I’m going to attempt to review the hottest and buzziest romance book right now, and keep it clean, but it’s going to be difficult when said book is about a human woman, a male minotaur, and…milking. Perhaps the most shocking thing about this book is how legitimately well written and sweet the romance is in a book that is categorized as monster erotica. Seriously, if you are looking to dip your toes into the water that is monster romance, this is a great place to start.

C.M. Nascosta really speaks to the millennials in her audience by making her heroine Violet stuck in jobs she hates and is overqualified for, overwhelmed with student loan debt, and lying to her parents about her personal life. So when a job opportunity at Cambric Creek opens up that will stop her from having to move back in with her parents, she will pretty much do anything they want her to do.  However, she didn’t think she would be milking minotaurs so the farm can give the….product….to pharmaceutical companies.  24 ounces. That’s all I’m going to say about that. She certainly didn’t think she would find herself falling for Rourke, the minotaur who starts requesting her when he comes for his weekly appointment. The majority of the book focuses on Violet and Rourke realizing their mutual crushes may be more than crushes and how to navigate the tricky world of interspecies dating.  The world building in this book is incredible, especially for an erotica novel and it provides a great set up for future books and stories. There was just enough reality in this fantastical world for me to suspend my belief and enjoy the story and the romance. This is a world where humans are friends with Vampires and Fairies date Orcs and it works. 

The romance aspect of this book is surprisingly sweet and the relationship between Violet and Rourke is a slow burn. But once they give into their feelings, phew! There has been plenty of dirty talk and flirting leading up to this point so it’s fantastic when they finally get together. Violet has never been with a non-human lover so there are some moments dedicated to highlighting the differences in human and minotaur anatomy which lead to some hot and heavy scenes before they have sex.  But for an erotic book, there is a surprising lack of sex in this book and most of the book is spent showing the relationship develop between Violet and Rourke, which is one of the best and sweetest relationships I’ve read in a romance novel in a very long time. How Nacosta convinced me that a human and a minotaur can fall in love is beyond me but kudos to her!

I fully intended to find this book ridiculous and over the top but it was sweet!  And funny! And the world was amazingly well developed. I can’t say that I would recommend this book to anyone because the people that would read this book are already aware it exists but if you are curious about monster romances, this would be a great book to pick up. I would love to hear your thoughts!

Favorite Quote:  “I’m a millennial, being anxious and guilty is my birthright, I guess, right?”

Author:  C.M. Nacosta

Published: August 3, 2021

Rating: 4 Stars