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A review by mspilesofpaper
My Feral Romance by Tessonja Odette
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Daphne works at a publishing house as a full-time editorial writer but has the chance to become a full-time cover illustrator, which is her dream job and something that she worked toward for a long time. Unfortunately, the male anatomy ... evades her. Whenever she draws men, they look rather animal-like; much to her dismay. Monty, on the other hand, is a self-proclaimed matchmaker who loves happy endings - for everyone else but not himself. Yet, he is tasked with proving that his weekly advice as a columnist works. Daphne needs a model, Monty needs a case study. They make a bargain with each other to help out with the other one's issue until Monty gets his publishing deal and Daphne gets her full-time illustrator job. What could go wrong? Monty already ruined their friendship once.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
My Feral Romance is the second instalment in the Fae Flings and Corset Strings series and features Daphne and Monty; both are characters that the reader already met in the first book. While it's beneficial to read the first book, I wouldn't say that it's 100% necessary because Will and Edwina don't appear on page and are only mentioned in passing. Any required world-building information will be mentioned again, so readers new to the series can start with My Feral Romance right away.
Daphne was a mystery in A Rivalry of Hearts as she appeared as cold, grumpy and reserved there. She's a true delight as a main character and while she stays true to her character, she also gets out of her comfort zone and becomes more comfortable in her seelie form. She tests boundaries, learns who she is and what she wants, but at the heart her pine marten being still shines through. She goes through personal growth and development and I loved every minute of it. In my opinion, Daphne is demi-sexual and demi-romantic. While she had sexual relationships in her past, she realised at one point that she never felt sexual attraction to them. She participated in the flings because it was instinct or expected. I'm always a fan of authors writing characters on the asexual and aromantic spectrum!
Monty is just as developed as Daphne and falls into the "broken character who believes that no one can fix him". Thankfully, Daphne doesn't plan on fixing him. Monty does the fixing himself and Daphne just pushes him forward in his own personal growth. With each chapter told from his POV, the reader learns more about his soft side and how much he cares about people.
Then there are the other girls in the competition and most get their own POV for one chapter, which helps a lot in fleshing them out as characters. Of course, they are a bit flatter than Ivy but well enough developed for side characters. Especially in comparison to Ivy's family because I still don't know what to think about Lydia who is lethargic for the majority of the novel until there's one chapter from her POV.
Their romance/relationship develops with each chapter as both struggle with their own issues although there's a touch of instant lust on both sides. It is a bit rushed in the later chapters and I think it could have benefitted from 1 - 2 additional ones there. Also, the issues in the last few chapters to bring the happy end were so useless. Of course, it makes sense from a world-building perspective but I wish the author would have implemented some aspects of it in previous chapters, so the conflict point would feel more natural.
The third book still isn't about Will's sister and I am so upset about it! I want her as the main character! I loved her in the first book! (And I didn't care much about the newly introduced side character in this one who will become the main character in the third book.)
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
TWs & CWs: sexual content, blood, illegal underground fighting (boxing), concussion, blackmailing, emotional abuse by parental figure, light praise kink, mirror/reflection sex, dirty talk
Trope(s): magical bargain, he fell first and hard, slowburn, friends to lovers, dating coach, grovelling, touch him and you die, reformed bad boy, reversed age gap (FMC is 300+, MMC is 28)
Genre: Romantic Fantasy
Diversity: FMC is demisexual & demiromantic, mental health (anxiety)
Heat/Spice: 2 🌶️
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
My Feral Romance is the second instalment in the Fae Flings and Corset Strings series and features Daphne and Monty; both are characters that the reader already met in the first book. While it's beneficial to read the first book, I wouldn't say that it's 100% necessary because Will and Edwina don't appear on page and are only mentioned in passing. Any required world-building information will be mentioned again, so readers new to the series can start with My Feral Romance right away.
Daphne was a mystery in A Rivalry of Hearts as she appeared as cold, grumpy and reserved there. She's a true delight as a main character and while she stays true to her character, she also gets out of her comfort zone and becomes more comfortable in her seelie form. She tests boundaries, learns who she is and what she wants, but at the heart her pine marten being still shines through. She goes through personal growth and development and I loved every minute of it. In my opinion, Daphne is demi-sexual and demi-romantic. While she had sexual relationships in her past, she realised at one point that she never felt sexual attraction to them. She participated in the flings because it was instinct or expected. I'm always a fan of authors writing characters on the asexual and aromantic spectrum!
Monty is just as developed as Daphne and falls into the "broken character who believes that no one can fix him". Thankfully, Daphne doesn't plan on fixing him. Monty does the fixing himself and Daphne just pushes him forward in his own personal growth. With each chapter told from his POV, the reader learns more about his soft side and how much he cares about people.
Then there are the other girls in the competition and most get their own POV for one chapter, which helps a lot in fleshing them out as characters. Of course, they are a bit flatter than Ivy but well enough developed for side characters. Especially in comparison to Ivy's family because I still don't know what to think about Lydia who is lethargic for the majority of the novel until there's one chapter from her POV.
Their romance/relationship develops with each chapter as both struggle with their own issues although there's a touch of instant lust on both sides. It is a bit rushed in the later chapters and I think it could have benefitted from 1 - 2 additional ones there. Also, the issues in the last few chapters to bring the happy end were so useless. Of course, it makes sense from a world-building perspective but I wish the author would have implemented some aspects of it in previous chapters, so the conflict point would feel more natural.
The third book still isn't about Will's sister and I am so upset about it! I want her as the main character! I loved her in the first book! (And I didn't care much about the newly introduced side character in this one who will become the main character in the third book.)
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
TWs & CWs: sexual content, blood, illegal underground fighting (boxing), concussion, blackmailing, emotional abuse by parental figure, light praise kink, mirror/reflection sex, dirty talk
Trope(s): magical bargain, he fell first and hard, slowburn, friends to lovers, dating coach, grovelling, touch him and you die, reformed bad boy, reversed age gap (FMC is 300+, MMC is 28)
Genre: Romantic Fantasy
Diversity: FMC is demisexual & demiromantic, mental health (anxiety)
Heat/Spice: 2 🌶️