Monstrous

Coterie of Mages #1

by Thomas K. Carpenter

The halls are dark. The magic is deadly. Trust no one.

Iona hoped escaping the murderous warlock who tried to sacrifice her would be the end of her nightmare. Instead, it’s only the beginning.

Desperate for safety and a future, Iona claws her way into Coterie of Mages—a prestigious, cutthroat magical university hidden within the Obelisk of the City of Sorcery. But for a backwater girl without family connections, survival is far from guaranteed. The students are cruel, the professors indifferent, and the building itself whispers secrets in the dark. When her classmates’ "pranks" turn lethal, Iona learns that the real trial has just begun.

As enemies close in, Iona forms a tenuous alliance with Zuri, a sharp-edged prodigy with secrets of her own, and a kind-hearted newcomer who still believes in friendship. But when the warlock Fenris tracks her down, the stakes rise beyond grades and status—because now he’s made a deal with one of her classmates.

Betrayal, magic, and ancient horrors collide as Iona and her unlikely crew fight to survive the Obelisk’s deadly levels, navigate backstabbing politics, and face the terrifying being that’s been hiding inside Fenris all along.

360 pages, Hardcover

Published January 13, 2026

About the author

Thomas K. Carpenter is a full time contemporary fantasy author with over 70 independently published titles. His bestselling, multi-series universe, The Hundred Halls, has over 43 books and counting. His stories focus on fantastic families, magical academies, and epic adventures. All the books can be found at major retailers and directly from the author at https://thomaskcarpenter.com/.

You can sign up for his newsletter at https://www.subscribepage.com/trialso...
When he is not writing, he enjoys playing turn-based strategy games and MTG, skiing, hiking, traveling, and chilling on the couch with his wife and their little dog, Merlin, at home in the beautiful mountains of Colorado.

Reviews

[Jeremiah Vaille · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monstrous is a thrilling addition to the hundred halls universe. Iona storm comes from an unfortunate background that she learns more about after this book comes to a climax. She is able to temporarily escape her past and integrate in high class society in the Coterie of Mages hall.

The Coterie of Mages hall provides challenges that Iona and the other first year students must overcome including studying ancient magics, integrating with friend and foe, and completing puzzles to find the next level of the hall.

Thomas Carpenter continues to provide thrilling imagery of the “City of Sorcery” and reminds readers of characters from season one of the hundred halls universe.

[Lana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do believe that this author’s writing is becoming darker and ever more powerful with each new series he writes, and this latest series is darker even in its title and I loved the book and cannot wait to read book 2. Three different girls turn up to take the trials of magic at the City of Sorcery hoping to get into the hall known as the Coterie of Mages. This hall is found in the Obelisk, and is one of the most secretive halls and the deadliest. Iona is a runaway who had been granted a scholarship, but who was penniless and turned up with nothing to her name. She’d escaped from the clutches of Fenris, an evil and powerful warlock who’d kept her against her will. Zuri was a well to do girl who had stood by her convictions and gave testimony in court against Blake her ex, who’d killed her best friend. Now both girls are being bullied by Blake who is turning the other students against Iona labeled the pig girl, and Zuri who he’d turned into a pariah. In Coterie unless one was part of a group the danger was more extreme, as the teams were competitive and allowed a freehand on how to gain progress in rising through the levels of the obelisk. Everything was allowed and Blake and his cronies who he dominated through threats and fear, were out to make sure the girls would not end the year. This first book is heart stopping at times, scary and thrilling and I found I could not put it down as the story is really captivating. I love that the girls finally did get to work together overcoming their prejudices. The character of Fenris is no joke, he is enough to give one nightmares.

[Anya Smits · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!

I always like the books of Thomas Carpenter, but in this first book of the series he has outdone himself. Darker, with more layers. Scary even.

Ilona runs from her strange and creepy master and finds herself contenting for a place in the Hundred Halls. She succeeds and end up in Coterie of Mages, the high class hall for the rich and famous. Ilona, as a misfit, has to avoid all kinds of traps, or she will end up dead. Together with Justine and Zara they wrestle through assignments in a creepy building (the Obelisk), death threats from their nemesis Blake and Ilona’s former master Fenris.

I very much liked the story, the twists, the characters and the loopholes I didn’t see coming. An amazing 100 Halls story! Highly recommended!

[Tony Lavely · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monstrous bodes well for the Coterie of Mages series in the Hundred Halls Universe.
Rarely have three misfits succeeded so well as Justine, Zuri and Iona in an altogether hostile environment.
I enjoyed this first of the series, and look forward to reading the others. If you have enjoyed Mr. Carpenter’s other work in the Hundred Halls series, I’m confident that you will find in Monstrous a worthy follow-on, and I heartily recommend it as soon as you’re able to get your copy.
I received this first as an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review, and enjoyed it well enough to back the Kickstarter for the whole series.

[Inger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great start for the new Hundred Hall series. Like the other Hundred Hall series it has fantastic characters and unique plot. A good amount of challenges to overcome. I love the test they have to pass to enter the Halls. Great interactions between the characters. No graphic sexual content or really gory violence. It does have violence just not really gross stuff. Lol. I recommend for all ages.

[Quilting Tangent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hell of a year.
Who will become a monster? Who will die? Unexpected friendships. Going to be an intense series. Characters get to learn who they really are, when they faced the challenges of their first year.

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! So much creativity in the construction of the Coterie Hall. I’ve read most of Thomas Carpenter’s books and this one is my favorite so far. I didn’t want to put it down as I followed Iona, Zuri and Justine on their journey. Bravo!

[Phyllis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent story of determination,
endurance and courage.
Enjoy !!

Phyllis S.