Reviews

Monstrous Desires: A Monster Romance Anthology by M.J. Marstens

k_huskic's review against another edition

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4.0

So many sneak peaks in this anthology, and I have so many books to pre-order now! Each of these stories had their own versions of monsters, and though we only got to read a small amount of chapters from each author, it was enough to leave you wanting more.

I look forward to reading some new monster stories when the full versions are released!

ameserole's review against another edition

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3.0

There's just something about this anthology that didn't click with me. Which was weird because I tend to enjoy them. Like a whole freaking lot.

For some reason, Monstrous Desires left me annoyed and frustrated for most of the book. It's one thing to have short stories that are complete and another to have a chapter or two with a to be determined/to be discussed/to be forgotten added. In the beginning, things were interesting. Maybe even borderline great. I was slowly becoming invested until that stopped.

It's really hard to get invested in a little sneak peak of a potential series or full book when you don't know much about the story. You meet the character and that's about it. It was little to go off of and I just kept getting annoyed by it. I feel like if I had known that so many stories weren't going to be complete, well, I probably would have read another book. For example, another anthology or maybe, just maybe, a book from that author that goes with whatever the little snippet went with.

Heck, I could have waited for certain books to be published before diving into this as well. Unfortunately, that never happened and I'm just sitting here disappointed. In the end, some stories were pretty good. I could totally see myself continuing with the full book or series if one became a thing. Or even diving into another book by that author.

As of right now, I'm just going to dive into another book and try to forget the unfinished short stories.

bunnerz's review against another edition

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2.0

I had originally picked this up due to the monster romance theme and the many authors I recognized.

However, just after reviewing the contents alone, I was rather disappointed that most of the stories were not full short stories but rather excerpts and sneak peeks of longer novels. For that reason alone, I couldn't rate this more than two-stars in quality. I didn't bother trying to read any of the excerpts. The few whole short stories (4 out of 10) in the anthology were a hit and miss, but it basically reaffirmed that I continued to like the authors I already liked and was better off avoiding other authors.
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The Orc Captain's Prize: Orc Mates by Cara Wylde
84 pages
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Tags: orcs, dystopia, sci-fi, magic, monsters


This story followed the human FMC Silvie after she volunteered to be an orc bride as a way to hold the peace between the two races. The main "villain" plot was due to jealous OW drama, and it was quite shallow, one-dimensional, and over-dramatic, and I started skimming after it was introduced.

The author chose to switch POV between paragraphs, which ruined the flow of scenes for me. The romance was pretty much insta-love. Additionally, the dialogue from off-world orcs didn't seem very believable like they were learning a foreign language. Their grammar was too good even if their vocabulary was poor.
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Monster Island by Beatrix Hollow
36 pages
Rating: ★★★★☆
Tags: monsters


This story followed the FMC Sammie after she was dropped off at a monster island in a televised survival competition Hunger Games-style. However, unlike the other contestants, she was there as an unapologetic monster-fucker and check one off the bucket list. A giant ogre Thracker ended up capturing her and fulfilled her monster-loving dreams as well as his own human kink.

It was a fun smutty read and entertaining for what it was.
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The Wild Hunt by Albany Walker
28 pages
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Tags: gods, monsters


This story followed an unnamed virgin FMC after she was captured by the leader of the Wild Hunt, the god Jólner, as an offering from her village. The pacing was super off - any real action didn't happen until the last chapter, and the rest was just boring exposition and random minutae. I didn't get the point of introducing random side characters and even someone that seemed to have OW drama when they had nothing to do with the rest of the story. Even the smut was not romantic at all and more like primal animal rutting.
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Eat, Prey, Love: Monsters of the Amazon by M.J. Marstens
9 pages
* skipped *

Excerpt from a future novel.
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Monsters of Chaos by Loxley Savage
18 pages
* skipped *

Two chapters of a future standalone novel.
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Monsters Within: The Creatures We Crave by R.L. Caulder
11 pages
* skipped *

One chapter of the full novel [b:Monsters Within|59366788|Monsters Within (The Creatures We Crave, #1)|R.L. Caulder|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1634488281l/59366788._SY75_.jpg|93539679].
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The Skeleton King: Monstrum Academy by A.J. Macey and M.J. Marstens
13 pages
* skipped *

Two chapters of the full novel [b:The Skeleton King|61096747|The Skeleton King (Monstrum Academy Book 1)|M.J. Marstens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1652588981l/61096747._SX50_.jpg|96298627].
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Ravaged by Monsters: Dark Temptations by Ann Denton & Katie May
11 pages
* skipped *

Excerpt from the full novel [b:Ravaged by Monsters|59738904|Ravaged by Monsters (Dark Temptations, #1)|Katie May|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1638413804l/59738904._SY75_.jpg|94081140].
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A Lakesnake in Love: A Carnal Cryptids Short by Vera Valentine
23 pages
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Tags: monsters, shifters, reverse-harem


This was a short story in the author's Carnal Cryptids universe that followed the FMC Desi getting taken out on a date by one of her cryptid shifter fiancés, Will, at his origin grounds in Jersey. It was a cute smutty read, but didn't add much to the character development.
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When Monsters Lie: The Monsters Among Us by Debbie Cassidy
37 pages
* skipped *

Four chapters of the full novel [b:When Monsters Lie|59738828|When Monsters Lie (The Monsters Among Us #1)|Debbie Cassidy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1638412804l/59738828._SY75_.jpg|87070206].

emmelnie's review against another edition

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2.0

While there are some interesting stories, such as Cara Wylde's, too many of these are teasers for full-length books. There need to be better explanations at the beginning of each of these to help readers decide to read or not. Some had them, but not all. But if you're looking for multiple complete monster romance novellas, this anthology isn't entirely that.

belindaclemons_123's review against another edition

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5.0

When Monsters Lie by Debbie Cassidy has me wanting more i really cant wait for the whole book to release
The Orc Captain’s Prize by Cara Wylde well this was interesting the first time ive ever read a book about Orcs but i think i might read more now.
Monster Island by Beatrix Hollow now this was twisted for sure
The Wild Hunt by Albany Walker was really good i liked it alot
Monsters of Chaos by Loxley Savage ok im wanting more this just wasnt enough
The Skeleton King by AJ Macey and MJ Marstens i want now i cant wait for the whole story
this anthology was amazing

sammiimarriiee's review

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4.0

How do you review an anthology lol? I liked all the stories. Some better than others, it needs some editing. 

Overall good length and good monster stories.

reading_robyn's review against another edition

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dark

2.25

kaylareadsallthetime's review

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fast-paced

5.0

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