📖 - 150 pages
audiobook - 3 hours and 53 minutes
4 chili peppers 🌶️ on the spice scale.
Genre: monster romance 
POV: Single, narrated by Leslie Burke
Ending: HEA

This is a sweet and quick Novella. I listened to it on audiobook in a single afternoon. 

This is a world where humans are an endangered species and thus a rare thing to have as a partner. Celeste lives on a reservation for humans that keeps them safe. Monsters are as likely to use a human as a resource as they are to date them and all monsters wanting a human companion must submit an application and be reviewed by the human wanting a partner. They then are allowed a "trail marriage" where the pair live together and see if they are compatible. This isn't really forced proximity since Celeste has a choice to leave at any time and has her own bedroom. Theo is a gentleman about their trail arrangement and makes sure the house can accommodate her right away and immediately dotes on her. They learn what it takes to live together as a couple and how blending their lives together works, including visiting Theos sweet grandmother every week in the care facility she lives in.

This is a super steamy, low-angst, cozy monster romance novella (38k words) that features a cinnamon roll minotaur MMC, significant size difference, stretching as a primary plot point, the significant use of sex toys, and a guaranteed HEA. For a list of all tropes and content warnings, visit the author's website at LyonneRiley.com.

Tropes & Content warnings - 
M/F
Size difference
Big cock
Stretching
Use of sex toys
Parental death and abandonment
Light gore and assault


My Spice Rating - 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
1 🌶️- May include hands, more kissing, "fade to black" scenes. No open door spice.
2 🌶️🌶️ - Spice happens, but it isn't often. May include open door scenes but they're infrequent or rare.
3 🌶️🌶️🌶️ - Spice happens more often and it is more detailed, Spice is part of the plot, or the book is 50/50 spice to plot.
4 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ - More spice than plot, may contain kinky themes.
5 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ - Absolute smut. Very little plot, sex heavy. The spicy scenes are very explicit, may contain triggering or dangerous themes, Dark romances and erotica.

You can find more of my reviews on all social platforms under the username ThisCryptidReads.

Ok, so this might just be a me problem. The spice in this story was great, A+. But the whole humans are constantly at risk for being attacked was really stressful. Maybe it just hit too close to home since it sort of felt like how it is being a woman and having to worry about being attacked when you’re out alone. But then the message would be “get a strong man to protect you” which I don’t really like. I guess I was hoping she would find a way to protect herself? And then live happily ever after with her cute Minotaur? Once again, I might be reading into it too much. Overall, it was a fun story, but it stressed me out a little too much.

Absolutely adorable in all the cozy fantasy romance ways! I can’t wait to see more from the New Eden series!

4⭐️3🌶️

Another great read from Riley. 
This is my 1st read from her New Eden stories. New Eden is a secluded community for humans from all the monsters in the world. 

Enters Celeste a human living a mundane life but hungers for adventure and companionship but is afraid of the monstrous world outside of New Eden until Theos application for a date with a humans caught her eyes. 

Theo is a sweet and shy Minotaur with a taste for heavy metal, movies and wanting someone to spoil. 

After two dates they decide to do a trail run on living together and the size proves to be a challenge in the bedroom but our Theo is prepared. And the practice is oooh sooo 🥵🌶️😉🍆 hot!!! 

Through it all Theo makes Celeste feel love and care for and her fears are satiated because she has Theo by herself always. 

There’s minimum drama and a great HEA with all the spice 🌶️. 

I loved the book and will certainly get more from this author. I just found Celeste to be somewhat of a pick me girl, that's why i only give the book 3,25