A Mastery of Monsters by Liselle Sambury Series: Mastery of Monsters #1
Published by Simon and Schuster on July 29, 2025
Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Fantasy / Contemporary, Young Adult Fiction / Fantasy / Dark Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction / Thrillers & Suspense / Supernatural
Pages: 592
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781665957366The first book in a dark academia fantasy series about a teen who’s willing to do anything to find her brother—even infiltrate a secret society full of monsters.
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.
I stayed up til 5 am on a work night to finish reading this book it was so good! I was only planning on reading a few chapters before bed, but that obviously didn’t happen.
I am completely engrossed and captivated by the stories Liselle Sambury writes. This is only the second book of hers I’ve read, the first one being Delicious Monsters, and have her other books on my TBR shelf. I’m always here for a good dark academia book and this one blew it out of the water. August is such a captivating character, and I love that she’s such a complicated and flawed character. Most of the characters are also flawed and complicated people, which makes everything seem so real.
The characters aren’t the only captivating aspect of the novel, but the plot itself is so well done. I expected some of what happened (August’s brother being a monster) but not all of it (who was controlling August’s brother and the other wild monster). The way everything came together was so well done, but the last chapter made my jaw drop and need the second book NOW!
Monsters, secret societies, Black main characters! There’s nothing not to love in this book.
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