Because the enemy of my enemy is ACTUALLY my friend.
Song Vibe Check:
"Assassin" By: Au/Ra
"Wildest Dreams (Taylor's Version)" By: Taylor Swift
"Power is Power" By: The Weeknd, SZA and Kendrick Lamar
In every story, there is always a hero and a monster to be killed. But, in reality, when the lines between good and evil are blurred, who deserves to be dead in the end?
I will admit that I was quite surprised when I first started reading since the story settles in London and follows our Asian protagonist who shares roots from Malaysia. I guess my surprise was mostly because it sounded like a bleak tale at the beginning and it only captured my interest once she gets lost during her way to her date. Joan appears as an ordinary girl who was told she was a monster by her granny who sounds super unhinged (just saying!) and has pre-date nerves as her family teases the hell out of her.
Of course, we chuckle because her being a monster can't be true, right? She has a wacky vintage family that wears outfits from different eras and she loves history and has a crush on her coworker who also enjoys history? It's about as normal as you would expect, but as you can guess... that's about where the familiarity of the story ends.
What happens afterwards is a crazy, beautiful and wildly crafted story that does an excellent job blurring the good and evil that BOTH hero and monster carry.
Short summary: Girl who can steal time is in love with a guy who wants her dead so she gets away with another guy who doesn't like her as they steal time and do crimes.
Longer summary? Joan Cheng Hunt is a Monster. Not like the creepy, gnarly creatures that scare children at night but the kind of people who have the ability to steal time from humans. Of course, she doesn't truly understand the implications until she accidentally steals time and gets captured along with her crush Nick by another family of Monsters called the Olivers. (Remember the name because they're pretty important) Now, when she tries to save her crush from getting killed, she discovers the hidden secret of Nick:
He is a Monster Hunter who kills people like her. He gives her a warning that there will be a massacre to kill all the monsters (including her family) and as she pleads, the man literally pillages and murders her family. She flees and bumps into Aaron Oliver who is supposed to be the heir to family (Sir can run me over literally with his super posh language, like I was imagining his accent every time he spoke in the book) And from there, the two team up to commit some crimes and time travel while trying not to develop feelings for each other because that's where it all gets even messier.
And in the end, time can be cruel to those you love.
I really enjoyed this book and found elements of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and the Stolen Time trilogy which totally disproved the whole quote in the front of the book that says it was Super Unique. Because it isn't really, but it twists a tale that inevitably leaves you questioning your own morality. I appreciate the fact that the current majority of my favorite reads of the year are falling heavily with Asian Authors this year because as I mentioned in my last review... THEY HAVE BEEN SERVING THE GOODS.
Now, if this review hasn't convinced you to read it yet, the bright side is that the ending will give you some peace and the wait for the next book won't feel super agonizing like other books I have read this year.
Overall: 5/5 stars.
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