Book Review: “A Mastery of Monsters” by Liselle Sambury

“A Mastery of Monsters” by Liselle Sambury (2025)

Genre: Fantasy, YA, Dark Academia, Fiction

Page Length: 592 pages (paperback review edition)

Synopsis:

When August’s brother disappears before his sophomore semester, everyone thinks the stress of college got to him. But August knows her brother would never have left her voluntarily, especially not after their mother so recently went missing.

The only clue he left behind was a note telling her to stay safe and protect their remaining family. And after August is attacked by a ten-foot-tall creature with fur and claws, she realizes that her brother might be in more danger than she could have imagined.

Unfortunately for her, the only person with a connection to the mysterious creature is the bookish Virgil Hawthorne…and he knows about them because he is one. If he doesn’t find a partner to help control his true nature, he’ll lose his humanity and become a mindless beast—exactly what the secret society he’s grown up in would love to put down.

Virgil makes a proposition: August will join his society and partner with him, and in return, he’ll help her find her brother. And so August is plunged into a deadly competition to win one of the few coveted candidate spots, all while trying to accept a frightening reality: that monsters are real, and she has to learn to master them if she’s to have any hope of saving her brother.

Review:

A Mastery of Monsters is a thrilling start to a brand-new series that promises:

• Dark Academia Vibes
• Beastly Monsters
• A Secret Society
• A Centuries-Old Mystery

Usually, I don’t gravitate toward Dark Academia-style stories that much, but something about the synopsis of this fantasy novel grabbed my instant attention. I’m so glad I got the opportunity to read this story, and I’m eagerly (and impatiently) waiting for the next installment in the series.

Sambury does an amazing job of setting up the world-building and creating this space that exists beyond the realms of everyday society. I loved the attention to detail from the intricacies of the society August becomes involved with, and how we learn about it through her eyes (of an outsider). It was interesting to learn about the connection between humans and monsters, while the story is also an allegory/commentary on race and socio-economic differences. It takes August, our snarky heroine of the story, to shake things up and truly have these members hold a mirror up to faults within their elitist society. I think going forward for this series, I think it would be helpful to have a character chart, or diagram of all the factions to refer to, since the universe is so large.

This is a long read, but it is fast-paced. I think at times the novel packs a lot of information into the first novel, and some of the content could have been cut and put into book two. It is a lot to digest at once, but the concise nature of Sambury’s writing made it easy for things to grasp. While this is a fantasy story, I feel like at its core it’s a narrative about overcoming trauma, self-discovery, and finding purpose. August has struggled for most of her life and feels like she is alone despite living with some of her family. Through meeting Virgil and the rest of her newfound friends, it helps her to be motivated to fight for something and to stop moving through life listlessly. Her start to her journey of growth is rewarding to watch, and I’m looking forward to seeing how her story progresses.

This is an incredibly rich story full of suspense, action-packed scenes, fantasy elements that will surprise the reader, and a highly immersive world to get lost in. I was excited to read every new chapter! The epilogue leaves a promising and interesting cliffhanger that will leave the reader wanting more. This is a Dark Academia novel that offers supernatural thrills and chills, while also adding a fresh story to the sub-genre as a whole.

*Trigger Warnings: Death, Violence, Bullying, Racism, Fatphobia

Final Verdict:

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.