A Mastery of Monsters

Written by Liselle Sambury

Narrated by Angel Pean

Two starred reviews!

Ninth House meets Legendborn in this “bold and bloody” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) first book in a dark academia fantasy series about a teen who’s willing to do anything to find her brother—even infiltrate a secret society full of monsters and magical creatures.

When August’s brother disappears before his sophomore semester, everyone thinks the stress of college got to him. But August knows her brother would never have left her voluntarily, especially not after their mother so recently went missing.

The only clue he left behind was a note telling her to stay safe and protect their remaining family. And after August is attacked by a ten-foot-tall monster with fur and claws, she realizes that her brother might be in more danger than she could have imagined.

Unfortunately for her, the only person with a connection to the mysterious creature is the bookish Virgil Hawthorne…and he knows about them because he is one. If he doesn’t find a partner to help control his true nature, he’ll lose his humanity and become a mindless beast—exactly what the secret society he’s grown up in would love to put down.

Virgil makes a proposition: August will join his society and partner with him, and in return, he’ll help her find her brother. And so August is plunged into a deadly competition to win one of the few coveted candidate spots, all while trying to accept a frightening reality: that monsters are real, and she has to learn to master them if she’s to have any hope of saving her brother.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Jul 29, 2025
• ISBN: 9781668138984

Liselle Sambury

Liselle Sambury is a Trinidadian Canadian author and Governor General’s Literary Awards Finalist. She has a love for stories with dark themes, complicated families, and edges of hope. In her free time, she shares helpful tips for upcoming writers and details of her publishing journey through a YouTube channel dedicated to demystifying the business of being an author.

Reviews for A Mastery of Monsters

[Emanuel Matz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I think there was definitely some communication with the characters that could have gone much differently. But I needed to remember that it is about children navigating a society that applies unfair rules, so it makes sense that people weren't that communicative.

Otherwise this book was an amazing read just like the rest of the author's novels. This one hit home and a lot of different ways for me and a lot of different moments I was in tears. Definitely has somebody who struggled with an eating disorder and familial alienation.

This book is 100% worth of the read as are frankly all of this authors novels. Especially blood like magic, and blood like fate..