Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Monster, Monarch, Maiden by Rae Carson Narrator: Bailey Carr
on August 25, 2026
Genres: Fantasy Romance
Pages: 480
Length: 13 hours, 15 minutes
Format: Audiobook, eARC
Source: NetGalley
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Bria Angarsold isn’t supposed to be a hero. She’s just a mountain girl. A mountain girl with a near useless Gift, living an idyllic life with her sister and her parents, running the family’s thriving inn. But then the raiders come, and Bria’s family is destroyed.
One of the last survivors of the raid, Bria isn’t sure she’ll live to see where the captors are taking her. Until the caravan crosses paths with a mysterious traveler and Bria’s luck changes again.
With no family or home to return to, Bria swears her life to this moody, secretive young man. Titus has been chosen to complete a perilous quest—one that will make Bria question everything she’s ever believed, from the magic that weaves through their world to the very gods themselves. As the journey unfolds, Bria realizes she has something—someone—new to believe in. She’d follow Titus to the Edge of the World, sworn oath or not, even if neither of them stands a chance at returning from it.
Rae Carson is one of those authors I have loved over the years, that not nearly enough readers have experienced yet. She does young adult so well, with strong smart heroines, great interesting and original plots, and romances that feel real instead of insta love or lust mistaken for love. Monster Monarch Maiden is a standalone YA fantasy that may have a chosen one trope but the main character is not the chosen one for a change.
Bria Angarsold, the single PoV for the story, came from a small village where she ran an inn with her parents and sister. When we first meet Bria, she is locked in a cage after being stolen from her small village by raiders. Stuck with almost no hope, she has to stare at her sister’s corpse as they travel to the mine where she will be imprisoned. That is until a stranger sees the slaver caravan and ends up changing the coarse of Bria’s life forever.
Titus is grumpy, barely uses any words and doesn’t seem to want any company on whatever the quest is he is on. But Bria is a girl from the highlands and knows what it is going to take to survive and potentially get home. She’ll need someone to help protect her while she heals; she needs him. Bria is smart, resourceful and seemed to understand people. For so long, she believed her gift was useless. Titus is able to see the true potential of it and of Bria. As they travel together, watching each others’ backs something akin to friendship and then to love starts to blossom.
I think one of the best things about this story was that even though they were traveling for much of the journey, I was never board as there was a new discovery or danger around every corner. Titus takes a little time to warm up to, but I understood why he was so standoffish in the beginning of the story. Bria was so easy to like. She was just a simple country girl whose life was ripped apart trying to get back to see if she could salvage anything from her home. She had just lost so much, but she was determined to move forward and help the stranger she just met in any way she could.
Monster Monarch Maiden is a story full of lore, gods, monsters and a very cool premise. There were so many moments in this book I enjoyed. The smart plot for why so many raiding parties were coming through and why all the tension between cities. Along with the greater quest that Titus was in a hurry to complete. All of it wove together well. My one and only complaint is that having a single PoV limited how much the reader could experience towards the end of the story as some key things happened off page when Bria wasn’t there. It is a small complaint and I remain extremely happy with the conclusion to the story.
If you haven’t read Rae Carson before, this is a great intro since it is stand alone and you can see if you enjoy her style. She is one of the few YA authors I continue to read.
Narration:
Performance: ★★★★
Character Separation: ★★★★
Diction: ★★★★★
Pacing/Flow: ★★★★
Sound Effects: None
Bailey Carr has a lot of books under her belt, however I have only listened to one other short story narrated by her. She has a strong voice and carries the single PoV narration well, capturing the age and heart of the Bria. She had good character separation as I always knew who was talking. She did the male voices well but didn’t seem to have a deep register to draw on to capture Titus as I imagined him. I liked how well she did with some of the words that made this seem a little nordic or reminiscent of vikings. There were some fun words to play around with. Overall a solid and enjoyable performance from Carr.
Listen to a clip: HERE
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Why haven’t I heard of this author?! This sounds fantastic. I love an interesting take on the chosen one trope. Great review!
I loved some of her other stuff so it was an easy pick up for me
“story full of lore, gods, monsters and a very cool premise. ” HOW COOL!!!
Yes…such strong writing.
Beautiful cover, and also an author I have loved her books so will have to check it out. Great review!
The Girl of Fire and Thorns is one of my favorite YA series ever.