Their Monstrous Hearts by. Yiğit Turhan | ARC Review – Past Midnight Book Reviews & More

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Their Monstrous Hearts

Author: Yiğit Turhan

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 320

Publication Date: 4/8/25

Publisher: MIRA

Categories: Mystery, Gothic, Contemporary, Horror

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

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

A haunting novel about the boundaries people will cross to keep their dreams alive.

A mysterious stranger shows up at Riccardo’s apartment with some news: his grandmother Perihan has died, and Riccardo has inherited her villa in Milan along with her famed butterfly collection.

The struggling writer is out of options. He’s hoping the change of scenery in Milan will inspire him, and maybe there will be some money to keep him afloat. But Perihan’s house isn’t as opulent as he remembers. The butterflies pinned in their glass cases seem more ominous than artful. Perihan’s group of mysterious old friends is constantly lurking. And there’s something wrong in the greenhouse.

As Riccardo explores the decrepit estate, he stumbles upon Perihan’s diary, which might hold the key to her mysterious death. Or at least give him the inspiration he needs to finish his manuscript.

But he might not survive long enough to write it.

Content Warning: body horror, death, murder, insect horror

+ I almost DNF’d this at 30% – it is so slow of a mystery and yet I was intrigued by Riccardo who is a struggling and poor writer who is on a tight deadline with no manuscript to show for it. His grandmother passes, and leaves him her home in Milan, Italy. With no money and too much stress, he goes thinking he can write while he is there but instead he finds a manuscript written by his grandmother, Perihan.

+ I did find Perihan’s manuscript interesting because of the time it’s written in the past and also she is from Turkey. Her life is hard from the start but it takes her to Milan where life really flourishes for her. I couldn’t tell at first if she was a good person or not. Riccardo is doing no writing but he is reading this manuscript and learning a lot about his grandmother’s life.

+ The horror and the twist comes at the end. It’s a crazy ending! But if you don’t like monstrous butterflies, stay away from this one.

~ Like I said above, this was almost a DNF. I didn’t though and skimmed until 70% into the book where everything starts picking up. I’m already not one who enjoys mystery books, and I struggled because this one is a slow one, but I just wanted something to happen in the first half with Riccardo either staring to right his book or some horror at the start. But this is a slow building horror story that ends with a bang.

Final Thoughts:

I don’t think I was the target audience for this book. For me, it was too slow for the first two-thirds of this book. I did find the characters and Perihan’s life very fascinating and the ending is wild. If you like slow building mystery and horror then you might enjoy this one.

I was on the Blog Tour so read a book excerpt here: https://pastmidnights.com/?p=31590