Review: Of Monsters and Madness by Jessica Verday

Title: Of Monsters and Madness
Author: Jessica Verday
Series: Of Monsters and Madness #1
Publication: September 9th 2014 by EgmontUSA
Genre: Young Adult ~ Historical Fiction ~ Horror 
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Kobo
Rating: 1/5

Review copy provided in exchange for an honest review.

A romantic, historical retelling of classic Gothic horror featuring Edgar Allan Poe and his character Annabel Lee, from a New York Times best-selling author.

Summoned to her father's home in 1820's Philadelphia, a girl finds herself in the midst of a rash of gruesome murders in which he might be implicated. She is torn romantically between her father's assistants-one kind and proper, one mysterious and brooding-who share a dark secret and may have more to do with the violent events than they're letting on.

It pains me to say this but Of Monsters and Madness was awful. There were many moments that I have considered giving up on it but I'm not one of those people who DNF a book quickly. I'm glad I did finish it, though but really... it was so boring.

I'm a huge Edgar Allan Poe fan and on top of that I usually love gothic books. So yeah, you can say I'm disappointed that I didn't like this one at all. Also, I had heard that this book was beautifully written, but I found myself thinking the writing was rather plain, not the mention the characters drove me nuts and the plot wasn't anything special.

Annabel was a colorless and uninteresting character. She was whiny, naive and just plain dull. Oh and let's not forget about the insta-love. It was the worst. Allan wasn't even that interesting and yet Annabel seemed to be infatuated with him so badly. There was no chemistry whatsoever between them. I also didn't get the Poe connections aside from using the names Annabel Lee, Edgar and Allan. 

There was no characters development whatsoever. Especially the romance was horrible. Everything in between the beginning and the end was a lot of bla-bla-bla and nothing happened at all. Also the secondary characters seemed pointless. I guess I kind of liked Annabel's grandfather a.k.a. grandpere. But it seemed he was only in the story for Annabel to have someone in her family who actually loves her. And her father? Was a jerk. Through most of the story he barely acknowledges her excistence and at the end he suddenly says that he's always loved her? Right. It does not make sense at all.

The only possitive thing was the prologue. That seemed interesting enough so I had hoped that it would be a great book, but then it went all downhill fast, unfortunately. And it ended in a cliffhanger, so there will be more of this story. I'm not sure if I want to read it. 

Overall, Of Monsters and Madness was a big fail for me. I didn't like the characters, story or even the way it was written. It was one big snoozefest. 

About the Author:

Website

Jessica Verday is the New York Times best-selling author of The Hollow trilogy and the forthcoming Of Monsters and Madness series. Her short stories have been featured in The First Time anthology, which she co-edited, and Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions. She believes a shoe isn't a shoe unless it has a three-inch heel, and nothing beats a great pair of boots. When not daydreaming about moving into a library of her own, she can be found working on her next story, redecorating her office, or buying vintage furniture.