By: Lydia Gregovic
Recommendation: 🌕🌕🌕🌒 - (Out of 5 🌕)
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Gothic, Historical
Length: 400 Pages
Reading Age: 12-17
**Not a stand alone story.**
'A line of iron lampposts extends along the cliff edge for as far as I can see in either direction, fires burning steadily in the lanterns that hang from each of their boughs, blazing against the approaching night. Beyond that lies the fog....The Graylands. That's what we call then-the mist-choked, uninhabitable swaths of our nation, the Smoke....'
This young adult fantasy has the very real feel of a murder mystery, horror, and historical fantasy all wrapped up into one story. The 'Monstrous Kind' tags itself as the fantasy version of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. I most certain can agree with that assessment but at the same time I would say I very much got the same feelings I did when I read both Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Stephen King's The Mist.
Over one hundred years ago the mist came and changed the face of England forever. London was burned to the ground in an effort to kill the creatures that came with the mist. Out of the ashes, New London was built and society learned to move on only with new rules and responsibilities. The Darling family of Sussex, through many generations, have been charged with the responsibility of keeping at bay those things that go bump in the night. Also known as 'Manorborn', the Darling's have some type of genetic immunity to the beings that reside in the mist.
Merrick and Estelle Darling both trained under their father's tutelage, learning how to maintain the lanterns and kill the zombie like monsters. Merrick had always assumed that her father would name her as the next Lord of Norland House; she assumed wrong. That title ultimately was bestowed on Estelle. In response, Merrick did the only thing she could, she moved to New London in the hopes of making a good match in marriage. This was what society expected of her. Unfortunately, shortly after her mother's death in a tragic carriage accident her father passed away. Estelle called Merrick home.
Upon her return to Norland House, Merrick discovers that everything is not as it seems. The reasons given for her father's death doesn't make sense, her sister is acting out of character, something or someone has been messing with the perimeter of her families land, extinguishing the lanterns and allowing the creatures to attack the residents. The mist is quickly encroaching closer and closer to the manor.
The reading age for 'The Monstrous Kind' is on point. Very little romance. I would rate the story PG-13 for the horror factor alone. I found the pace of the story to be medium until about 50% and then things really began to pick up. Merrick and Estelle are not completely lovable characters. They are both flawed and understandably so. Merrick is angry because she was passed over for the Lordship and Estelle is bitter due to all the responsibilities left on her shoulders. I found Killian Brandon to be a most lovable and ideal character. He is mysterious as well as heroic, he is described as having scars but those only add to his mystic.
Gregovic is releasing this story just in time for the Halloween spooky season and I certainly can see this being a holiday favorite.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
'The Monstrous Kind' releases September 3, 2024.
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