The Monstrous Misses Mai by Van Hoang ~ Review

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.

Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Historical Fiction, Thriller, Magical Realism, Witches, Historical Fantasy

Preorder Your Copy: Amazon |  Goodreads

Wow! This book was fascinating, magical, emotional, and at times… grotesque.

Swept up in the mystery and excitement of possibility, these roommates found themselves dabbling in a dark magic far more powerful than they knew. Wishes started coming true, dreams became reality, and then those dreams turned into nightmares. Seriously, it was the stuff of night sweats and lingering chills. 😳 Getting what you wish for always comes with a price, and these girls found themselves diving headfirst into something that was much bigger than wishes granted and cost way more than they bargained for.

I liked that there wasn’t really a character you loved to hate. I found myself rooting for all of them in a story where basically everyone needed to learn something about themselves. I’m a sucker for a good coming of age story, and some characters achieved that, while others… well, they didn’t. 🙈

If you like magical drama with a dark side, definitely read this book!

Van Hoang’s first name is pronounced like the van in minivan. Her last name is pronounced “hah-wawng.” She earned her bachelor’s in English at the University of New Mexico and her master’s in library information science at San Jose State University. She was born in Vietnam, grew in up Orange County, California, and now resides in Los Angeles with her husband, kid, and two dogs.