Review: The Monster of Elendhaven

3 stars. A little bit of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, a little bit of Villains by V.E. Schwab. It's a dark and delicious black forest cake with a bitter burst of cherry. It's very cool and very charming and drags you under before you realize what's happening. The worldbuilding is fun but not overwhelming, the pacing is fast but not speedy. And the word choice - my god, awesome premise, but this book is totally great beyond surface-level. 

Elendhaven is essentially a dying city - dirty, gritty, plagued, surrounded by a poisonous sea. While the leading society men dance and flop and flounder, a thing is born, a monster, a pseudo-golem type creature pulled to do his master's bidding. A master determined to seek revenge with blood and black magic, revenge for a painful past and a fatal future for the city. To go into more detail would be super confusing, so I won't. 

Unfortunately, I had a hard time feeling sucked in. It's outstanding - truly - but for whatever reason (my mood, the date, the weather), I wasn't as captivated as I should've been. As far as new and innovative horror goes, though, you can't do better. I really, really, really hope we see more. I loved Johann, I loved his relationship with Florian, and I loved the sheer creative madness of it all. 

“Monster was the best, his favorite word. The first half was a kiss, the second a hiss.”

The Monster of Elendhaven on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads