There's a Monster in the Woods: MM Monster Romance (Spooky Boys)

This was a weirdly excellent story and yes...it was a little weird. Set in todays times but yet the feeling of the small town Ellis lived in felt as if it was back in the 1600 hundreds. Styx is a monster of the forest or at least that is was he is designated as and his myth goes back hundreds of years. A lonely spirit he becomes attached to Ellis who lives by himself on the edge of the forest. Gardening is Ellis's form of feeding himself and keeping him from sinking into his loneliness as is his dog. An indifferent village of people, a mean, spiteful farmer adds to his stress. How can these two kindred spirits come together for their HEA? I read to find out and was very entertained as you will be.

A solid 4 stars for the romance and heat level. Took one star away bc I wanted more of the meat of the relationship and I felt the ending was lacking. . The romance was a little slow burn but felt organic. The 2 MC’s were cute together and I enjoyed their budding relationship. Even without being able to communicate verbally they still were able to convey meanings with looks and gestures. It was sweet. Spoilers Ahead! The author goes on for a long time how Ellis is lonely. I get it. I needed 10% less of that. This author also REALLY likes to talk about nature. Nature is a love if Ellis’s and Styx of course is part magic and lives in nature BUT the eternal descriptions of nature I needed about 20% less of that and more relationship building. Also, you’ll never find out exactly “what” Styx is. At first I thought he was the fabled “Green Man” and he might be🤷‍♂️. There’s never really much of a discussion about it to figure it out. Heat level a solid 3/5. It takes awhile (past the 80% mark of the book) to finally get to the spicy stuff but it’s nice and hot when you finally do. There’s some gentle exploration earlier than that which is nice but hands don’t start wandering till after 80% of the book is done. The last thing I wanted more clarity on was the ending. What was the big deal about winning the fair and being able to be named Sacrifice of the year? (Historically people would “sacrifice” someone every year to the monster in the woods for safety another year. Even…

One monster. One man. Two beings who are lonely and different and want to feel loved. It makes a lot of sense that Ellis, who loves being in nature, tending to his garden, and living a simple, technology free life, would be drawn to the king of the forest. Ellis feels an attraction to Styx that he’s never felt before, which is confusing to him but also exciting. Fae’s writing is like poetry. Her similes, analogies, and metaphors paint vivid pictures in my mind, and I can see their world so clearly. The way she writes about Ellis’s feelings of loss and loneliness, and then finally finding acceptance and love with his mate, feels really pure and beautiful. I love the way she mixes this with the very spicy scene between Styx and Ellis the first time they are together. I loved everything about this book. Themes of acceptance and tolerance, belonging and home, being in tune with nature, and living simply and loving wholeheartedly will just bury themselves into your heart and you will be in love with Styx and Ellis.