A Taste for Monsters (spoiler-free Review)

Greetings and salutations!  I hope you are well :)

I went to the library yesterday and picked up a few books. The librarian's "a few" was quite drawled, so I suppose to some people, thirteen books are not a few. But, I digress. 

One of the books which I snagged was a very pleasant find. It had been on my "Want To Read" list for a solid year, and I stumbled across it by utter accident on my part.

The book in question is A Taste for Monsters, written by one Matthew Kirby. It tells the story of a disfigured girl named Evelyn who tries to find safety from the streets by becoming a nurse at the London Hospital. Due to her startling appearance, she is denied the position, but instead is made to be a maid. Not just any maid, but the personal maid of Joseph Merrick, whom you may know better as the Elephant Man. That could be a fascinating story on its own, but my friends, it does not end there. This book takes place in London, 1888. What was happening in London that year? Not much... other than Jack the Ripper's rampage. When the ghosts of the victims begin haunting Joseph and Evelyn, she finds herself set on a path to face not only her fears, but also humanity's worst nightmares.

as if that wasn't enough to capture our interest, they present this fantastic cover

This drew my interest for many, many reasons, not including the obvious appeals of real-life characters such as Jack the Ripper and the Elephant Man. For starters, I love a good historical fiction. Then there's the factor that I adore mysteries. If you mix that with the fact that this also comes with supernatural aspects (I don't believe in ghosts, but I sure love reading about them), I was hooked. 

Let's start with the positives, shall we? 

While it had a slow start that left me uninterested, the second and especially the third chapters did a wonderful job capturing my attention. From chapter three and onward, I was captivated and couldn't put the book down. I ended up reading into the wee hours of the morning, finishing the book around 2am. I'm torn between saying this did and didn't help with the haunting atmosphere the book gives. Regardless, it was addicting.

On that note, the atmosphere is SUPERB. The writer did a magnificent job in creating the mood. I easily saw myself in the settings described. You could feel what the characters felt, almost sharing their fear. Not only their fear, but their pain, their joy, and their hardships. It's like I were there, and I was impressed. 

The story itself was one that you may or may not have heard before, but it was so well crafted and written such nuance that it secured individuality. The voice, the twists, reveals--they all turned the novel into something incredible. 

The characters were all given dimensions, which is something I absolutely LIVE FOR. Stale characters are the worst. These chaps were wonderfully written, leaving me feeling attached to some and absolutely livid at others. Dudes, there are some characters to be LIVID at in this book. Utterly livid. Then there's the others, whom I want to hug for one reason or the next. The relationships various characters are given makes my heart hurt. Especially between Evelyn and Joseph, who's friendship was incredibly touching. There was also a great deal of variety sewn into the characters, which left for a good read.

This novel also did a great job of being unpredictable. I suspected a character (or two... or three... who's counting?) to be Jack in disguise, but I was wrong with every single one of them. As one who loves surprises, that was wonderful to me. It added to the tension, and I feel that's the point, so I applaud it.

There are some negatives, so let's discuss those now.

As previously stated, the novel had what was for me an excruciatingly uncaptivating beginning. Especially considering the interesting situation it starts with, that isn't good. I don't know if it was just me having not read in so long, or if it really was just an uncaptivating first chapter, but whichever it was, I didn't enjoy it. 

Upon reflection, I find that's the only real complaint I have. It was well paced, well crafted, and wonderfully done. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

So, moving on. In reviews on Goodreads, I have seen this suggested as both a Middle Grade and a YA novel. As the book is about two disfigured individuals in the cruelty of 1888's London, with a lot of murder thrown in, I would suggest it as the latter. It was dark, spooky, and gritty to a realistic extent. Nothing went overboard, so perhaps more mature middle graders could read it, but my recommendation is that it should be considered a YA novel. 

So, in conclusion, despite the slow start, this was a wonderful book! If you're a fan of darker mysteries, I strongly suggest it. 4.8/5 stars, would and just did recommend. 

Have you read A Taste for Monsters? If so, what did you think? Let me know in the comments!