Hi,
So monster romance is all the rage right now in the romance world, and this unicorn had to get in on some action. I mean, who cares about regular human peens….we need some monster vitamin D up in this house. I mean, they provide more nutrients for everyone *wink, wink*.
The book I will be reviewing today combines a couple of my favorite things, the BL (boys love), poly-relationships, knotting, and size kings and queen.
Goodreads Summary
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.
The Review
First some terms:
Monster Romance
There’s little explanation to what Monster Romance is- a group of people came together and said no more human peen, we need a new adventure! Lets start screwing mythical/identifiable/unidentifiable creatures. And thus, the monster romance genre was born.
Do I have a problem with this? The answer is sometimes yes ( we would talk about that later), and often no. My argument for this is that its fantasy, and it isn’t hurting anyone. Because what you would not do is sit down here and tell me you didn’t have a crush on Scar from the lion king or his son Kovo, argue with your screen.
Reverse harem
…because love triangles suck (boo, boo, tomatoes) let the girl get all the peen.
Knotting
This is basically the ball of the peen expanding.
BL
…the men loving on the men…also known as yaoi for my manga lovers.
…and now the review
I’ll admit that I am a book cover hoe, and I am proud of it. Yes, I picked this book because of the cover and because I saw the m/m/m/f tag. I love poly relationships, and this one was well thought out.
The trigger warnings are out on the first page, so make sure you read them first.
Multiple Point of Views
One thing I liked was the multiple POVs, as getting to know the different thoughts of charters as you read is pleasing. On that note, I liked how the author addressed the jealousy in poly relationships; admitting that there and then immediately solved is a lot better than pretending it doesn’t exist, and everyone is in kumbaya land.
You see the different characters battle through their own form of jealousy and how they solve it.
Character growth
When it comes to character growth, there were only two people who developed, Eliot and the alpha leader-Alasdair. Broderick and Grace, in my opinion, were already well balanced from the beginning.
I liked how Grace was portrayed, a character that charted her own course against all odds and chose happiness. She was not naive and owned her unique power (She’s a paper witch) despite being looked down on. At the end of the day, she won.
The Gargoyles all have different personalities and backstories, which balance their relationship. There’s Alasdair, the stoic leader, Broderick the artist, and Elliot, the schemer.
Towards the end, all the characters were well “merged together.”
Worldbuilding
The setting is Urban. As the magical world is in hiding, they cannot tell humans that they exist because it will basically be too much hassle. The only unique thing is the place where the mythical creatures go to get matched- the bathhouse. Otherwise, it’s your plain ol’ regular world hiding fantastic beings.
Smut factor
Hot! On a scale of 1-100. I’ll give the smexy scenes a good 90%. Read this in public at your own risk!
General rating
A 4.5 I think this was pretty good and enjoyable. If you like fantasy romance, I think you should try this. On the other hand, if poly-relationships are not your thing, because I understand it might be just too much to handle, you can skip this one.
However, if you are up for a smexy time adventure, try this one!
Until next time…
Nelo-the booked unicorn
