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A review by capnlinnius
Monstrous Heart by Claire McKenna
2.0
Rated 1.5/5, rounded up.
I received an uncorrected proof of this book from the publisher as part of me working in a book store. Nobody was interested in it when it arrived, and to be quite honest, it's not what I usually read, but I leafed through it and figured why not.
Several months later I remembered this book, and decided I'd give it a try.
The prose really lends itself well to shorter fiction, and I understand that the author usually writes short stories. That's not to say it doesn't hold in full-length novel format - on the contrary, it definitely does - but I feel that a lot of flowery prose of this sort is difficult to handle while also having meaningful plot, and I think the part that suffered the most was the world building. It is far too vague in my opinion, too centered around misogyny and how people in general, and the female body in particular, is owned and ruled by the state? government? the powers that be? whoever is in charge. All I was really able to gather was that this is some magical steampunk-equivalent where genetics contain talent or no talent, and your blood can or cannot enable you to practice one single form of magic. There's an organization that controls who has children and who doesn't (one of the supporting cast has been sterilized to prevent her from carrying a child), there's an organization that controls all those gifted, and of course one that is sort of like a secret service that keeps an eye on you to make sure you're not out of line.
This book felt as though it couldn't decide on what it wanted to be. On the one hand, it reads like a historical romance drama, and on the other hand, it is more a low fantasy mystery drama. On the whole, there was so much misogyny that it made me uncomfortable at times. The main character, a woman, is put through sexual harassment repeatedly by a man in a power position, she is told she's not safe and that her speaking up for herself means she deserves to be assaulted. She is blackmailed and threatened with sexual assault unless she does as this or that man says, and even the women around her are so conditioned into this way of being treated that they have deeply set internalized misogyny in many of their opinions and actions. The one man everyone warns her away from is of course not a horrible man, and as such is the love interest.
This is what bothered me the most, to be honest. Sure, there is some representation of queer romance, and queer baiting between the main character and her assistant (the sterilized woman who says she has laid off men and only go for women now), but it's only mentioned in passing.
If you want an engaging historical romance with a dash of fantasy, I'd suggest Gabaldon's Outlander, over this. If you want a fantasy mystery similar to this, I'd recommend Bardugo (author of the Grisha-verse).
The rating is mostly because I enjoyed the writing, and it was a very quick and simple read. It also had a plesiosaur cub and that's a plus. The book has a very open ending, and perhaps there will be sequels. I most likely won't be reading them.
I received an uncorrected proof of this book from the publisher as part of me working in a book store. Nobody was interested in it when it arrived, and to be quite honest, it's not what I usually read, but I leafed through it and figured why not.
Several months later I remembered this book, and decided I'd give it a try.
The prose really lends itself well to shorter fiction, and I understand that the author usually writes short stories. That's not to say it doesn't hold in full-length novel format - on the contrary, it definitely does - but I feel that a lot of flowery prose of this sort is difficult to handle while also having meaningful plot, and I think the part that suffered the most was the world building. It is far too vague in my opinion, too centered around misogyny and how people in general, and the female body in particular, is owned and ruled by the state? government? the powers that be? whoever is in charge. All I was really able to gather was that this is some magical steampunk-equivalent where genetics contain talent or no talent, and your blood can or cannot enable you to practice one single form of magic. There's an organization that controls who has children and who doesn't (one of the supporting cast has been sterilized to prevent her from carrying a child), there's an organization that controls all those gifted, and of course one that is sort of like a secret service that keeps an eye on you to make sure you're not out of line.
This book felt as though it couldn't decide on what it wanted to be. On the one hand, it reads like a historical romance drama, and on the other hand, it is more a low fantasy mystery drama. On the whole, there was so much misogyny that it made me uncomfortable at times. The main character, a woman, is put through sexual harassment repeatedly by a man in a power position, she is told she's not safe and that her speaking up for herself means she deserves to be assaulted. She is blackmailed and threatened with sexual assault unless she does as this or that man says, and even the women around her are so conditioned into this way of being treated that they have deeply set internalized misogyny in many of their opinions and actions. The one man everyone warns her away from is of course not a horrible man, and as such is the love interest.
This is what bothered me the most, to be honest. Sure, there is some representation of queer romance, and queer baiting between the main character and her assistant (the sterilized woman who says she has laid off men and only go for women now), but it's only mentioned in passing.
If you want an engaging historical romance with a dash of fantasy, I'd suggest Gabaldon's Outlander, over this. If you want a fantasy mystery similar to this, I'd recommend Bardugo (author of the Grisha-verse).
The rating is mostly because I enjoyed the writing, and it was a very quick and simple read. It also had a plesiosaur cub and that's a plus. The book has a very open ending, and perhaps there will be sequels. I most likely won't be reading them.