world building was working for me for a while. But then the lack of development needed (she's perfect) with Kat and her apparent knowledge on how to do absolutely everything from being a professional healer (taught by her mother up until age 11) to a mage (who knows things no one else does), researcher genius (releasing papers that cOuLd ChAnGe the WoRLd) and an artist apparently (how does she have the time). It was a fully developed character without us seeing experience or growth moments or even a reason for any of it.
The romance was cute and slow so I didn't mind it.
The side characters William and Alma existed purely to highlight Emrys and Kat existing.
Last book of 2024 🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️
October 16, 2024
God I have some very conflicting thoughts
I enjoyed the entire thing and was engaged the whole way through & I will definitely read books 2 and 3 but Jesus Christ some of the writing drove me crazy
Will update further full review to come
I enjoyed the entire thing and was engaged the whole way through & I will definitely read books 2 and 3 but Jesus Christ some of the writing drove me crazy
Will update further full review to come
September 11, 2024
Μια μελαγχολική gothic ιστορία με ένα τέλος που θα με στοιχειώνει για πάντα.
October 1, 2024
3.5⭐️ I enjoyed this so much! It was a perfect dark autumn read. I loved Kat, I loved Emrys, I enjoyed the side characters- I’m definitely invested in where this is going.
There were a couple of grammar mistakes I noticed but it wasn’t enough to put me off the book. Very much looking forward to book 2!💫
✔️Fae x Jane Eyre
✔️Murder mystery
✔️Singular POV
✔️’Who did this to you’
✔️Slow burn
✔️Some spice🌶️
There were a couple of grammar mistakes I noticed but it wasn’t enough to put me off the book. Very much looking forward to book 2!💫
✔️Fae x Jane Eyre
✔️Murder mystery
✔️Singular POV
✔️’Who did this to you’
✔️Slow burn
✔️Some spice🌶️
March 19, 2025
It’s like no one bothered to proofread this. I’m shocked at the blatant and frequent typos and general errors found in this book. If I were the author and this was my debut, I’d be f*cking fuming.
Here are just a couple of examples:
Page 38: ‘𝐼 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹𝓃’𝓉 𝓈𝓅𝑒𝒶𝓀 𝒻𝑒𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑒, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝐼 𝓈𝒽𝒶𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝒜𝓁𝓂𝒶’𝓈 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝒸𝑒𝓇𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓈 𝓌𝑒 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝒸𝒶𝓂𝑒 𝓊𝓅𝑜𝓃 𝒶 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓋𝑒𝓁 𝓅𝒶𝓉𝒽 𝒶𝓁𝓂𝑜𝓈𝓉 𝑜𝒱𝑒𝓇𝓇𝓊𝓃 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓌𝑒𝑒𝒹𝓈.’
Page 66: ‘𝒯𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝒷𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒷𝓁𝓊𝑒 𝓉𝓊𝓃𝒾𝒸𝓈 𝓁𝑜𝑜𝓀𝑒𝒹 𝒶𝓈 𝓈𝓉𝒾𝒻𝒻 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓊𝓃𝒸𝑜𝓂𝒻𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒 𝒶𝓈 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒶𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓎 𝓈𝒽𝒾𝒻𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝓈𝓁𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓁𝓎 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓊𝓃𝑒𝒶𝓈𝑒 𝒶𝓉 𝐸𝓂𝓇𝓎’𝓈 𝓅𝓇𝑒𝓈𝑒𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝒶𝓈 𝒽𝑒. 𝐻𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓁𝓀𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝓇𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒶𝓇𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑀𝒶𝑔𝑒’𝓈 𝐻𝒶𝓁𝓁.’
The amount of purple prose is really off putting too, where every piece of furniture, area, body language, emotion etc is described in WAY too much detail. Unfortunately I had to DNF by chapter 7 because of this.
Here is an example:
‘𝐼𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓇𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝑜𝑜𝓂 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒶 𝓁𝒶𝓇𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝓇𝓃𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝓉𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒, 𝓁𝑒𝑔𝓈 𝒸𝒶𝓇𝓋𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓁𝑜𝑜𝓀 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓈𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝒶 𝑔𝓇𝒾𝒻𝒻𝒾𝓃. 𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀𝓈 𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝒶𝑔𝒶𝒾𝓃𝓈𝓉 𝒾𝓉𝓈 𝒸𝓁𝒶𝓌𝑒𝒹 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝓉. 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓊𝓇𝒻𝒶𝒸𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇𝒻𝒾𝓁𝓁𝑒𝒹, 𝓈𝒸𝒶𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓅𝒶𝓅𝑒𝓇𝓈. 𝑀𝒶𝓅𝓈, 𝓂𝒶𝒹 𝓈𝒸𝓇𝒶𝓌𝓁𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝓈𝒾𝓂𝓅𝓁𝑒 𝒾𝓃𝒸𝒶𝓃𝓉𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝓊𝓂𝓂𝑜𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓇𝓂𝓈. 𝒞𝓇𝓎𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓁𝓈 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓈𝓉𝓇𝑒𝓌𝓃 𝒽𝒶𝓅𝒽𝒶𝓏𝒶𝓇𝒹𝓁𝓎 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝒻 𝒶 𝓂𝒶𝒹𝓂𝒶𝓃 𝓉𝓇𝓎𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝒸𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝒹 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒻𝒶𝓋𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈. 𝒮𝓂𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝒸𝒶𝓇𝓋𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝑜𝓃𝑒𝓈 𝓇𝑒𝓁𝒶𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝒶𝓃𝒸𝒾𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝒻𝑒𝓎 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓅 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒹𝓇𝒾𝑒𝒹 𝒻𝓁𝑜𝓌𝑒𝓇𝓈 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒶𝓂𝑜𝓃𝑔𝓈𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝑒𝓈𝓈.
𝑀𝓎 𝒸𝓊𝓇𝒾𝑜𝓈𝒾𝓉𝓎 𝓊𝓇𝑔𝑒𝒹 𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝓊𝓇𝓃 𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝒶𝓅𝓈, 𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓊𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝒽𝑜𝓌 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓅𝒶𝑔𝑒𝓈 𝒸𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓀𝓁𝑒𝒹 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝒻𝓇𝒶𝑔𝒾𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓎. 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝒽𝒶𝓇𝓅, 𝓈𝓂𝑜𝓀𝑒𝓎 𝓈𝒸𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝒷𝑒𝒶𝓈𝒶𝓂 𝒷𝒶𝓇𝓀 𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒶𝒾𝓇 - 𝒶𝓃 𝒶𝓃𝒸𝒾𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝓈𝓊𝓂𝓂𝑜𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑒𝓁𝑒𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓈 𝓅𝓇𝑒𝒻𝑒𝓇𝓇𝑒𝒹. 𝑀𝑜𝓋𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝒶𝓅𝓈 𝑔𝑒𝓃𝒹𝓎 𝒶𝓈𝒾𝒹𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓇𝑒𝓋𝑒𝒶𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓋𝑜𝓁𝓊𝓂𝑒𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝓃𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽, 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝒸𝑜𝒶𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝒾𝓃 𝒹𝓊𝓈𝓉, 𝓌𝒽𝒾𝒸𝒽 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓅𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓈𝑒𝒹 𝒻𝒾𝓇𝓂𝓁𝓎 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝓅𝑒𝑒𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒸𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓈, 𝓅𝒶𝑔𝑒𝓈 𝒸𝓊𝓇𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒾𝓃𝓌𝒶𝓇𝒹 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝒸𝓁𝒶𝓌𝓈 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝒶𝑔𝑒.
𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝓁𝒹 𝑒𝓂𝒷𝑜𝓈𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒽𝒶𝒹 𝒻𝒶𝒹𝑒𝒹, 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝒸𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒾𝓅 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂 𝓉𝑜𝓌𝒶𝓇𝒹𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓁𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝑒𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝒾𝓉𝓁𝑒𝓈... 𝐼𝓉 𝒽𝒶𝒹 𝒶 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓇 𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒷𝒾𝓃𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓉, 𝒸𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓀𝑒𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒸𝓁𝒶𝓌𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝓎 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒. 𝒯𝒽𝒾𝒸𝓀 𝓈𝓉𝓇𝒶𝓅𝓈 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓉𝒶𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓈𝒽𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝓇𝒶𝓈𝓈 𝒷𝓊𝒸𝓀𝓁𝑒𝓈 𝑒𝓃𝒸𝒾𝓇𝒸𝓁𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝑒𝓍𝓉, 𝒶𝓈 𝒾𝒻 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓅𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝒻𝒶𝓁𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑜𝓊𝓉.
𝐼 𝓈𝓁𝒾𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝓁𝒶𝓈𝓅𝓈 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝑒, 𝓈𝓁𝒾𝓅𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓂𝓎 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓇𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝓃𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓋𝓎 𝒸𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇.’
It’s also so repetitive! Over and over things people have said from Katherine’s memories are echoed in her mind, to the point where it became a bit of an eye roll, and we are reminded of every characters’ physical appearance at least twice. I think by the end of chapter six we are told Katherine’s skin has a golden glow and that her eyes are lilac at least THREE times.
And don’t get me started on Emry Blackthorn’s facial expressions, which are again mentioned in great detail. I now picture him as a madman who has taken far too much MDMA. This is what I have in mind: https://youtu.be/czmjOvR6O5E.
We also hear often how his gaze falls on Katherine and how he seems to take all of her in - as if it isn’t standard to make eye contact whilst having a conversation, but is instead this really profound and intense sexual moment.
Absolutely gutted because I, of course, impulse bought this due to the absolutely delicious book design, and I loved that the book spredges actually had relevance to the story in the first chapter or so. It had potential but I just couldn’t see it through.
Here are just a couple of examples:
Page 38: ‘𝐼 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹𝓃’𝓉 𝓈𝓅𝑒𝒶𝓀 𝒻𝑒𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑒, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝐼 𝓈𝒽𝒶𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝒜𝓁𝓂𝒶’𝓈 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝒸𝑒𝓇𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓈 𝓌𝑒 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝒸𝒶𝓂𝑒 𝓊𝓅𝑜𝓃 𝒶 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓋𝑒𝓁 𝓅𝒶𝓉𝒽 𝒶𝓁𝓂𝑜𝓈𝓉 𝑜𝒱𝑒𝓇𝓇𝓊𝓃 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓌𝑒𝑒𝒹𝓈.’
Page 66: ‘𝒯𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝒷𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒷𝓁𝓊𝑒 𝓉𝓊𝓃𝒾𝒸𝓈 𝓁𝑜𝑜𝓀𝑒𝒹 𝒶𝓈 𝓈𝓉𝒾𝒻𝒻 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓊𝓃𝒸𝑜𝓂𝒻𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒 𝒶𝓈 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒶𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓎 𝓈𝒽𝒾𝒻𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝓈𝓁𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓁𝓎 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓊𝓃𝑒𝒶𝓈𝑒 𝒶𝓉 𝐸𝓂𝓇𝓎’𝓈 𝓅𝓇𝑒𝓈𝑒𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝒶𝓈 𝒽𝑒. 𝐻𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓁𝓀𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝓇𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒶𝓇𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑀𝒶𝑔𝑒’𝓈 𝐻𝒶𝓁𝓁.’
The amount of purple prose is really off putting too, where every piece of furniture, area, body language, emotion etc is described in WAY too much detail. Unfortunately I had to DNF by chapter 7 because of this.
Here is an example:
‘𝐼𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓇𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝑜𝑜𝓂 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒶 𝓁𝒶𝓇𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝓇𝓃𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝓉𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒, 𝓁𝑒𝑔𝓈 𝒸𝒶𝓇𝓋𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓁𝑜𝑜𝓀 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓈𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝒶 𝑔𝓇𝒾𝒻𝒻𝒾𝓃. 𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀𝓈 𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝒶𝑔𝒶𝒾𝓃𝓈𝓉 𝒾𝓉𝓈 𝒸𝓁𝒶𝓌𝑒𝒹 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝓉. 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓊𝓇𝒻𝒶𝒸𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇𝒻𝒾𝓁𝓁𝑒𝒹, 𝓈𝒸𝒶𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓅𝒶𝓅𝑒𝓇𝓈. 𝑀𝒶𝓅𝓈, 𝓂𝒶𝒹 𝓈𝒸𝓇𝒶𝓌𝓁𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝓈𝒾𝓂𝓅𝓁𝑒 𝒾𝓃𝒸𝒶𝓃𝓉𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝓊𝓂𝓂𝑜𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓇𝓂𝓈. 𝒞𝓇𝓎𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓁𝓈 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓈𝓉𝓇𝑒𝓌𝓃 𝒽𝒶𝓅𝒽𝒶𝓏𝒶𝓇𝒹𝓁𝓎 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝒻 𝒶 𝓂𝒶𝒹𝓂𝒶𝓃 𝓉𝓇𝓎𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝒸𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝒹 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒻𝒶𝓋𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈. 𝒮𝓂𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝒸𝒶𝓇𝓋𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝑜𝓃𝑒𝓈 𝓇𝑒𝓁𝒶𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝒶𝓃𝒸𝒾𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝒻𝑒𝓎 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓅 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒹𝓇𝒾𝑒𝒹 𝒻𝓁𝑜𝓌𝑒𝓇𝓈 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒶𝓂𝑜𝓃𝑔𝓈𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝑒𝓈𝓈.
𝑀𝓎 𝒸𝓊𝓇𝒾𝑜𝓈𝒾𝓉𝓎 𝓊𝓇𝑔𝑒𝒹 𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝓊𝓇𝓃 𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝒶𝓅𝓈, 𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓊𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝒽𝑜𝓌 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓅𝒶𝑔𝑒𝓈 𝒸𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓀𝓁𝑒𝒹 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝒻𝓇𝒶𝑔𝒾𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓎. 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝒽𝒶𝓇𝓅, 𝓈𝓂𝑜𝓀𝑒𝓎 𝓈𝒸𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝒷𝑒𝒶𝓈𝒶𝓂 𝒷𝒶𝓇𝓀 𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒶𝒾𝓇 - 𝒶𝓃 𝒶𝓃𝒸𝒾𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝓈𝓊𝓂𝓂𝑜𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑒𝓁𝑒𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓈 𝓅𝓇𝑒𝒻𝑒𝓇𝓇𝑒𝒹. 𝑀𝑜𝓋𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝒶𝓅𝓈 𝑔𝑒𝓃𝒹𝓎 𝒶𝓈𝒾𝒹𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓇𝑒𝓋𝑒𝒶𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓋𝑜𝓁𝓊𝓂𝑒𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝓃𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽, 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝒸𝑜𝒶𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝒾𝓃 𝒹𝓊𝓈𝓉, 𝓌𝒽𝒾𝒸𝒽 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓅𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓈𝑒𝒹 𝒻𝒾𝓇𝓂𝓁𝓎 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝓅𝑒𝑒𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒸𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓈, 𝓅𝒶𝑔𝑒𝓈 𝒸𝓊𝓇𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒾𝓃𝓌𝒶𝓇𝒹 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝒸𝓁𝒶𝓌𝓈 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝒶𝑔𝑒.
𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝓁𝒹 𝑒𝓂𝒷𝑜𝓈𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒽𝒶𝒹 𝒻𝒶𝒹𝑒𝒹, 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝒸𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒾𝓅 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂 𝓉𝑜𝓌𝒶𝓇𝒹𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓁𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝑒𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝒾𝓉𝓁𝑒𝓈... 𝐼𝓉 𝒽𝒶𝒹 𝒶 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓇 𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒷𝒾𝓃𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓉, 𝒸𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓀𝑒𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒸𝓁𝒶𝓌𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝓎 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒. 𝒯𝒽𝒾𝒸𝓀 𝓈𝓉𝓇𝒶𝓅𝓈 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓉𝒶𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓈𝒽𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝓇𝒶𝓈𝓈 𝒷𝓊𝒸𝓀𝓁𝑒𝓈 𝑒𝓃𝒸𝒾𝓇𝒸𝓁𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝑒𝓍𝓉, 𝒶𝓈 𝒾𝒻 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓅𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝒻𝒶𝓁𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑜𝓊𝓉.
𝐼 𝓈𝓁𝒾𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝓁𝒶𝓈𝓅𝓈 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝑒, 𝓈𝓁𝒾𝓅𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓂𝓎 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓇𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝓃𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓋𝓎 𝒸𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇.’
It’s also so repetitive! Over and over things people have said from Katherine’s memories are echoed in her mind, to the point where it became a bit of an eye roll, and we are reminded of every characters’ physical appearance at least twice. I think by the end of chapter six we are told Katherine’s skin has a golden glow and that her eyes are lilac at least THREE times.
And don’t get me started on Emry Blackthorn’s facial expressions, which are again mentioned in great detail. I now picture him as a madman who has taken far too much MDMA. This is what I have in mind: https://youtu.be/czmjOvR6O5E.
We also hear often how his gaze falls on Katherine and how he seems to take all of her in - as if it isn’t standard to make eye contact whilst having a conversation, but is instead this really profound and intense sexual moment.
Absolutely gutted because I, of course, impulse bought this due to the absolutely delicious book design, and I loved that the book spredges actually had relevance to the story in the first chapter or so. It had potential but I just couldn’t see it through.
November 27, 2024
Tales of a Monstrous Heart better have a book 2 soon because that ending is just cruel to us readers.
It's an addictive fantasy read which keeps you flipping pages there's never a moment of lagging it just constantly keeps you reading and entertained until the end.
Even the slow burn romance is easy to read it's not annoying or sickly its runs easily parallel with the storyline.📚
It's an addictive fantasy read which keeps you flipping pages there's never a moment of lagging it just constantly keeps you reading and entertained until the end.
Even the slow burn romance is easy to read it's not annoying or sickly its runs easily parallel with the storyline.📚
October 11, 2025
3.5 / 5
To książka, która może nie ma jakichś szalenie oryginalnych elementów, skądś już znam te melodie fabularnie, ale ma za to wątek romantyczny, któremu autorka dała czas na budowanie się. Główna bohaterka nawet widząc atrakcyjność swojego mentora nie slini sie do niego, a bardziej stwierdza ten fakt jakby przekazywała czytelnikowi jaka jest pogoda. On też wydaje się bardziej zaintrygowany jej pracą niż oczami. Pewnie miłej by mi sie tego słuchało gdyby nie lektorka, za którą nie przepadam.
To książka, która może nie ma jakichś szalenie oryginalnych elementów, skądś już znam te melodie fabularnie, ale ma za to wątek romantyczny, któremu autorka dała czas na budowanie się. Główna bohaterka nawet widząc atrakcyjność swojego mentora nie slini sie do niego, a bardziej stwierdza ten fakt jakby przekazywała czytelnikowi jaka jest pogoda. On też wydaje się bardziej zaintrygowany jej pracą niż oczami. Pewnie miłej by mi sie tego słuchało gdyby nie lektorka, za którą nie przepadam.
November 30, 2024
Selling my Goldsboro edition if anyone wants it lol
Want to read
May 31, 2025Gothic! Fantasy! Romance!
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.
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.
October 22, 2025
Dobra, powiem tak, ta historia miała taki potencjał, TAKI POTENCJAŁ 🥹 i został on zabity poprzez opisy dosłownie wszystkiego, co tylko można sobie wyobrazić. Brakowało mi jeszcze opisów nici, jaką przetykany był gorset głównej bohaterki (pozdrawiam Wojny Huraganowe 🤣🤣).
Do teraz nie za bardzo rozumiem, o co tak naprawdę w tej historii chodziło, a końcówka, mimo, iż trochę jednak wyjaśnia, to ni **uja nie wyjaśnia. W ogóle miałam wrażenie, że całe zakończenie było tak zrushowane, że w odniesieniu do rozwleczonego środka wypadło blado.
Język książki jest bardzo bogaty i pełen obrazowych opisów, ale słowo daję, nasza Kat miała chyba z 10 razy popiół w ustach, gurl, cmon 😅
Jedynie Emrys mi tu zrobił robotę i wcale nie chodzi o nikły wątek romantyczny, bo ta książka to daleko ma do romantasy, żebyśmy się dobrze zrozumieli, ale sama jego postać budziła grozę i respekt and i like that 🤭
Daję 3⭐️ bo jednak jakieś emocje we mnie wzbudziła, ale czy sięgnę po kolejny tom? I dont think so..
Do teraz nie za bardzo rozumiem, o co tak naprawdę w tej historii chodziło, a końcówka, mimo, iż trochę jednak wyjaśnia, to ni **uja nie wyjaśnia. W ogóle miałam wrażenie, że całe zakończenie było tak zrushowane, że w odniesieniu do rozwleczonego środka wypadło blado.
Język książki jest bardzo bogaty i pełen obrazowych opisów, ale słowo daję, nasza Kat miała chyba z 10 razy popiół w ustach, gurl, cmon 😅
Jedynie Emrys mi tu zrobił robotę i wcale nie chodzi o nikły wątek romantyczny, bo ta książka to daleko ma do romantasy, żebyśmy się dobrze zrozumieli, ale sama jego postać budziła grozę i respekt and i like that 🤭
Daję 3⭐️ bo jednak jakieś emocje we mnie wzbudziła, ale czy sięgnę po kolejny tom? I dont think so..
August 1, 2024
2.5 Stars - I can't bring myself to give this less than a 3 on goodreads but ultimately, it didn't quite hit that three star level of enjoyment for me, SADLY!!!
The pacing was off and I couldn't connect with the characters - I wanted them to be unpacked a lot more (Give me complexities!!) The side characters didn't offer anything for me either and when this happens, I just can't seem to bring myself to care about anything. It's worth mentioning that the writing is overly descriptive too, and I usually like this but this really stood out to me and kept pulling me out of the story.
I also couldn't quite grasp the WHY of... anything? The plot or the character decisions etc... I don't know ahhh!!! I hate myself for not being in love with this :(
Definitely potential for so many to be obsessed with this though, it has:
-Slow burn romance
-Dark academia
-Spells and battles
-Gothic atmosphere
-A sentient manor
and more!
I'm not posting this anywhere NEAR instagram because Jennifer follows me and I don't want to upset her around the time of her first book release, omg!?
Lastly, it goes without saying that this is a ME problem, clearly. Already the 5-stars are flying in for this and I do genuinely hope that continues as we approach release day.
(Jennifer ily don't hate me lol)
-Sarah
---> Book Blog
*Thank you to Netgalley + Gollancz + Orion Books for the e-ARc in exchange for an honest review*
The pacing was off and I couldn't connect with the characters - I wanted them to be unpacked a lot more (Give me complexities!!) The side characters didn't offer anything for me either and when this happens, I just can't seem to bring myself to care about anything. It's worth mentioning that the writing is overly descriptive too, and I usually like this but this really stood out to me and kept pulling me out of the story.
I also couldn't quite grasp the WHY of... anything? The plot or the character decisions etc... I don't know ahhh!!! I hate myself for not being in love with this :(
Definitely potential for so many to be obsessed with this though, it has:
-Slow burn romance
-Dark academia
-Spells and battles
-Gothic atmosphere
-A sentient manor
and more!
I'm not posting this anywhere NEAR instagram because Jennifer follows me and I don't want to upset her around the time of her first book release, omg!?
Lastly, it goes without saying that this is a ME problem, clearly. Already the 5-stars are flying in for this and I do genuinely hope that continues as we approach release day.
(Jennifer ily don't hate me lol)
-Sarah
---> Book Blog
*Thank you to Netgalley + Gollancz + Orion Books for the e-ARc in exchange for an honest review*
June 29, 2024
I post a lot of reviews but mostly horror because, listen, whenever I write a review for a fantasy book in my head it's the equivalent of a 90s coming of age teen drama montage of a girl lying on her bed clutching her diary to her chest and sighing about her latest crush whilst giggling and kicking her feet, this gave me those *literary tingles* that mean this will probably become my whole personality from now on. This book was EVERYTHING my little gothic heart hoped for, a swoon worthy tale with brooding love interests, dark academia vibes, supernatural creatures and sentient houses (a favourite trope of mine) I'm a big sappy sucker for forbidden love and fearless FMCs and Jennifer DELIVERED, a love letter to the gothic romance genre, inspired by Jane Eyre this also has themes of self love and discovery too, adding a wealth of depth to the story, Jennifer has crafted a rich atmospheric gothic romance of dreams and I cannot wait for the next installment, thankyou endlessly for an ARC I am completely captivated by the world you have created
September 11, 2024
A stunning, highly original, and deliciously gothic new gem. EMILY WILDE'S ENCYCLOPAEDIA FOR FAERIES meets JANE EYRE, this book is perfect for anyone seeking an academic heroine with a dark past, new and sprawling takes on the Fey, and a slow burn romance with a magic, mysterious love interest. Jennifer is a searing new talent, and I can't wait to read everything else she writes.
December 28, 2025
2025 Review: 4.5 rounded up to 5.
2024 Review: 4.5 rounded up to 5.
Holy moly. What a ride
2024 Review: 4.5 rounded up to 5.
Holy moly. What a ride
May 17, 2025
Headlines:
Darkly enticing
Foggy plotting
Gothic vibes
Tales of a Monstrous Heart won me over rather quickly with the characterisation of Kat, a fey who was reviled by the mortal academy setting she was in. All she needed was a mage to partner with to finish her training, but no one wanted her. Kat was a bit of a trouble maker at the academy, finding all sorts of fey, spirits and commotion to get embroiled in.
This was not dark academia, Kat was soon in the house of Lord Blackthorn who extended an invitation to partner to finish her training; a shocking offer that she quickly accepted along with her companion, Alma. The friendship between Kat and Alma was both unconventional because of Alma's shape shifting but also loyal and lovely in so many ways.
Emrys (Lord Blackthorn) brought brooding, dark magical interests, a sentient house and an endearing companion in William. I'm glad to report there was chemistry between these Kat and Emrys; how that built in a very slow burn, was to my taste.
The plot was misty, lacking in clarity but one you could gather the general impression of. My main criticism is that the plot could be much clearer. It doesn't have to be linear but I was left feeling...what? at times. There were also times that the author took two pages to narrate something that could have taken half a page. However, I loved the vibes of this book which saw me through these issues.
I read in the acknowledgements that this story was Jane Eyre inspired and I see it now, even though I didn't think it while reading. It explains to some degree why I really enjoyed it. I'm dying to pick up the next in the series.
Darkly enticing
Foggy plotting
Gothic vibes
Tales of a Monstrous Heart won me over rather quickly with the characterisation of Kat, a fey who was reviled by the mortal academy setting she was in. All she needed was a mage to partner with to finish her training, but no one wanted her. Kat was a bit of a trouble maker at the academy, finding all sorts of fey, spirits and commotion to get embroiled in.
This was not dark academia, Kat was soon in the house of Lord Blackthorn who extended an invitation to partner to finish her training; a shocking offer that she quickly accepted along with her companion, Alma. The friendship between Kat and Alma was both unconventional because of Alma's shape shifting but also loyal and lovely in so many ways.
Emrys (Lord Blackthorn) brought brooding, dark magical interests, a sentient house and an endearing companion in William. I'm glad to report there was chemistry between these Kat and Emrys; how that built in a very slow burn, was to my taste.
The plot was misty, lacking in clarity but one you could gather the general impression of. My main criticism is that the plot could be much clearer. It doesn't have to be linear but I was left feeling...what? at times. There were also times that the author took two pages to narrate something that could have taken half a page. However, I loved the vibes of this book which saw me through these issues.
I read in the acknowledgements that this story was Jane Eyre inspired and I see it now, even though I didn't think it while reading. It explains to some degree why I really enjoyed it. I'm dying to pick up the next in the series.
March 14, 2025
Nou, wat een desillusie was dit!? Het verhaal begon zó sterk, geweldige wereldbouw, intrigerende personages (vooral Alma was echt favoriet!). Halverwege zakte het verhaal wat in, maar groeide de band tussen de personages wel sterker, wat het voor mij weer een beetje goed maakte. En toen ineens was het verhaal klaar....... En zonder spoilers: WAT EEN VERSCHRIKKELIJK K*T EINDE!??!!
Ik ben echt mega teleurgesteld. Het einde voegt 1: niets toe, en sluit ook niets af. En nu hoef ik echt geen perfect afgerond verhaal te lezen, een beetje vrije interpretatie is heus wel leuk. Maar er is precies niks opgelost? Argh... oke. Ik ga nog even verder in mezelf grommen en dit verwerken.
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Ik ben echt mega teleurgesteld. Het einde voegt 1: niets toe, en sluit ook niets af. En nu hoef ik echt geen perfect afgerond verhaal te lezen, een beetje vrije interpretatie is heus wel leuk. Maar er is precies niks opgelost? Argh... oke. Ik ga nog even verder in mezelf grommen en dit verwerken.
www.facebook.com/thebookbabecisz
Instagram: the.bookbabe
January 20, 2025
GUYS WHAT THE HECK😭 4.5⭐️
I simply loved this !!!! The ending ?????? Hello what give me book 2 now!!! August better hurry the hell up because that last page was pure AAAARRRGGGHHHHH, yes I did DM the author and ask her what the fuck😭 yes she did reply with “😶😶😶😶😶”
God I want Emrys served to me on a platter 🫡
I simply loved this !!!! The ending ?????? Hello what give me book 2 now!!! August better hurry the hell up because that last page was pure AAAARRRGGGHHHHH, yes I did DM the author and ask her what the fuck😭 yes she did reply with “😶😶😶😶😶”
God I want Emrys served to me on a platter 🫡
May 19, 2025
DNF at chapter 9.
There's quite a few grammatical errors and repeated sentences that were unnecessary or just didn't make sense and really threw me off while reading. Emrys was the only character that kept me reading as long as I did but it just wasn't enough for me to want to keep reading. Disappointed as I was really interested in this book before.
There's quite a few grammatical errors and repeated sentences that were unnecessary or just didn't make sense and really threw me off while reading. Emrys was the only character that kept me reading as long as I did but it just wasn't enough for me to want to keep reading. Disappointed as I was really interested in this book before.
July 21, 2025
Oh man are the romantasy girlies going to go feral over this one. Tales of a Monstrous Heart is the perfect blend of fantasy/romance/gothic horror, with lush and delectable writing & an MC who I absolutely adored.
Katherine Woodrow only wants one thing in life, to become a mage. Unfortunately, her Fey genetics and the prejudice that surround them make that a harder task than it should be. Despite being whip smart, and a better mage than most of the council, Kat is constantly belittled, blamed and beaten down, but she is not the kind of person who goes down without a fight. When we first meet Kat she is trying her best to blend in, look more human, but as the story progresses she comes to accept and embrace her Fey heritage and the power that comes with that. Her resilience in the face of what she has been through really made me feel for her, as did her defence of those weaker than her, whether they were seen as lesser by humans or not. I loved seeing her come into her power, to accept who she is, growing to love it almost, but the author certainly knows how to put her characters though the ringer before allowing them the chance to shine.
The story is told solely from Kat’s POV, but that doesn’t mean we don’t get introduced to some equally amazing characters. Alma, another Fey who Kat took under her wing. Loyal to a fault, and not afraid to stand up for Kat. William, Lord Blackthorns aid. He has such a positive outlook on life, always happy to help in any way he can. And Lord Emrys Blackthorn himself. Similarly to Kat, Emrys has had to deal with some trauma in his life, trauma he is still living with daily. At first, I expected him to be a more ‘Rochester’ style character, aloof, someone I wouldn’t necessarily like, but that couldn’t have been further from how Delaney chose to portray him. He is equally amazed and infuriated by Kat. At how little faith she has in herself and her power, at how small a price she puts on her own life. Don’t get me wrong, he still has that dark and broody vibe down, but he’s so much more than that, & I really enjoyed how much we get to see the different sides to his character. Also, I can’t not mention, Thean. One of those characters you know you probably shouldn’t trust, but also love any scenes that they are in, and the drama they were sure to bring with them.
Delaney takes her world and just kind of dumps us in headfirst, so it did take me a minute to get my bearings, but once I did, I was instantly hooked. It’s a world post war, that’s seemingly on the brink of another, a world where humans craved magic so badly, they decided to carve it out of the beings who claimed it easily. One where Fey are seen as lesser, dangerous, left to fend for themselves on the outskirts, and human and Fey relations are forbidden, seen as an abomination. One thing I loved about this story is how much backstory Delaney gives us, insight into both the human and Fey history, but also how much those stories had an impact on the current one. It’s one of those books where every piece of information given is important, nothing can be bypassed or rushed. Instead, it’s a story you need to savour, and that is absolutely helped by Delaney’s lush and prosaic writing style.
If I could pick one word to describe the feel of this story it would be seductive. Not just because of the romance, but also how the authors writing style seems to slowly draw you into the story. It’s part fantasy, part romance, part horror in parts, but underneath it all is the wondrous gothic atmosphere that I adored, and it has a semi-sentient house. Yes, you read that right… a house that almost becomes a character in its own right, something that I absolutely love in a story. It’s a slow starter, and I’ll admit I wasn’t 100% sure where the story was heading, but once you get stuck in, you almost don’t care. The setting, the characters, the romance, all these things come together to create a story that I simply couldn’t put down.
And now… the romance. I absolutely freaking adored it. I adored how layered the characters were, how Emrys was both aloof and broody, whilst also being down so hard for Kat. The realness of how Kat couldn’t stop looking at his well-built arms, appreciating that he was taller than her. It has its funny moments, and its incredibly steamy ones, but it was the almost forbidden romance vibes that did it for me. The knowledge that these two should not have feelings for one another, let alone act on them. Emrys not wanting to put Kat in harm’s way, and Kat basically saying Fuck it, I want you. It was beautifully written, slow burn in the best way, and what I enjoyed the most was that Delaney made Emrys likeable, instead of just a dick who’s hot and we should like because he has a tragic past.
In case you couldn’t tell I loved this one! That ending though… I genuinely thought my Kindle was having a moment when it ended where it did, but no, the author just decided to absolutely torture us readers knowing we would have to wait to see what happens next. If you love romantic fantasy with gothic horror vibes, plenty of action alongside slower scenes used to develop the world, with characters and a romance for the ages… you need to check this out.
Katherine Woodrow only wants one thing in life, to become a mage. Unfortunately, her Fey genetics and the prejudice that surround them make that a harder task than it should be. Despite being whip smart, and a better mage than most of the council, Kat is constantly belittled, blamed and beaten down, but she is not the kind of person who goes down without a fight. When we first meet Kat she is trying her best to blend in, look more human, but as the story progresses she comes to accept and embrace her Fey heritage and the power that comes with that. Her resilience in the face of what she has been through really made me feel for her, as did her defence of those weaker than her, whether they were seen as lesser by humans or not. I loved seeing her come into her power, to accept who she is, growing to love it almost, but the author certainly knows how to put her characters though the ringer before allowing them the chance to shine.
The story is told solely from Kat’s POV, but that doesn’t mean we don’t get introduced to some equally amazing characters. Alma, another Fey who Kat took under her wing. Loyal to a fault, and not afraid to stand up for Kat. William, Lord Blackthorns aid. He has such a positive outlook on life, always happy to help in any way he can. And Lord Emrys Blackthorn himself. Similarly to Kat, Emrys has had to deal with some trauma in his life, trauma he is still living with daily. At first, I expected him to be a more ‘Rochester’ style character, aloof, someone I wouldn’t necessarily like, but that couldn’t have been further from how Delaney chose to portray him. He is equally amazed and infuriated by Kat. At how little faith she has in herself and her power, at how small a price she puts on her own life. Don’t get me wrong, he still has that dark and broody vibe down, but he’s so much more than that, & I really enjoyed how much we get to see the different sides to his character. Also, I can’t not mention, Thean. One of those characters you know you probably shouldn’t trust, but also love any scenes that they are in, and the drama they were sure to bring with them.
Delaney takes her world and just kind of dumps us in headfirst, so it did take me a minute to get my bearings, but once I did, I was instantly hooked. It’s a world post war, that’s seemingly on the brink of another, a world where humans craved magic so badly, they decided to carve it out of the beings who claimed it easily. One where Fey are seen as lesser, dangerous, left to fend for themselves on the outskirts, and human and Fey relations are forbidden, seen as an abomination. One thing I loved about this story is how much backstory Delaney gives us, insight into both the human and Fey history, but also how much those stories had an impact on the current one. It’s one of those books where every piece of information given is important, nothing can be bypassed or rushed. Instead, it’s a story you need to savour, and that is absolutely helped by Delaney’s lush and prosaic writing style.
If I could pick one word to describe the feel of this story it would be seductive. Not just because of the romance, but also how the authors writing style seems to slowly draw you into the story. It’s part fantasy, part romance, part horror in parts, but underneath it all is the wondrous gothic atmosphere that I adored, and it has a semi-sentient house. Yes, you read that right… a house that almost becomes a character in its own right, something that I absolutely love in a story. It’s a slow starter, and I’ll admit I wasn’t 100% sure where the story was heading, but once you get stuck in, you almost don’t care. The setting, the characters, the romance, all these things come together to create a story that I simply couldn’t put down.
And now… the romance. I absolutely freaking adored it. I adored how layered the characters were, how Emrys was both aloof and broody, whilst also being down so hard for Kat. The realness of how Kat couldn’t stop looking at his well-built arms, appreciating that he was taller than her. It has its funny moments, and its incredibly steamy ones, but it was the almost forbidden romance vibes that did it for me. The knowledge that these two should not have feelings for one another, let alone act on them. Emrys not wanting to put Kat in harm’s way, and Kat basically saying Fuck it, I want you. It was beautifully written, slow burn in the best way, and what I enjoyed the most was that Delaney made Emrys likeable, instead of just a dick who’s hot and we should like because he has a tragic past.
In case you couldn’t tell I loved this one! That ending though… I genuinely thought my Kindle was having a moment when it ended where it did, but no, the author just decided to absolutely torture us readers knowing we would have to wait to see what happens next. If you love romantic fantasy with gothic horror vibes, plenty of action alongside slower scenes used to develop the world, with characters and a romance for the ages… you need to check this out.
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