manda24176's review against another edition
5.0
Talk about different
First, I want to say I love this cover. Second, I love that the state of Virginia and West Virginia are the locale set for this book. VA girl here, lol. This is very different take on paranormal/monsters book. We meet Ava who is trying to escape the family business. Which becomes very apparent that won't be happening for her. Slight trigger warning for the violence that takes place the last few chapters. I throughly enjoyed this story, and I am excited for book 2.
First, I want to say I love this cover. Second, I love that the state of Virginia and West Virginia are the locale set for this book. VA girl here, lol. This is very different take on paranormal/monsters book. We meet Ava who is trying to escape the family business. Which becomes very apparent that won't be happening for her. Slight trigger warning for the violence that takes place the last few chapters. I throughly enjoyed this story, and I am excited for book 2.
virago's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This was great. I love Caspian. The story was very good and kept me invested. The cast of characters was loveable. I'm dying to know what/who is in the cave!
kaleighslibrary's review against another edition
4.0
honestly a pretty interesting story so far. a little confusing but i’m curious to see how the story unravels in the next two books
so far my fav character is moth man. he has slight caveman tendencies just like the other hero. moth man feels this soul deep attraction to the fmc but the other hero gets very possessive because he knows she is his mate. the end of the book leaves off where moth man and the fmc are finally getting a little bit closer but the other hero still hates moth man.
also moth man can only communicate through asl since he doesn’t want to cause the heroine pain. in order for him to speak he has to convey messages through someone else’s head and it’s very painful to be on the receiving end. the heroine doesn’t know asl so they use a notebook to communicate.
fav quote from moth man:
“I swallowed nervously, hoping Ava would make it out of this alive and okay. I couldn’t let her die. This thing with her was serious. I didn’t just want to fuck the girl. I wanted to carve our names in a tree and ask her to go steady. I wanted to be close enough that if she was already on the toilet when I had to go, she’d open her legs wide and let us piss in the bowl together. That was the type of relationship to aspire to.”
i’m excited to see how the dynamic of this relationship plays out especially since we haven’t met all of the harem members.
safety:
one of the heros is a virgin (he waited for the heroine) i don’t think the heroine is a virgin. the other hero (we’ve only met two so far) hasn’t had sex in centuries
no OW/OM drama
so far my fav character is moth man. he has slight caveman tendencies just like the other hero. moth man feels this soul deep attraction to the fmc but the other hero gets very possessive because he knows she is his mate. the end of the book leaves off where moth man and the fmc are finally getting a little bit closer but the other hero still hates moth man.
also moth man can only communicate through asl since he doesn’t want to cause the heroine pain. in order for him to speak he has to convey messages through someone else’s head and it’s very painful to be on the receiving end. the heroine doesn’t know asl so they use a notebook to communicate.
fav quote from moth man:
“I swallowed nervously, hoping Ava would make it out of this alive and okay. I couldn’t let her die. This thing with her was serious. I didn’t just want to fuck the girl. I wanted to carve our names in a tree and ask her to go steady. I wanted to be close enough that if she was already on the toilet when I had to go, she’d open her legs wide and let us piss in the bowl together. That was the type of relationship to aspire to.”
i’m excited to see how the dynamic of this relationship plays out especially since we haven’t met all of the harem members.
safety:
one of the heros is a virgin (he waited for the heroine) i don’t think the heroine is a virgin. the other hero (we’ve only met two so far) hasn’t had sex in centuries
no OW/OM drama
asabovesobelow's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
joann3's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
I could’ve done without the ex-stepbrother romance relationship and the very sudden appear of Mothman wanting to fuck her 😬.
planted_library's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
revengelyne's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Lately, there have been several books where I have struggled to place on the rating scale. The novel's premise always sounds promising. That is until you crack open the novel, read the book, and learn that the novel either did not have much character development, the world-building was underwhelming, or the story's pace just seemed to slow any progress it should already have.
The monster genre has become a favorite especially when there is a reverse harem and a new cryptid is introduced into the genre. This time a Nøkken. The Nøkken is a different breed altogether. It is a water spirit that is known to lure people into the water using its musical talents. It is said that once you are within its grasp, it will drown you and take your soul.
Nøkken is known to imprint on their fated half and crave their attention. Unfortunately for Caspian, his mother had passed away and his father craved the attention that had been lost to her death. He finds Ava's mother and the two marry sending both Caspian and his father far from their home to the lands of Norfolk, Virginia. Here would be his new home. Here he would live, but he was not expecting to find his fated half in Ava. The connection was instantaneous for Caspian and when he set out for his career, he would become famous just for her.
Fast forward five years, Caspian has achieved fame and now it was time to claim the prize he has waited all this time for - Ava. With unwanted bandmates and a cryptid loose in the woods, Caspian will have to find a way to claim Ava before someone else does.
While I did enjoy this story and its premise, I did not care too much for Ava, the bandmates, and Mothman. I did not feel that Ava's character advances any in her development. Her whole mentality of "if you don't see it or really feel it, then it is not real". This causes all sorts of problems in her character and there were times I really wanted to slap the shit out of her.
Caspian's bandmates annoyed the shit out of me. I don't see what the problem was when Caspian decided enough was enough for him. They could have continued on with their band and just rebranded it or even found another frontman. Instead, they decided they would just tag and make problems. I never thought I would see a bunch of immature bandmates ever. I can now see why Caspian would leave.
The Mothman - I don't know what to think of him. He really doesn't seem to really fit in the story except to be the next mate for Ava's harem. He was annoying and I don't think he was really needed except maybe for the creep factor that was going for him.
And let's not go there with her aunt and mother. I am not fond of either of those two.
Caspian - what can I say about him? I loved his character. I loved that he was the first Nøkken I have been introduced to and I love that he had stayed true to Ava for all these years. He grows from the first moment we see him and even in flashbacks to the beginning. He grows in character and he does everything possible to protect Ava. Who could ever turn him down?
The monster genre has become a favorite especially when there is a reverse harem and a new cryptid is introduced into the genre. This time a Nøkken. The Nøkken is a different breed altogether. It is a water spirit that is known to lure people into the water using its musical talents. It is said that once you are within its grasp, it will drown you and take your soul.
Nøkken is known to imprint on their fated half and crave their attention. Unfortunately for Caspian, his mother had passed away and his father craved the attention that had been lost to her death. He finds Ava's mother and the two marry sending both Caspian and his father far from their home to the lands of Norfolk, Virginia. Here would be his new home. Here he would live, but he was not expecting to find his fated half in Ava. The connection was instantaneous for Caspian and when he set out for his career, he would become famous just for her.
Fast forward five years, Caspian has achieved fame and now it was time to claim the prize he has waited all this time for - Ava. With unwanted bandmates and a cryptid loose in the woods, Caspian will have to find a way to claim Ava before someone else does.
While I did enjoy this story and its premise, I did not care too much for Ava, the bandmates, and Mothman. I did not feel that Ava's character advances any in her development. Her whole mentality of "if you don't see it or really feel it, then it is not real". This causes all sorts of problems in her character and there were times I really wanted to slap the shit out of her.
Caspian's bandmates annoyed the shit out of me. I don't see what the problem was when Caspian decided enough was enough for him. They could have continued on with their band and just rebranded it or even found another frontman. Instead, they decided they would just tag and make problems. I never thought I would see a bunch of immature bandmates ever. I can now see why Caspian would leave.
The Mothman - I don't know what to think of him. He really doesn't seem to really fit in the story except to be the next mate for Ava's harem. He was annoying and I don't think he was really needed except maybe for the creep factor that was going for him.
And let's not go there with her aunt and mother. I am not fond of either of those two.
Caspian - what can I say about him? I loved his character. I loved that he was the first Nøkken I have been introduced to and I love that he had stayed true to Ava for all these years. He grows from the first moment we see him and even in flashbacks to the beginning. He grows in character and he does everything possible to protect Ava. Who could ever turn him down?
Final Thought:
I have book two so I am debating if I really want to go further anymore with this series. I know that the first book just sets the tone for the next book and normally the series can get better. So, I might go ahead and see if book two is better.
danifleurdelune's review against another edition
4.0
Beatrix does a fantastic job of building suspense throughout this first book. The storyline is interesting and kept me wanting more. And don’t get me started on the spice. It’s slow to start, but
carryontae's review against another edition
2.0
How did a book that had very descriptive monster fucking turn out to be something I had to force myself to finish despite the fact that I really wanted to read more monster fucking books?
Ava. Ava did that all by herself.
I appreciate that she had what would be a very normal person's reaction to finding out the guy you've been drooling over and then screwing is actually a scary unknown monster re: she was scared stupid. Unfortunately, her backstory involves her being fully aware of the supernatural (both due to her own constitution and her family history) and it stretches the limit of my imagination that she didn't pick up on /any/ hints over the years. Yeah okay, she's been terrified her whole life and denial is her best friend but then why lie so much about it? I completely get not wanting to go into the family business, but what did you think was going to happen if you just kept prattling on about how the paranormal wasn't real? Just tell them you're scared and your family--you know, the ones who've been doing this a lot longer than you have and don't seem to hate you--would've most likely helped you deal with that fear in a healthy, not stupid way. (The haunted house shit was pretty obviously because they were trying to get her to see that ghosts were real which they wouldn't have done if they knew she knew that!!! Gah this is annoying me.)
Also if you're so scared ... why are you running off into the woods alone in the middle of the night to chase after fucking raccoons who stole your food? Let them take the fucking food, stay away from horror story bait! Not to mention all the 'oh Caspian's dick feels so strange and not human-like at all and oh he doesn't look too fazed by blood and oh you know what no I'm not going to think about this' crap MY GOD ENOUGH.
I was waiting so long for her to come into her own somehow. It's not like I wanted her to turn into some supernatural queen overnight or something--I would've settled for her making /less/ idiotic decisions that seem to completely contradict all the fear she was feeling but nope. Also Mothman was a very obvious monster but she was so quickly okay with him going down on her because ??? he didn't know what he was doing?? I hope I misread that (a very likely possibility, I was skimming by then.)
I really want to know who that guy in the mine was (also if she's so scared and she's being chased by a hunter WHY ANSWER CREEPY CALLS COMING FROM THE DARK I DON'T UNDERSTAND) and I want to know what the deal is with that splinter from hell and I want to know if Caspian and Brandon are going to fuck but I truly cannot stand the idea of having to deal with more Ava POV.
Two stars only because the monster fucking parts were cool and I liked all the Caspian shenanigans where he got violent and tore things apart. Going to re-read Cute But Psycho; Bree is my queen, she'll help make me less irritated.
Ava. Ava did that all by herself.
I appreciate that she had what would be a very normal person's reaction to finding out the guy you've been drooling over and then screwing is actually a scary unknown monster re: she was scared stupid. Unfortunately, her backstory involves her being fully aware of the supernatural (both due to her own constitution and her family history) and it stretches the limit of my imagination that she didn't pick up on /any/ hints over the years. Yeah okay, she's been terrified her whole life and denial is her best friend but then why lie so much about it? I completely get not wanting to go into the family business, but what did you think was going to happen if you just kept prattling on about how the paranormal wasn't real? Just tell them you're scared and your family--you know, the ones who've been doing this a lot longer than you have and don't seem to hate you--would've most likely helped you deal with that fear in a healthy, not stupid way. (The haunted house shit was pretty obviously because they were trying to get her to see that ghosts were real which they wouldn't have done if they knew she knew that!!! Gah this is annoying me.)
Also if you're so scared ... why are you running off into the woods alone in the middle of the night to chase after fucking raccoons who stole your food? Let them take the fucking food, stay away from horror story bait! Not to mention all the 'oh Caspian's dick feels so strange and not human-like at all and oh he doesn't look too fazed by blood and oh you know what no I'm not going to think about this' crap MY GOD ENOUGH.
I was waiting so long for her to come into her own somehow. It's not like I wanted her to turn into some supernatural queen overnight or something--I would've settled for her making /less/ idiotic decisions that seem to completely contradict all the fear she was feeling but nope. Also Mothman was a very obvious monster but she was so quickly okay with him going down on her because ??? he didn't know what he was doing?? I hope I misread that (a very likely possibility, I was skimming by then.)
I really want to know who that guy in the mine was (also if she's so scared and she's being chased by a hunter WHY ANSWER CREEPY CALLS COMING FROM THE DARK I DON'T UNDERSTAND) and I want to know what the deal is with that splinter from hell and I want to know if Caspian and Brandon are going to fuck but I truly cannot stand the idea of having to deal with more Ava POV.
Two stars only because the monster fucking parts were cool and I liked all the Caspian shenanigans where he got violent and tore things apart. Going to re-read Cute But Psycho; Bree is my queen, she'll help make me less irritated.