adds

I like my monsters to look like monsters, but not like a tree. This is not at all what I picture when I think of a Leshy.

✅ Monsters/aliens who don't ever look humanoid
✅ Protective, feral, and badass towards anyone who hurts his love
✅ Is actually just a sweet ball of fluff on the inside

Thank you Poppy Rhys for not writing ridiculously sized peen that'll send someone to the hospital. And also, no breeding. I'm so tired of that. Just be together. Be happy.

Someone give me directions to planet Incutan... for science.

I HATE this. Cara is an idiot. Tov is a giant asshole. Merrik is just a pretty face half asshole half just along for the ride. My whole life is filled with misogynistic dicks so I certainly don't want them in my free time.

I love alien abduction romance or erotica books. That's rough, better make the best of it. But omg if someone told me I'd actually been abducted as a child and my name changed you'd best believe it would take me more than the 2.6 seconds to process and accept, if ever, that it takes Cara. Little miss can't even remember which direction she came through a door. You mix stupid and Stockholm syndrome and you get this girl.

When the author isn't info dumping to the point of confusion Tov is just bossing Cara around. Re-abducted off Earth, entire life upended, doesn't know a thing about the alien culture or customs she supposedly comes from. Does he seem to care about her or any of this at all? Nope! She's just expected to take her clothes off and follow every order. There's not even a hint of sweet gooey center to this jerk. Book boyfriends these men are not.

There's a scene where Tov and Merrik finish with Cara and Merrik puts her to bed while telling her they'll bring back food. Then they just leave her to cry. You want aftercare? You're not getting it in this book. You want communication, a shred of equality, or respect between characters? It's not here. I kept thinking of Merrik as a lump of a pretty face who's just barely there.

73% of the way in Tov struggles to understand why Cara hadn't realized that they love her and these dingdongs have the nerve to mention she didn't know how to use the mind link between them or understand it's significance. Of course she didn't understand because neither of you bother to talk to her and we're 3 quarters of the way through this shit! I'm just as surprised as she is that you love her because you sure don't act like it.

This is NOT how I like my BDSM erotica or romance. And I'm not even shelving this as romance because calling it that is a joke.

DNF 22%

I'm pulling alternate universe Danny Phantom fanfic off my bingo card. No thank you.

It's been years and the blurb and genres are still misleading. This is erotica veering into BDSM like spanking, anal, power play, and primal/animal play. This isn't dark romance. There's almost no romance at all actually until the last 10% of the book. None of the characters are really obsessive/possessive or even morally grey. Trauma and violence doesn't automatically mean dark romance. If you're looking for that from the title and the blurb it's not here. Instead we get a paranormal mystery thriller plot to get us from one sex scene to the next. It's really unfortunate that this wasn't a romance to keep me more invested. I was never really hit with any big emotional impact. I had the mystery figured out 45% of the way in. The twist is revealed at about 88% which is also when the more romantic stuff starts up but there's barely a love story to get choked up over. If this had been tackled differently I probably would have cried over these characters. Instead I mostly watched them have somewhat rough sex while calling each other bunny, lion, sir, and master a few too many times. This isn't a bad read, it just wasn't genre melded together, presented, or sold the right way for me.

DNF 61.8% because if I wanted to read slower than molasses in winter slow burn YA I would. I'm pissed off the covers in this series are stupid cute but I hate that this attempts to be so meta it feels like satire. I think I'm being generous with 1 star for the covers and another for the only time I laughed.

Damien... please just kill annoyingly saccharine sweet naive no personality Amma to get your talisman back and then go on your adventure with your big bad self.

I accidentally dropped myself into the middle of a series for the mythological monster so I was a little confused. Oops... Oh well! It wasn't too bad; I'm mostly just curious what world building I missed.

I like Elle. I love Ceph. I hate how obvious his name is, but that's whatever. They're great together; I just wish this wasn't as insta-lovey as it was. Give me more resistance, angst, survivor's guilt, and guilt over perceived betrayal. I actually found myself pretty invested in the sci-fi action/adventure plot.

If voyeurism or exhibitionism bothers you steer clear of this book. Everyone knows what you're doing thanks to group telepathy.

This is what [b:ACOTAR 50659468 A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2) Sarah J. Maas https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1620325671l/50659468.SY75.jpg 25126749]'s bat boys wish they could be.

Good gracious have mercy this book was filthy

Holy shit bro get some therapy and stop being such an ass.

This is ok. Ophelia never being even a teensy bit scared of the “monster” kind of defeats the purpose of having a monster as the love interest for me. If you like Luxuria try [b:Land of the Beautiful Dead 27228341 Land of the Beautiful Dead R. Lee Smith https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1446254788l/27228341.SY75.jpg 47272939]. And if you didn't like Luxuria definitely try it because it has all the romantic and sexual pining, angst, and drama that I was missing here.

DNF at 20%

Maybe it's partly my fault that I listened to someone who said you could just pick up the second book and skip the not so great first that made me not give two craps about any of the characters. But maybe it's also partly the writing style wasn't for me anyway.