Monarch Rising

by Harper Glenn

In a chilling near-future New United States of America, Jo Monarch has grown up in the impoverished borderlands of New Georgia. She’s given one chance to change her fate… if she can survive a boy trained to break hearts.

Today is the day Jo Monarch has been wishing on the moon about her entire life. It's the day of the Line Up, when she could be selected to leave her life in the Ashes behind. The day she could move across the mountains to a glittering, rich future.

Once Jo is plucked from the Line Up, the real test begins. She still needs to impress the New Georgia Reps at tonight's Gala, and her path forward leads straight to Cove Wells. The damaged stepson of one of the Reps, Cove has been groomed as an emotional weapon, taught that love is a tool -- and he's set on breaking Jo's heart next.

When a riot breaks out back in the Ashes the night of the Gala, Jo's dreams might all go up in smoke. Can she really have everything she's ever wished for… when it means leaving all her loved ones behind in the fire?

Harper Glenn's debut is as gripping as it is prescient, an unflinching meditation on whether love can save us from ourselves, and what it takes to be born anew.

Genres: Young Adult, Dystopia, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Fiction, Audiobook

368 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2022

About the author

Harper Glenn is an American writer of fiction.

In addition to creating works rooted in underrepresented spaces, they are passionate about books unveiling injustice involving the psychological, sociological and economic disparities in poverty stricken regions of the world.

Harper’s young adult speculative novel MONARCH RISING released 10.4.22 w/Scholastic Press.

Reviews

[Mya Matteo · Rating 2 out of 5]

content warnings for this book: incest, violence, racial fetishization from the love interest, addiction

I rarely think books are "bad"—often they're just not my thing, but others might enjoy it... but I genuinely think this book needed several more drafts. plot holes, strange character motivations, problematic / weird internal monologue of the love interest, pacing issues. Several others on GoodReads have enjoyed it already so maybe I'm just far off the general consensus but this was not good.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was ALL over the place. I didn't understand the world-building, the ending is a mess, in spite of Cove proclaiming he doesn't believe in insta-love he sure fell for it quickly, I didn't think the leads had any chemistry, and the personalities of the characters seems to turn on a dime. I think there's potential for a good story here, but it needs a very strong editing. And yes, mind the trigger warnings.

[Brandie Bridges-Sells · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking for a futuristic dystopian book then look no further because this book is definitely for you. I have not read anything like this and I absolutely enjoyed every single moment of it. Books like this makes you appreciate things and it puts everything into perspective that this world is not perfect. But there may be people around you that can change things and make your life better than you thought it was. In this book we are following the main character named Jo who lives in the Ashes(poverty). Now the only way to out of poverty and live in luxury in what they call New Georgia she has pass the exam and be picked by the reps from New Georgia. Now your probably wandering what is New Georgia and this is setting in the future after a great rebel in the year of 2030. So after the rebellion things began to change like the United States is now called the New United States. So as Jo prepares for the reps she eventually meets one of the reps sons named Cove who only had one agenda and that was to break the heart of whoever they picked out of the Ashes. Though Cove did not want to do this but he had not choice because of his step mother. This book will have you in tears because both characters Jo and Cove go though so much and I found this book amazing because there are so many things that you can learn from this book. Please, please, please read this book because I promise you it is worth the read.

[Kim Alkemade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strange in the best possible way, Monarch Rising creates a world that destabilizes the reader with glimpses of the familiar amidst utterly unique characters and settings. Building a mesmerizing plot on the foundation of the Dickens classic Great Expectations, this story defied my predictions and surprised me with twists and turns up to the very last page.

[Georgia Meagher · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

Definitely search up trigger warnings for this including;
Violence, attempted sexual assault, parental manipulation, incest, and drug addiction.

Woah! I have not flew through a book this fast in a very long time. For the first 50% or so I thought this was going to be a five star book. I really loved Jo's character and the world building in this. It's the first book in a long time that I've felt was any kind of comparable to The Hunger Games. Sometimes it almost felt too similar. And then there's the problem with the length. This is one of those books that I think suffers from being TOO short. Probably the editor wanted it cut way down because it's a debut but I really think that a lot of the plot holes (specifically the very end) could have been fleshed out with another 50-100 pages. Especially with the miscommunication aspect. I also didn't think we needed both pov's but I think that's just a general pet peeve of mine in books if it's first person narrative I wanna be in just the one person's mind. Josephine's character arc was more interesting than Cove's in my opinion.

I also think it tried to do too much in too little page space, as I mentioned before. I do think that people who are missing books like Legend or The Hunger Games, or Divergent will devour this because I felt so nostalgic reading it the whole time. But this book is really dark. Please search the trigger warnings I listed above to be sure you'll be able to read this. I don't know if this is a spoiler, but also, if you don't like open-ended stories this might not be for you. I felt like I was left with more questions than answers by the end of the last chapter but I still enjoyed my experience and getting to know these characters and I think you will too. Many thanks to the publisher for the physical arc to review before pub day (since when am I ever this on top of reviews?????).

[elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Hear Our Voices Tours and the author for providing me with a finished copy in exchange for an honest review!

You can see my stop for the HOV Tour here, which includes some of my favorite quotes from this book!

If you were a big fan of the dystopian era of YA (think: The Hunger Games, Legend, Divergent, etc.), you won’t want to miss Monarch Rising. It has the plot twists, world building, politics, and romance of your usual YA dystopian, but with a notably grimmer vibe that will keep you hooked. There’s evil and malice, with a sprinkle of the taboo, while still unearthing the humanness of the characters. I appreciated that although this was clearly a fictional world not entirely trying to reflect our own, there were still real aspects that will resonate with readers. In addition, there was some great diversity with the characters. Fast-paced, entertaining, and dark, I had the pleasure of finishing this book in only a day or two!

[Michelle Willms · Rating 5 out of 5]

A teen who is kind and good meets a teen who is so broken, he knows there is little hope for him. He only knows that Jo makes him feel almost love.

This book was both heartbreaking and hopeful. It was beautiful and and sad, wondrous, and pitiful. The author wasn't afraid to remind us that there are truly monstrous people in the world. Sometimes, they are responsible for our upbringing.

This book manages to incorporate race, relationships, family dynamics, politics, and so much more in one book. It's so wonderful it's hard to stop reading to do anything else.

[Elaina Henley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really, this is more of a 3.5 for me because the ending sort of redeemed it. But overall, the beginning was attention grabbing, the middle was wishy washy and felt like no one was making progress, and the ending was good for what it was.

First of all, this book should definitely have a trigger warning. How the editor didn't realize this is astounding to me. Incest should definitely be a trigger warning. Yes, they're technically step-siblings, but it felt as though the author uses their trauma to justify relations with each other that are consistently brought up. It's not even a once and done type of thing where it's stated it happened and not mentioned much after that. It's continual with butterfly kisses and touches and cuddling that comes across as incest rather than siblings clinging to each other their abuse. It gave me the ick, and I wasn't prepared for it. The reader is thrown into the thick of things in chapter three in Cove's point of view where he wakes up naked with his step sister and her "palm is below his belly button.". That's just a bit much for me. Josephine (Jo) , the female protagonist, also nearly experiences sexual assault from a cop, so SA should definitely be a trigger warning. Eating disorders are mentioned in passing, too.

Other than the triggering events, the plot sort of fell flat. We're in this dystopian world where it's a New United States that is set up with similar vibes to The Hunger Games where the revolutionists are punished for their uprising, except in this they're stuck on the other side of the mountain to die from starvation and disease rather than send their kids to fight to the death. That's as far as the similarities to The Hunger Games can go dispite the fact the blurb on the front calls this a darker Hunger Games. News flash, it's not. Josephine is on the poor, outcast side of the mountain, and Cove is on the well-off side of the mountain. Josephine is chosen to attend a Gala where she can become part of "New Georgia" society. A riot begins in the Ashes, which is her home, so she goes back for the sake of her loved ones. We see some of the riot (this is where her near assault occurs), she watches her best friend die, then she wakes up back in New Georgia. After that, we just watch her New Georgia life and her off-kilter relationship brew with Cove which has been forced to make her fall for him then break her by his abusive stepmother. A lot of back and forth happens and not much character growth is done. There are two decent scenes between Cove and Jo, and way into the book we see some growth from Cove. I wasn't expecting his trauma to be healed. It's only a 353 page book with alternating perspectives. However, with as much time jumping as there is, I was expecting a bit more of something from him. That's another thing, what little this book builds to is then glosses over. The scenes I wanted to see were states in a few sentences rather than shows.

One thing I grew to appreciate, however, was the writing style. At first it was really hard to get into, but somewhere along the way I appreciated it. Jo and Cove do have different tones. At least there's that.

As for the redeeming ending...it was good for what it could have been. With how Cove is, it's no surprise he made the choices he did. I can appreciate how he did make the wrong choices that he felt were his best option for Jo. Now, I hate how he just decides for her rather than letting her choose for herself, but for Cove's character, the author uses the "he's too damaged to offer the truth to her and see if she will find him lovable after" angle. As for Jo, there's a bit more closure when she goes home, finds her best friend living still, and help her people work toward a better life.

***MAJOR SPOILER***
I just want to touch on the kindness of Jo that really recovered this story. Cove's stepmother was forcing him to shatter Jo or he would lose his whole inheritance and his mother's orchard. Well, Jo has a majorly generous sponsor for her time in New Georgia. So AFTER Cove breaks her heart, she still goes out and buys his orchard for him so he doesn't lose it because she really does love him but simply can't stick around anymore. She decides to go back with the doctor and save her people from the disease plaguing them. (The doctor has the antidote). So that was the best surprise in all this. She went out of her way to give him the one thing he hoped for other than her love. His mother's orchard.

[Sierra Finlinson · Rating 1 out of 5]

RATING
Language: R (86 swears, 61 “f’);
Mature Content: R (talk of sex, no described sex, some crude sex talk);
Violence: R (rape mentioned, attempted rape, suicide attempts)


SUMMARY
In a futuristic America, Jo is a black girl with a chance to leave her home in the slums of the Ashes and make a life for herself in the opulent city of New Georgia. Cove is the heart-throb of the city, the trail of broken hearts testifying to the magnificent of his light, clean skin and soft blond hair. Under false flattery and designer clothes Cove hides his scars, both physical and mental, that speak to his training in the matter of love. To escape his abuser and win his freedom, he must break one last heart: Jo's. But Jo is not like the girls from the city, and Cove cannot help that this is one assignment he may not be able to carry through.

THOUGHTS
This book wanted to be a lot of things. It wanted to be a social commentary on racism, wealth division, sexuality, physical and emotional abuse, and politics; it even tried to bring Aristotle into the mix at one point. Yet, spreading itself so thin it manages to accomplish nothing. Leaving this book, I am left with no specific morals or lessons that I feel the author was trying to accomplish and thus and, feeling as though that was the main focus of the book, not the storytelling, think it was somewhat of a failure. The world building was lackluster, inconsistent, and unbelievable and the same goes for the characters. Further, the mature themes are somewhat difficult to classify as while nothing is explicit, sexual encounters with varying numbers of participants and mixes of genders are mentioned often and crudely as well as heavy themes of depression, low-self worth, suicide, and abuse.

[Frank Chillura (OhYouRead) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am HUGE Dystopian lover, so I knew this was going to be a definite read when I heard it was coming out. I am not saying I’m an end of the world prepper, but in another life, I would have a bunker buried in the ground filled with all of the items I’d need to survive for the next 50 years… plus anything I’d need to live out my days in a human time capsule.

Monarch Rising follows Jo, who up until now has lived out her days in poverty on the borders of New Georgia. She has a chance to be chosen in The Line Up, where she’ll escape the world she’s known for what she thinks will be a better life.

She has to survive in this new city on the other side of the mountains in New Georgia, impressing the people who brought her there while also being wooed by Cove, the boy sent to make her feel loved only to break her heart in the process.

A mysterious benefactor awards Jo money… a lot of it. So much money that it can change her family’s lives forever. And at the same time, Cove is not doing as well as he pretends to be. His family home is being taken away and the money she received could save it.

This book is full of twists and turns. You really don’t know what’s coming next. There are also some really serious topics being discussed (systemic racism, caste system, police violence) and your trigger warnings should be checked.

[Daneosaur · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were plot lines and characters I liked very much in this book. Unfortunately, I also found some of the plot points annoying and had trouble caring about some of the characters. It was like there were good nuggets of ideas in there — but so many things that felt like they might be interesting were glossed over and not explained, or characters that could have been interesting, and yet, there was just something missing. And then that ending… I mean, WTF happened there?! It just… ended. And everything was tied up neatly with a bow without explanation or even background motivation to make the ending even plausible. Example, why would what happened to the sister even cause the mother to act like that at the end given what we learned about their history?!? Grrrr…

[Taylor Lange · Rating 5 out of 5]

Content Warning: police violence, drug usage.

I received this book as an ARC. (advance reader copy) So I know there may be things added to this book I'm not aware of. That being said. I LOVED the writing. It's told in two POVs. I love the Jo Character. And while I didn't Cove was a positive character, it was interesting reading his parts; and I found myself rooting for him in the end. Also, loved its diversity and sex positivity. This book seems like it could be one in a series.

[Ryder Fine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Excellent world-building! But in my opinion, this is all the book got right. The characters actions are inconsistent with their perceived personalities, and neither main character is very likable. This one was not for me!

[Jessica Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m loving every bit of this dystopian YA debut! The characters, the alternative world, and the push and pull between personal drive and sacrifice, all very compelling.

[Cin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immerse yourself, and get lost with this fantastic story!

[Elizabeth Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely fell in love with Jo and Cove. This is so much more than a quick YA dystopia. Beautiful writing, with a story and a world I’m looking forward to reentering over and over. The characters are given great depth and dimensions. Glenn does an extraordinary job and I can’t wait to see what’s next from them.

[Devika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Monarch Rising is the debut of Harper Glenn. This dystopian books is all about Jo Monarch, who is chosen at the Line Up and must now survive a boy who is thought to break hearts. Harper Glenn has a complex writing style with a lot of layers. Therefore I really had to get into the story for a while. This book has a bit of racism but also a wide spectrum of sexuality. The story does know a nice storyline, however there was something in this book which made me having a bit trouble while reading. This book just is all over the place, with some things that just doesn’t match up. I just can’t really put my finger on it, but I think this book just isn’t for me. However I think there will be lots of readers who will really enjoy this dystopian debut.

original review published on my blog Boekensteeg

[Tulia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the world building in this dystopia. Couldn't stop reading!!!!

[Siobhán♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

**TW**
language, violence, racism, colonialism, death, death of a parent, death of a child, virus, poverty, grief loss, s*xual ass*ult, blood detail, etc.

“I scare you?”
Cove’s chest rises and falls; he nods. “Yes . . . shitless.”

It was a diverse and gripping read that certainly held my attention from start to finish. Highlighting poverty, racism and prejudice in a cleverly woven tale of love and heartbreak...and betrayal. This book was a real rollercoaster of emotions and it certainly held a few unexpected twists!

I loved Jo, the main character, and found that her character development was really well written. She learned a lot on her journey and we, as readers, learned everything alongside her.

In many ways, the world Harper Glenn wrote of is not that different from the one we live in and that is unnerving to think about. I love how each topic was discussed and brought up often while still keeping to the plot and keeping the story flowing. That is another talent in itself.

I'm eager to read the next book as I still have questions that I'd love answers to. (Mainly questions about Cove and Jo...and other important events.) So...right now, I shall wait, and wait, and wait, and .....

[Madison Akins · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not good. Would not recommend.

[Vincent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Realistic imperfect characters. Highly Recommend.

[Irina F · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing and important story ❤️

[Breanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Liked the concept, but the writing was atrocious.

[Adriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monarch Rising by @harperglennwriter. I saw this described as a darker Hunger Games, but I was not ready. The setting is a dystopian future, where the rich and prominent were overthrown by a rebellion and yet the social economic disparity between the "Poor folks in borderlands, while rich folks live it up" remained ever present and unforgiving. Jo lives in the Ashes, the impoverished land on the outskirts of New Georgia. She has one chance to make it out during the Line Up, in which a select few are chosen to go live in New Georgia and escape a life of hunger, but what awaits her is a boy trained to break hearts and crush souls.

There are quite a few trigger warnings, and with all the book banning nonsense, I'm going to say why books with such dark content matter. Because they allow us a window into different realities from our own. This book for example, is told from two different viewpoints, Josephine (Jo) and Coventry (Cove). Jo knows hunger, poverty and the fear and desperation that comes with both. Cove has lived a life of privilege in that he has not experienced hunger and lives in luxury with the best resources available to him. But his life of privilege is not free of fear and desperation all the same.

Books like these allow us exploration of sensitive topics through different perspectives such as social economic disparities, injustice, drug use, mental health, child abuse and so much more. Despite the dark issues I found this book hopeful. It argues that empathy and love can coexist during dark times, and shows us that no one ever wins when movements are hate-driven.

If you're a fan of dystopian fiction, Hunger Games, Great Expectations and/or Little Women this is the book for you. It's Young Adult, l'd recommend for 17 and older. Thank you @hearourvoicestours and @scholasticine for the signed copy And big kudos to @jeffmanning_ for the jacket art.
#MonarchRising #HarperGlenn #HOV #HearOurVoices #HearOurVoicesTour #yafiction #yafantasy #yadystopiar

[Sammy Stitt · Rating 2 out of 5]

where do i even start? this book pissed me off many, MANY times. the dialogue, at times, was insufferable. “cray-cray”? mean-mug as a verb? i’m not even talking about the “ashes” accent, there were just some lines that made me want to crash out. second, someone else’s review said there should’ve been a couple more revisions/ drafts bc of faulty character reasoning, pacing, etc., and i agree wholeheartedly. i’m sorry, but eleanore as a character just wasn’t it. up until the third half of the story, i just thought she was so dumb and had no reason to act like she did- i only felt slightly less like that after we met rashad. rashad was a good character, i liked that twist a lot. i liked that jo decided to go back to the ashes but also, why didn’t the ashes cease to exist? i mean, if radius had a cure, why was the whole concepts of “borderlands” eliminated? i get racism and classism and all that are intentional themes but sometimes the book is simultaneously too obvious and not obvious enough with those. also margo and cove both sucked? and margo was actually like explicitly racist and then ended up getting with kyra? huh? also the world building could’ve been better, also NEW NEW YORK? be so fr. NNYC???? this review is all over the place but so was this book. why did we spend so much of this damn book developing jo and cove for it to just be like “nah it was boah all along”. like girl ik ur monologue was always like “blah blah blah i miss boah” but not enough to the point where the reader would be rooting for a dead man? what? also half these characters i forgot their roles and relationships to the main character. kept forgetting about jessup and neal and i was like who again? idk. i think this book had potential but it also pissed me off quite a few times.

[Taylor Browne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suzanne Collins gave us The Hunger Games.

Scott Westerfeld have us The Uglies.

And Harper Glenn gave us Monarch Rising.

Well done! I haven’t read much in the dystopian fiction genre outside of the series mentioned above and maybe one or two other books, but this read was enough to convince me that I need to explore more. Poor girl meets rich guy, although a tale old as time, Harper Glenn manages to tell this story in their own unique way.

I think one of the hardest things when it comes to this genre is creating “the world.” These stories take place in the future and unless these authors are descendants of Nostradamus, Sybill Trewlawney, or Raven Baxter, they don’t have the ability to see into future. So they don’t know what that world looks like and have to create one that their readers can picture. With that being said, the images of New Georgia are so clear in my mind that I feel like I could walk those streets without a map.

This story checks all of the boxes of what I look for when I’m reading in this realm. Vivid images, great story telling, good character building, political commentary, and a love story with a bit of mess in the mix. I enjoyed the dual POVs as it gave great insight of the main characters Josephine and Cove. For me, getting to see things through the eyes of both characters kept me from being bias and even though I favored Jo over Cove, I don’t dislike him because I was able to gain a level of understanding of his actions and person through his POV.

If you’re looking to dive into dystopian fiction, this book is a great starting point.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is like a train wreck in that the things that happen are so horrifying you can't possibly look away. The world itself is awful - both in the Ashes and in New Georgia. Cove, Margo, and their friends are dysfunctional. They sleep with each other and they cheat on each other. Jo, Boah, and Neal's life in the ashes is painfully harsh, and some of the elements didn't make sense. Things like there not being any electricity, natural water sources, or plumbing in the Ashes, and yet Jo still learned the play the viola and could have learned the cello.

The writing style was spare to the point of the text missing common words and there was a lot of terminology I wasn't familiar with. I'm not entirely sure if this was meant to be part of the worldbuilding or if it's cultural. Characterization was uneven - Cove was a hot mess and I went back and forth about whether or not I actually liked him. I did like Jo's character, but the development of the romance was all over the place. Basically zero to love in less than 60 seconds.

I was uncomfortable pretty much the entire time reading this book, and yet I couldn't put it down. And the ending was...let's just say if this is meant to be a standalone, it's 100% not what I wanted. If it's the first book in a series, well, no matter how horrifying, I'll probably have to read book two.

Content notes: pervasive harsh profanity, underage alcohol and drug use, explicit sexual conversations, mature subject matter including scenes of incest, parental manipulation, physical abuse, attempted sexual assault, and police violence.

[Kay C · Rating 1 out of 5]

The premise sounded interesting. However, when I got into the actual book, a lot of things gave me the ick. Glenn kept bringing up 3 legged dogs and felt the need to explain how they became 3 legged (spoiler, poor people loved their pets but were hungry so they'd cut off bits of their animals to keep Fido alive another day). And then she kept what felt like fetishizing skin colors? Especially because the main characters are different races. But the worst part is probably the pacing of it all. She spent about 200 pages of the book leading up to getting the main character chosen for the special program and moving to the new setting, 100 pages to have the main characters start a romance, and then 50 pages to 1. Have the poor people start a revolution, 2. All the evil people reveal the motives behind why they're evil, 3. The main characters to break up, and 4. Finding a cure for this disease killing people. This definitely should have either been 2 books or the beginning part trimmed down. Again, interesting premise, but it had issues.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that the characters were nice, but Elanore the mom was not a character that made any sense to me. She was way to evil to be real, and she was all about being rich and not caring, that she made her kids break peoples hearts, that part did not make sense to me. She was oviously in debt, but she was not evil enough to steal money from Jo but was evil enough to whip and beat her kids and then make them do things?

The other thing that I realy did not like was the ending. Jo meats Elenores sister who dies hours after and then Cove decides he needs to break her heart to get his plot of land that Elenore cant even affort to keep... Then she decides to buy the land for him? Why couldn't he just keep it because he finally broke her heart. Then at the end it very quickly went to her becoming a rebel, and her cousin dies, and then her friend/boyfriend? comes back to life, and she decides to become a rebel.

HATED THE ENDING

I liked the charecters, but the ending was horrible.

[Britt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an intense and gripping story.
Definitely read any and all trigger warnings before jumping in- there are a lot of difficult themes and situations.

Monarch Rising is set against a dystopian America through mostly the eyes of Josephine (Jo) a girl who lives in poverty in the Ashes. She earns a chance to prove herself to live amongst the wealthy in New Georgia, but it definitely may not be all that it’s meant to be.

I really enjoyed Jo’s chapters. I found her to be a strong character trying to do the right thing while figuring out where she could fit in. But then she met Cove and he had the possibility of ruining her.
And Margo, oh Margo what happened to you? Honestly, I hope we see her again- I do love a redemption story.

I’ll be honest and say I have mixed feelings about the ending. It wasn’t what I expected but I also don’t know what I was hoping for. Jo deserves more. Maybe she will find that in the Ashes.