The Monarchs by. Kass Morgan & Danielle Paige | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Monarchs (The Ravens, #2)

Author: Kass Morgan & Danielle Paige

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 448

Publication Date: 1/11/22

Publisher: Clarion Books

Categories: Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance, Witches, Sorority, College

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Clarion Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

In this thrilling conclusion to New York Times best-selling authors Kass Morgan and Danielle Paige’s The Ravens, the sorority witches are tested when a rival threatens to usurp their place on campus and the forces of hell come knocking on their door.

The sorority girls at Kappa Rho Nu—the Ravens—are determined to restore balance to the world. After destroying an ancient talisman and barely saving their sorority in the process, they’ll go to any lengths to keep their secret as Westerly’s most powerful coven of witches. 

Scarlett Winter, a legacy Raven, has finally gotten what she’s always wanted: the Kappa Rho Nu presidency. After the disaster that killed the sorority’s last president, Scarlett is determined that no sister will fall under the sway of wicked magic ever again. But the powers of the presidency have their own pitfalls—and Scarlett has big shoes to fill. 

Vivi Devereaux, a freshman, finally knows what it feels like to belong. For the first time ever, she’s got it all: her Kappa Rho Nu sisters and a sweet (and hot) boyfriend. When Scarlett assigns Vivi the coveted role of social chair, Vivi is determined to live up to her Big’s expectations—even if that means dabbling in a new form of magic. 

Unbeknownst to the Ravens, new rivals and ancient evils lurk on Westerly’s campus. With Kappa Rho Nu’s future on their shoulders and their pasts still haunting them, will Scarlett and Vivi be able to save their sisterhood once again?

The thing I enjoy about this series is the witchcraft the sisters actually do – by using chants and their magic elements. It feels like the movie, The Craft which was a fun witchy movie. I also like that there was an evil power at work and we didn’t know who it could be, although there are a few suspects. The rival sorority house a good storyline too because the Kappas are pretty private.

I enjoyed the mystery part of the story as the girls try to figure out what or who is attacking them. There is a revelation near the end that I wish would lead into a book three but it seems like this is a duology? But in a sense things were wrapped up conveniently at the end.

Scarlett is now the head of the Kappas but her leadership is being tested on every front. Scarlet’s love life is a mess also, something is going on with Jackson and a new guy, Xavier comes into the picture. Vivi is now social chair and taking on more responsibilities on top of dating Mason but she is overwhelmed with trying to figure out what’s happening to the Kappas.

Content Warning: self harm

The romance storylines didn’t work for me. Jackson doesn’t want anything to do with Scarlett and she’s bummed about it but a new guy comes into the picture, but he’s a bit of a mystery. Vivi and Mason start off strong but things go south when she doesn’t have much time for him. So I didn’t feel anything on the romance front between any of these couples.

Scarlett’s leadership was tested but honestly I felt she was lacking in leading the Kappas. She didn’t have any good plans to figure out what was going on and only relied on Vivi for help. As for Vivi, she should have talked to her Kappa sisters about what she was experiencing and accepted their help but she went and did things on her own. And why is Vivi always getting possessed?! First book one and now this one? It all ended with a person sacrificing their life to save Scarlett, and pretty much everyone on campus and I didn’t like how that went down.

Would have liked to learn more about the witch hunters! Would definitely read a book three.

Why you should read it:

• it’s a series about witches in a sorority
• rival sororities competing with one another
• a mystery as Scarlett and Vivi try to figure out what is attacking them

Why you might not want to read it:

• not into sororities fighting over who gets to throw the spring fling event
• main characters growth wasn’t quite what I expected

My Thoughts:

It took me awhile to get into the story but once I did, I enjoyed the Kappa girls and their witchcraft. I enjoyed seeing the girls use their magic and witchcraft. I felt like Scarlett and Vivi were weak in their own ways and I wish there was more growth to each of their characters. Overall, a pretty good conclusion to a witchy duology but I still think there could be one more book after that ending.

📚 ~ Yolanda