fun read! i would say it’s apparent why it appeals to young adults although i find most of the themes here repetitive and unoriginal. enjoyed the writing style a lot though and am looking forward to more from vanessa len!

— thanks to netgalley and the publishers for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

After reading everyone's raving reviews, I fully expected this to be my first 5-star read of the year (and first book of the year in general).
And while this was definitely an engaging and captivating book, and I loved how morally gray everything was... but... I don't know, I feel like it was missing something. I can't exactly put my finger on what it was that I missed, but it's 4 stars for now.

I liked the main characters, but I had some issues with Joan. She was likeable, but it irked me that she was completely new to the monster world, yet everyone rallied behind her with every dangerous and naive decision she made, and she definitely made some very stupid ones. I don't get it. I did like the romance (bonus for leaving me guessing who the main love interest was going to be for pretty much the entire book). I did feel like a lot of the relationships were rushed though, and not fleshed out properly. I hope the next books will rectify that!

I have to say that ending did take me by susprise, I was not expecting that! So I will continue the series to see where things go!

Wow guys, I don’t know what to say. A great Christmas read, I sobbed, I laughed and I MISS FANTASY and this book really brought me back so well

DNF @ 45% i was so BORED!!! could this be more cliche? i am going to old for YA or these formulated books with more romance than fantasy and cliches and nothing knew is boring! The magic aspect was kinda cool but i was just rolling my eyes all the time and could not care more about this

I love time travel stories, I love characters with magical abilities they perceive as "monstrous", so of course I was going to love this book. And as someone who spent seven years living in West London, the setting just made this even better, it felt lived-in and real, like the London I know. I can't wait for the next book!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

OMG! Why it took me soo long to read this book?? It was way better than I expected, and that ending definitely left me wanting more. I really liked that it was set in a fantasy version of London and how unique the magic system was. The time traveling part was a bit meh at first but I kind of like it when I got to the end of the book. The romance though, it didn't convince me, and I feel like the MC had a better chemistry with the 'enemy' than with the one she says she's in love. Kind of a love triangle thing here. Overall, I really enjoyed and can't wait for the second book.

Only a monster was a fun story that could have been better but kept me hooked the majority of the book.

My main complaint is the main character is called Joan which for inexplicable reasons I hate. I hate the name and it just really did not suit her.
I’d argue that what monsters are really isn’t explained at any point in the entire book and that kind of annoys me but I can generally ignore it but maybe some more clarity would have been good.

I enjoyed the setting as london is my home and I enjoyed that it was pretty historically accurate and picked a time period I actually like because I grew up in it.
I found most of it vividly and accurately described which was also nice.

The romance was kind of so so as they never actually had a romance but went on one almost date but it did make more sense once you examine the history and I also liked that it didn’t go the way maybe most would have expected.
Overall I enjoyed the book and the characters all except Nick really and I would love to read the second book!

I ended up really loving this! I wasn’t sure at first as the writing to me seemed slightly basic but when it got into the swing of things I ended up really feeling for the characters and loving the story. It’s dark, gritty and gripping. So excited for the second book!

i absolutely adored this!!!

i instantly became obsessed with the characters, the world and the storyline. the time travel aspect was a personal favourite, not something i have read about before. so i was very intrigued.

I loved this story, I love that it's so unique, being told from the view of a monster, and that the story itself kind of touched the subject of are heroes good, or are they good because you're looking at them from the right perspective? Kind of like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. I can't wait for Never a Hero!

Thank you for my earc of this book and sorry it took me so long to get to it.
Unfortunately I didn’t click with this one so didn’t finish it. I felt like the pacing was off and it didn’t grab me the way I wanted to.

This had such an interesting premise and i was so excited to read it. From the start i found this interesting and was captivated all the way through reading this. I wasn’t expecting there to be monster hunters, but i enjoyed how this worked. The magic system was interesting, ive not read anything with time travelling before and enjoyed how this worked. It was also interesting how each monster family had their own power which added more to the magic. There was really good character development for both Joan and Oliver. I’m hoping we will see more of them together in the next book. I wasnt a fan of the romance with Nick and Joan, it made the plot more interesting but i just didnt feel any chemistry between them. This was fast paced which made it so easy to read, i finished it in one sitting. I really enjoyed the plot twists, they weren’t predictable. I really enjoyed reading this and i really cant wait for the next one

I read this at the start of the year and I’ve only realised now I haven’t submitted my review!

However, this book has stayed with me since I first read it which is really a sign of how good it is. I loved the idea of focusing on the ‘monsters’ rather than the hero and exploring what it means to be a monster, It’s such an interesting twist on the typical fantasy book. Joan was a great character who grapples with her new-found identity as a member of a monster family.

Thank you so much for an opportunity to read this book, apologies it took me so long to review.

Only a Monster is a journey about time travel, family, love and doing the right thing.

In Only a Monster we meet Joan, a young girl who comes from a family with mysterious powers. When her family is murdered, she has to travel time to find a way to bring them back.

I really enjoyed Only a Monster. It is a very typical YA book in many ways, but has some darker elements to it. The time travel aspect was interesting, the rules to it and how Joan would think of ways to bend them.

Characters were well-balanced and things that annoyed me (things like insta-love and love triangles) were actually explained as part of the story, which made them slightly less annoying.

All in all, I think Vanessa Len wrote a great debut novel, and I’m very curious to see where this story goes.

If you like Percy Jackson then you should.give.this a read. Very easy to get into- there are monsters loving among us. They time travel and to travel, they need to take a little of our time.

Did I put this down?! Well yes…but only because I have a toddler to look after, otherwise I’d have binge read this absolute delight in one day. Vanessa Len is a new favourite author and I can’t wait to see what else she releases!

Only a Monster is a book you will read in one sitting. It's dark and deliciously addictive in the best way possible. An exciting read that you will be telling everyone to read.

It was a fun read but the descriptions was a bit juvenile. I loved the synopsis but I just wish that the execution was slightly better.

Just realised I never got around to reading this one as I'm so behind on my reading and it has now been archived.

Thankfully I have a finished copy of the book so will read and update my reviews!

This book was OK.
Nothing about it really drew me in, but I didn't not like it. It was a quick read and enjoyable, maybe just not quite the book for me.