Tag: Monster Romance

Posted in Spicy Romance

The Orc and the Innkeeper

Posted on by Little Bee

By Cora Crane

Rating 5 out of 5 Stars

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Orc and the Innkeeper was one of those books that I could not put down. I found myself gasping and kicking my feet giggling throughout the story. It follows two characters who start out as “enemies”. Thorak traumatically teased Mariah growing up. It was so bad, that all these years later, she is still suffering the effects. Situations occur and they pretend to be fake engaged in order to get a human investor to work with Thorak.

The story follows the standard framework for a typical romance novel: the background information on both characters, the eventual coming together, the romance, the third act breakup/blowout, followed by the reconnection, HEA. This story also relies heavily, I mean HEAVILY, on the miscommunication trope. I mean like, the whole story. I would normally mark down in ranking for that, but the whole story was still just so fun and so cute. It is a great little cozy, spicy, monster romance, and I was here for it the whole time.

I really enjoyed all of the side characters. I think each one enhanced the story to help further it along. The characters all had things going on in their lives, but all still were brought together. There were several points of high drama, I will let you read those for yourself, and they definitely amped up the miscommunication tropes.

I liked that the internal “racism” wasn’t just one sided. There were humans who did not want to do business with Orcs (which is the whole purpose of this story) and even Orcs who were very anti human (such as Thorak’s parents, and Thorak’s bullying of Mariah when they were younger). I like how it showed the progression of these characters to adopt new mindsets, and how it is not always easy to do so.

The spice was nice, but it is not SUPER spicy. It has enough, but comes a bit later in the book.

Overall, the story was well written. I read it so fast, it is not a terribly long book. I am definitely looking forward to Ecco’s story in book 2. I think Elderberry Falls needs to have a vacant house so I can just move right in 🙂

Posted in Spicy Romance

Guarded by the Kraken

Posted on by Little Bee

By Cassie Alexander

Narrated by Avery Caris and Jonathan Lake

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars, Narration 5 out of 5 Stars

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Guarded by the Kraken is one story in the Monster Security Agency series, which comprises many different authors, all writing smutty monster romance. I have reviewed another MSA book of Cassie’s, Guarded by the Spider. It has the same narrators.

Elle is hired to go below to the deepest trench in the Ocean for a science research project. She is given the chance to discover a potential new language, race of monsters, etc. There is a large metal mechanism at the bottom of the ocean, and Elle is tasked to discover its secrets! She is assigned a body guard that is from the Kraken population. Ceph is required to bond with her in order to keep her safe, however, he ends up mating with her.

The two begin their adventure together, working together to solve whatever this puzzle is. Meanwhile, they get to know each other better. One thing I really appreciate about Ceph is, even though the mating was accidental, he does not force her into wanting it. He would let her return to the land if she chooses to do so.

I did not see all the twists and turns that happened. I constantly wondered a LOT of things while listening to this story. My brain kept working to find how this was going to work. Elle and Ceph could not even touch. She could not leave the science center without a special suit. I will let you read for yourself what happens, but you will not be disappointed.

I highly recommend reading this book via the audiobook. The narrators are class acts. They make you feel a part of the story. At one point, I thought my chest was going to explode, others I sad cried, I happy cried, I laughed and giggled…I kicked my feet happily.

Definitely check your triggers, there is violence, also some breeding kink in there. Spoiler: Epilogue contains the pregnancy, so if you don’t want that, skip the epilogue.

Posted in Spicy Romance

Accidentally Summoned an Incubus

Posted on by Little Bee

By Belle Blakley

Rated 5 out of 5 Stars

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

First of all, Belle Blakley, how dare you. How dare you make me want a magical house. Like, it is 2024 and magical houses should be a thing by now. Also, how dare you make me want my own incubus. Purely for research purposes. Purely.

I really enjoyed the Her Monster for the Night short novellas…you can check out my reviews for those as well as I reviewed them earlier this month. I found myself begging and wanting more in those stories, and here we have one. (completely unrelated to Her Monster for the Night, just not a short little story but an actual book almost 200 pages!)The start of a trilogy. It ends on a HEA, but the stories will mingle with other characters and essentially follow different witches summoning their fated mates.

In this series, to protect their coven during the Salem witch trials, the coven leaders had made a deal with Hecate to help protect them and they were mated with a specific clan of shadow demons, incubi. On Samhain, the witch could cast the summoning spell and it would launch their fated mate from the shadow realm they lived and boom! Mated. I wont go into the full specifics, you should read those for yourself. The witches and their mates (and eventually families) live in bespelled magical houses that have their own personalities. Alexis (Lex for short) found herself having to go to trial after hexing her former boss after being harassed by him. You know the type I mean. She was given this old house to stay in while she awaited trial and the house forced her into summoning her mate, which she had no intention to. The rest of the book basically is about her resisting mating at first, and slowly her and Lochran getting to know each other. Lex wanted to focus on healing while she prepared for her trial.

Everyone’s personalities were so unique and fun. I want to live in the community that houses Briar Coven. I can’t wait to read the next stories….I especially can’t wait to read Hell’s Gate series that follows a pack of werewolves. One of the werewolves, Billy, is Lex’s best friend. Billy, a female wolf, from a very hidden (spelled hidden) wolf pack, slowly starts becoming an alpha. Lex and Lochran find themselves being packed up with Billy while she is becoming an alpha. I will leave the other twists for you to enjoy 🙂 I can’t wait to read her story with Jake!

Belle Blakley has such a unique writing style, that reading her books does not feel like work. They just flow so well. There was a good amount of spice, and early on so you don’t have to wait. No third act break up, though her trial and after affects occur in the third act of the book. It was just such a well thought out book. It was both plot heavy and had a good amount of spice, that even if the characters weren’t actively engaged in spicy acts, boy were they thinking them! You won’t be disappointed if you read this book.

Posted in Spicy Romance

Zodiac Hybrids

Posted on by Little Bee

By Leann Belle

Rating 5 Stars

I received an advanced review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I have read Leann Belle before and I really enjoyed her writing. I was happy to read this mix of paranormal/shifters/zodiac/astrology story and I look forward to reading the other books as they come out. For the record, this is supposed to be a dark academy romance, but I missed some of the darkness I guess LOL. I am sure it will come. I liked each of the dynamics and I enjoyed seeing the first two men get kind of sucked in to Lila’s orbit.

I can’t wait to find out what Lila is and for her to find out also. I like her naivety in this sense and I will enjoy watching her become stronger, because I know she will. These characters are older even though it is an academy story. Lila is 22, Marcus is 26, and Adrian is 34. I am not sure how old Ceto is, but we only got a small introduction to him and I look forward to seeing him more.

Definitely check your triggers, as there are elements that people may not enjoy. This story ends on a cliffhanger, and definitely leaves you wanting for more. There were only a couple of spicy scenes in this story, but they were nice and spicy so they were not out of place. There was good world building and setting the lines of the story.

My only real confusion is the nature of Marcus and Adrian’s feud. I wont give any spoilers away, but it seems trivial, and I didn’t quite understand why Marcus is intent on Adrian losing control. I know Lila is supposed to be a pawn, but with the way it is shaping up, it looks like the guys are the ones in trouble here.

Posted in Spicy Romance

In Love With the Leshy

Posted on by Little Bee

By Danielle Sibarium

Rating 3.5 Stars, Goodreads/Amazon Rating 4 Stars

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I have read one other book involving a Leshy so I was really excited to have the opportunity to read another. Leshy make great romance reads, but I feel they are lesser known and used in books. If you do not know what a Leshy is, it is a pagan Slavic deity that rules over the forest, hunting, etc. They are essentially a type of forest spirit, can play tricks on others, shapeshift, etc. The story itself gives a little about the lore, such as one of the characters being a Druid and creating the Leshy in the story.

I feel like what a Leshy is comes off kind of easily to understand. It is very subtle. I, for the most part, really loved Em (the Leshy). The third act break up was a little intense. There are triggers in this book, though they are not listed in my ARC copy, unknown if they will be there listed in the book, but I do see one on the goodreads page.

I have two main issues with this book and why I feel it is more 3.5 stars if I could give it that. The first would be the flow of the book itself. Again, I have an ARC, so it very well can be cleaned up and read better in the official copy, so please take this for what it is worth. During the first couple of chapters, I was getting very confused because it would switch back and forth between a memory she had with her neighbor and back to her being chased in the forest by some bad guys. It would do this every few paragraphs, and wouldn’t use any kind of indication, like italics, that it was a memory. My other issue is with Erin, the FMC. I get that coming into contact with a Leshy or some other being you never knew existed can be a bit much, I just felt like Erin was incredibly wishywashy and overall unpleasant. She offended the few people around her and most of the animals she came across on a regular basis and was never really apologetic. Just snappy and like “well I never knew this existed give me a break,” without really making the effort to try.

If you are looking for a spicy book, this is not. There are some tense scenes during the story where there is some heavy petting and Erin trying to get Em to have some spicy times, but the actual spice is in the last 10ish% of the book. Again, their are some mild scenes, but its mostly Erin being thirsty, and understandably so LOL.

I rounded this book up because even with the reasons I disliked it, I still did enjoy the story. It has some dark themes, so be on the lookout for that. I still didn’t like Erin by the end, but it was good. I did read it in one sitting.

Posted in Spicy Romance

Guarded by the Spider (Monster Security Agency)

Posted on by Little Bee

By Cassie Alexander

Rating 5 out of 5 Stars

Audiobook Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

I received a copy of this ARC to read and listen, I am leaving this review voluntarily.

First, let me preface with saying, I do not like spiders. At all. They make me pukey and give me the heebie jeebies. HOWEVER. I LOVED this book. “Nine” and Sloane are honestly perfect for each other and I could not get enough.

“Nine” is what most of the characters in the book call Nia’n’an throughout the book, he is the spider type humanoid-ish monster. He is dying because he has not found his mate. So he is sent on a mission to rescue a billionaire’s daughter who has been kidnapped. He is sent by himself, since he is dying, so as to not put any of the other team at risk for an impossible mission. They are unsure if they are bringing out Sloane alive, or as a corpse.

Sloane is probably one of my favorite FMC’s to date. She is such a strong character. She was kidnapped at her concert after it was shot up and people died. She was underground for over a month, caged like an animal, by her captors. She is taken by Nine who she can’t communicate effectively with because his translator broke. She falls in love with him quickly and does not understand its because they are fated mates. She is terrified of him, and then turned on by him. She is incredibly funny with her comments she makes, often thinking he does not understand her.

The majority of the story goes back and forth between the two of them and their self monologue. Nine definitely has those touch her and d!e vibes. I also like that he has his own organic, all natural, self made shibari rope because he just trusses Sloane right on up wherever he can make her stick. He also uses it to hold her in place during the few spicy scenes they have. There are only a couple of spicy scenes, but boy are they spicy. They each have their own self spicy scenes, Sloane can’t stop with the self pleasure because she does not know or understand it is her body’s reaction to being by her mate.

I do wish the book went on a little bit longer. Towards the end they are trying to conceive a baby and it would just be nice to know if the vial provided by Sloane’s father actually helped them produce a child, and what that child might be like. Nine is really great with other people’s kids, and I love the way he responded to her when she was upset thinking she was infertile. That entire scene had me cracking up, he was very nonchalant with his “sacs” of his baby making juice and hiding them LOL.

The narrators were *chef’s kiss*. They were very EXPRESSIVE in their scenes. The spicy scenes made you feel like you were a fly on the wall or apart of it. The duet worked really well together. I will be looking for more of their works in the future. It is Avery Caris and Jonathan Lake.

Posted in Spicy Romance

Holidays Ablaze

Posted on by Little Bee

By Lucy Limon

Rating 5 out of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from the author, but my review is entirely voluntary and honest.

Holidays Ablaze is another book that can be found in the Horned Up for the Holidays set. It is a complete standalone, though certain scenes do tend to cross over while you read each book, introducing you to different characters that are a part of a different story. All of the stories take place in Winter Bliss.

The FMC, Sofia, is a sassy, spicy Latina chef. She has an obsession with fire, which she ended up getting out of control when she was younger and it scared quite a bit of her body. She was supposed to open a restaurant in the quaint little community, but her business partner pulled out of the deal when he saw parts of her burns and high tailed it out like only a jerk will do. She was out collecting logs when she saw a demon get dropped out of a helicopter on a lake on her property. From there, we get to see the steamy tension spark to life between them. Samite is red hot, and the kind of flame she might be tempted to let burn her up.

The spice is HOT in this one. WHEW. I needed a fan for these scenes. The story was not entirely spice, in fact, I wouldn’t say there are a LOT of spice scenes, but the ones that we get, are so sizzling, it does not even matter.

I do not believe there are any TWs to look out for. Its a cozy, holiday romance, with a HEA. Samite is a bit grumpy and untrusting, but the relationship that builds between him and Sofia (who is not a pushover and holds her own against the Demon) is so fun to read as it unfolds. This book does contain a third act break up, but the MCs use the time to really determine what is important to them in life.

Posted in Spicy Romance

Holly’s Unjolly Christmas

Posted on by Little Bee

By Lark Green

Rating 5 out of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from the author, but my review is entirely voluntary and honest.

Holly’s Unjolly Christmas is a part of the Horned Up For the Holidays anthology, which follows 3 different couples. This book follows Holly and Az. It is a Demon/human romance, standalone, HEA. It involves tropes like grumpy/sunshine and forced proximity. It is a contemporary, cozy, Holiday romance. It includes a lot of spice, special appendages ;). There is a third act break up, but no cliffhanger. I need to get my hands on the bonus epilogue because I am just not done with these two yet.

This book was an easy and quick read. I really enjoyed Holly and Az. Holly is too good for this earth, that is for sure. She is always seen as a pushover, and after a divorce and losing everyone she had, she had to learn who she was all over again. I like that Az and Holly are both broken, and they both find happiness and peace with each other and can mend themselves together.

The story follows Holly going on a vacation for Christmas following her divorce. She thinks she is going to this luxury cabin, but turns out she is catfished and has to stay and share the cabin with the demon groundskeeper. He tries to make her miserable to leave a 1 star review because he does not want tourists in the area taking it over and ruining the hidden secrets of the mountains. It was fun watching them come together and learn to open and trust each other. The trust does not come easy, and takes a lot of work, but they end up in an HEA.

I really liked Lark’s writing style. I look forward to reading more books. I do recommend this book! It does not matter what order you read any of the Horned Up for the Holidays books, but I do recommend this one first as you meet all the characters from the other books. I haven’t read those yet, so it is entirely possible that you get cross over of the main characters in each book.

Posted in Spicy Romance

Audited by the Anubis

Posted on by Little Bee

By Wendi Gogh

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I want to say, that as far as monster romances go, I am a fan of any that include Anubis. So I was already excited going into this story. This is my first book by this author. I like how the writing is very smooth and everything just kind of blends together. What I mean is, other than the two “villains” of the story, no one really bats an eye about monsters. There is one scene where everyone stares at the Anubis and then goes about their business.

I liked Fern’s character overall. Without giving a spoiler, I figured out the exciting tidbit she learns at the end of the book early on in the book. This story is a very sweet romance. There is some angst, Fern has gone through emotional abuse her entire life at the hands of her mother, and then at the hands of her Ex Husband. I like that Ahnou really helped her see how amazing she actually is. The side characters are equally awesome. Sera is such an awesome BFF, I need her in my life.

The book does have a good amount of spice in it. Spicy scenes start within a couple chapters, after you meet the two main characters. Both characters are “switches”, though it does not go into a lot of detail or BDSM play. I will say the only thing I had a difficult time with is Ahnou’s “member” because I have never heard of a khenen before and I can’t really find a suggestion on google. Because yes, I google these things LOL. While the author uses a lot of descriptions for his “member” I had a hard time following along with it. Other than that, I enjoyed the story overall. It is a quick read. No third act break up, but definitely third act action. Story is HEA.

Posted in Spicy Romance

Stolen by the Beast

Posted on by Little Bee

By MJ Marstens and Sedona Ashe

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Monster romance is among one of my favorites, so when the opportunity came to read Stolen by the Beast, I had to request it. I will say, this is my first of this type of monster, a quite literal Bone Daddy, if you will.

The book is relatively short. It is a fated mates paranormal romance. Minimal spice until towards the end when Karvik allowed himself to believe Juniper was his mate. No third act break up, but definitely third act trial on the relationship. Book ends in a HEA.

Juniper and Karvik have a definite barrier in their relationship since she is human and he is not. His kind has been around for thousands of years, and he is apparently the last of his kind. His confusion at human mannerisms are entertaining and Juniper is very patient with teaching him but also a little juvenile. I can’t really remember what age she is. Her amnesia made her very childlike, but this book is not anywhere close to DDlg.

I rated the book 4 stars because I had a difficult time connecting. Again, it was all good, but something felt missing for me. It may be because I had a hard time envisioning the story with being new to the Bone Daddy variety or maybe I just couldn’t connect to Juniper. I think others will enjoy it very much though.