NetGalley Review: Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris

Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris

My Rating: ✩✩✩✩✩

I really wanted to like this book. The premise seemed fun, a mix of horror, mystery and romance has so much potential. While I enjoyed my time reading, overall the book just didn't hit for me.

The good stuff:

• Great world building, well written imagery and a fun mythos.
• The setting of Paris was awesome, well described and was the perfect place for monster hunting.
• The Lovecraftian feel of the monsters and the vintage sapphic slow burn created a fantastic atmosphere.
• Blending lore from Stoker and Conan Doyle was a fun premise and we do love a historical AU mashup.

The not as good stuff:

• The mystery was solvable almost immediately and for two women who are the smartest ever, there was A LOT of plot required to get them to the obvious conclusion.
• Not much of the backstory played into the main storyline. Mostly references to mysterious family dynamics and shadowy figures. This felt less "Moriarty villains with clever moving parts" and more "well, lets hold up character development because of *waves hands* complicated/tragic pasts."
• It felt more YA than adult lit in terms of the characters behaviors and interactions. Not a criticism, I love YA lit, just a reflection of how the characters developed.

All together, it was an interesting read, just not what I had hoped for given the premise and synopsis. That said, I would love to see more in this series since there is so much potential for great monster mythos and action/adventure from this world.

Published on 15 October 2024 by Bindery Books

Book #47 of 2024

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