readwithmesashamarie's reviews
462 reviews

 

Thank you to my public library for a free copy of this book in exchange for literally nothing (except the expectation that the book would be returned in the same physical state it was checked out in). 

If you’re even remotely in the bookish sphere, particularly romance, there is no doubt in my mind that you’ve heard the name Ruby Dixon and heard about those blue aliens. While I haven’t been transported into those books yet, I was so pleasantly surprised to find her latest novel while browsing my library. I went in expecting this book to be nothing more than monster smut, and came out of this book with a timely reminder that all books are in fact political. Even, or perhaps especially, the monster romances.
 

This story, while at its core is a smutty monster romance, was heavily propelled forward by the plot. Our FMC is a noblewoman and heir to a penniless, and magical artifact-less, house. In order to keep rival houses from discovering their peril she travels unchaperoned into the seedy city to become an artifact hunter, and enroll in their school (or guild). I was so invested in whether our FMC and her new band of friends would be able to save her family from peril that there were a few points when I felt genuine anxiety about what might happen on the next page. 

This novel deftly tackled so many political talking points by weaving them seamlessly into the story. Some of the major themes highlighted in this novel was the importance of found family, what it means to be a woman in a male dominated field and male dominated society, the importance of sex workers, wealth and how hard it is for someone not born of the right family to achieve wealthy or noble status, the untenable margin of status between a noble person and a member of their staff, as well as racism between humans, the bull like creatures called Taurians, and the slitherskins. 

It boggles my mind that anyone can read a novel like this and claim that smut, or monster romances, or any book for that matter, are not political. You’d have to be purposefully missing the point, when page after page our FMC describes how the man of her house, her father, has ruined them and her only way out is through marriage. And even through marriage she fears she’ll be murdered once her husband realizes they’re broke, so he can go on to marry someone younger, prettier, and wealthier. 
How do you miss all the times our MMC is looked over, talked down to, or dismissed despite being a complete and utter asset to his field and profession, simply because he is not human? 

How do you miss the fact that the boys club has gone left unchallenged and unchecked for years, and does nothing to prevent the male students from sexually and physically harassing the female and slitherskin students? Page after page this novel is rife with commentary on sexism, feminism, patriarchy, classism, racism, addiction, and I’m sure some other isms I’ve overlooked myself. 

This book is so much more than a romance. And, oh, by the way. The romance was incredibly sincere, adorable, and downright seductive. Watching the MMC seduce and educate his new wife on the finer pleasures of life was sinfully sweet. Watching the FMC finally find comfort and a companion, someone who cares where she is, what she’s doing, and if she’s safe was like taking a breath after staying underwater for too long. 

I came for the romance, but I stayed for everything. I genuinely was not expecting any of this when I picked up this book, which once again proves that you can’t judge a book by its cover or reputation. You just need to turn your brain on, and read it for yourself. 

 

Thank you so much to Mary Warren who sent me an eARC of this book. 

While contemporary romance isn’t my go to out of the romance genre, if I’m going to read one it had better be a sports romance. I saw promotions for this book on Instagram and loved the included representation of a fat fmc and neurodivergent main characters. I couldn’t wait to jump into a novel with characters who might look, sound, and act like me. 

This is a very sweet (and spicy!!) holiday romance that spans December through February. Our FMC is the hockey coach’s daughter who ends up spending her holiday alone in her family’s cabin. Our MMC is one of the star hockey players who happens to be autistic. His scheduled down time is extremely important to his routine and also maintaining the precious balance of his social battery. 

This story was deeply personal to me, and in some ways that made it even harder to review. I was diagnosed autistic earlier this year, and while not every autistic person (or fictional character) experiences their world in the same way, I related to both characters on very deep levels. This story does not shy away from how neurodivergent traits can be absolute gifts that also come with learning curves about navigating life and relationships around you. I openly sobbed through a few scenes, knowing exactly how characters felt, and why their actions had seemed appropriate in the moment, but potentially harmful in hindsight. 

I enjoyed that we got to watch our characters navigate more than just a blissful Christmas snowed in together. We watched them return to the real world, grapple with New Years resolutions, and experienced them settling into new routines together. I loved that our FMC is an artist who goes through such a beautiful mental transformation throughout this story. The MMC helps her to see her differences through a more positive lens, and introduces the idea that asking for help or using aids isn’t a bad thing.

Overall I thought this was a beautiful story about these two characters, who are dreadfully underrepresented. My one and only complaint is that I personally didn’t mesh well with the writing style. Because I received an ARC I’d be very curious to go back and pick up a finished novel by this author to see if there are any major differences in the writing, or if this is in fact a true representation of the author’s voice and style. If that’s the case, I’m so happy I was able to read and review this book, but I probably wouldn’t read more from this author in the future, though I do encourage other readers to give these books a try! 

 

Lucy Score is a new to me author and I was more than ready to jump into a holiday read. What I wasn’t expecting (having not read anything about this book prior) was that it would take place during a hurricane in the North East with on the page flooding and real time rescues. As someone who has lived through close to twenty hurricanes these sections of the novel were a bit challenging. I cannot imagine someone who had recently been directly impacted by Hurricane Helene or Milton picking up a cozy Christmas novel and being immediately thrown back into their worst living nightmare. So…heads up that this book primarily deals with flooding from a hurricane, and the immediate aftermath and clean up. 

I really enjoyed the pace of this story. While it wasn’t exactly dual POV in the traditional sense we did get to watch our two main characters navigate through flood waters, and their feelings. Our FMC is a hard working, reality tv star who isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty on her construction and remodel projects. Our MMC is in charge of Merry, the town that was devastated by this hurricane, and has a built-in ‘no’ response when asked about new projects. 

While it was easy as a reader to see both sides, our MMC did a great job at being unlikable initially. His extremely harsh, misogynistic judgements of the FMC went mostly unchecked until almost halfway through the novel when her guy friends finally have a sit down, heart to heart with him about who she really is. The drastic change from being the towns over protective papa bear, to the sweet, cuddly, I’d-do-anything-for-her man was swift and immediate. 

We had a decent cast of side characters who were easy enough to follow along with, and who added depth and levity to the story. It also added to the familial feeling of being in a small town where everyone knows everyone and their business. This is especially important when our main characters start not-so-secretly dating. 

Compared to what I’ve been reading recently with dark romance and omegaverse, the spicy scenes were still decent. It was very obvious that the tone of these scenes were more reverent and described more or less like love making, despite the characters being unable to keep their hands off one another. There was a pretty sizable discussion about slut shaming, which I did appreciate, as well as a focus on the concept of a single, independent woman. 

However, the one overarching stain on this novel was the genuinely disturbing way our FMC talks about food and her body. Maybe that’s realistic for reality tv stars, but I read so many books with fat FMCs that it was shocking and disturbing just how many times our FMC mentions having to work off these calories and be destroyed by her trainer, or how much she just wants a cheeseburger but orders a salad instead. At one point her now boyfriend even says ‘hey if we order pizza will you actually eat a slice this time’? The inner monologue emphasis on her eating disorder, and everyone just being totally fine with it, was appalling. It’s one thing to be health conscious and make good choices for your body, but it’s another for every thought of food to immediately translate into ‘oh no I’ll get fat’. F___. Off.

This would have been a near perfect Christmas story, sans the unfortunate relationship with food our FMC had. I even teared up twice towards the end, genuinely ecstatic that our characters had made the best choice possible for their futures. I’d maybe try another novel by this author, and cross my fingers that disordered eating only extends to this one, singular character. But until then I hope you have a Merry holiday season. 

 

I don’t normally opt for audiobooks, but decided I needed something to listen to while I wrapped over 200 christmas gifts for my Etsy shop. I genuinely think this experience will lead to me picking up more audiobooks in the future. The dual POV from the narrators made this such an entertaining listen, and their enthusiasm, inflection, and tone brought these characters to life in the most delectable ways.

Josh has cemented a spot for himself in my book boyfriend list. I don’t make the rules; he hacked himself right into the top spot. I rarely feel jealousy towards fictional characters, but Josh had me cheesing so hard through most of this story that I found myself mentally chastising Aly to take care of our man. 

I knew just from the bits and pieces I’d gathered about this story that it would more than likely work for me. It was a dark romance centered around a masked man, who flaunted his mysterious persona, and unbelievably good looks, online. This was a fantasy come to life – or to book? Either way I was sat as Aly and Josh’s taboo romance unfolded. 

While I’m sure many of us picked up this book solely for the smut, the plot and backstory of these two characters held its own. For me, there was a great balance of spicy scenes, backstory, and present day turmoil for the characters to work through. I loved that Aly was a nurse who was well established in her career. She was a veteran to the highs and lows of the healthcare system. Some of my favorite segments of the novel were her interactions with her coworkers and her internal musing over her profession. Truth be told, I was waiting for more scenes of her in the hospital, and was only slightly disappointed when she ended up taking a much needed, and deserved, vacation.

Josh is the man every masked-man-obsessed woman wishes she could find irl. He’s just the right amount of possessive stalker, mixed with a large dose of adorably nerdy, perfect boyfriend. His extensive hacking knowledge gives him the ability to keep tabs on Aly, which he uses mostly for good. His stalking enables him to prepare snacks, rides home, and other creature comforts Aly has always had to provide for herself. 

Of course, this wouldn’t be a dark romance without a little breaking and entering, hidden cameras, and placing knife handles in very interesting places. What makes Josh even more endearing is that despite his darker side he’s incredibly self aware. Along with his sense of humor, protective aura, being the best cat daddy, and his godlike physique he was the perfect fictional man. 

I truly had no idea where this novel was going considering I went into it mostly blind. I loved how funny these characters were, and how capable they each are of handling whatever life throws their way. I was happy to just sit back and watch them interact with one another. The timing of this book, and my personal maskedtok obsession, was phenomenal. There will probably never be another moment in time as serendipitous as the rise of maskedtok and a book bringing that exact fantasy to life. Thank you for filling that void, Navessa Allen. As a booktok girlie, I am forever in your debt.