NEVER A HERO By Vanessa Len

October 9, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

NEVER A HERO By Vanessa LenNever a Hero by Vanessa Len
Series: Monsters #2
Published by HarperTeen on 8/29/23
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 526
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Despite all of the odds, Joan achieved the impossible. She reset the timeline, saved her family – and destroyed the hero, Nick.

But her success has come at a terrible cost.

She alone remembers what happened. Now, Aaron, her hard-won friend – and maybe more – is an enemy, trying to kill her. And Nick, the boy she loved, is a stranger who doesn’t even know her name. Only Joan remembers that a greater and more dangerous enemy is still out there.

When a deadly attack forces Joan back into the monster world, she finds herself on the run with Nick – as Aaron closes in.

Torn between love and family and monstrous choices, Joan must find a way to re-gather her old allies to face down the deadliest of enemies, and to save the timeline itself.

Short and Sweet Review

Joan has accomplished what she thought was impossible, she reset the timeline so her family is alive and she unmade the hero Nick. But what Joan did came with consequences she didn’t know would be coming her way, only Joan knows she reset the timeline, but now Nick is just a regular guy and the monsters are looking for Joan and they’ve sent Aaron to find her. Now Joan is on the run with Nick who got pulled into this mess after witnessing monsters come after Joan. The only way Joan and Nick are going to make it out of this mess alive is if they gather some allies and find the person who is truly a threat to the monster world.

Let me just start off by saying this book is action packed and will keep you hooked from the very first page. Joan reset the timeline and even though her family is now alive she’s been avoiding them, and she’s also starting to realize that by messing with the timeline that things she didn’t think would be affected are. Joan meets Nick and realizes he has no idea who she is or even about being a hero but once they’re attacked she reluctantly has to explain the whole monster world to him. I loved seeing Joan and Nick on the run and gathering some old friends and how Joan would have to convince people of the fact that she reset the timeline by telling them things she wouldn’t know unless she was in that other timeline with them. We also see Aaron who has no idea who Joan is but is determined to capture her and bring her to the court. I think my favorite thing about this sequel is that we learn more about Joans family that has disappeared from everyone else’s memory but definitely lives on in the memory of her sister Eleanor. We learn that Eleanor was the one who made Nick into the hero and has plans of bringing their family back and her timeline is a dark one where monsters rule and humans have no chance. I loved seeing Nick and Joan in this book we learn more about their history and they’re obviously made to be together that’s why the timeline keeps bringing them back to each other. I did like seeing the old allies too and how they were willing to fight by Joans side.

Never a Hero, is full of twists and turns but its so good and will have you wanting more. I loved the characters and the plot in this book so much and I’m ready to read the next book!

Filed Under: Reviews

ONLY A MONSTER By Vanessa Len

February 21, 2022 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

ONLY A MONSTER By Vanessa LenOnly a Monster by Vanessa Len
Series: Monsters #1
Published by HarperTeen on 2/22/22
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 412
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Don’t forget the rule. No one can know what you are. What we are. You must never tell anyone about monsters.

Joan has just learned the truth: her family are monsters, with terrifying, hidden powers.

And the cute boy at work isn’t just a boy: he’s a legendary monster slayer, who will do anything to destroy her family.

To save herself and her family, Joan will have to do what she fears most: embrace her own monstrousness. Because in this story…she is not the hero.

Sweet and Short Review

Joan’s grandma has always told her stories about monsters but Joan has brushed them off and took them for what they were stories. That is until Joan has a strange encounter and travels through time and realizes that her grandma wasn’t just telling stories her family are monsters and there are other monster families out there. The boy that Joan works with, Nick, he’s the hero, the monster slayer and he won’t stop until he’s finished his mission: killing all the monsters.

Joan has a date with Nick but on her way to the date she ends up time traveling, upon returning home she learns from her grandmother that she is a monster and their whole family is and every monster family has a distinct power. When Joan tries to explain why she missed her date with Nick a family appears and that day ends in disaster. Now Joan must time travel to unravel the massacre that just happened.

This world had a unique magic system I liked hearing about the different families and what they could do even if we didn’t see all of the families in this book. Joan has to team up with Aaron Oliver which is hard because everyone knows the Hunts and Oliver families hate each other so other monster families who see them find it strange. Joan also has her cousin Ruth and later on Tom join her on her mission to set things right.

Joan was an okay character. She didn’t know a lot about the monster world everything she was learning was right there on the spot, but for some reason she thought she knew better than everyone around her. I did like how she was determined but sometimes her determination led her to make reckless and selfish decisions I also didn’t like how she would argue to the point of throwing a tantrum just to get her way. I’m hoping that in the next book Joan gets so serious character development.

The time traveling aspect was great and it was interesting to see the other families and learn about the time traveling they were doing, and how the monsters had to steal time from humans to actually do the traveling.

The romance was… something. Joan and Aaron spend most of the book together because he’s helping her try to set things right and there are some sparks there. But Joan can’t stop thinking about Nick the boy who literally destroyed her. Anyway it’s like a love hate thing going on between those two and I was not here for it. Every time Nick popped up I was just waiting for him to kill Joan or vice versa but they were both kind of weak in that aspect.

I really enjoyed this book the plot and the world were captivating and kept me wanting more. I do wish that Joan were less childish, but this book is worth the read and I’m excited to see what happens next!

Filed Under: Reviews