I loved Robert Dinsdale’s The Toymakers, but I really struggled with the pace of his latest novel, Once a Monster. The PoV changes were fine, switching between Nell and Minos, and a few other characters along the way, but the prose really could’ve done with a trim. Every thought was laboured, every plot point discussed to death, and I found myself skimming pages to get to the next scene! The ending too could of used some love – it felt rushed and too eager to wrap up lose ends. Still, it was better than a 3, so marking it a 4.
Book kindly supplied by Netgalley for an honest review.
See review on Goodreads.