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    REVIEW: Gloam by Lily Mayne

    Monstrous: Gloam – Lily Mayne

    When a strange woman shows up outside our camp in the Wastes with monsters chained up to her RV, it feels like I’m the only one who actually wants to help them.

    That big, grey-skinned monster with the cage on his head and the chain hanging from his backβ€”something is telling me I need to help him. I need to free him. But I have absolutely no idea how I’m supposed to do that, especially when he can’t even talk to me to tell me how.

    Collector Mary is finally leaving our camp to head back to her monster menagerie, so I do the only thing I can think of to help him. I go with her.

    Now, this big beastie and I are traveling companions for the foreseeable future. Now I just have to think of a way to get that cage off his head, which seems like an impossible task. But I’m not giving up. He has no one else, and when I start to discover who he is beneath the cage, my motivation to free him becomes far more than just a desire to help.

    This is so dangerous. The military is lurking. Vicious monsters are lurking. And when Mary turns out to be even worse than we could have ever imagined, my desperate bid to save this monster turns into a deadly game of cat and mouse.

    I’m pretty sure I’m going to die out here.

    Gloam is Book Four of the Monstrous series, a post-apocalyptic m/m fantasy series that features monsters and human men falling in love. It is best to read the series in order. Warning: This m/m love story contains explicit sexual content and is not suitable for young readers. It also contains graphic depictions of torture and violence.


    Monstrous, Lily Mayne‘s brilliant post-apocalyptic series continues the trek through the monster-ridden wastelands of America with Book 4, Gloam.

    Gloam started with a thirsty young raider, Rig, lusting over the muscles of a huge, grey-skinned monster chained to an RV with a cage over his head. The antoran, along with two other beasties, were captives of a sinister human named Collector Mary. Feeling sorry for the big guy, Rig set out to free the beastie, and he was prepared to take all the risks, including leaving the raider camp and going with Collector Mary.

    We know Rig from Book 3, The Rycke, as Ghost’s impulsive best friend. He’s the camp’s mechanic, good at fixing stuff, hence the name. Rig is also naive and doesn’t have much experience outside the camp, so I was looking forward to see how our boy survives the Wastes.

    Risking his life, limb, and sanity, Rig’s pursuit to free Gloam took him through the Wastes, cannibal cults, the military, Mary’s vile thoughts, and more monsters. It was an adventure as exciting and suspenseful as the others, if a bit less action-packed. The story focused more on building Gloam and Rig’s relationship, which developed beautifully.

    At the heart of it all is a pure-hearted young man who is very determined to do the right thing because nobody, not even beasties, deserves to be abused. What gripped me the most was that Rig broke down, bawled like a baby, and blubbered like an idiot, but never, ever stopped trying to free Gloam. Even before Gloam could talk to him, and even before falling in love with the beastie! Our boy is a fluffy marshmallow with a core of steel!

    Gloam spent most of the story unable to speak, but Rig deviced a clever way for them to communicate. The big beastie might be super brawny, but he’s also surprisingly cultured and scholarly. His voice really showed off that gentle side of him! I recommend audiobooking this and the other books because Michael Lesley is giving us his best voices in this series!

    I loved the big guy! Gloam is one of the sweetest characters in the entire series who kept his innate goodness intact despite being betrayed by his own family, and forced to do the worst, most stomach-churning tasks by his captors, like impaling people in spits while still alive. He didn’t even seek revenge! Gloam has a calming energy that grounds Rig. They are a perfect match!

    There are some loose threads that I hope the author will pick up in future books. Something needs to be done about the cannibal cult! These are the assholes who forced Gloam to do the above-mentioned crime. I hope Samson, the reluctant cult member, gets his own book or will be able to escape. He’s another good guy trapped in a hellish situation. I hope we meet the intriguing beasties from Mary’s menagerie again.

    Gloam is an emotional tale of determination and kindness, a rousing dystopian adventure, and a tender romance that beat the odds. Overall, a moving portrait of the worst and best of humans and monsters.

    Rating:
    4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step away

    Soundtrack: Run Wild
    Artist: John Tibbs
    Album: Dead Man Walking

    P.S.

    Monstrous should be read in order. Fall in love with the cinnamon roll monster and their adorable humans.
    Soul Eater
    Edin
    The Rycke
    Wyn


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    GLOAM: Kindle | Audiobook

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    REVIEW: The Rycke by Lily Mayne

    Monstrous: The Rycke – Lily Mayne

    Life as a raider in the Wastes, where monsters roam and the military lurks, is as easy as it sounds.

    I’ve been out here for a long time, and the fear that courses through my blood every time I have to step outside our camp walls to scavenge never fades. No matter how many monsters you faceβ€”and have to run for your life fromβ€”it doesn’t ever get easier.

    But when I come across a bound and injured monster in an abandoned military base, I can’t leave him behind. His presence in our camp is causing tension, but I can’t bring myself to care when I get to see a different side to himβ€”when he starts to show me who he is, beneath the pain and lingering trauma.

    But despite his gentle nature, I soon discover why others are so desperate to own him. Why the military, and now this stranger lurking outside our camp, want to put him back in chains and take him away from me.

    There’s something hiding under his skin. Something that threatens to upend my entire life, the one I’ve spent my years carefully protecting out here.

    There’s a reason why all other monsters fear him.

    The Rycke is Book Three of the Monstrous series, a post-apocalyptic m/m fantasy series that features monsters and human men falling in love. It is best to read the series in order. Warning: This m/m love story contains explicit sexual content and is not suitable for young readers. It also contains graphic depictions of torture and violence, and deals with PTSD.


    I wish I read this series sooner because three book in, it’s pretty obvious Monstrous is one of the best MM fantasy series out there! The books should be read in order because each monster/human couple has been a delight so far.

    The series is set in post-apocalyptic America, where twenty years ago, a rift allowed monsters to come to earth. The only safe places for humans were the coastlines. The military controlled everything, and those who disobeyed were left to die in the Wastes. However, some chose to live there. Raiders built isolated camps, wore masks and used code names so the military couldn’t identify them.

    The third book, The Rycke, is told from the POV of Gage, raider name: Ghost. He and his best friend, Rig, were scavenging through the wrecked army base from Book 1, Soul Eater. They found a chained, injured monster, Aury, who they quickly set free and took their raider camp to heal. To their surprise, Aury is the rycke, a monster so fearsome that even his fellow monsters avoid him.

    It was hard to believe because Aury has such a gentle, shy nature. How this kind-hearted, soft-spoken individual turned into a maelstrom of death and destruction was one of the most jaw-dropping scenes in the entire series!

    The writing brilliantly lulled me with its fluffy, angst-tinged romantic development akin to the swooniest YA romance. We learned more about the other denizens of the Wastes, the raiders, a mysterious woman with monsters for pets, a rare monster-human hybrid and asshole extraordinaire named Moth who has his own book, and another enigmatic but deadly character named Lilac whose book I’m super excited to read.

    Gage is the camp scout, always tasked to make forays to many dangerous places to scavenge or find clues to the whereabout of the camp’s other leader, Cat, who is missing. He hates doing this but feels it’s the only way to make himself useful. It led to antagonistic encounters with the camp’s other leader Anchor, and another nay-saying raider, Cutter.

    In one of these missions, Aury snapped! And holy shit, it was beast-mode gone nuclear!

    This forced Gage to make life-altering decisions. These were also some of the most heartbreaking scenes where Gage learned how much of a martyr ryckes actually are. Aury and Gage’s story was intensely emotional, and narrator Michael Lesley wrung every emotion out of those scenes. I found myself holding my breath through these pivotal moments. Nearly cried at the part where beast Aury was trying to say Gage’s name.

    This book would have been a 5, but the separation scene in the last parts didn’t make much sense to me given that they quickly reunited just because Moth took it upon himself to fetch Aury. The ending was also bittersweet and not as satisfying as, say, Wyn, the Soul Eater making it his mission to have his human, Danny, be with him forever (from Wyn the novella).

    The Rycke is another brilliant monster romance. A story of self-sacrifice, friendship, and survival sweeping me away in a whirlwind of tears and feels!

    Rating:
    4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step away

    Soundtrack: Black Moon
    Artist: Greg Dully
    Album: Random Desire

    P.S.

    Meet the other monster+human couples in Soul Eater and Edin.


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    SERIES REVIEW: Monstrous Books 1-2 by Lily Mayne

    Monstrous: Soul Eater – Lily Mayne

    Twenty years ago, monsters rose on earth and began a new age of civilization.

    One where humans live in military-controlled, cramped and dirty cities along the coasts, and the majority of the United States is known as the Wastes. A lawless, desolate and dangerous place, teeming with monsters that have claimed the land for their own.

    Including Wyn the Soul Eater.

    He appears every three years, making his way across the country and slaughtering humans randomly, sucking them dry until they’re nothing but husks.

    I’ve only been in the military for six months, but now I’m part of a unit tasked with trying to stop and capture him. And when I’m the only soldier out of hundreds that the Soul Eater leaves alive, I realise that… something about me has intrigued him.

    But what is it? What could a twenty-three year old guy from the south, with no one and nothing in the world, have possibly done to capture the attention of a death monster with horns, blackened fingertips and a face hidden in the dark depths of his hood?

    Soul Eater is the debut novel of Lily Mayne. It is the first in a planned post-apocalyptic fantasy series featuring monsters and human men falling in love. This m/m love story contains explicit content and is not suitable for young readers. It also contains scenes of violence, but don’t worryβ€”they get their happy ending.


    Rating:
    5 Stars – absolutely perfect

    Soundtrack: All Over You
    Artist: Live
    Album: Throwing Copper


    Monstrous: Edin – Lily Mayne

    I was just a boy when the monsters rose on earth, forcing humans to flee to the coastlines and live in cramped, dirty, military-controlled cities. I enlisted as soon as I could to escape.

    Now, I’ve been in the military for twelve years and have the scarsβ€”and missing body partsβ€”to prove it. As a hardened soldier who’s spent his fair share of time out in the Wastesβ€”the dangerous place where monsters roam freeβ€”I didn’t think anything could surprise me anymore.

    But then circumstance forced me together with a big, annoying purple monster who’s arrogant and bossy and pushes all my buttons in the worstβ€”and bestβ€”ways. I need his help, and I hate needing anyone’s help. But the more time I spend with him, the more I realise that maybe there’s more from him that I need. And that he might need things from me too.

    But I’m still a soldier. I still have responsibilities. It doesn’t matter how I feel about Edin, because we can’t be together. It’s too dangerous.

    That doesn’t stop me wanting him, though.

    Edin is Book Two of the Monstrous series, a post-apocalyptic m/m fantasy series that focuses on monsters and human men falling in love. It is best to read the series in order. Warning: This m/m love story contains explicit content and is not suitable for young readers. It also contains graphic depictions of torture and violence, and mentions PTSD.


    Rating:
    4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step away

    Soundtrack: Be There
    Artist: Seafret
    Album: Tell Me It’s Real


    Monstrous is a series that piqued my interest because I saw some eye-catching monster/human fanarts. The next thing I knew, I was swept away into the wastelands of post-apocalyptic America, where an interdimensional tear allowed monsters to come to Earth. Humans’ only sanctuary was to live on the coastlines. The army controls everything.

    The series opens with Soul Eater, told from the POV of new military recruit Danny Sullihan, a soldier woefully ill-suited to the job. This Southern boy is too innocent and laid-back.

    For some reason, the recently captured and much-dreaded serial killer, known as the Soul Eater kept asking to talk to him. Then one day, the Soul Eater busted out of his cage and let loose all the other monsters the military kept in captivity. Danny chooses to go with him rather than risk the wastelands alone.

    Majority of the plot is Danny and Wyn the Soul Eater traveling the wastelands and avoiding the army while Danny learns why Wyn is killing people. He also discovers the person behind the dark hood might be a grumpy bastard, but a grumpy bastard who always makes sure to find him his favorite food, a.k.a. peanut butter, whenever they go scavenging.

    The chemistry between Wyn and Danny went from simmering to nuclear, and I loved them so much! I especially loved how Wyn is so ferociously protective of his sweet human, especially that innately pure part of Danny who wouldn’t even pull a gun on another monster.

    There is so much more than romance here. There’s an endless adventure and eye-opening exploration, an utterly endearing friendship between Wyn and his best friend, the purple giant, Edin, and gut-wrenching scenes that were almost too much to bear. It made me infinitely glad, Danny has the Soul Eater in his corner. All in all, this is monster romance done to perfection!

    The second book, Edin, is told from the POV of Hunter, a 12-year military veteran with a prosthetic leg and a spec ops of some sort. He and his best friend, Charlie, came across the ruins of the base destroyed by the freed monsters. Then Charlie was captured by a new group of monsters. Edin found Hunter in a bind and after helping him, agreed to assist in rescuing Charlie.

    This is what I loved most about Edin. The big guy goes around the wastelands helping people he stumbles across. Just because. He’s an adorable teddy bear who loves taking care of people. The part where he helped Hunter with his prosthetic was such a tender moment.

    Hunter might be a surly, sarcastic, anti-social bastard, but he’s loyal to a fault. Very determined to get Charlie back at all costs, he took Edin’s help for granted. But the longer they were together, he had a better appreciation of Edin’s kindness. I wasn’t too keen on him at first, but as his character grew, he endeared himself to me.

    Edin and Hunter have different dynamics, but their chemistry is as sizzling as Wyn and Danny’s. There is a bit of a size difference power play here, but I’m glad Hunter is a big guy himself too. At first, Hunter struggled with his attraction to Edin, but after seeing Edin’s best friend and his human boyfriend, he shed all his qualms and took the leap. They went nuclear too!

    The plot delves deeper into the Monstrous world, revealing more monster+human interactions, mostly the violent type, and a few romantic ones that surprise Hunter. The rescue mission was a thrilling, action-packed adventure and a long overdue comeuppance to those who hurt Danny, courtesy of Wyn. The ending was a lovely, cozy domestic affair, and I couldn’t be happier for our gentle purple giant and his Hunter!

    P.S.

    I wish like hell narrator Michael Lesley would be able to finish the entire series because his monster voices are delightfully spine-tingling! The books should be read in order and best consumed as audiobook.


    If you like my content, please consider using my Amazon affiliate links below to buy your copy of Monstrous. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases at no additional cost to you.

    SOUL EATERKindle | Audiobook
    EDINKindle | Audiobook

    If you like my content, please consider supporting me on Ko-fi or PayPal. Your donations will help keep this website going. Thank you so much!