ARC Review--Crucible Zero by Devon Monk

The national bestselling author of Infinity Bell returns to her “fresh and unique” world where the truce between the ruling Houses has shattered and chaos now reigns. Only one woman has the power to save the world—but she could also destroy it...

Matilda Case never thought of herself as a hero. But because she is galvanized—and nearly immortal in her stitched, endlessly healing body—she doesn’t have much of a choice. Even if she doesn’t want to save the world, she’s the only one capable of traveling in time to do so.

But her rescue attempt hasn’t gone as planned. She’s stuck in an alternate universe, and her world is in danger of disappearing. Worst of all, an unfathomably powerful man who can also travel through history doesn’t want her to put things to rights. He’s willing to wage bloody war to stop Matilda, unless she surrenders control of time to him.

Now, with the minutes ticking, Matilda must make impossible decisions, knowing that one wrong choice will destroy her—and any chance of saving everything she loves...

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, I was in no way compensated for this review.


Devon Monk returns to her House Immortal series with what I believe is the final book! If you haven't read the series yet, you're missing out! Here we have a futuristic setting that basically involves modernized Frankensteins! Crucible Zero was a whirlwind of action and adventure, making it a suitable read for all Urban Fantasy fans!

Matilda has done what should be impossible, she's traveled back in time in order to save the people she loves and put a stop to Slater once and for all. But odd thing is, while she managed to go back in time, it's to a completely new time. It was a bit confusing at first to grasp, but as the story rolls along, it becomes easier to understand.

Matilda wants to kill Slater. That's the number one goal. But also in this new(ish) world, the plague is still a problem, but her brother Quinten happens to be formulating a cure. And he who holds the cure, pretty much controls the world. But Quinten isn't the power hungry type. To make matters more complicated, Slater knows that Matilda isn't from this specific time period. He knows her completely. And now it's basically a race to see who can kill who first and chose the set time period, as Slater rather rule the world in where everyone Matilda loves is dead. 

She gets to re-meet Abraham and Foster, and start relationships anew. It was odd because in some sense, Abraham knew her. I can't remember the very last moments of Infinity Bell which might have further explained the event behind that, but as I like to tell myself, just roll with it! While there was still some romance in this one, things were back to being all to new between Abraham and Matilda. Matilda knew she still loved her Abraham, but this wasn't necessarily her Abraham 100%. But yet an attraction still lay between them and watching it regrow and spawn was just as enjoyable as the first time we saw these two grow to care for one another.

Perhaps the hardest thing to read through, were the moments when Matilda traveled through time again for seemingly no reason. I couldn't figure out the reasons behind it, possibly just some faulty backlash from her first time-traveling event that takes her back to her old timeframe. What made it confusing to grasp was that these passages weren't always clear. You didn't know what was happening until suddenly Matilda is in a new situation after being in the middle of another. But luckily, there were only a handful of these kind of moments.

The rest of the story involved one race to another. It was quite exciting because time is of the essence, so it makes the story hurtle at a fast pace. Matilda, Foster, and Abraham have to defeat Slater before he kills them after all.

The ending was just as harrowing and exciting as the rest of the story! And it's within this ending you see some finality. Which makes me believe that this is the end of the series. I haven't heard anything that said how long this series is, but I believe that it ends here. And if it does, I'm completely happy with that! The ending was perfect! You get the sense of Happily Ever After, yet still knowing that life will go on for these characters. And that's really the best kind of ending a reader can hope for!

Crucible Zero was a fast-paced and thrilling read! I highly recommend starting from the beginning of this series and giving it a read-through! It's unique and engaging, sure to please Urban Fantasy readers of all kind!


Overall Rating 4/5 stars


Crucible Zero releases September 1, 2015