Never a Hero was one of my most anticipated reads of 2023, so you can imagine how excited I was when I got my hands on an ARC of this book. And luckily it didn't disappoint, living up to my self-induced hype. In this sequel, Joan must face the aftermath of resetting the timeline, with all its unexpected repercussions. She is the only one that actually remembers what happened before she unmade the hero, the only one that knows that there's an enemy out there lurking in the folds of time. I found this book pretty intense and the plot was full of twists and turns. I really liked how Vanessa Len explored Joan's inner conflict, which was evident in this book even more than in Only a Monster. As half human, half monster, does she have to choose a side? Are humans all good and monsters inherently bad? Is it delusional to dream of some kind of peace between them? Nonetheless, I must admit that I loved Only a Monster.

It's not often that the second book in a trilogy is better than the first but this one absolutely is! We get everything that was great in the first book plus more. I particularly love the time travel aspect and reading about the different eras as the author obviously loves history and it shines through with the evocative descriptions.

After book one, I was Team Aaron and still am but I also don't hate Nick. If anything, I understood him more in this book but I'm not sure he and Joan can ever get over everything that's happened between them. There are so many twists and turns that the reader can never guess everything that happens. It does end with a cliffhanger but not an unsatisfactory one — more like everything is set up for the final book.

If you're looking for a YA fantasy that's a little bit different, I highly recommend this series.

I had ridiculously high expectations for this book. After that banger of a cliffhanger Len left us on in Only a Monster, I was so excited to find out what happened next to Joan and the crew!

*this review will have spoilers for Only a Monster*

Never a Hero starts after Joan has successful unmade Nick and reversed everything that happened in her original timeline. Her family is alive again - but no one remembers what happened, and all the connections she made during her journey has disappeared. Joan is left adrift and unsettled and puts her monster half behind her, going on with her new life - until she abruptly thrust back in that world again. And this time Nick is along for the ride...

The worldbuilding and plot twists in this one were exquisite. Many of the questions I had from Only a Monster were answered in the sequel and I was so pleased with how well thought out everything was. It was amazing how all the threads came together in the end. Joan as well had some real depth to her in this one, she has gone through such a transformation and it was interesting to see how she struggled to cope and carry on after the trauma of the past book.

One of the reasons for my four star rating is how indecisive she turned out to be in Never a Hero. The constant back and forth (should I trust Nick? I trust him. No I don't trust him) was so tiring after a while. The chemistry also fell so flat between them. The relationship is constantly brought up and it just got annoying after a while. Okay they were soulmates before but now they're just strangers? I wanted them to form a better connection but it just never happened.

Another thing that disappointed me was Joan's relationship with all the other characters. I missed seeing Ruth's spark and the chemistry between Aaron and Joan. The only scene I felt actually showed a bit of relationship development was when Joan had to convince Aaron to join them. That scene was written so well and I genuinely loved everything about it and actually reread it once I'd finished. But everyone else...not so much.

I think some of it was just the timing. There is seeming no development from Joan being lonely and on her own with her memories of the previous timeline, to her reuniting with everyone and them suddenly deciding to help her. I just wanted more convincing and more talking between everyone on.

That said though there is so much going on this one. The plot is so fast paced, with twists that just keep on coming and it made for a quick, unputdownable read. I absolutely flew through it until I got to the ending...and realised I now needed to wait another year to find out what happens next! 2024 can't come soon enough after that ending!

All in all I really enjoyed this one and will definitely be continuing the series!

Many thanks to Hodderscape & Netgalley for the ARC.

I read Only a Monster as an ARC back in 2021 and I remember feeling so surprised by the ending and I knew back then I just couldn’t wait for the sequel (which in a way is funny since Only a Monster wasn’t releasing till February 2022 so I was waiting for a sequel that wasn’t announced yet😵‍💫 and the first book wasn’t even out in public yet). So I was thrilled to be receiving an ARC of Never a Hero two years later<33

I’m not going to lie though. I didn’t remember a lot from the first book since I read it a long time ago. Thankfully, this book as a sequel did a really good job at reintroducing the characters and laying out what previously happened in the first book, in a way that wasn’t info dumping or rushed so even if I did forgot at times how the magic system works or what character does what, it didn’t take me long to warm up to the world and characters again sort of like reuniting with acquaintances you haven’t seen in a while.

I was also afraid that me enjoying the first book was just a one time thing and that I wouldn’t enjoy this one as much, afraid that this book would suffer from the second book syndrome (because let’s face it, there were plenty of books I read that suffered from that) but this book didn’t at all! The pacing was really good and the writing flows in a way that compelled me to keep reading. I also think that this book just kind of kept me at the edge of my seat because there was just so much suspense and shit happening which I thought was good, since there was not a time I felt bored when reading this book.

I loved meeting the friend group again and reading about the magic system again. There were some new elements of the magic system that wasn’t in the first book and being introduced to them in this one was really fun bc you just sort of learn new stuff along with Joan who also is still clueless and getting the hang of her magic. Joan is a really well written main character too in my opinion and you can tell she’s still conflicted about her powers and is still questioning a lot of things.

I know who I was rooting for in the first book (cough Aaron cough) and I was heartbroken by the end of the first book for a lot of reasons and after finishing the second book, I know that I am still in the same side as I am before hehe<3 One thing though is that the love triangle for me was still interesting enough for me despite knowing who I’m rooting (Aaron). Nick and Aaron are both better fleshed out here, and so does the rest of the characters.

The fact that I have to wait again for the third book after that ending is cruel I’m sorry. I will be seated front row for the third one I fear.

This is another incredible book that hides from the world. I really hope it gets more attention because the amount of pain, hurt, tension, love, scheming, hatred and outright-not-expected-ending was blowing my mind.

For 30% of this book –that can be easily read in a day or hours if you read really fast- I was in constant pain. Joan was suffering, grieving and alone in this new world where NO ONE from her immediate circle remembers anything. Jamie is the only one that remembers and he is not in her life so for weeks Joan has been dealing with all of this pain and grief alone. She is the only one that remembers the horrible night when her family died, when Nick threaten to kill her, she is the only one that remembers her days of running away with Aaron and her cousin Ruth, she is the only one that remembers the torture Nick was put through, the torture Jamie lived, how Tom was like because of that, she has the burden of remembering when she killed Nick… I MEAN that is A LOT and she can’t cry in front of anyone, or vent to a friends because in this world none of that happened. And in this new world Joan starts to see small or big differences that at the beginning had no importance –I’ll leave it at that- Also, I was given a bit of Joan’s father in this book and I LOVED him, please give me more –pretty please-.

´Joan’s breath caught at Nick’s unguarded smile. He’d always been so solemn when she’d known him. He’d had the world on his shoulders. It occurred to Joan now that she didn’t know him anymore either – not this Nick.´

With these new differences Joan also has to face Nick because the timeline is trying to bring them back together –this HURT A LOT- she had to look at him in the eye and realize he doesn’t even know her name and boy, did that hurt. In this new world Aaron is hunting for her, he HATES her and that HURT A LOT as well. Of course, we only get a few pages of normal teenage life before all goes to poop and Joan starts facing many dangers, but this time, she is with Nick and running away from Aaron.

One of the things that these books provoke is curiosity. There is no way on earth that you read these two books and not want to have answers. Who is Joan? What’s her power? What happened in the original timeline? Why is Joan being chased? Who is the mysterious lady that tortured Nick? What are these glimpses to the future and these tears in the timeline? Is Nick going to remember? And Aaron? Honestly, there is no moment in this book you are not asking these questions to yourself and it makes it even worse –in a good way- that Joan doesn’t know anything about the monster world. I liked the fact that the book didn’t drag those questions for long, after a certain point we start getting those answers one after the other and I appreciated that.

´That night she’d ended him. She’d chosen her family over him. Monsters over the hero.´

This book is extremely good at catching your attention in the most subtle of ways and the magic in the book is that you are so invested in the characters that you don’t notice the time passing by. This book is amazingly good is the most simple of ways because if you analyze what is happening, the events could be called “simple” but because they involve the characters’ emotions you are there, invested, as if what is happening to them is happening to you. I really don’t have the words to convey that, I simply love the power behind the simplicity of this book. I mean, we are used to SJM’s type of fantasy where there’s this big complicated world and struggle but Vanessa accomplishes the big struggle but without the overly complicated stuff. Don’t get me wrong, these characters have something complicated in their hands and it made my chest hurt when I was reading this book, but you don’t have to draw maps or timelines to understand it and that was a bonus for me. I love both things and Vanessa did amazing at giving this story and plot the right amount of angst we needed. IT PAINS ME THAT I HAVE TO WAIT A YEAR FOR NEXT BOOK. Just wanted to let that be known xD
Thank God, Joan eventually unites with the rest of the team and starts getting answers because I was seriously going crazy and desperate without them. And I can’t get into the rest of this book without spoilers but I can say that the writing style is really good, the way Vanessa gives information about the monster world in the right amounts is AMAZING because it calms the need for answers I had but it also hooked me in even more so I easily lost myself with this book and that is exactly what we look for when reading a book.
The end of this book was slightly better? I mean, not good in any shape or form because the entire team is in deep problems but is not as heart breaking as the ending of the first book? I keep adding question marks because I am not sure xD but in any regard I LOVED this book and can’t wait to know how this timeline issues are going to be solved.

P.s this is the first time I don’t mind AT ALL a love triangle because is not exactly that, I love Aaron but Nick stole my heart and I also want him to be happy BUT I want Aaron happy as well so I really don’t know. I feel like Joan.., confused.

Once again, Vanessa Len did not disappoint with this sequel. The angst, the tension, the romance, the plot twists, everything was on point. The big revelation left me so shocked I didn't see that coming. Also, this book made me question my team but I still hope she'll end up with Aaron because he's blond and that's the only argument I have (i love him way too much). I'm so excited to read the last book and cry.

Tropes:
• enemies to lovers
• fated lovers
• time travel

I received an advanced reader copy of Never A Hero in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this opportunity.

I was fortunate enough to be granted a review copy of Only A Monster back in 2022 which means I was one of the first people to read it, and that of course meant I had to wait an eternity for the sequel after that cliffhanger. So you can imagine how excited I was to get a review copy of that as well! (And how much I want to get the final book tomorrow, of course…)

After Joan managed to unmake Nick and reverse everything that had happened in her original timeline, she has her family and her normal life back - but lost all of the friends she made along the way, because they don‘t remember. Peace doesn’t last, of course, and soon she and Nick find themselves attacked by Court guards because Someone very high up in the monster ranks wants to reverse everything that Joan carefully unraveled. She and Nick find themselves on the run again and soon reunite with their old team to stop the events that seem destined to unfold.

My major point of criticism for Only A Monster was that I thought Joan miraculously always did the right thing despite knowing nothing about monsters and her power and that nobody ever took the time to explain things to her, instead of just saying „oh you don’t even know how this works“. Thankfully, that was mostly redeemed in Never A Hero. There are still some important questions left open (especially the one regarding the limits of a monster‘s power), but many others have been answered and as a result, it became easier to follow the twists in the plot. Joan became a more nuanced character and the story gained depth.

However, what I liked about the first book in the series and that I found lacking here, was the development of the characters‘ relationships. So much of it was based on „oh well, this is a new timeline, but remember how character xy was in the other timeline? yeah, they are pretty similar here“. I didn’t feel any chemistry between Joan and Nick or Joan and Aaron, Ruth was fairly boring and though I do love Jamie and Tom, their relationship wasn‘t developed either. Eleanor was pretty much the most interesting character in this installment, but am I really supposed to be most invested in the villain character? The reason why I was so disappointed by this was that I felt like there wasn’t enough contrast between the lonely, isolated Joan who was the only one to remember a different timeline at the beginning of the book, and the Joan who is reunited with her found family - it just happens and then everything is back to normal. The only one who needs convincing is Aaron, and I do think that this part was done extremely well.

What was missing in terms of character development was made up for in terms of an insanely fast-paced plot with twists and revelations in every other chapter. I had been a bit apprehensive of the length of this book due to being in a bit of a reading slump currently, but I practically flew through this one. It kept me hooked throughout the whole story and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

4/5 stars.

This book stressed me out! A fun, complicated, and intriguing sequel, Never A Hero was the fast-paced step up I was hoping for. The book opens in a new timeline, where the consequences of Joan's actions in Only A Monster take on a new life. I loved the tension this caused, the opportunity it gave Joan to grow, and the shit storm we found ourselves in. Vanessa Len has done a great job of crafting a layered world where you don't know who to trust or where to turn, and just when you think you've figured it all out, she flips the whole thing on its head.

That ending - chaos!

My only criticism is that it felt about 80 pages too long, and there wasn't enough time with Aaron. The one-on-one moments we do get are great, but he was my fave character from book one and I felt like he was pushed to the side so Nick could be front and center. I really hope we aren't going to get a love triangle because I'm team Aaron all the way.

Thank you to the lovely lovely author for sending me an e-arc <3

"Not every fight needs a hero. Sometimes you need a monster."

Where to begin?

Never a Hero is the breathtaking sequel to Only a Monster by Vanessa Len and is the epitome of perfect. This book was longer than the first with much more suspense, a lot of back and forth and a great plot. Never a hero was far more assiduous and refined than the first book. It executed all the elements that we sought for in book 1. The beginning followed by the main plot in itself was amazing. The epilogue was definitely scary and wants you to desperately know what happens next.

I was satisfied completely with this book, its characters, its storyline, its world building and its tendency to hook you till the end.


Don't get me wrong but when you hear the word monster you imagine something demonic and ghastly while in reality, the monsters Vanessa Len has created are actually time-traveling homicides.


Now let's be honest I was conflicted. 60% of the book I'm on nick's team AND BAM there comes our one and only Aaron Oliver. I think Vanessa Len is probably the first author I have read who has succeeded in building a love triangle without the reader choosing one side throughout the entire series. I keep going back and fourth between both nick and aaron. Joan is a damnably good female mc. I read a review that stated the reader doesn't understand why she can't pick a side between monsters and humans and I think it's because she does everything based on moral and conscience welll....except for the changing the timeline in book although i find that morally right in a way.

Ruth, Jamie and Tom are probably what I would call comfort characters. I love how they aren't side characters who appear in like half the book or in a few chapters. They are there throughout the entirety of the book. I'm glad the Liu's remember because I believe I'd hate the book for the amount of suspense it would have created if Jamie didn't remember anything.

This book had drugs in it....fr though.

If you ask me Nick or Aaron I'd immediately ask you to add me to the enemies (view spoiler) army BECAUSE I DON'T EVEN KNOW MYSELF. I love Aaron. I wanted to cry when he appeared at the beginning of the book...then I progressed to Nick and then when I thought everything would be okay, Vanessa Len pulled her strings and I didn't know whether to be happy or sad.


IN conclusion, this book was amazing. I can't wait for the next one. This reached to all my expectations except 1 (Aaron Oliver). I love how the storyline seems repetitive but nothing in the book really is. The plot twist in the last chapter is probably one of the best I have ever read. My new favorite series. A treat of a book<3

<b>4.5 stars</b>
<i>Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for an e-ARC copy. All thoughts are my own.</i>

Returning to the world of Monsters was just as I expected: immersive world-building, great character development, twists and turns that led Joan and her friends on a dark yet engaging adventure, and the continuing topic of being morally good or bad and what side to stand on. I'm still in love with this unique time-travelling concept and Len provides another look into the way civilisation - both humans and monsters - are affected by it.

The storyline and world-building in this series are fantastic. I love how different it feels as Joan and the reader travel through time and cultures around the world. Len already had great cultural diversity in Only a Monster, and this time in Never a Hero, we get glimpses of how the erasing of events can affect groups of people, monsters and history entirely. I love this aspect, and the nuanced layers of losing something and gaining in another is well-balanced.

Joan already faced a great deal in book 1, and that's nowhere near letting up in this one. I like that her conflict resolution skills get a good workout in this. I was often reminded that she is just a teenager having to make really tough decisions, whilst also having really bold outbursts only to be corrected and made to think about her actions. Those who held her accountable when she was reacting without looking at the full picture are some of the best side characters in this. I also like how much Joan spends thinking over what she perceives as right and wrong, and how she is essentially trying to ride the line of both monster and human morals, yet can't find solace in either. She has great depth and is maturing before the reader's eyes.

Side characters continue to strengthen this world, both new faces and old. In this timeline, things aren't the same and I love how Len explores these differences. I admit, I'm solely team Aaron, but I can appreciate the strengths and weaknesses that the author chose to highlight in all our returning cast. I also liked hearing the voices of those affected by Joan's actions with the timeline in book 1.

This was shaping up to be a five-star read, but I'll admit it gets a little information-heavy at times about the timeline changes, and I'm not a huge fan of how much time Nick gets compared to Aaron in this book. I mentioned my bias towards him above, and my biggest complaint aloud was, "I want more Aaron. Where is he?!" This book, as is quite typical with sequels, is angsty and it does get a little tedious, especially with Joan over her teenage-led romantic feelings. These were such small details, however, and overall I still had a great time.

The ending is impacting and adrenalin-inducing, and I wanted book three upon finishing this read. I'm already counting down the days until its release. This is a sublime sequel to Only a Monster, and if you enjoyed that, you'll definitely have fun returning to this world in Never a Hero and playing the game of team Hero or Monster.

We've all waited so patiently for the sequel to Only a monster and phew, having just finished it I have to say, it's better than the first! I had some ideas for how the sequel might go, and I was incredibly wrong on most of them. I loved meeting Joan and the unique world of the monsters, magical creatures who can steal life from humans in order to time travel.
Without any spoilers, for those who haven't read the first book, (if not, why? It's one of the best YA fantasies I've read in a long time!) Joan is a fantastic character, stuck in two different worlds, ,half monster, half human. The book deals with how she feels torn between the two different worlds, and how her decisions impact on both communities. Her strong desire to do the right thing whilst also being horrified by the actions of those she loves gives the book a real edge. The time line is showing signs of being fractured and Joan needs to go back into the world of monsters to try and prevent something awful from occurring.
We get to see more of the monster world and learn its many, many secrets! It's fast paced and heart breaking. I just want Joan to get a HEA!! (And one for Aaron, please!) I seriously hope it's not another two year wait for book 3 as I'd really like to read it now.
This was a fantastic second novel and I wish more people would get behind this trilogy. As I say earlier, this book did not go in the direction I thought it would. I I also love how it's set in the UK. I wish we had more UK based YA fantasy!
Thank you so much to the publishers and Netgalley for providing an E-Arc in return for an honest review.

I can’t believe she did it again. I don’t know why I can’t believe it, but I do. Made me want to toss my book aside multiple times with the amount of vitriol I was feeling at certain characters and then made me cry at the injustices being committed. Made me stay up reading until my kindle literally fell on my face. All this to say, if you liked the first book, you’ll love this one with all its answering questions but leaving with new unanswered questions.

Thank you to Vanessa Len and Netgalley for the eARC!!

I am SO SO outrageously confused by this entire book. It felt like a huge crazy fever dream. Like did I just make this all up??

I genuinely say the only really good parts of this book we’re the Aaron and Joan segments. I didn’t mind all of the other side characters- Ruth, Jamie, Tom were all cool as usual but not stand-outs.

But Nick is a cardboard cutout of a man and I don’t feel a single real emotion coming out of his body. He’s so …. Blah! I didn’t actually hate him last book? But in this one, because he is SO prominent, we get to see his total lack of personality. And his lack of chemistry with Joan. I have zero idea what these two even see in one another??? How did they get together in the og timeline? Bc it makes no sense to me!

Also there are sooooo many unanswered questions. How did they get magically portaled 100 years back to their time at the end? How did Eleanor hide her family from Aaron?

And here is the biggest question.
Why did the king unalive an ENTIRE FAMILY because one little girl and her boyfriend wanted peace among humans and monsters??????? How the fuck would she have that much power to change an entire world? There would be turmoil - not every family would accept it. Like…..? So the king is just like “my solution is to get rid of the whole family” instead of just killing Joan??? Where is the logic??????

This had been a sequel I've been waiting for the release since I read Only a Monster last year. I enjoyed the first book so much. When Joan changed the time line which is something that had only been done one other time in the history of monsters brings back her family but she risked everything and now nobody else remembers what happened including Nick, the boy she likes and Aaron who helped her change the time line in the first book. Nick was the hero that slayed the monsters. When the second book starts Nick is just an ordinary boy and no longer remembers who Joan is or about the monsters. Although Joan desperately tries to stay away from him she struggles to.

Never a Hero by Vanessa Len book 2 in the (Only a Monster) series. So first off OMG,OMGGGG!!!!!. This book was absolutely out of this world, just wow, I’m speechless literally. I finished Never a Hero a few hours ago and I can't stop thinking about it. LIKE WHAT DID I JUST READ!! And that ending my jaw hit the floor, I was screaming what the heck is going on.

Now, truthfully I don't read time travel books normally, because I find them quite hard to keep up with the travelling back and forth through time, and normally I get confused. But after reading Only a monster last year I was blown away, and also now I just read Never a Hero, it's just genius. Vanessa has this special writing style that makes this time travelling story so easy to understand, you know where all the characters are without getting really confused and having to go back and reread. I love the characters so much, and yes we get all our favourite characters back. We also have some side characters returning from the first book, and new ones very INTERESTING is all I'm going to say. My absolute favourite is Aaron though. I love him so much.

I've had so much fun diving back into this world, it was everything and more. I can't say in words how spectacular this read was. Its full twists and turns and massive reveals and surprises that will leave you just flabbergasted. I still can't get my head around what I just read. The last three chapters are out of this world, I never read a book so fast, I was mesmerised and hooked to the pages. You are all in for a treat with this read and can't wait to talk about it with everyone. Can't wait for book 3 Vanessa, you are amazing and love this series so much.

First of all I wanna thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy of this book.

Never a hero is a fast paced book with plottwist after plottwist which leaves you wondering and eager to read on.
After initially setting the scene it jumps into the world and wonders of monsters and as we encounter old friends and new enemies.

Even though Vanessa Len does a fantastic job of subtly reminding us of the events that happened in Only a monster, I wish I had reread the first book before starting never a hero. It would have made my jump into the story that much easier!

That said, I really love the time travel aspect of the book and my personal favorite: the London setting.
I didn‘t always agree with Joan because I made up my mind early on, so she irritated me a little from time to time.

I don‘t want to spoil the appearance of other characters so I will leave it at that but I can assure you that you will love never a hero if you liked only a monster and I cannot wait for the third book to release.

Because I struggled a little to get into the book and did not always agree with Joans behaviour, Never a hero gets 4/5.

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC!

I honestly don't know what to write here😭

A masterpiece from start to finish. The emotions throughout the book, the longing and ache, everything was on point! I felt every emotion along with every character and my heart ached for the difficulties they went through. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and felt like I was truly in the book experiencing everything. The plot twists and pieces of the puzzle falling together were so satisfying! I would have loved and rated this book a full 5 stars had there not been extreme repetition of the conflict between Joan and Nick but I was also happy for the recap. The ending has me eagerly wanting for more and happiness for all these lovely characters🥹💖

Rating: 4.5 stars

Huge thanks to the publisher for this ARC, I absolutely devoured Only a Monster previously, and was so excited to read Never a Hero. I did enjoy this a lot however, I found this one took me a while to get into, mostly because I wanted Nick to hurry up and remember. Once the crux of the adventure began again, it was a non-stop rollercoaster.

This was a sequel I have been dying for, and it did not disappoint

After that bomb shell of an ending to book one I have been counting down to the release of this book (thanks to NetGalley and Hodder for making that countdown a little shorter)

Obviously spoilers for book one ahead so don't read on if you havent read that yet.

Joan has saved the timeline(and her family), but at great cost to herself in giving up Nick. But the timeline always rights itself and she soon finds herself with Nick again, only this Nick doesn't know her. And neither does the Aaron in this timeline, or anyone else really.

Joan is trying to protect the people she loves by keeping secrets, but we all know this can't go on forever.

Joan must work with old allies, and reforge bonds to try and save the timeline all over again....

Now when is book three....

Just as tense as the first one! Loved all the sneaking and hiding (Its what Hunts do best!). And soft boi Aaron is back for a little bit <3 The slow reveal into the bigger history was just *chefs kiss*

However it did feel as though it focused A LOT more on Nick and their 'growing' romance didn't seem as believable as the first time round.