Tag Archives: monster romance

deceived by the gargoyles banner

Book Review: Deceived by the Gargoyles, by Lillian Lark

I purchased a copy of Lillian Lark‘s Deceived by the Gargoyles. Well, actually, my husband always gives me his Amazon Prime credits to buy ebooks (for the family library technically, but I’m the only ebook reader). And I bought this book with his credits.

A curvy librarian looking to start a family, a clan of gargoyles, and the deception that starts it all.

My family has always found me lacking. From the way I dress, how I look, to the type of magic I have. My family name is full of pomp and prestige, and I want nothing to do with it.
I’m a witch that knows how to set a goal and I have one in mind.

I want a real family.

Dating is a travesty. All the suitors I meet are looking for a connection to the family name I left behind. I need help.

Enter the matchmaker. It seems too good to be true that I can give her the list of traits I want in a partner and have my deepest desire answered, but I’m out of options.

Love comes along in the most unexpected ways.

From the very first moment I meet Elliot Bramblewick, I have hope. But he’s tricky.
I’m not expecting him to be hiding two other mates. Mates who are as alarmed and intrigued by my presence as I am by theirs.

He thinks I’m a perfect fit for them, but can I open my heart and discard my list long enough to see if this is the family I’m looking for?

None of my lists and plans prepared me for being courted by three gargoyles.

my review

This is my first booktok made me do it book. I bought it after seeing it recommended on Tiktok (which I’m new to). And I thought it was very sweet. I didn’t love it as much as the recommender, but I didn’t dislike it either. I thought it a perfectly passable fluffy read, with no need to be more than that.

I loved the body and sex positivity of it. I very much appreciated seeing a group of people all being conscientious and simply kind to one another. All of the tension building drama is from outside the group. In that sense, I can see this being a comfort read for some. I liked all of the characters individually and the world seems an interesting one.

However, I thought the villain and his motivation super clichéd. I thought it overly long, and the sex (which it is heavy one, being romantic/erotic fantasy) is very insert giant rod A/B/C into tiny slot V. The titillation seemed entirely dependent on the FMC adapting to be able to take massive and/or multiple cocks, with the climax (pun intended) being her ability to perform/endure double penetration with big ‘men’. It’s very focused on what went where, when and how. So, quite explicit, but not particularly erotic, in my opinion. But the men’s general care for boundaries and self-acceptance was sweet.

All in all, it was an enjoyable read and I’d read more of the series. But I’m not rushing out to buy the next (or previous) book.

deceived by the gargoyles photo


Other Reviews:

Deceived by the Gargoyles by Lillian Lark

Deceived By The Gargoyles (Monstrous Matches #2) by Lilian Lark

 

peacekeepers

Book Review: Peacekeepers, by Kat Sinclair

 Authot Kat Sinclair messaged me on Goodreads and asked me to review her book Peacekeepers. She then sent me a copy of for review through Book Siren.
Peacekeepers kat sinclair

In a desperate attempt to escape his arduous past, Arno, a gifted daemon hunter from Italy, moves to the bright city of San Francisco. At the new and progressive Peacekeeper HQ, he plunges himself into this dangerous and controversial line of work. Fighting pesky Shades, malicious Tricksters, and tempting Tenures is his normal 9 to 5.

However, Arno soon finds that old fears and habits still dog his steps, even from a whole continent away. A larger threat is also brewing within The Golden City, one that jeopardizes the organization, his friends—and even humanity. He’ll have to turn to the unlikeliest of allies to help them, starting with the curious daemon haunting his apartment.

Just about the time I started Peacekeepers, I saw a Johannes T. Evans tweet about monster romances.

It caught my attention because Monster Romance is exactly what I thought Peacekeepers was going to be (is, of sorts) and I don’t know if I’d have recognized Monster Romance as an actual (if unofficial) sub-genre if I’d not seen the tweet at such an opportune moment.

Sure, there are romances that have monsters in them, but had we readers separated them out from other PNRs and named them Monster Romances? Makes sense, honestly, but I don’t know that I’d seen the actual name (or maybe just not recently enough to remember). If I’d not seen the tweet and the whole accompanying Monster May Challenge, I wouldn’t have had a metaphorical shelf to put Peacekeepers on. But I think I’d have still enjoyed it.

Yes, the book is on the slow side, maybe a little longer than needed to tell it’s story. I noticed the odd editing hiccup. There is one out of place non-Arno POV that I found notably jarring, since it’s the only one in the book and shows up at 76%. And there is the occasional turn of phrase that makes me think English might not be the author’s first language. But these were pretty few and far between. For the most part, this is a slick, easily readable, interesting book.

The romance is a subplot (and I mean SUBplot). It is only a very small part of the larger story and it’s mostly based on instinctual attraction. So, it’s not overly developed. But it does touch on some heavy subjects and is very sweet. I certainly liked Lurke and Arno.

I thought the alcoholism and addiction aspect of the book was especially well done and I absolutely appreciated how much diversity the cast represents. Plus, look at that cover! All in all, a winner for me.

peace keeperes