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I haven’t loved the Monsters series, but it’s been intriguing and exciting enough to leave me somewhat impatient for each book to be released (Never a Hero was the second and Only a Monster the first). It’s an interesting premise: in a world of humans, some people, called “monsters,” can travel in time by taking hours, days or even years from humans, just by touching them.
At the beginning of Once a Villain, half-human/half-monster Joan has just been sent to an alternate timeline by a young woman who was her sister in the “original” timeline. This one is pretty horrific: Eleanor has amassed a lot of magical power and has twisted time to make herself queen. She’s arranged it so monsters live out in the open and humans are subjugated to them, obligated to give them half of their lives.
Joan is joined in this timeline by Nick, whom Eleanor made a monster-slayer in previous timelines; Aaron, a member of one of the illustrious monster families; and a few others. Nick and Joan have fallen in love in every time they’ve been in. And Joan and Aaron have had … more than just a friendship.
Somehow the little group has to figure out how to defeat Eleanor for good and save the world. It seems an impossible task, but they’re the only ones who can even hope to try. Meanwhile, the romantic feelings among Joan, Nick, and Aaron get complicated, but they hardly have time to address that.
Once a Villain is practically nonstop action. It really feels that our heroes have an impossible task and can’t succeed. So I kept wondering each chapter and after each big event what would possibly change. It was interesting to see how Len brought everything together in the end. I will say that I thought it was a bit rushed and too tidy, with bows wrapped up neatly on everything I didn’t think they necessarily would or should be tied on.
If the premise intrigues you and you are into time travel, changing timelines, love triangles, and impossible challenges, you should enjoy this white-knuckle ride of a book.
Rated: High. Profanity includes 9 uses of strong language, about 5 instances of moderate profanity, a dozen uses of mild language, and 15 instances of the name of Deity in vain. Sexual content includes kissing and one sex scene that includes removal of clothes and brief detail about touching but little beyond as it “fades to black.” This is a spoiler, but I can’t not share this: two guys and a girl decide rather than having a “love triangle” in which a choice has to be made between two people, they will all be in a relationship together. That’s something I pretty much never have seen in a book, especially one classified as young adult. Violence is very frequent and bloody.
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*I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
