Monsters are “in” now, thanks in large part to the resurgence of various ‘monstrous’ characters on the large and small screens — vampires, zombies, werewolves…. It only makes sense that popular literature follows suit (and yes…I recognize that the vampires on the screen in tales such as True Blood and The Twilight Saga are based on books, but it does seem to be the screen that brings about the most popularity).
And so our popular literture puts monsters in a variety of settings. Some light-hearted, some dark, some romantic, some mysterious. Jesse Petersen’s Club Monstrosity tale is a combination of romantic and mysterious. Someone is killing off the monsters…killing them off in ways similar to how they were killed in the legends. Only those inside the circle of friends, the Club Monstrosity, can explore and attempt to uncover killer because who would help a vampire a werewolf a swamp monster…?
What Petersen does very well here is make the monster human. Each creature, seen primarily through the eyes of the female Frankenstein’s Monster, has their own troubles and struggles, some similar to those any person might have, but theirs are compounded by the need to stay un-identified as monsters. Which is why the sudden deaths of The Blob and The Invisible Man stir up a great deal of concern. The most likely cause of trouble is a riff in the truce between the monsters and the Van Helsing family, but even that bond seems still secure.
There is romance along the way, as certain members of Club Monstrosity hook up as well as team up along the way. Each pairing seems to make sense as Petersen writes it, and the reader will even get caught up in the ‘mundane’ daily life aspects of these monsters, which is a good thing.
While this isn’t deep, heavy literature, it is a well-crafted tale with familiar figures, and an intriguing mystery. I enjoyed my time with the club.
While the book has a strong conclusion, there is definitely an open door to future books in the series (I note that this book is labelled Monstrosity #1) and I think I would look forward to revisiting this team dangerous misfits.
Looking for a good book! This one is a monstrously good time.
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Club Monstrosity (Monstrosity #1)
author: Jesse Petersen
publisher: Pocket Star
ISBN: 1476716188
ebook, 224 pages
Looking For a Good Book 