
Monstrous Heart - The Deepwater Trilogy Book 1 (Hardback)
Claire McKenna (author)Published: 02/04/2020
A sensational debut novel: gothic, romantic gaslamp fantasy at it's very best. A magical tale of intrigue on dangerous waters and a love story for the ages. Perfect for fans of V.E. Schwab and China Mieville
Arden Beacon arrives in the salt-swept port of Vigil with a job to do. Tasked with using the magic in her blood to keep the lighthouse burning, she needs to prove herself worthy of her family name and her ancestors' profession.
But the coastline Arden must keep alight - battered by a sea teeming with colossal, ancient beasts - is far from the cultured, urban world she knows. It is a place of secrets, rumours and tight-lipped expectations of a woman's place. More than anyone, the town folk whisper about Arden's neighbour, Jonah Riven, the hunter of leviathans. They say he murdered his wife. They say he is as much a monster as his prey.
Amidst all her determination and homesickness Arden cannot get this shadowy stranger out of her head. A plot swirls around the lighthouse keeper, the hunter and the authorities. Arden must make sense of these dark waters - before they wash her away.
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 9780008337124
Number of pages: 384
Weight: 600 g
Dimensions: 240 x 159 x 35 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'A wonderfully tortured and emotional mystery'
SFX
'A beautiful lighthouse keeper whose blood keeps the lamp alight; a Heathcliffian kraken-skinner living on the next door headland who may or may not have murdered his wife; a complex, steampunk world of eugenically determined magicians ... what's not to like?'
Daily Mail
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“It was a decent love story but quite a confusing novel when it came to world-building”
2.5/5
This was, unfortunately, quite a confusing novel when it came to worldbuilding. There's no explanation of countries, the world, or the layout of anything, and it took me over ten percent into it, to figure...
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“A gothic sea romance”
This is an excellent debut, and I’m going to be keeping an eye out for Claire’s next books.
It’s quite a dark book, romantic, magic and atmospheric. I don’t do well with “blood”, so I did have to skip one section,...
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“Gothic romantic fantasy with a Bronte vibe”
I appear to be in the minority but I rather loved this gothic romantic historical-feel fantasy. There are lighthouses lit by magical flames, prehistoric sea creatures still populating the oceans, mysterious islands... More
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