Review: Of Monsters and Madness by Jessica Verday

Of Monsters and Madness

Author: Jessica Verday
Series: Of Monsters and Madness #1
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Genre: YA Gothic/Horror/Retellings
Format: ebook
Release Date: September 9, 2014
Source: egalley received from publisher via Edelweiss
Rating: 4 Stars
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***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way changed my opinion of the book. The review below is my open and honest opinion.*** 

Synopsis from Goodreads:

A romantic, historical retelling of classic Gothic horror featuring Edgar Allan Poe and his character Annabel Lee, from a New York Times best-selling author.

Summoned to her father's home in 1820's Philadelphia, a girl finds herself in the midst of a rash of gruesome murders in which he might be implicated. She is torn romantically between her father's assistants-one kind and proper, one mysterious and brooding-who share a dark secret and may have more to do with the violent events than they're letting on.

My Review:

Deliciously creepy. Perfectly Poe. This book was pretty awesome. I loved all the mystery surrounding the main character, Annabel’s, father, the lab in the basement, and the string of murders occurring in Philadelphia. It was dark and delicious and I loved every second of it.

Annabel has just lost her mother and has been summoned to live with her father in Philadelphia. After living on an island, pretty primitively for many years, Philly is quite the culture-shock. She doesn’t understand what’s proper and what’s not. Combine that with her grief over losing her mother and her father’s cold indifference towards her and this girl has a lot to deal with.

Annabel’s father is a broken man, driven a bit mad by an illness resulting in a leg injury years ago. He used to be a doctor, but had his license removed when he was practicing “unnatural” medicine. So he has this creepy laboratory in his basement where he does experiments in an attempt to cure his illness. I was so not a fan of her father. He was a complete jerk to Annabel, doesn’t offer her any comfort over losing her mother and is less than welcoming when she arrives. He is constantly making her feel bad and just being an all-around dick.

Enter her father’s assistants: Edgar and Allen. See what the author did there? Tee-hee. Edgar and Allen are complete opposites. One charming and gentlemanly, the other twisted and creepy. Getting to know these two characters was great. I really enjoyed the bit of romance we got between Allen and Annabel. It certainly doesn’t overtake the story, but it was sweet. And even though Edgar was dark and a bit scary, we see little glimpses of good in him that just made me want to know more about him.

Other characters that I loved were Annabel’s grandfather and her maid. Both of them were so sweet and understanding with Annabel. They understood that she had come from a completely different culture and they did their best to help her adjust in whatever way they could.

Overall I really enjoyed the story. There were some crazy twists and turns that I didn’t see coming and certain characters had me guessing throughout the whole story. Are they good or bad? The book definitely had a dark, gothic feel to it that just embodied Poe. One of my favorite things about this was the reference to many different Poe stories. Not only is this a retelling of Annabel Lee, but there were also references to The Telltale Heart and more. If you’re a fan of Edgar Allen Poe, I think you will really enjoy this one. The ending is a bit open, but not to fear, according to EgmontUSA, there WILL be a second one. Happy reading all!  

Have you read this one? What did you think? Are you a Poe fan? What's your favorite Edgar Allen Poe story/poem? Any other Poe retellings I should be reading?