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The Monstrous Kind by Lydia Gregovic

Genre:
Gothic, Romance, Regency, Retellings, Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Adult, Fiction, Fantasy, Historical, Netgalley

Publication Date:
September 3, 2024

Pages Numbers:
400

Read Date:
July 4th, 2024

Date Finished:
July 4th, 2024

Rating:
4.35/5

Blurb:

An atmospheric, haunting, romantasy inspired by Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, set in a Regency England about two sisters fighting to hold on to their manor while deadly monsters prowl along its perimeters—perfect for fans of House of Salt and Sorrows and Anatomy: A Love Story.

Merrick Darling’s life as daughter of the Manor Lord of Sussex is better than most. Unlike the commoners, she is immune to the toxic fog that encroached on England generations earlier. She will never become a Phantom—one of the monstrous creatures that stalk her province’s borders—and as long as the fires burn to hold them back, her safety is ensured. She wants for nothing, yet she will never inherit her family’s Manor. She must marry smartly or live at the kindness of her elder sister, Essie.

Everything is turned on its head, though, when Merrick’s father dies suddenly. Torn from her New London society life of ball gowns and parties, Merrick must travel back to her childhood home, the Darling estate of Norland House, and what she finds there is bewildering. Once strong and capable, Essie is withdrawn and frightened—and with good cause. A recent string of attacks along the province’s borders has turned their formerly bucolic countryside into a terrifying and unpredictable landscape. The fog is closing in and the fires aren’t holding, which makes Merrick and Essie vulnerable in more ways than one. Because the Phantoms are far from the only monsters in Merrick’s world, and the other eleven Manor Lords are always watching for weakness.

Revealing her and her sister’s current state to the rest of the Manors is out of the question, but when Essie goes missing, it’s clear that Merrick needs help. Only, who can she trust when everyone seems to be scheming, and when all she holds true feels like it’s slipping right out of her grasp?

Review:

Ours is a nation drowned in mist, reborn of fire. Yet we are named for smoke.

What an interesting and unique take on Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility with a Regency England cut off with a mist (or Smoke as they call it) filled with creatures lurking within, waiting, lingering to take anyone who dares step within either eat them or make them part of the Phantoms - zombie-like creatures. Merrick has been called home to attend her father's funeral. There she finds her sister, who has now taken the position as Manorlord, and who seems to hold a deep resentment for her leaving. Merrick must navigate the treacherous landscape of secrets and lies within the manor.

I am not going to lie - I have never been a fan of Jane Austen books. I have read them in the past but I have not touched them since. This book is not a retelling of Sense and Sensibility but more of a unique take on the book itself with twelve families immune to the Smoke that lingers along the borders of their homes. Merrick has returned home from a Season in the city. Her father has passed away and her sister has been named Manorlord, something that Merrick had already known and the reason why she had left in the first place, but on her return, she found that the Smoke has breached areas around the manor and this is obvious when her carriage is surrounded and the creatures converge upon it.

Jane Austen's books have never been a favorite of mine. So, I never read any of the other books written by her and this was one that I had passed by. So character-wise I am not sure how well Merrick and her sister are to the characters they are meant to resemble. The story is solid with an interesting twist to the plot at the end. I found this book a rather quick read for me from the moment I picked it up until I put it down. I think, once you do read this one, it will leave you kinda reeling at the end especially when you learn who has been behind it all. I am still thinking about it even now as I make this review.

This book will be a nice addition to anyone's Harvest TBRs and I recommend that you add it.

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A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft
Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan


*Disclaimer: Thank you to the author, her publishers, and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. The opinions of this review are mine and mine alone.