Release Date: January 11th, 2022

Genre(s): Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal

Publisher: Clarion Books

Pages: 448

Rating:⭐️⭐️.5

Thank you to Clarion Books and Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis

In this thrilling conclusion to New York Times best-selling authors Kass Morgan and Danielle Paige’s The Ravens, the sorority witches are tested when a rival threatens to usurp their place on campus and the forces of hell come knocking on their door.

The sorority girls at Kappa Rho Nu—the Ravens—are determined to restore balance to the world. After destroying an ancient talisman and barely saving their sorority in the process, they’ll go to any lengths to keep their secret as Westerly’s most powerful coven of witches.

Scarlett Winter, a legacy Raven, has finally gotten what she’s always wanted: the Kappa Rho Nu presidency. After the disaster that killed the sorority’s last president, Scarlett is determined that no sister will fall under the sway of wicked magic ever again. But the powers of the presidency have their own pitfalls—and Scarlett has big shoes to fill.

Vivi Devereaux, a freshman, finally knows what it feels like to belong. For the first time ever, she’s got it all: her Kappa Rho Nu sisters and a sweet (and hot) boyfriend. When Scarlett assigns Vivi the coveted role of social chair, Vivi is determined to live up to her Big’s expectations—even if that means dabbling in a new form of magic.

Unbeknownst to the Ravens, new rivals and ancient evils lurk on Westerly’s campus. With Kappa Rho Nu’s future on their shoulders and their pasts still haunting them, will Scarlett and Vivi be able to save their sisterhood once again?

Review

After reading The Ravens, I was looking forward to returning to the witchy sorority and the atmospheric setting that came with the first book. Unfortunately, The Monarchs didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the miscommunication happening in the first book, but after what the Kappas went through, I thought this would have been kept to a minimum. Instead, this book was a series of miscommunications, hiding secrets about things that should have been shared, and ultimately a lot of bad decisions. The most bizarre part of this to me is how Scarlett and Vivi decided not to tell their parents anything (or at least with any persistence), which is an understandable thing to do, but after so many instances of people hiding things and not telling the truth it was just getting old.

I also felt like the Kappas were less likable in The Monarchs than in The Ravens. The whole plot of them competing with the other sorority to reclaim their status felt superficial, and I found myself really not caring or rooting for them despite their situation. I also felt that this book could have been a great opportunity to develop the main characters further (especially Scarlett, who is struggling to find confidence in her new leadership role), but we don’t see as much of this aside from the ending.

All in all, I prefer The Ravens over The Monarchs. While this book did have some remnants of the previous book that I enjoyed (the setting mainly), I felt like there was so much more that could have been done in terms of plot and character development.

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