Club Monstrosity by Jesse Petersen


Monstrosity, Book 1

Synopsis: Natalie’s one of Frankenstein’s creations and works in a New York City morgue. So of course she needs therapy. She and her friends—er, fellow monsters—have formed the world’s most exclusive, most dysfunctional support group. What could go wrong?

Undetected in the modern world and under pressure to stay that way, Natalie Grey, Dracula, Bob the Blob, and others (including the fetching wolfman Alec) meet regularly to talk about the pressures of being infamous in the Big Apple. Topics include how long it’s been since their last sighting, how their “story” creates stereotypes they can’t fulfill, and—gasp—sometimes even their feelings. But when their pervy Invisible Man, Ellis, is killed in a manner reminiscent of the H.G. Wells novel, it’s clear someone’s discovered their existence and is down for some monster busting.

Led by Natalie—and definitely not helped by Hyde’s bloodthirsty tendencies—the members of Monstofelldosis Anonymous band together for security and a little sleuthing. And maybe—maybe—if they don’t end up dead, they’ll end up friends somewhere along the way.


Review: I really enjoyed the “Living with the dead” series by Jesse Petersen, so I immediately wanted to get into this new one when I discovered its existence. I must say that the summary also really intrigued me. Why is that? I admit that I only had to read “ Frankenstein’s creations ” , “Dracula”  and “Hyde” … What an explosive mix would you say? And it is exactly that! I was very surprised to see so many famous people in the same novel, and I was curious to see how they were all able to interact. And I can say that Jesse has managed to write a really nice book.
 
Natalie is one of the many creations by Frankenstein, but does not really accept her condition as “zombie”, a word she hates. She wants more and she would love to live like other people and not have to worry about her condition as “monster.” However, she must be very careful not to reveal herself to humans and therefore she must constantly hide her scars. As she tries to improve her existence, she is part of a small group of people, monsters like her, trying to adapt in the world. They often do some sessions to talk about their concerns and their desires. We meet many other characters like Alex the werewolf who must constantly shave himself as he has fur everywhere; Linda, the woman with green scales who is the most emotional of all the group; and Jekyll and Hyde, I do not think I need to present them. They are perfect, like the characters we know from the books and movies; Drake, the new name of Dracula who is determined to do as he pleases; Kai, the resurrected mummy and even Van Helsing. Convinced? I really enjoyed the presence of these highly colored characters. They are very different but always here to support each other. But when the president of their club, Bob disappears and when the invisible man is found dead, panic sets in, causing the concern of all. But our characters are far from giving up and are determined to understand what’s happening and to find out who is behind it.
   
All the characters are interesting to explore and I must say that there is only one who has irritated me a little and it’s Linda. She is a sensitive young woman who cries at every opportunity and would do anything to solve the problems by themselves. We would love to occasionally shake her so she realizes that life is not perfect. Unlike her, the other characters are very dynamic. Of course, we can only love our true main character, Natalie. This is a young woman who easily hides her emotions and she is strong and courageous as well as very sensitive. We would be able to help her to have her dream life but it is impossible. She will team up with the exasperating and also very charming Alec, in their investigations. They are together a very nice duo and we wondered how their relationship was going to change because I have to say they are very talented for denying their feelings. But their association will allow them to understand the workings of the disappearances and to bring a complicity they never suspected. Kai is for me the most complex character in the novel. Indeed, it is easy to hate her at the beginning of the story by her attitude so arrogant and haughty, but we realize through the chapters that she is much more than that and she only waits for the right moment to reveal herself.
 
 
It was a very good first novel for a series that I will follow now. The plot is really well built and I was surprised by several points throughout the story. If you want to discover or rediscover the legendary characters we know, I recommend this book.

 

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