Tag Archives: monster romance

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Book Review: The Mountain’s Mate, by Sara Ivy Hill

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I picked up a copy of Sara Ivy Hill‘s The Mountain’s Mate as an Amazon freebie.
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He’ll move mountains for her…

When Patrek, a giant Skarr alien, hires a human for a covert mission, he doesn’t expect a female to take the gig. Nor does he expect his long-dormant mating instinct to ignite for someone so tiny! When the heist goes awry and they’re forced to hide out together until the heat dies down, the close quarters reveal that, though they’re vastly mismatched in size, their hearts are a perfect fit.

To escape with his freedom, Patrek must flee the city. But leaving her behind will break him. Can he convince her to join him in the mountains and take a monster as her mate?

my reviewIf you’re looking for a book that is absolutely absurd but also super low angst and sweet (even if set in a rather bleak world), The Mountain’s Mate is for you. Both main characters are open, honorable, and loyal. Both are willing to overlook the other’s differences and offer all they have, even if it is very little materially. The two of them play no names, have no misunderstandings, hide nothing of their emotions, and as a result, the romance flows unabated and unimpeded.

The sex scenes made me laugh more than anything else. So, while I appreciate that the author allowed for sex being sex, even if it involved no P-in-V (for obvious reasons), I didn’t find them erotic at all. And Skarr’s size was really inconsistent. It’s stated in the beginning that she came up to his hip. By the end of the book, you’d think he was something coming from Easter Island (but he still fits through doors and into transports).

All in all, while there were aspects that didn’t appeal to me, for the most part, this was a sweet, enjoyable read.

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Book Review: Not So Kind Regards, by Clio Evans

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I’d seen Clio Evans‘ Not so Kind Regards recommended several times. So, when it popped up as a freebie on Amazon, I snagged a copy. not so kind regards cover

It’s just another Monster Monday…

Inferna expected many things to happen— but sparks flying between her, the office rival, and his lover was not one of them.

Calen is a nerdy omega witch, one that Inferna wants to sink her teeth into. Art is a stuck-up boss but can be a little more charming outside the regular 9-5.

After an evil HR agent shows up with an agenda, everything starts to change. No one is safe, tensions are high, and the creatures of Warts & Claws Inc will have to fight spell and claw to make it to the weekend.

Can Inferna, Calen, and Art survive a work week from hell while discovering a love that’s off the charts?

my review

This is just silly, sexy fun. It’s monster smut; very light on plot and heavy on the dirty talk. While I can’t speak for anyone else, I wasn’t reading it for the potential plot anyhow. There is just enough to give the characters a stage to perform on. So, not none, but not a fleshed-out one, either. I enjoyed what little there was. Unfortunately, dirty talk isn’t really my jam. So, while the sex scenes were fine, they didn’t light me on fire or anything.

Overall, however, I liked all of the characters, the power dynamics of the trio (you just don’t see enough fem doms and switches, in my opinion), and the over-arching world. I’ll happily come back to read the next in the series, even if I won’t call this a new favorite.

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Book Review: Ensnared, by Tiffany Roberts

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I’d seen Tiffany Roberts‘ Ensnared all over Tiktok. So, I gave in and bought a copy.

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He’s spent years as a hunter, but now he’s the one ensnared in a creature’s trap.

Ketahn did not want a mate. Fate has a different plan for him. When the queen he despises declares her intention to claim him, he retreats into the jungle.

What he finds there changes his world.

Small, delicate, and pale skinned, Ivy Foster is nothing like the females Ketahn has known. She’s not of his kind at all. Yet the moment he sees her, he knows the truth in his soul—she is his heartsthread.

And now that he has her, he won’t let anything take her away. Not the jungle, not the gods, not the queen and her warriors.

Whether Ivy agrees or not, their webs are entangled. No one will ever sever those threads.

my review

Meh, this was fine. The writing is perfectly readable. It hits a lot of the expected monster smut expectations. But there just isn’t really anything particularly new or interesting about it. I was bored with a lot of it. Roberts sets up an interesting world, culture, and species (the gender dimorphism especially) and then ignores it all to spend most of the book in basically one small room with two characters doing domestically dull things. (Even the smut can’t rescue the plot when it comes in at 85% and is itself uninspiring.) What’s more, I’m just tired of the jealous-other-woman as the villain in such books. *Yawn.*

But I think I was also bored because I read this back to back with Opal Reyne’s A Soul to Keep, ensnared photo and there is so much overlap between the two books that (when the same phrase was even used) I actually flipped to the cover to double check they weren’t written by the same author and I’d not noticed. Now, I grant that Ensnared was published first (and I gave them the same rating), but that doesn’t lessen my boredom at feeling like I was practically reading the same book over again. (Plus, it ended on a cliffie.)

All in all, I’d probably finish the series out if I could pick it up as a freebie. But I don’t think I’d buy the next one.

Other Reviews:

*REVIEW* – Ensnared: The Spider’s Mate #1, by Tiffany Roberts

What is Quinn Reading: Spider Mate Trilogy