My Boyfriend Is a Monster: A Review

Source: from Goodreads at http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51slhINC9%2BL.jpg

Bethany Farmer's life is a boring high school routine, and she likes it that way. Soccer, coffee, homework, more coffee, and no goofy romance. That is, until foreign exchange student Allein Atwood shows up in her Midwestern town, and her life turns epically weird. Allein has unearthly good looks, princely politeness, and a bunch of goofy, romantic pick-up lines. But is his country really so foreign that they don't know anything about soccer? Or coffee?

To her horror, Bethany is swept off her feet by Allein's spellbinding ways--and then knocked flat by savage creatures set loose into suburbia to hunt Allein down. Suddenly Bethany's normal town is twisted upside down, and nothing is what it seems. Can Bethany rescue her prince of a boyfriend and keep them both alive long enough to go on a second date?

 

My Boyfriend Is a Monster: Under His Spell (#4) by Marie P. Croall, illustrated by Hyeondo Park

Source: NetGalley

Publisher: Graphic Universe/Lerner Publishing, Inc.

Tentative Release Date: October 1, 2011

This book was fun. I feel it was geared towards a younger reading set. If I had a younger cousin, sister, child of a friend who was around 10-13 give or take a few years in either direction, this book would be a complete slam dunk (i.e. fantastic Halloween present (does anyone do that?), birthday present, and "aren't you awesome?, have a book" days. And for those of us that don't fall into that age bracket (ahem, I'm slightly older than that…not that I act it), there were enough funnies to keep us entertained.

Genre: Graphic Novel YA Paranormal Romance. Because, wouldn't it just be fun to see the dark and brooding handsome MMC (main male character), or at least what someone else thinks of when they write about that kind of character? I was thoroughly entertained by how they depicted him, and the character's responses to him at that (but I'll get to that).

The Cover: I like the coloration of the cover more than some of the content of the cover. Park and Croall do interesting things with color (or rather without color), and I would have liked to see them how they are depicted in the non-actions scenes. BUT, I completely understand their choice to go with the action-y version of Allein and Bethany. How great is his name btw? Can I just pause to say, big lols? Okay, I did.

The Plot: The plot seemed pretty straight forward, and I was worried it would even be predictable, but the choices in the characterization of Bethany kept that from happening. The graphic novel manages to make fun of itself and the genre that it's in (YA paranormal romance), and that entertains me (ahem, see my note about the funnies for the older peoples). It has an awareness of itself as being a part of that genre, and Croall has Bethany react to things differently then one may expect.

The Illustration (a necessary review element for a graphic novel): I liked how it was drawn. The color choices, the lack of color choices, really enhanced the book, and frankly, I just dig the way that comics/graphic narratives can convey things with less--less words, less pages, less time, less frames, than most writers really can. Croall and Park handled that well, and I like how they didn't stick to the strict "box frame" style.

The Romantic Element: It's absolutely swoon-worthy for the younger set. No doubt about it.

Carry-on Factor: This was an easy breezy kind of read, but it left a girl power-ish sentiment that would be a positive one for young female readers.

Overall: This wasn't a deep read, and it wasn't supposed to be, but what it does do is entertain. I laughed a bit; I admired the crafting of it; and I liked the against the grain choices they made in the characterization of Bethany. I would call it really perfect for a beginner YA paranormal romancer---feel free to buy it for your youngin's lol.

Now, I know I've played this song on here before, and it's a different kind of paranormal, but it's kind of perfect for the title of this book, "Zombie" by Natalia Kills. "I'm in love with a zombie…does he want me for my body or does he want me for my brain?" Come on. It's freakin' hilariously perfect. 

Also, another reminder for any new readers, old friends, or random stoppers-by-ers, you can still comment on J.L. Campbell's interview with me on The Character Depot and be entered in to win a copy of my book Glittering Ashes. The drawing is tomorrow, so hurry on over, if you'd like! 

Disclaimer: I do not own the picture, blurb, or video used in the making of this blog post. I did not receive compensation for this review, although I do have several Amazon affiliate links within this post.