Week 32 Review: House of the Beast

From Goodreads:

Step into the House of the Beast in this stunning dark fantasy debut from The Legend of Korra graphic novel illustrator Michelle Wong, about a young woman who strikes a deal with a mysterious and alluring god to seek revenge on her aristocratic family—featuring gorgeous black-and-white illustrations throughout by the author.

Born out of wedlock and shunned by society, Alma learned to make her peace with solitude, so long as she had her mother by her side. When her mother becomes gravely ill, Alma discovers a clue about her estranged father and writes a message begging for help. Little does she know that she is a bastard of House Avera, one of the four noble families that serve the gods and are imbued with their powers—and her father is a vessel of the Dread Beast, the most frightening god of all, a harbinger of death.

In a desperate exchange for her mother's medicine, Alma agrees to sacrifice her left arm to the Beast in a ceremony that will bind her forever to the House and its deity. Regardless, her mother soon passes, leaving Alma trapped inside the Avera's grand estate, despised by her relatives and nothing but a pawn in her father's schemes.

Now vengeance is the only thing that keeps Alma going. That, and the strange connection she has with her god—a monster who is constantly by her side, an eldritch being taking the form of a beautiful prince with starlit hair that only she can see. He tells Alma that she has been chosen to bring change upon their world, and with his help, Alma plots a perilous journey to destroy the House that stole everything from her.

A gripping fantasy novel marked by divine rituals, intense combat, and twisted romance, House of the Beast is a tale of revenge, resilience, and the power of love to see us through the darkness.

My Review:
I had such a great time reading this book! The synopsis sounded so epic, and I really enjoyed reading Alma story of her need for vengeance, for how her and her mom were treated by her father and his family. Set in this world with gods and powers, just upped the ante.

Alma is angry. We really get to see the most important parts of her childhood to the story, of her mom, and her arrangement with her dad, losing her arm, and the restarting of her relationship with Aster, her monster god, and the start of her need for revenge. Which was a good chunk of the book, before we jump forward 7 years, right before she can kick off the plan she's been working on for that long, working on her skills to get vengeance. Thought it does mean they don't actually get into the full execution of her plan until well over halfway, though she does the opening moves to set up for her plan in that time.

This world and its history, and how they've gotten to this point, was really interesting. It was mainly in the background, a detail here and there. But as the story went on and it's importance came to the forfront, as being why things were happening like they were.

That ending though, with those reveals? Yeah, that was pretty epic, and it just kept going and going, and just was so well done! It was shocking just how far it went, and how complicated it was. I do wish it could've had a bit of a happier ending, but it was pretty good, how it resolved. I'm just more of a HEA kind of gal.

Loved reading this book so much, and I can't wait to read more by Michelle Wong! 

Author: Michelle Wong 
Read: August 5th, 2025 
Source: NetGalley 
Reason Why: Sounded really great, and it's a DAC Book and a SAC 2025 Book! 
Publisher: Harper Audio Adult
Published:August 5th 2025

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars