A solid sequel to 'Only a Monster', intriguing plot, but this book felt like a held breath before the finale...(I hope)

I loved Only A Monster, and gave it a high 4 stars, largely based on how much it exceeded my expectations, avoiding the more obvious YA tropes, or at least avoiding them being front and centre, and being plot-heavy with a fresh premise, interesting plot and world, and complex family, friend, and romantic relationships that all avoided being one-dimensional.

I didn't so much mind the destined-to-be-together theme in the first book, and so was not overly offended by Nick, because there was so much of interest going on, but this book placed the emphasis squarely on Nick: his every expression, how much he remembered or didn't remember, whether he should be feared or not, how unbelievably muscly, attractive, practically perfect in every way he was, Joan told us all about it. If he walked a certain way, if he looked away from her, if he looked piercingly at her, if he looked sideways at her, if he had his eyes closed, it was all noteworthy. What was annoying though, is that he did very little, he was just there and other people, reacted to him, often in pretty repetitive ways, Joan especially seemed to have to remind herself every other page that this 'wasn't the old Nick' or the Nick she loved, or the Nick she remembered, which meant the reader had to read that over and over again. Aaron managed to be much more interesting despite being given very little page time in comparison. The idea of lovers to strangers is such a promising one, I really wish I had connected with it more, or that the world and character changes after the climax of the last book had been explored more, given how much time was spent looking for the ways Nick had/hadn't changed, and whether or not he could ever trust her, Aaron seemed to click round to Joan's side in the blink of an eye on the basis of a single word from Joan

The attention given to Nick, and Joan's (quite understandable) struggle to reconcile herself to the after-effects of what she had done in the first book meant that the rest of the book suffered, the plot twist (which I didn't love), the reveal at the end, felt rushed and contrived. I kind of like the idea of the monster families, but what was interesting was how Joan didn't seem to fit the mould, and the reveal in the book made that less interesting to me, the relationships a little bit too neat/contrived, and maybe a way to force a personal stake in what is to come in the third book.

Those criticisms aside, and while I did give the audiobook version of this a pretty harsh 2-star rating at first, the story itself and the promise of the third book kept me invested, I still have hope that the finale will deliver on the promise of the first instalment, but this middle book felt like a pause in the story to me, not enough time given to interesting characters or story elements, and far too much given to one single person and relationship that I did not connect with personally. One aspect of this book that I really did like is the various moral issues Joan faces, there are a lot of young and new adult books that claim to deal with morally grey issues or characters, but I think the monsters, the battles, and the stakes in this series are actually presenting moral issues really well, and I can see people siding with different characters or their actions for different reasons which makes each decision a lot more interesting.

Despite my personal criticisms, I have seen rave reviews for this, though some of the five stars seem to have been given before even advanced review copies were available to read, but plenty of others who have read it have loved the yearning, the pining, and the story in general. If you like angst and explorations of trust, this is for you.

Thank you to Hodderscape and the author for giving me an e-ARC in exchange of my honest review.

Did I scream and jump when I got the email that I got an ARC for this book? Yes.
Is it worth all the emotions? Absolutely!

This book, this series, everything has been an amazing journey and I thank the author, Vanessa Len, for creating such a masterpiece. It was totally worth all the wait. Prior to reading this book, I admit that I had gone through a reading slump which has greatly affected the amount of time and enjoyment I get from reading. However, it is safe to say that this book has reignited my love for reading.

This book is the sequel to the author's Only a Monster, which I had read and loved previously. The monster lore, the differences in the family powers, the fantasy of time travel, all of these factors of this story absolutely enthralled me. However, looking through with the romance factor in this book was conflicting as we get a sort-of love triangle situation. Absolutely went back and forth with either Nick and Aaron ever since Only a Monster. Absolutely rooted for Joan and Aaron as we get this sort-of enemies to lovers, where as Nick and Joan had a forbidden or conflicted love interest situation in the first book and added with a touch of soulmates trope.
The romance is conflicting and I honestly do not know who I want for Joan at this point. This is just a personal opinion and my thoughts while going through with this book.

Either way, I will never forget, the waves of emotion this book has gotten me through. So despite the confusing (yet exciting) love triangle situation, this was definitely a five star read for me.

Spoilers ahead...

First of, Joan and Aaron have once again proven they have me in their clutches as I was enamoured with their scenes. - They give Warner/Juliette vibes from Shatter Me.

This was such a brilliant sequel to only a monster, I'm in awe at the level of depth of this world that Len has created. The rich worldbuilding presented in the different timelines is so complex and brilliant. I'm almost too stunned after finishing never a hero write this review.

However, I have to get this out there, so here goes. Len's storytelling of monsters and time travelling is fantastic. To get into the nitty gritty of plot, we leave off from only a monster where Joan has unmade Nick as a monster hunter and his life. It was great to see Joan navigating dynamics with Nick and everyone else who had forgotten memories of her in the timeline she had created as a result of unmaking Nick as the monster hunter.

I would like to note that the development of Nick and Joan's relationship as fated star- crossed lovers is great. If Aaron wasn't in the picture, I would root for them. The whole constantly being drawn to each other despite different timelines vastly changing their lives and memories of each other only to find their way back but honestly I prefer Aaron who is a better fit for Joan as they have their monster time travelling to relate to each other with. Him being the only one who understands her and we got a confirmation of feelings from Joan y'all. This canon, I keep going back to read this lines of Joan admitting she feels something that's more than friends for Aaron.

Also "Joan had been afraid every time she’d stepped into a monster space. She’d been afraid of Nick sometimes. She’d never been afraid of Aaron, though.” This is so telling who the endgame is.
.
“Thank you ,” Joan added. “For this time. For last time.” She’d been using his lessons almost every morning for months. She had the weird thought then that this was a side of her that only Aaron had seen. ---> Aaron knowing how to help Joan in ways others don't even realise she needs help with, they're so pure

All we need is a pov from Aaron in he next book. Speaking of Aaron, the plot truly got started when he became an active member with the crew and into the story about 60% through and onwards..

Onto the main plot, this threw me for a whirlwind, I honestly did not expect the woman we met in only a monster who tortured Nick to be Joan's sister?? Joan having a sister, Eleanor is so seamlessly woven into the story with the set up of Joan belonging to the Grave's, the thirteenth monster family. This was a grant revelation.

Seeing Eleanor planning literal world domination through creating a weakness in the timeline (poor Nick) to protect her family is so fascinating and I can't wait to see more of her in the next book. I'm guessing we'll get to see the rest of Joan's family and her mother. It'll be interesting to see if they agree with how Eleanor went about saving them/bringing them back. Overall, I'm excited to see how Joan and Co fix the timelines to save the humans and the world.


Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder Stoughton for a arc in exchange for an honest review.

I just finished reading Never A Hero, and I have to say, it was quite the ride! I can honestly say that no matter what you expect from this book before you read it, what you'll get is way more than what you ever imagined.

The story picks up a few months after the events of the first book, and Joan is trying to avoid her monster family and Nick, who is now just a popular boy at her school. However, the timeline brings them together again as the monsters attack Joan, and Nick ends up being dragged into a different timeline with her. As they navigate the monster world as fugitives, Joan learns more about her power and its origin, while Nick is closer to discovering the truth about what happened between him and Joan. And Aaron, who's in charge of capturing Joan, is forced to choose which side he stands on again. Once the gang from the first book is reunited, they must work together to stop the evil that threatens the monsters and the humans.

The book is full of twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. Vanessa Len does an excellent job of introducing a complex, multi-layered timeline of London that includes both the past and future. We also get to dive deeper into the monster world and learn more about their families and powers.

If you enjoyed and liked the first book, you will love this one. The story and world-building are even more complex, and the last few chapters completely blew my mind. While I originally had a love-hate relationship with Nick in the first book, I grew to love his character in this one. The only downside for me was that I wished we had more moments with Aaron, who has been my most favourite character since Only A Monster. Hopefully, he'll get more space in the next book. Overall, "Never A Hero" is a rollercoaster of emotions, secrets, and twists that exceed expectations.

I want to thank Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for granting me access to the ARC and audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2023 and I have to admit I was ever so slightly disappointed. Not because of the book but because it was all about Nick and I am firmly in team Aaron!! The story itself is great a little slow and repetitive at parts, I think it is written to remind you of the previous book as you do need to remember the characters are different due to the rewriting of the timeline and effects that had on the characters from the end of book one. There were some big reveals but they weren’t shocking. Overall a great read and I’m interested to see where book 3 goes.

Thank you @netgalley for an early copy

— 4 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"Don't leave words lying around. The wrong people might find them."

📖 | 528 pages
👤 | author Vanessa Len
🏢 | publisher Hodderscape
📅 | release date 29 August 2023

What you can expect:
• Book two in a trilogy
• YA paranormal fantasy
• Biracial Asian rep
• MLM side-character romance
• Time travel
• Fated soulmates
• Main character is the monster, not the hero
• Morally grey characters`1
• Love-triangle (technically not official, definitely insinuated)
• Enjoyable side-characters

Trigger warnings: grief and loss, death, murder, blood, violence, racism.

Never A Hero by author Vanessa Len is book two in a trilogy and is a captivating YA Urban Fantasy which follows the narration of Joan, a half-human, half-monster who finds herself thrust into an unfamiliar world where enemies lay-waiting at every corner. Taking place shortly after the events at the end of book one, Joan is living with the consequences of her past decisions. Her family is alive and well at the cost of the relationships she'd made in the previous timeline. Being the only person who remembers everything that happens proves to be a struggle for Joan as she struggles with moving on in her new life, however ultimately she settles into a safe and somewhat happy routine. That is until Monsters come knocking and murder Joan's friend, and once again Joan finds herself on the run. Never A Hero brings new revelations that I never saw coming. It sees the return of fan-favourite characters that we know and love including Ruth, Jamie, Tom, and Frankie the bulldog. Book two of the Only A Monster series takes us on new adventures within new eras that we have not yet seen, and more conflict as Joan battles with what side of the war she should be on.

As for as sequels go I definitely found this book stronger than book one. The overall pacing felt more consistent and easy to follow. There wasn't too much jumping between times to the point that as a reader I felt disorientated and confused about what was going on. I definitely feel like there was a bunch of story filler and repetition that wasn't necessary to include, and instead those pages would've been better suited on giving the side-characters more time and development. We get it Joan. Nick is your soulmate from the true timeline. I can understand the importance of this fact as it plays a large role in the decisions that Joan makes. She's not only torn between her Monster family and her human family, but also her human soulmate. No matter what the timeline will always seek to right itself, including drawing soulmates together in every timeline. But was said over and over and it started to feel like a broken record.

I really enjoyed seeing far more of Nick in this book. I felt like I had the time to actually get to know him as a character, since most of his development in book one is established prior to the beginning of this story. It was interesting to see his battle with his instincts and innate desire to protect humanity whilst also battling his devotion for Joan. It's a conflict we see appear multiple times throughout this book, and what I enjoy is how it highlights that even the "heroes" struggle with their moral values and love. No singular character in this world is inherently good. They are all morally grey characters that are faced with making decisions that ultimately are the wrong choice.

Joan as a main character is a struggle to like. I can't lie. I really struggled in this book, and I had to keep reminding myself that her decisions and emotionally responses correlate with just how young she is. At only sixteen (seventeen at most) years old Joan has experienced a horrendous amount of trauma and loss. Rather than worrying about normal teenage stuff such as exams and college, Joan is a walking target that is marked for death. Constantly on the run and having watched her family brutally die in front of her, I can empathise how traumatic that must be for her character. However I had hoped in book two that we would see growth with Joan and how she addresses conflict. I had hoped after having survived the worst event she could have ever imagined that Joan would approach big decisions with more caution and thought. Instead, Joan is once again brash and impulsive. She makes decisions despite clear advice from people who have lived in the Monster world much longer than she has. Joan shows no thought or empathy for the trauma that other's endured at the hand of Nick in the previous timeline, and her naivety was difficult and frustrating to read. On several occasions Joan's internal dialogue has her wanting to say the right thing and the she just... doesn't. Because it's "not the right time." Out of all of the characters in this book, unfortunately Joan is just not my favourite. I hope to see more growth from her in book three.

As always Aaron is a delight to read. His strong façade whilst being very emotionally neglected and vulnerable pulls at my heart strings. That boy deserves to be loved by a family that deserves him, and I wish we got to see more of him than we did in this book. I understand the importance of giving more limelight on Nick, but ultimately this came at a cost to Aaron who wasn't consistently in the story until the half-way point. And even then, his character was reduced to rehashing what happened in the first book. I'd like to see Aaron be further developed and establish must stronger relationships in the final book. His page-presence is too strong to be wasted and reduced to a tag-a-long character that says a witty line here and there.

I liked the plot in this book far better than the first. It felt more consistent and on-track to an end that we don't know yet. There was definitely some repetition and filler throughout this book, however for the ending is what saved this book and raised its overall rating. That ending and its revelations left me in suspense and utter shock. It felt good to finally get some much needed answers which provided a deeper understanding for the storyline. That cliff-hanger left me gutted to be at the end of the book, so I will absolutely be picking up the conclusion to this series to see what happens next.

Thank you to Hodderscape, NetGalley and Vanessa Len for the DRC (digital review copy) in exchange for an honest review.

3.25/5

Thank you Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I feel that because of the unique circumstances this book had to deal with following the ending of the first book (this is all very cryptic, I know, reviewing books in series without spoiling the previous instalments is so difficult) it suffered quite a bit.
The characters didn't feel as fleshed out because we simultaneously already know them and are getting to know (this version of) them. I can understand how hard this situation would be to navigate as a writer, but in my opinion it didn't quite work.

I liked discovering new things about the world, I liked the revelations of the mysteries within it and finally getting answers to some important questions. Overall, I would say it was enjoyable, but I couldn't help wanting what we had in the first book.

A part that played greatly into my enjoyment lay in which characters were chosen to be most prominent in this book. On a purely personal note, I disliked one of the main characters who was constantly around and really missed others that I had grown deep affections for in the first book.
As I said before—without really saying because it's all very complicated—it's a particularly unique way to start a second book in a series. Unfortunately it was done in a way that I didn't much like. All I will say, because I truly can't say much without spoiling the whole first book, is that if you hate the amnesia trope (as I very much do, with very few exceptions) then this is not the sequel for you.

This book definitely suffered from second book syndrome and I didn't care about the characters as much; it felt like I was stuck with the characters I didn't care for in the first book whilst the ones I did love had barely any 'screen time' or weren't exactly themselves.

Sorry this review has been incredibly messy and all over the place, it's an astoundingly hard book to review. I can't yet say whether I feel this series is worth it. I definitely enjoyed the first book much more.

Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me this e-ARC in exchange of my honest review.

This was absolutely terrible: not only the plot and the characters are, in my opinion, ridiculous and annoying, this wasn't even an enjoyable read. I had to force myself to finish this while skimming many pages.

The plot of this book was crazy, and not in a great way. The author spent too much time on the characters (which I will talk about later on) instead of developing her ambitious concept, especially when it's something as complex as time travelling and timeline manipulation. This book was 500 pages, and too much was spent on annoying dialogues and arguments between the characters instead of focusing on the plot. Additionally, the magic system of this series relies a lot on the "feel": to take time, to travel through time, to spot danger, to track the timelines etc... and for that, I expect a lot of "show", not "tell". For example, Joan only acknowledges a danger when another character explicitly says out loud the danger. This kind of writing is incredibly anticlimatic for a book that's supposed to be thrilling and engaging.

My biggest problem, however, is the same with the first book: the characters, especially Joan. Words cannot describe how I abhor Joan as the main character: she is whiny, arrogant, impulsive and naive if not to say stupid. Being 17, she completely disregards any concerns from other characters, who actually have much more experience in the business than she does. She makes a show of telling everyone that she does what she does because she wants to protect her loved ones and create a better world, but her actions put them in danger more often than not, all of that because she blindly trust dudes that are good-looking enough. About the other characters: Ruth, whom I liked in the first book, is barely present: Jamie and Tom are still very cute; I especially liked Tom because he was the only one willing to talk sense into Joan and putting her in her place; Nick and Aaron are both bland, which is a shame, because the star-crossed enemies trope has so much potential (yeah and I am team Nick btw).

Overall, it was a terrible experience and there are much better YA Fantasy series on the market.

In Never a Hero, Joan is living in a timeline that she created by unmaking the hero, Nick, the boy that she fell in love with. The boy who murdered her family. At the end of Only a Monster we were left wondering what would happen to Nick, and Len doesn’t leave us hanging. He appears on the first page of Never a Hero, having popped back into Joan’s life as a student at her school. His entire history has been remade, his family now alive. What hasn’t changed is Joan’s feelings for him, and once again Nick is drawn to Joan, completely unaware of their history.

When someone attacks Joan at her job at a bakery they end up stuck together on the run. As they try to work out what is going on, and who’s after Joan, the chance that Nick might find out everything is terrifyingly high. As Joan struggles to keep her secrets, and stay safe, she gets some help from some familiar faces. But one familiar face isn’t amongst them. Aaron warned her that if they ever met again they would be enemies, and he was right; he’s one of the people hunting her down.

While I enjoyed Never a Hero, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of déjà vu and not in a positive way because the problem is we’ve been through all this before, dear reader. It’s a slightly different plot, but essentially book two is a rehash of book one. That’s not to say there’s no interesting scenes, and there’s some great dialogue in there. However, as a Doctor Who fan I’ve been spoiled with some amazing time travel plots and quite frankly this just doesn’t cut it for me.

I was also intensely aware that this book was written by a non-British author, which was surprising as I loved the attention to details in the first book. The first thing I noticed was the way that Len referred to Nick as captain of the football team, a very American attitude as captains of our sports teams do not have nearly as much celebrity status in UK school hierarchies. Then, when they were in a historical period, it takes Joan a moment to realise that people are staring at her and believes it is because she is mixed race. It felt a little odd that she was so surprised to find racism in a historical period when I’m aware of how racist modern London is, especially post-pandemic. I feel that sometimes people look at the UK and don’t realise that it can be as racist as other countries just because it’s not talked about as much.

I did find the big reveal of the big bad to be as tension filled and thrilling as it should be. I did see some things coming, and then well and truly had the wool pulled over my eyes! It was that ending that saved this book for me, and makes me hopeful for the third (and final?) book. While Never a Hero was rocky in places I have high hopes for the third book out next year!

I was so excited for this sequel. So, so excited. Only A Monster was one of my favourite reads of last year, and so I was so chuffed to be approved for an arc copy of Never A Hero from @netgalley. Thank you!
Unfortunately, the sequel did not live up to my hopes. Don’t get me wrong, there were still elements that I enjoyed, but there was also a lot I didn’t. I’ve tried to keep this spoiler free but have also assumed if you’re reading, that you’ve read Only A Monster.
The book picks up not long after the end of Only A Monster. The pace is quick and things start to get dangerous very fast with Joan forced to go on the run (with Nick… ugh, thought we were done with that guy). Prepare for a lot of teenage pining over Nick. There’s also a lot of repetition, because Joan is basically the only one who remembers the events of book one, so has to keep explaining everything over and over and convincing ‘the gang’ that they’re all friends really.
Everyone’s favourite, Aaron, does eventually appear, but not until much later in the story and even then he does very little other than tag along. He remains the most interesting character though, and I basically lived for the moments he was on the page. I am concerned I might have pinned all my hopes on a ‘rival families’ / ‘enemies to lovers’ endgame and that it’s not going to happen - if that’s the case, at least I know I won’t be alone in my disappointment.
There are some really interesting ideas in this book. There’s a new villain to contend with, and we learned a bit more about Joan as well as seeing a lot more of the ‘Monster World’. I am keen to see how it all comes together in the final book and will definitely be reading on, but this book felt very much like a bridge. I’m just disappointed that it wasn’t put together in a way that more effectively continued the standard of book one.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Book 2 of 3 (incomplete)
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Tropes: Enemies to Lovers?! | Love Triangle | Broken Boys | Morally Grey Characters | Time Travel

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
4.5 Stars!

Synopsis: The amazing sequel to Only A Monster. Joan the monster, Nick the Hero, the timeline changed. But something is wrong and Joan ends up in the middle of something unexpected, perhaps even worse than before.

CW/TW: Violence/Death/Trauma/Grief/Loss/Murder/others may be present.

Rep: Queernormative world | Queer side characters

Book 1 Review: Book Review: Only A Monster (Monsters #1), by Vanessa Len

Never A Hero by Vanessa Len is an amazing sequel in a gorgeous series. Len has continued to write a brilliant series that is easy to fall into and be captivated by. The prose is gorgeous and descriptive but smooth and easy to read.

The plot continues on from book 1 and we go straight into the now changed world. But immediately we see things aren’t quite right, little hints and changes that build up to something ominous. I really enjoyed the plot of this book, its as compelling and dark as book1 but takes us on a related but new journey into the world of Monsters. We learn more about the Monster world, their magic, the families and the timelines – it was so intriguing to learn more about the world set against this new timeline.

I also loved seeing more of the characters, in a new light, but also watching them grow and develop from book 1. We learn more about the characters, we see them grow and change as well as seeing some characters in a different light due to the events of book 1.

This book was intriguing in a lot of ways, and managed to maintain the momentum of the series perfectly. The book ends in a way that has you desperate for book 3 – I honestly can’t wait to see how this story concludes!

Overall, Never A Hero is an excellent sequel in an imaginative and captivating series and I am so excited to see how it ends!

*I received an eARC from Hodder and Stoughton via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review – thank you!*

I loved Only A Monster — it was one of those books that, after reading, stuck on my mind. It was just so unique and so well written. So, this sequel had a lot riding on it for me.

And my god, did it deliver.

I loved this one just a tad more than the first (both had things I absolutely love).

Vanessa Len is just such a fantastic writer. I love the time travel aspects especially, and how she writes that feeling of longing and curiosity about the past. Each one of the new settings (or time periods) feels so vivid and so real, it’s excellent.

I loved how this book was basically a reset, while also dealing with all the consequences of the decisions made in the previous novel. I was going though every emotion, especially where Joan and Aaron were involved (my god, THE TENSION).

I also just can’t believe how Len decided to end this. I should’ve seen it coming, she literally gave us a heartbreaking cliffhanger at the end of the last novel that made me so desperate and impatient for the sequel. I now begin the desperate and impatient wait for the third book, it can’t come soon enough.

I received an eARC from the author through an online giveaway, but these are my honest thoughts.

I am distraught. I adored Only A Monster and was so concerned it's sequel would not live up to it. But I am hurting so much from this book and I adore it.

There is so much emotion within this story, the angst, the grief, the heartache. All interwoven with a wild, fast paced adventure.

If you loved the first book, be prepared to fall in love all over again. I need the next book right this minute!

It’s always nerve-racking to read the sequel to a book you absolutely loved. So while I was excited to start Never a Hero, I was also afraid to be disappointed and thus it took me some time to finally start it. But let me tell you, if I had known what was in store for me - then I would have started it ages ago. Because not only did it live up to the first book, it kept the momentum going and I ended up loving this book just as much.

Everything about it is just more of what I loved in Only a Monster. The friendships, the wonderful characters, the adventures and let’s of course the best dog companion Frankie.
I was just hooked from the start, as it started off with all the action right away. And in this world of time-travel, that’s a very good thing! The story is jam-packed with tension, unexpected reveals and so many crazy twists.

This book stayed in my thoughts and I just wanted to keep reading, even when I did other things. I just knew this was going to be a 5 star read from around the 50 pages mark, and when I finished it gave me a proper book hangover. Because the ending… that cliffhanger will haunt me until the sequel is out.

Never a Hero is a solid sequel to Only a Monster, both in developing the plot lines left open from the previous book and in dealing with the consequences, for humanity and monsters, of the choices taken in it. With a recurring cast of lovable and well-built characters (yes, Frankie the dog is still the best one), Vanessa Len was able to intertwine an interesting story, even if it didn’t completely live up to the first book.

In Only a Monster, Joan lost herself for the fleeting hope of getting back the people she loved, not thinking ever for a moment of what she had to do and sacrifice to achieve that goal. Now, in Never a Hero, she is forced to face the reality of what she did to save her family, to grapple with the meaning of those actions, and consequently to deal with her own unique and complicated sense of morality- like she is both European and Chinese, she is also both human and monster (so both hunter and prey), never fully belonging in either of the two words, navigating in a sea of uncertainties and burdensome decisions that are not always right or good.
And this character’s exploration is furthermore deepened by once again pairing her with Nick, who this time is a young and good-hearted boy without the baggage of what has been done to him to make him a monster slayer, while Joan remembers everything that he once was- both a threat, and the boy she loved.

For how interesting I found this whole concept, and even though the writing and narrative style made it easy to quickly fly through this book, it didn’t excite me as much as the first installment did, even though it definitely started to pick my interest more and more since Aaron (my loveee- as expected from their last scene together in Only A Monster, it was absolutely heart-wrecking to see him and Joan interacting when he didn’t remember anything they went through together and what they had become for each other) became a more prominent presence.
It just lacked some kind of spark, both because the most peculiar and interesting element of the world-building had already been established, and because this is simply a slower book, focusing first on Joan and Nick hiding from the Court and its agents, and then on trying to understand who (and why) is threatening the timeline and the present as Joan knows it (the plot twists related to it were pretty amazing- I’m not going to say much about the “villain”, but I do really love how Vanessa Len fully used time travel as a narrative and plot-development instrument).
I am nevertheless pretty excited to see how some revelations and events of this book are going to play out in the conclusion of the trilogy, and particularly what will be the definitive take on the true timeline/soulmates trope.

I recommend both Only a Monster and Never a Hero (even though I will probably keep screaming into the void until next year because of what happened on its final page) to readers looking for a brilliant time-travel story, that deals with monsters and heroes from a unique point of view.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

After stopping Nick from killing all of the monsters, and destroying the world, Joan managed to reset the timeline, and she alone can remember just what happened. But, it seems that her actions had bigger consequences than anyone could ever expect. Re-meeting Nick, who doesn't remember who she is, and who has his family again, is bittersweet, but when they are attacked by monsters who want to kill them, all in the name of the mysterious villain, Joan needs to trust that he won't betray her. And Joan also needs to learn just who she can trust, and why she is so pivotal in the rips in the timeline.

I loved the first book, and as soon as I saw that Never a Hero was available on NetGalley, I jumped to download it. Because of how Joan had changed the timeline at the end of Only a Monster, I knew that there would have to be consequences, but the amount of things that occurred because of her actions were unreal. I loved seeing her growth across the book, and she was no longer the naive teen we met in book 1. Whenever it seemed as if all was lost, she and the gang managed to escape. I will say that one thing I disliked was how little Aaron was in this book. I'm definitely on Team Aaron (if that's even a thing), and it was disappointing that he didn't have as big a part as he had in book 1. I still have apprehensions about Joan and Nick's relationship, though they are 'soulmates'. I did think that learning more about the true timeline, and why these two were seen to be soulmates did explain part of it, but I still have questions. The final chapters of this book were phenomenal, and I'm dying for book 3! I don't know how Vanessa has managed to weave such a magical story, but I'm in awe of her work.

Amazon Summary
Despite the odds, Joan achieved the impossible. She reset the timeline, saved her family - and destroyed the hero, Nick. But her success has come at a terrible cost.

She alone remembers what happened. Now, Aaron, her hard-won friend - and maybe more - is an enemy, trying to kill her. And Nick, the boy she loved, is a stranger who doesn't even know her name. Only Joan remembers that there is a ruthless and dangerous enemy still out there.

When a deadly attack forces Joan back into the monster world as a fugitive, she finds herself on the run with Nick - as Aaron closes in. As the danger rises - and Nick gets perilously closer to discovering the truth of what Joan did - Joan discovers a secret of her own. One that threatens everyone she loves.

Torn between love and family and monstrous choices, Joan must find a way to re-gather her old allies to face down the deadliest of enemies, and to save the timeline itself.

My Review
I was worried this wouldn't live up to the first book but it did and was a very enjoyable read. I love the world building, the magic system is great and I've already fallen for the characters in the first book, The plot is brilliant, the tension maintained throughout and the twists kept me on my toes. This cliff hangers is grrrrrr and i cant wait for the next book.

When I read the first book in this series I was sold. I loved the concept, I loved the danger, I loved the high stakes. I was therefore happy that I got an arc and that the book was also part of my Fairyloot subscription. So when I saw that this second book was available to request on Netgalley I didn't hesitate. I was so curious what was waiting for us in this book! And I can say that I totally don't regret buying a physical copy too!

This book is about consequences. In the previous book our heroine changed the timeline, even though she basically only changed one little moment, and in this book we discover that changing the timeline doesn't come without consequences. And maybe in the long term it would have been better if our heroine didn't change the timeline to begin with, because quite soon we discover that the current timeline is heading somewhere very dark.

What I loved about this book is that the issues have only gotten bigger, the stakes have only gotten higher and the relationships and friendships have only gotten more complicated. It's really interesting to see how people have changed, what in their lives has changed and how that changes the way they look at each other and life in general. It's also interesting to see what happens to those who do still have their memories of the previous timeline.

However, my favorite part of the book was without a doubt the finale. There were so many answers given. A few questions I had after the first book have been answered in this book. I also feel like we have a much better grab on the different powers and the politics in this world. And where the previous book had some sort of satisfying ending, this book ends with quite a cliffhanger and I can't wait to read the third book in the series!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5 stars
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Never A Hero is the sequel to Only A Monster, which continues on after Joan reset the timeline and is somehow once again thrown into the monster world, this time as a fugitive.

“Sometimes you just need to play it all out to understand that things have changed.”

Book 1; Only A Monster spoilers!

Having read the first book in 2022, I fell in love with the characters and the story and couldn’t wait for the sequel! Now, a year and a half later, I finally got to read it and I was blown away! It is not often that I find the second book in a trilogy better than the first, but I certainly did!

Living in a world where no one, except you remembers what truly happened in another timeline was heartbreaking! Seeing the story start off slow, seeing all day life, was heartbreaking, because we know like Joan what she’s missing. The somber vibe she has carried throughout the whole book and it makes the vibe so interesting; since it is high stakes as well.

The story takes on a shocking turn very early on and Joan is sucked back into the monster world, in a believable way and one that I really liked! It didn’t just happen coincidentally, but fitted really well with the overall story vibe and direction.

I was blown away by the plot overall to be honest. I loved seeing Joan fight for what is right once again, with familiar characters, who know nothing about their earlier adventures together. It makes for a very interesting dynamics, which is very fun to read haha.

I loved the characters so much! I loved seeing more of Joan, Nick and Aaron! Joan is still very much the same, a bit more jaded after all she went through, but she came out stronger. I also really like how strongly she feels and how she full-heartily stands behind her principles.

The romance! There was hardly any, but the chemistry and tension were seen from miles away! I actually really like that there wasn’t any romance, because I believe it would’ve undermined the characters grow and the story itself. On the other hand, I can’t wait for the romance to be there in book 3 hahaha. I am also very much leaning more towards one side of the love triangle this time around! Most perfect scenario would be a triad though! The friendships, once again forged and the family bonds are ever strong and I love getting to see that all over! Similar, but not at the same time. It feels like they’re build even stronger this time around!

The last part of this book, holy damn, I couldn’t stop reading and my mouth had fallen open at all the twists and reveals! I loved getting to learn where Joan’s power comes from and what it is (finally!) and then THAT happened! I was shook and I loved every second of it!

Also, I somehow thought this was a duology at first, so imagine my surprise at that ending! I honestly wished I was a monster like Joan, just so I got get to the future to immediately read the third book! (Yes, I know the cost, this book would most definitely be worth it!!!!!!!)

Overall, I loved every second of Never A Hero and can’t wait to get my hands on the last book!!

Thank you so much for accepting my request for this novel.

This novel had me hooked from the first page. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters were fantastic.
It's fantastically written and the details were perfect.