The Monstrous Misses Mai: A Novel

Written by Van Hoang

Narrated by Elyse Dinh

A determined young woman in 1950s Los Angeles walks a darker city than she ever imagined in a spellbinding novel about the power to make dreams come true—whatever the sacrifice.

Los Angeles brims with opportunity in 1959—though not for aspiring fashion designer Cordelia Mai Yin, the first-generation child of Vietnamese immigrants, who finds the city unkind to outsiders and as dispirited as her own family. When Cordi rents a cheap loft in an old apartment building, she quickly warms to kindred souls Tessa, Audrey, and Silly. They also want better things and have pasts they’d rather forget. That they all share the same middle name makes their friendship seem like destiny.

As supportive as they are of each other, it’s a struggle just to eke out a living, let alone hope to see their wishes for success come true. Until an ever-present and uncannily charming acquaintance of the landlord’s offers a solution to their problems. He promises to fulfill their every dream. All it takes is a little magic. And a small sacrifice.

As one surprisingly effective spell leads to another, their wishes get bigger. But so does the price they must pay. Amid the damaged seams of her life so far, Cordi must realize her own power in order to rip free, without losing everything she’s worked so hard to achieve.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Apr 1, 2024
• ISBN: 9781501255762

Van Hoang

Van Hoang earned her bachelor’s degree in English at the University of New Mexico and her master’s in Library Information Science at San Jose State University. She is the author of novels for adults and young readers including Girl Giant and the Monkey King, Girl Giant and the Jade War, and Auntie Q's Golden Claws Nail Salon. She was born in Vietnam, grew in up Orange County, California, and now resides in Los Angeles.

Reviews for The Monstrous Misses Mai

[ladycato · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book has an original vibe to it, even though it plays with a familiar trope: selling your soul to the devil. The setting is 1959 in Los Angeles, where Cordi, disowned by her family, begins sharing a place with three other likewise ambitious young women. When a charismatic, helpful guy offers them a magical rite to help them achieve their dreams, they go for it, but they soon find nothing is without a price. There is a terrific sense of dread suspense to the book because the reader can see everything is going to go horribly wrong, yet the women keep careening toward disaster. The end had some nice surprises.

[janarose1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

After an argument with her parents, Cordelia leaves home determined to make it on her own. She finds herself renting an apartment with Tessa, Audrey, and Silly, each who have the middle name of Mai. When their dreams are slow to realize, they turn to magic, casting one spell after another. What they don’t realize is that each spell requires sacrifice, one that may take their very lives.

This book was a bit predictable and the characters were a bit stereotypical. Although this book wasn’t for me, I can see the appeal of the book to young adults or teenagers. Overall, 3 out of 5 stars.