The Monstrous Kind

July 8, 2024
Gregovic’s foreboding Regency fantasy debut, set in an alternate historical England shrouded in toxic fog, combines a zombie plague with the society intrigue of Austenian classics. After the death of teenage Merrick Darling’s estranged father, the Manor Lord of Sussex, Merrick returns to the Darling estate of Norland House from New London. Upon her arrival, she is attacked by a fog-infected figure, called a Phantom, and saved by handsome sentry Killian Brandon. Now that she and her older sister Essie have been orphaned, Merrick must jockey for a higher status within England’s elite if she hopes to keep Norland House—and herself—afloat. But as her vulnerabilities are laid bare, she realizes that Phantoms are the least of her worries as she endures the mind games of 11 manor lords with agendas of their own. This thrilling and ambitious novel begins firing on all cylinders following a leisurely opening. Serpentine plotting and similarly matched language paired with Merrick and Killian’s titillating banter make this a simmering read that will appeal to fans of House of Salt and Sorrows. Main characters cue as white. Ages 12–up. Agent: Sarah Landis, Sterling Lord Literistic.

July 15, 2024
Something's rotten in the province of Sussex. Twelve families rule over the Smoke, a U.K.-inspired nation, where the citizens battle to maintain control against an encroaching fog that brings death and destruction in the form of monstrous Phantoms. When Silas Darling, Merrick's father and Sussex's Manor Lord, dies unexpectedly, Merrick must abandon her New London social season and return to her ancestral home, Norland House. Surrounded by her older sister, Essie (who's set to inherit the title Merrick desires for herself), and cousins (who are concerned mostly with propriety), she struggles to find answers. When Sussex and the family's seat are threatened by mysterious border breaches and attacks, Merrick enters into a tenuous alliance with sentry Killian Brandon to unravel a Gordian knot of family secrets. The measured pacing, combined with Merrick's emotional arc, together create magnificent tension. The worldbuilding skews gothic, thanks to the creepy manor house and mist-infected landscapes that are befitting of a Bront� sisters novel--albeit with the addition of possessed corpses that consume human flesh. The gender politics of this world allow women to inherit titles and fight Phantoms, yet they have little agency to act on their own behalf without entering into advantageous, heteronormative marriages, an aspect of the fantasy world that readers may find confusing. Primary characters read white. A page-turner of a fantasy-horror debut from a promising new voice. (guide to manors and ruling families)(Fantasy. 13-18)

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September 1, 2024
Grades 9-12 Twelve families make up the ruling class of a dystopian Regency England, due to their immunity to a deadly fog surrounding the country; common people who enter the fog are either killed by the zombie-like monsters within or become monsters themselves. Merrick Darling, daughter of the Manor Lord of Sussex, returns home for her father's funeral while her older sister, Essie, prepares to take over their father's responsibilities. Essie is nervous and fretful, telling Merrick that the beacons staving off the fog have been going out and more of the monsters are crossing into the land. Merrick is launched into a world of intrigue and power-grabbing among the manor lords, leading to a shocking revelation about her father and her family. Gregovic develops her plot carefully, with rich, precise language that reads with the economy of poetry. Her characters are multifaceted and reveal themselves gradually as the story unfolds. This engrossing debut novel grabs one's attention with the first sentence and holds onto it until the end.

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September 1, 2024

Gr 8 Up-A supernatural twist on Regency-era romances. Merrick, the younger Archdaughter of Norland House who fled to New London to find a husband, returns home after the death of her father. A member of the elite Manor Lord families, Merrick is immune to the poisonous mist that plagues the country and turns others into phantoms. However, she'll never hold true power as a Manor Lord; that honor will go to her older sister Essie, but things are not right at Norland House. Essie seems haunted, there have been breaches on the border, and Merrick doesn't know whom to trust. Inspired by Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, Gregovic's debut interweaves a story about sisters and social manners with a supernatural mystery. Readers who enjoy detailed worldbuilding will sink their teeth into the story. However, some readers may find the pacing slow and characters bland. At times, it takes Merrick too long to figure out the mystery, which can make the twists predictable to readers. VERDICT An interesting twist on Regency-era romances that is recommended for fans of YA Gothic romance authors such as Dana Schwartz and Erin A. Craig.-Kaetlyn Phillips

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