



The Monstrous Kind
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
An atmospheric, haunting, romantasy inspired by Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, set in Regency era England about two sisters fighting to hold on to their manor while deadly monsters prowl along its perimeters—perfect for fans of House of Salt and Sorrows and Anatomy: A Love Story.
Merrick Darling’s life as daughter of the Manor Lord of Sussex is better than most. Unlike the commoners, she is immune to the toxic fog that encroached on England generations earlier. She will never become a Phantom—one of the monstrous creatures that stalk her province’s borders—and as long as the fires burn to hold them back, her safety is ensured. She wants for nothing, yet she will never inherit her family’s Manor. She must marry smartly or live at the kindness of her elder sister, Essie.
Everything is turned on its head, though, when Merrick’s father dies suddenly. Torn from her New London society life of ball gowns and parties, Merrick must travel back to her childhood home, the Darling estate of Norland House, and what she finds there is bewildering. Once strong and capable, Essie is withdrawn and frightened—and with good cause. A recent string of attacks along the province’s borders has turned their formerly bucolic countryside into a terrifying and unpredictable landscape. The fog is closing in and the fires aren’t holding, which makes Merrick and Essie vulnerable in more ways than one. Because the Phantoms are far from the only monsters in Merrick’s world, and the other eleven Manor Lords are always watching for weakness.
Revealing her and her sister’s current state to the rest of the Manors is out of the question, but when Essie goes missing, it’s clear that Merrick needs help. Only, who can she trust when everyone seems to be scheming, and when all she holds true feels like it’s slipping right out of her grasp?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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.