e-ALC, 19:05:36
Narrated by: Angel Pean & Sandra Okuboyejo
Release Date: August 4, 2026
Published by: Simon & Schuster Audio
Read from: August 4-6, 2026
A Mastery of Monsters, #2
Source: Libro FM (I received this ALC from the publisher and Libro FM. This did nothing to influence my review.)
Content Warning: Death of a Parent, Violence, Child Death, Drug Use, Gore, Alcohol, Fatphobia, Eating Disorder, Sexual Content
For Readers of: Audio, Body Diversity, Contemporary, Fantasy, Fat Leads, Sparkly Cover, Most Anticipated, Own Voices, Racial/Ethnic Diversity, So Good I Read the Acknowledgements, YAThe thrilling sequel to A Mastery of Monsters, following the fiercely determined eighteen-year-old August Black as she infiltrates a secret society hiding the frightening reality that monsters are real, while unraveling the mystery behind her brother’s disappearance.
August risked everything to find her brother, joining a deadly secret society protecting the chilling truth that monsters are very, very real. She thought when she found him that she would leave the society behind.
Instead, she fought and bled to bond herself to a Monster for life.
Now, despite her efforts to stay unattached, her connection to her Monster partner, Virgil, continues to grow. She can’t stop replaying the memory of their forbidden kiss that Virgil wants to pretend never happened.
Their strained bond is put to the test as they prepare for the Monster’s Ball, a brutal tournament where pairs battle for the coveted title of Master. But despite the danger of the contest, August is consumed with finding her mom’s killer and getting revenge. Her vendetta leads to her accidentally form a rare second bond with Nolan, a Wild Monster who wants nothing to do with her. And if the three of them can’t work together, they’ll be kicked out of the tournament before it even begins.
But August can’t pull her focus away from revenge—even if it means becoming the worst sort of monster herself. She believes that vengeance will cure her grief, but it may just be the thing that breaks her bonds for good.
*MY THOUGHTS*
Man I was on pins and needles waiting on this book. The publisher said they would send me a copy so I waited to read it. But then it never came, so I just picked up the audio LOL I wasn’t waiting anymore. I couldn’t. So I just got to it. And as soon as I finished it, my copy came the next day LOL
Ok so the main character still got on my nerves lol She was always guns blazing and didn’t listen to anyone. And of course that got her in trouble in more ways than one. And the biggest one was the one that got them a 3rd LMAO I won’t say more because I don’t want to give spoilers But man, yeah that was crazy. I think I bit all my nails off at that point. I think the craziest part of this was the way they were all different but all came together as one.
The plot and pacing of this was crazy af. I wasn’t ready for all that happened. The Monster’s Ball and the tournament had me pacing back and forth. I really need to start reading the synopsis of books because I was not prepared lol This book had me stressed. But even with the tournament and everything that happened, she was still mostly trying to figure out who killed her mother. Literally everything she did was to try to get closer to the person who she thought did it. And let me tell you, that made her so reckless. Because Lo and behold things can go wrong.
The monsters and Masters in this are still so damn cool. I keep thinking of what I would be if I was a Monster or how I would act if I was a Master. This part of the book was so good. I’m not sure what in the world is going on in Sambury’s brain to create these things, but I love it lol I found myself really listening to the descriptions of the monsters and really trying to see what they looked like. Sambury was really descriptive tho so it was she made it easy. I love her writing style.
And the ending of this? My god. There is so much shit that happens during the last like 100 pages. I added another 100 pages to this book because I had to read them twice lol It got so crazy! By the ending I legit YELLED. I was like WTF lol My mind was blown. So now, how tf am I supposed to wait for this next book?! This was one of those stare at the wall for a while plot twists, so Idk what tf I’m supposed to do until the next one. This is going to be torture.
Book 3 is going to be my most anticipated read of 2027 lol Because I need to know what happened. And I need to know what new kind of monsters we’ll get and what kind of masters they’ll bring. Basically I need to know all the things lol So just give it to me now!
Overall, I give this
