I received a copy of Never a Hero by Vanessa Len from NetGalley. This is the second book of the Monsters series. I enjoyed reading Only a Monster last year. I was so excited to get my hands on the sequel. Never a Hero is a contemporary fantasy novel that follows the story of Joan, a half-monster/half-human, and begins after the events of the previous book.
In the first book, Joan unmakes Nick, to bring back her family. This creates a whole new timeline where no one but Joan and a few other monsters remember the events of Nick as the monster slayer. Ruth doesn’t remember she helped Joan, and Aaron doesn’t know who she is. Nick is now an ordinary boy, and he doesn’t remember Joan at all. Her actions still weigh on her heavily, and she has withdrawn into herself. When Nick and Joan meet again in the new timeline, they are attacked by the Court and have to go into hiding.
The story follows Joan, Nick, Aaron, Ruth, Tom, and Jamie as they try to stop a terrible plan where monsters rule the world. I liked how the inner conflict played out for Joan. She still has feelings for Nick, but she knows that he is not the same person she once knew. The gravity of what she did to save her family and what Nick used to be is constantly playing in the back of her mind. Time-traveling monsters are one of the most interesting things I have read in fantasy, and it plays out really well in both these books.
Joan still is not sure about her power, and they are on a quest to stop a terrible future from becoming a reality. The plot has an adventurous sort of feel to it because they are going to different places and times, trying to hide and figure out why they were targeted. I enjoyed learning more about this fantasy world. Vanessa Len elaborates on the mythology in the book, and it is done in an engaging manner. There are a lot of familiar faces from the first book. Nick and Joan get into a good comfort zone with each other, but Joan’s hesitation is always lingering there.
I don’t know if it is just me, but in the book, Nick and Joan are supposed to be soulmates, and I don’t get it. There is no real chemistry or click between them. They are kind of like star-crossed lovers, but I find myself not rooting for them. Aaron is such an intriguing character. He has so much depth to his character, with the way his father and his family behave, especially in this book. Aaron and Joan have this connection that just seems natural. I rooted a lot for Aaron in the story than I did for Nick. In this book, he opens up more, and we can understand his actions better. I want the romance of Aaron and Joan to be the endgame.
Never a Hero by Vanessa Len is a good sequel to Only a Monster. It has some of the same elements in terms of the plot, but it is interesting. The blend of fantasy with almost supernatural elements with little romance makes it intriguing. The first half is slightly slow-paced, but the second half picks up speed. I didn’t love the way the ending came to be, but it definitely made me excited for the third book.
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