REVIEW: Tales of a Monstrous Heart (Jennifer Delaney)

Book: Tales of a Monstrous Heart

Author: Jennifer Delaney

Premise: When Katherine Woodrow accepts a Mage Partnership with the elusive Lord Blackthorn, she is thrown into a world of ancient books that hide hideous monsters, dark fiends who play with nightmares and mortal men who wish nothing more than to see her burn.

I'm in two minds about this book. I really enjoyed the concept and the gothic, dark academia, fantasy vibe. I loved the slow burn romance between Kat and Lord Blackthorn. The story really picked up pace in the second half of the book, becoming easy to binge.

What I struggled with was the overall pacing and development of this story. At times I found I didn't really understand what was going on or the world. I kept finding myself wishing the author had been more careful in building the world, the characters and the story. The first half of the book was a bit slow to get to the main plot, so it took a while to get into it. There was also a lot of info dumping which didn't help. The ending left me confused and unsatisfied until I found out this is only book 1 of a trilogy.

So a mixed bag. Let's see if I can be persuaded with book 2.