This was a book that I knew I was going to love. As I adore the author and middle grade fantasy have always been a favorite of mine. It made me very happy to be able to tell right away that I already loved it. As the writing was great and I adored the main character, Rolan, at once. He was the very best to read about.
Such a wild and broken boy, but so very good inside and such a great person to read about. I loved getting to know him. He was thirteen years old, and the book is all his point of view. Which I loved. As pretty much always with fantasy books, it felt like this book was set in the past. Which is my most favorite setting of all.
I'm going with five stars for this beauty of a book. It had all that I wanted. It was all kinds of fun to read. Mostly sad, though. But in a good way, somewhat. Filled with monsters, though I would say the humans were worse. Will not be sharing too much about this book, just some small details, I think. It tells the story of thirteen year old Rolan. He lives in a walled up city, surrounded by dark forest. The city is always lit with burning lamps. Because in the shadows, monsters can show up. And oh, how I loved that part of this book. The Cryptics. The monsters. They were just awesome. I loved how they were made from a secret you kept. A bad one, that is. If the monster was not killed early, it would later on grow larger and hunt you down. Which was awesome. Ha.
We get to know Rolan so very much. And I just adored this boy. He lived in the streets, without a home or a family. But he had a best friend, Anaya. They used to live on the streets together, stealing things and making trouble. Until she got to be an apprentice for the apothecary, leaving Rolan behind in the streets. It hurt my heart that they were having some issues because of this. As Anaya changed when she got a home. And Rolan did not, feeling left behind and alone. Not too much about this, but oh, it hurt my heart.
The book starts with Rolan doing a little bit of crime. Wanting revenge on the baker for not letting him steal some thrown away food. He ends up getting caught by the guards, and thrown in the smaller jail. Where he has been so many times before. Poor boy. But this time was different. The guard he hated most, Hoff, figured out he had turned thirteen. And could now be sent to the real prison, for ten years. Which was the absolute worst. Rolan ends up attacked by his first Cryptic, which was a great scene.
Days go by, and no one claims him. If he had family to claim him within three days, he could avoid prison. And he did have a father. The crime lord of this city. But he did not claim him. And oh, getting to know the actual relationship between Rolan and his father in this book just hurt my heart too much. His father was the worst. And Rolan just wanted him to love him. Sobs. He just wanted to belong. And his father did not want him. He also hurt him. Which made me all kinds of angry. Hmph. As Rolan deserved the very best.
Okay, maybe not fully at first. He was kind of a brat. On his way to the prison, he ends up meeting the Arcanist. The one person who fights and kills the Cryptics. For some reason, this man ends up claiming Rolan as his apprentice. Making sure Rolan does not go to prison. Rolan fully intended to leave him, but he was poisoned by the Cryptic who attacked him. And somehow ended up way outside of town in the house of the Arcanist. I loved reading about these two together. It was all kinds of fun yet also so sweet.
I have already shared way too much about the beginning of this book. Sigh. I just could not stop writing. Oops. Shall share less about the rest of the book, though. At first Rolan is scared of this mysterious man. It is said that he feeds kids to the monsters, and that he eats the monsters too. It made me sad, seeing how scared he was at first. The poor boy. But oh, how I loved him. Luc was not a scary man, though. But he could be. I loved how he got Rolan into a bath and cut his hair. Hurt my heart as to why he needed it.
This book is about Rolan staying with Luc. And learning what it means to be an Arcanist. Learning more about the monsters around in this world. How they came to be. How to kill them, though Luc does that part. Luc teaches him to read. And to fight. And to be a better person. As Rolan grew up mostly alone on the streets. And I loved how he grew. I loved the time he got to spend with his friend as well. I so adored Anaya. They had some small fights that were too rude, though. No romance, but there could be. I loved it.
What I loved about this book was that it was mostly about Rolan and Luc living together. A sort of father and son relationship. With Rolan growing to care for him more, and Luc caring for him. They had some issues, and this one scene towards the end of the book broke me. With the moth. It was the absolute rudest. Hmph. And the scene in the cave before that. So rude. So very heartbreaking. But so incredibly good as well. I loved how Rolan learning to love people, to let them in. After having been hurt so long.
There was so much to know in this book. The city hated the Arcanist. They blamed him for pretty much everything. But he did nothing but protect them. I so loved learning about the Cryptics and how they were made of terrible secrets. And how killing them made you see this secret as well. Shudders. It was so well done. And I just need more. Hmph. The final battle was pretty epic. Okay, I have shared way too much about this book. I just wanted to share that I loved it so. I loved Rolan so much. And Luc. And the goat.
Okay, I am going to admit that I was a tiny bit disappointed when I realized that Rolan was not going to turn into a monster. As I felt a little bit tricked by the summary, haha. Considering it mentions that Luc is hunting a beast, tied to Rolan and his past. So I had thought it may mean that Rolan was this beast. But no. No shapeshifting in this story. Little bit disappointed, but I also did not mind at all. As the story was all kinds of awesome without it. But let's be honest, Rolan as a monster would have been very epic too, ha.
One of the things I loved most about Monster and Apprentice was that it was so real and honest. I loved how Rolan opened up with his feelings, though it took him some time. I loved how damaged he was, how he was finally starting to heal. I loved how the book was about found family. I loved reading about all the monsters and learning so many secrets. Honestly, I just really loved this book and I am so glad that I read it. It was exciting and sad and incredible. The ending was open, though, and I would love a second book.
