12 Followers
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC of this book! This sequel starts with a new semester at Westerly College. Scarlett and Vivi face the consequences of what happened in the previous semester and on top of that deal with new responsibilities. However, as they strive to do and be the best, strange things happen on campus and interfere with their and their coven's magic. That, and a rivalry with another sorority test not only Scarlett and Vivi, but all of the Ravens. Similar to the first book, this one takes its time to collect all the puzzle pieces long before it becomes apparent to the characters that something is wrong. I greatly enjoyed the mystery of it was constantly curious to see what would happen next. I also appreciate that the first book could stand alone but still feels connected to the second book. This way, The Monarchs feels more like an extension and not a continuation. This time, however, I struggled with the protagonists, especially Vivi. In the first book, her naivety felt appropriate given that she is completely new to witching. This time, she feels way more comfortable with that but her character still hasn't grown. It actually annoyed me at times that she still has the same fears from the first book, even though she was supposed to have overcome them! To be fair, though, this development isn't entirely her fault and has a very good reason in the story. I still couldn't completely enjoy her chapters. I was also missing the great message from the first book, that the friendship between the Ravens made their magic even stronger. It also makes sense with what's going on in the story that this aspect isn't really present any more, but I felt a little let down. In the end, the conclusion for both books in the series felt kind of similar because of that. All in all, I still enjoyed reading this book a lot. The new adventure of this witchy sorority was a lot of fun and I especially loved the climax. I feel like the second book could have done a lot more, especially for character development, but in the end, it is just as great as the first one. I definitely recommend the sequel to everyone who already enjoyed the first book!
Dec 17, 2023
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC of this book! This sequel starts with a new semester at Westerly College. Scarlett and Vivi face the consequences of what happened in the previous semester and on top of that deal with new responsibilities. However, as they strive to do and be the best, strange things happen on campus and interfere with their and their coven's magic. That, and a rivalry with another sorority test not only Scarlett and Vivi, but all of the Ravens. Similar to the first book, this one takes its time to collect all the puzzle pieces long before it becomes apparent to the characters that something is wrong. I greatly enjoyed the mystery of it was constantly curious to see what would happen next. I also appreciate that the first book could stand alone but still feels connected to the second book. This way, The Monarchs feels more like an extension and not a continuation. This time, however, I struggled with the protagonists, especially Vivi. In the first book, her naivety felt appropriate given that she is completely new to witching. This time, she feels way more comfortable with that but her character still hasn't grown. It actually annoyed me at times that she still has the same fears from the first book, even though she was supposed to have overcome them! To be fair, though, this development isn't entirely her fault and has a very good reason in the story. I still couldn't completely enjoy her chapters. I was also missing the great message from the first book, that the friendship between the Ravens made their magic even stronger. It also makes sense with what's going on in the story that this aspect isn't really present any more, but I felt a little let down. In the end, the conclusion for both books in the series felt kind of similar because of that. All in all, I still enjoyed reading this book a lot. The new adventure of this witchy sorority was a lot of fun and I especially loved the climax. I feel like the second book could have done a lot more, especially for character development, but in the end, it is just as great as the first one. I definitely recommend the sequel to everyone who already enjoyed the first book!
Dec 17, 2023
