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My Fair Monster
By Adrienne Rivera
YA Contemporary, Romance
Audiobook, Hardcover & eBook, 384 Pages
August 19, 2025 by Page Street YA
Summary
As the reigning Miss Teen Indiana, seventeen-year-old Corie Nielson has looks, charm, and her family’s formalwear boutique’s sponsorship. But her real dream is to use that success to become a horror movie scream queen. Except for one small Corie is struggling with ADHD without even realizing it. After missing yet another pageant commitment puts her on shaky ground with her coach, Corie wonders how she can possibly live up to everyone’s expectations, including her own.
When a regional horror host announces a monster costume contest where first place gets a guest appearance on the show featuring the winner’s choice movie and cash prize, Corie knows she’s found a way to prove what she’s capable of. All she has to do is convince a grumpy special effects makeup artist, Everett Robbins, to partner up and turn her into a pageant-worthy monster. But when the contest distracts her from her pageant obligations, Corie must decide which matters pageants—and her promises to her family—or achieving her horror movie dreams?
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My Review
MY FAIR MONSTER is one of those books with unique characters and a unique story. It's character development driven with plenty of side characters to bring the story to life. There's also quite a bit of horror movie nostalgia, perfect for fans, but also entertaining for nonfans (like me). Most of all, this story has a lot of family and friend dynamics and is full of so much heart that brought all the feels. Definitely recommended to YA fans!
This is the first time I've read a book so full of pageantry and horror movie references. It made for such a fun read with how the author weaved that all into the plot. I also loved all the costuming and makeup! It was amazing and I would have loved actual illustrations of all of Everett's creations (this would make for such a fun special edition with artwork and pictures). I liked how Corie's character and her relationship with Everett slowly developed. There were some rough moments and some where each character didn't act their best. But that just all allowed room for these characters to grow and figure out what they really wanted. I loved Corie's great-grandma and their relationship. I also loved that there were some good representations in this book from Corie's neurodivergence to different types of families and relationships. The romance was also very sweet and didn't overtake the story. There were some real moments. Some rather heavy, others light and happy. It made for a read that I could escape in and enjoy, but also feel all the emotions.
I think this would have been a 4.5 or 5 star read for me except for a few things. One of them was the way Corie's aunt treated her and that there was never an actual conversation or acknowledgment of just how traumatizing and wrong it was for Corie to be so fully judged and seen in such a negative way. The pageantry environment was also glossed over a bit, although its issues were raised somewhat by Corie's cousin. I also wanted Everett's dads to be a bit more present. They're almost completely off page until towards the end of the book. I also struggled just a bit liking Corie in the beginning, but she does develop quite a bit over the course of this book. I would have liked more discussion about her struggles and diagnosis, since that felt skipped over to me.
In the end, was it what I wished for? I really enjoyed diving into this world of horror movies and makeup artistry. The characters were endearing and the story made me laugh, cry, feel frustrated and swoon. I also appreciated that it was unique, so I didn't feel like I was reading something I'd read a million times before. This one stands on its own.
Content: Some swearing (some s-words) and crude language.
Source: I received a complimentary copy through Toppling Stack Tours, which did not require a positive review. All opinions are my own.
About the Author
Adrienne spends much of her time catering to the whims of an assortment of cats and one bossy yorkiepoo. Her hobbies include board games, cozy video games, and rarely finishing a TV series she starts. You can often find her crying over before and after photos of rescue animals.
She is represented by Natascha Morris at The Tobias Literary Agency. Her first novel, MY FAIR MONSTER, is available August 19th, 2025.
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