This Monster of Mine by Shalini Abeysekara
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Summary from GoodReads
She knows the taste of death. He'll stoke her hunger for it.
Eighteen-year-old Sarai doesn't know why someone tried to kill her four years ago, but she does know that her case was closed without justice. Hellbent on vengeance, she returns to the scene of the crime as a Petitor, a prosecutor who can magically detect lies, and is assigned to work with Tetrarch Kadra. Ice-cold and perennially sadistic, Kadra is the most vicious of the four judges who rule the land - and the prime suspect in a string of deaths identical to Sarai's attempted murder.
Certain of his guilt, Sarai begins a double life: solving cases with Kadra by day and plotting his ruin by night. But Kadra is charming and there's something alluring about the wrath he wields against the city's corruption. So when the evidence she finds embroils her in a deadly political battle, Sarai must also fight against her attraction to Kadra - because despite his growing hold on her heart, his voice matches the only memory she has of her assailant...
A dazzling Ancient Rome-inspired romantasy debut, This Monster of Mine is a bloodbath of manipulation, deception, and forbidden love.
BUY ON
REVIEW
I keep trying to wrap my head around why no one is speaking more about this book. A Roman-inspired world filled with magic, political intrigue, murder mystery, and a forbidden romance?
Sarai's story is one of vengeance. Armed with the knowledge that someone tried and almost succeeded in killing her, she travels to the capital armed with her magic as a Petitor, capable of sensing lies, and remembering only a voice that was there the day she was killed.
What she finds is a web of intricate politics between the Tetrarchs, the ruling body of judges, and when she is assigned to work for Kadra she realizes that he was the voice she had heard that night four years ago.
As Sarai tries to discover the truth, she has to keep her story hidden from those around her, as well as one more secret that haunts her body and soul.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book; it was a great book filled with equal amounts of action, mystery, and romance. Sarai's and Kadra's story was very, very interesting, and I really want to read more about them. Plus, some side characters were good, others not so, but in the end, the final chapters were those that captivated me.
Definitely recommended!
About the author:
Shalini Abeysekara (she/her/hers) is the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of This Monster of Mine. As a former corporate lawyer, she enjoys using fantasy to interrogate reality, exploring monstrosity—perceived and real—and centering neurodivergent women of colour reckoning with themselves and their place in a world that tells them they’re too much and not enough. She is passionate about demystifying traditional publishing for all writers. When not writing, she games her life away and tries to make the perfect entremet. Most days though, she can’t believe she's an adult, and hope you don’t either.
Her debut dark fantasy romance, This Monster of Mine, is an Ancient Rome-inspired bloodbath of manipulation, deception, and forbidden love. A second novel will follow in 2026.
Follow her @shalini.writes on IG/Tiktok to be the first to hear about promotions and more!
No comments