I am so disappointed as I really wanted to like this book so much more than I did. The writing was stunning but the story just did not capture me and I found it difficult to connect with the characters and felt my attention drifting throughout the book.
The premise of the story seemed so promising and I was excited to receive the ARC but it just didn’t live up to what I was hoping for but perhaps that’s just me.
I did finish the book even though at times I almost gave up on it I hope others will enjoy it more than I did and I think it deserves 3 stars for the writing but sadly it just wasn’t for me.
My thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, Harper Voyager for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I didn't love this unfortunately. I found the prose didn't flow that well and I often found myself re-reading sentences to remind myself what was going on. The plot didn't unfurl itself easily so I struggled to really get absorbed by the story and the characters. I'm normally a fan of historical thrillers/romances so I thought this would tick all my boxes but I just didn't get on with it.

Why do pretty books have to turn out to be so disappointing? A premise I loved and expected so much from. Arden takes up the job of a lightkeeper in a town troubled by monsters. She meets Jonathan Riven, a man hated by the world and branded as a murderer and chemistry builds between them. In a world plagued by sea monsters, these two love birds have mysteries to unravel and secrets to discover, eventually leading them to Lion Order.
The book fell flat in a lot of aspects for me. The romance felt half baked, the world-building was neither exciting nor unique, the antagonist angle wasn't executed well either. I was confused throughout the book about the chain of events and nothing seemed to get better. This book left me exhausted.

A dark, gothic romantic fantasy set around a coastal lighthouse? Yes please! This story is so atmospheric and I couldn’t put it down. The characters will stay with you long after you finish reading.

Monstrous Heart has a lot of promise but unfortunately it doesn't quite deliver. A story full of sea monsters, magic and lighthouses has so much potential but the world building here is lacking, which leads the reader to a sense of general confusion and lack of clarity about the story they're following. There is some really great writing here, and hopefully when it comes to full publication there will be more world building to clarify the situation and pull the reader along with more conviction.

Unfortunately I found this book quite disappointing. I thought the worldbuilding was underwhelming and unoriginal, and the characters fell flat and I didn’t feel connected to any of them.

Although I was initially confused at the start of Monstrous Heart I eventually grew to love it. My issue was that the information about the blood talents was presented in a way that suggested the reader should understand it. It was explained slowly throughout the story but I think it could do with a little concise history as a prologue.

I will definitely read the rest in the series as I am desperate to find out what happens next with Arden, Chalice, Bella and Jonah. For me the sex scenes could be dialed down a little but that's just my preference! I can see a lot of fantastic cosplay in the future thanks to this book - even I want a kraken skin coat.

I'd recommend for sure.

I still don't know how I feel about this book. The premise is right up my alley, and as I adored The Binding, I thought it would be a no-brainer. However, I found the characters rather one dimensional and cliched, which made it hard work turning the pages.

Despite this, McKenna writes with authority. Her language is well crafted, if a little flowery; ultimately, I think if the book had had more time to prove, the issues I have with it would probably be rectified.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperVoyager for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There is a wash of derivative ideas and characters...narrative trajectories are all signalled mightily and play out ... the first half(more?)with that obnoxious superior harrassing her just seemed endless. And, sure, the outsider who everyone hates is the very one who proves to be the good guy.... but this is an ambitious take on a woman in an earlier era contending with powerful misogynistic forces and I'm glad McKenna tackled that issue in way she did with robustness. Unlike other readers, i had no trouble getting into the world -and understood it better as she met different obstacles. I admit i leapt through to the end, knowing she's get together with the one who was 'monstrous' and all for good reason! The next one by McKenna will be better

I was really looking forward to this but unfortunately it fell flat despite some great writing, there wasn’t a great deal of world building and what there was didn’t work well. The characters were not well developed and felt one dimensional. I’m disappointed as I was hoping for so much more, the story was interesting and the writing style lovely but it was let down with the rest.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

The blurb was really attractive, but I'm afraid the execution fell flat for me.
Thanks a lot to the publisher and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Given the exciting promise of sea monsters, this just didn't click with me unfortunately, and I think I can pinpoint a couple of reasons why. One is the world building, or lack of it. For most of the novel I was confused as to what was going on, as we're given only snippets of information about the magic and world. The writing doesn't help with this either, as it's difficult to get into - more flowery than anything else, with no substance. With nothing explained I ended up floundering, guessing at what on earth was happening for most of the novel as I tried to trudge through this.

The characters are also largely one dimensional and bland. There's nothing unique here. Jonah is the typical brooding guy with a mysterious past that remains mysterious. There's nothing else there. Arden comes across as naive, and a little lovelorn. There was nothing to really sink my teeth into here, and no emotional outlay between characters. The romance is built on nothing, and to me there's no chemistry. The cast of secondary characters, which could have bolstered some emotional attachment to Jonah and Arden, just all blend into one as they're underdeveloped and identical to one another or have no positive or likeable characteristics. With the possible exception of lighthouse assistant Chalice, who's marginally more entertaining than the rest. The overall menace of the mysterious Lion Order also does nothing to add atmosphere to the story as they're never explained properly, and the reader is never given an explanation into what they are, and what they do.

Frustrating read, with tantalising hints of promise wrapped up in confusion and muddy pacing.

Claire McKennna's fantasy debut is indisputably beautifully written but her storytelling did not fly for me. It felt incomprehensible and opaque, and the romance and love at the heart of the novel fails to convince. Arden Beacon arrives at the small coastal town, to be the lightkeeper where there is darkness, a place battered by dangerous seas infested with ancient sea beasts. She has blood tinged with magic, and she is drawn to a local man, Jonathan Riven, feared by people, rumoured to be a murderer and more. However, nothing is as it seems for hovering in the background is the strange and sinister Lion Order. The world building felt incomplete, and the romantic elements didn't feel right either. This novel did not appeal, it was hard work but perhaps it is simply that I am not really the reader for it, and others may enjoy it more. Many thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC.

** spoiler alert ** For a good quarter or more of this book I struggled... it was as I'd been thrown head first into book 4 of the series,and no clue what was going on.
I needed a guide to explain who,where,why and what was going on .
I muddled through,because when I did understand what was happening,I loved the story of sea monsters and magic.
At times I got caught up in the story,and at other times I still felt a bit clueless... do although I got to the end I can't say I enjoyed it.
Book 2 might read easier now.

Oh dear me, I chose this book because of the comparisons given, as I loved the Binding and quite enjoy the tv series Outlander. But I'm afraid this is far too much of a fairy tale for me to get my head around and I really couldn't get into it. Not one for me I'm afraid absolutely nothing wrong with it at all and I'm sure it will be adored by young adult readers and lovers of fantasy, but just doesn't float my boat.

This book too me by surprise. While initially I did find it difficult to get to grips with the story and language used, it soon passed and the rest of the book flew by.

Arden is the main character of this story and she comes from a long family line of lighthouse keepers, the Beacons family. They are all imbued with a blood talent which allows them to create flame with their blood. When Arden herself was tested, she failed to show any talent until her last test. Her blood is malorum which is bad, meaning she doesn’t have a pure talent but enough to get her by. Since she showed talent, her future and relationships are dictated by the Eugenics council who seek to ensure that the bloodlines at kept pure to keep the talents alive.

Arden is desperate to prove herself and an opportunity arrives for her to do that. She heads to a small town called Vigil to man the lighthouse formally run by her uncle, who has since passed away. If she completes her job there and they find someone with a blood talent in Vigil to work the lighthouse, she can leave and become a full member of the council, allowing her to marry whomever she wishes.

Upon arriving in Vigil she is told constantly about how bad her neighbour, Mr Riven. He supposedly murderer his wife and calls up the creatures of the depths. He keeps to himself and is described as being a monster but Arden takes it upon herself to make acquaintance with him.

This is a strange town where it seems women are subservient to men and a request to the eugenics council can put a couple together. The coast master wants Arden and often tells her as well as nye on trying to rape her. He seems like a slimy character and has no redeeming qualities.

I loved Ardens assistant Chalice, she brought a bit of life to Arden as well as Mr Rivens, despite what the people of the town want us to believe.

It’s clear that there are secrets hidden beneath the faces of the people in Vigil and Arden has unwittingly been used as a pawn to find someone with a power they don’t want to let go.

Aside from that, there is SPICE, let me tell you! Saucy sea folk and romantic trysts amongst the waves of this small fishing town. Things heat up from about page 200 if I recall and you won’t want to put it down.

Honesty, the last few chapters had me hooked, I couldn’t stop reading it! I’d love to see where the ending leads, without spoiling it for anyone yet to read it. I think it was towards the end that Arden really came into her own and now she has this strength, I want to see her own it.

I don’t think this will be a book for everyone and it is a slow burner, but once you get into it - it has some heat!! I really enjoyed it. It’s a wonderful dark, gothic, romantic fantasy and I’m hooked.

Arden has magic in her blood and when she moves to take over from her uncle in the lighthouse with only the mysterious seemingly evil Mr Riven as a neighbour this books hints at mystery from the start.
A whole new world is set out in the beginning or the book and one reminiscent of Game of thrones meets Trudi Canavan I found the language somewhat confusing at the start due to it being new it sometimes felt as if I had missed a book in the series and started on book 2.
A good fantasy romance however I found it was not the easiest to follow and at times my interest did drift.
I have rated this book 3 stars as it did keep me guessing however sometimes it was a bit harder to set the scene in my mind than I like in a fantasy story

MONSTROUS HEART, Claire McKenna

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: General Fiction (adult)

Well, blurb offers comparisons to Outlander and The Binding, both of which I really enjoyed but for me this is Nothing like either of them....the only thing they have in common is they all are debut books.
So, the comparisons were why I requested this but as I said, the stories are totally different. This one is unique, and I guess from that premise they are similar – similar because they are unique ;-) there's an oxymoron...
I found it really difficult to work out, its a whole new world, with talented and non talented people and all seem to be tightly controlled. I liked Arden, but I felt Chalice actually was a more interesting character. It does read like a second in series, because there is so much left unexplained, and at times I was so puzzled as to what was happening and why, who was telling the truth, which characters were more than they seemed.
Its probably five star for many readers, the writing quality deserves that but for me it was too muddy a story, too difficulty to work out what, why, how and I felt the big draw for me, the romance genre rating, was muted and I expected more. I skim read the last 40% so maybe missed certain nuances, but by then I was so confused, yet I wanted to know what would happen. Its not one I'd reread, and not a world I'd want to read more of unless it was made very much clearer how it all worked. Its disappointing because I was really looking forward to this magical world full of mythical creatures but for me its wasn't more than an OK read.

Stars: Three, an interesting and promising story, but for me it didn't live up to that potential.

Arc via Netgalley and publishers

Arden's blood contains a kind of magic, which can create light. She's from a family of lighthouse keepers, and her talents showed late, meaning they are weaker than expected and she doesn't expect to have her own lighthouse. Blood talents are carefully controlled by the Eugenics Society and the mysterious Order of Lyonnes, and it is a Lion who comes to Arden to offer her the lighthouse in Vigil, until recently covered by her uncle. The lighthouse is out on a promontory, most easily accessed by sea, and her only neighbour is the murderous Jonah Riven, hunter of kraken, who is said to have killed his wife - Vigil's golden girl Bellis. Arden must work out what the Lions want, whilst dealing with the lecherous Mr Justinian, who has the power to sign off her freedom, fanatical prospectors who are washed up at the lighthouse and her suspicions that Riven is not the monster he appears to be.

It's readable, but confusing and feels a little like I was reading the second of a series where I should have known more about the set up. I still didn't understand who the Lions were at the end of the book, or why all the women were Mx - it was clearly part of the world, but there was no explanation and none of them appeared to be non-binary, which is where the title is usually used. I liked it as a detail, but some reasoning behind it would have been interesting, especially as women didn't appear to be particularly equal in this world. Also, Riven's history with Bellis is made clear, but never why he apparently murdered his family. I was also a bit unclear as to what all the different blood gifts were right up until the very end of the book, when it suddenly became a lot clearer, but was the mixed in with some Deepwater King references that I didn't quite understand as religion had only had a fleeting reference earlier in the book. Chalice, Arden's lighthouse assistant, was the best character in my view.

overall, I kind of feel like I need to read it again to understand it properly!