Jack Squier is a civilian cargo pilot in a future where humanity has begun colonizing other worlds throughout space. This period of expansion has led to prosperity, but has also led to the unfortunate realization that humanity is not alone in the universe. Humanity is now at war with the Ailian Ascendancy, a fiercely territorial empire that does not take kindly to humanity encroaching on their domain. Over this decade-long conflict, humanity’s ships have been spread thin across space as they fight to hold back the Ailian fleets.
With military ships becoming such a precious commodity, civilian pilots like Jack find themselves pressed into service running supplies for the UN Navy. On one such cargo run, Jack encounters the enemy in the worst way possible, and sets in motion a series of events that will change the future of humanity.
Teratophilia recommendation by @winged-wolf-tsuki who shared some relevant information for monster lovers: ”It features a female character that is not only stronger than her human partner but much taller. The start of it has some similarities between Enemy Mineand Starkissed but then it starts to branch out a bit more. I found it a unique read.”
More books with monsters as the love interest: HERE
The
Church of Armes of the Light has battled the forces of Darkness for
as long as anyone can remember. The great prophecy has foretold that
a band of misfits, led by a high priestess will defeat the Dark Lord
Darvezian, armed with their wits, the blessing of the Light and an
artifact stolen from the merciless Spider Queen.
Their
journey will be long, hard and fraught with danger. Allies will
become enemies; enemies will become allies. And the Dark Lord
will be waiting, always waiting…
Spiderlight
is an exhilarating fantasy quest from Adrian Tchaikovsky, the author
of Guns at Dawn and the Shadows of the Apt series.
This
book was a pleasant surprise. At first glance it’s a classic quest
novel about a small party (priestess, mage, warriors, thief) setting
out to defeat the eeeeeeeeevil Dark Lord.
It
becomes relevant to my (monster) interests when they force a giant
spider to join their party. To make him look less conspicuous the
resident mage attempts to give him a human shape. This goes slightly
wrong. The result is Nth, a man spider described as having a sinewy
physique, gray skin, slightly too long limbs, much too long fingers
and sporting 6 beady eyes as well as razor sharp fangs in a mouth
that, upon occasion, opens a bit too wide in an otherwise handsome face.
He’s also strong and tall. I’m in love.
The
poor spider monster fills his party members with intense disgust. Not
only do they not trust him despite having him placed under a spell
which compels him to obey everything they say, the human questers are
also having a hard time recognizing him as a person. My heart really
broke for Nth. He tried to adjust to an unwanted body complete with
its strange sensations and even stranger states of mind. He is forced
to betray his people, knows that he will never really belong anywhere
ever again and is even denied a free will.
But
slowly some of the party members start being compassionate towards
him and he in turn reaches out to them. A kind of camaraderie
develops between them and they start turning to each other for
comfort. Yes, I mean Nth and the female warrior Cyrene have (drunk)
sex. Moral implications ensue. Cyrene is genuinely worried that she
might have raped him because he’s still under the spell that makes
him obey everything the party members tell him to do. Luckily it
turns out Nth went into the situation willingly. This is quite
astonishing considering he later thanks Cyrene for not eating him
afterwards. He didn’t know that among humans this is not a common thing to do
after sex. 😅
So
Nth starts making friends, first the thief and then Cyrene. By the
end of the novel he has gained at least the respect of all the
questers (except the dead ones…) and is more or less made into a
hero and savior. Needless to say he doesn’t care about those
things. He also regains his free will and that is infinitely more
important to Nth.
The
end is happy enough because it suggests Nth and the two people who
genuinely care about him look forward to a quiet life where they can
escape all forced heroism and live unnoticed and therefore free.
I
have some minor criticisms but overall I thoroughly enjoyed this
book. The language is a bit overwrought but on the other hand this
goes very well with the dry humor the whole novel is infused with.
The POV of view changes quite frequently but it wasn’t confusing
despite all the characters’ voices sounding a little bit too much
alike.
The
book also deals with issues I didn’t expect in a novel about some
questers setting out to defeat the ultimate evil such as racism,
blind faith and bigotry, sexism, crimes committed under duress and
free will in general. Sometimes it’s a bit heavy handed but overall
the inclusion of those themes made the emotional struggle of the
characters very real.
Also have I mentioned that I love Nth? His
characterization is human enough to emphasize with him, yet as a being
of a different species also believably alien. The poor monster
spider boy just wants to be treated like a person.
More books with monsters as the love interest: HERE
It’s DEFY THE WORLDS launch day! Hit your local bookstore to find out what happens next for Abel and Noemi. Separated by the Liberty War for the independence of planet Genesis, Abel and Noemi have an entire galaxy between them. When Earth strikes at Genesis through biological warfare, however, Noemi is forced to venture back into the greater galaxy in an attempt to find help. But doing so puts her incredible danger–from which only Abel may be able to save her. Yet Abel knows that stepping forward to help means exposing himself to his creator, Burton Mansfield, who will stop at nothing to reclaim Abel for his own.
Did I mention DEFY THE STARS is $2.99 on all online platforms this week? BECAUSE IT IS. Time to plunge in, people!
THE DARKANGEL (DARKANGEL TRILOGY #1) by Meredith Ann Pierce
Aeriel is kidnapped by the darkangel, a black-winged vampyre of astounding beauty and youth. In his castle keep, she serves his 13 wives, wraiths whose souls he stole. She must kill him before his next marriage and comes into full power, but is captivated by his magnificent beauty and inner spark of goodness. Will she choose to save humanity or his soul?
You think this is your average YA novel? Think again! First published in 1982 it came long before the supernatural love interest was trending. I read this book as an adult and I never once had the feeling that I couldn’t relate to the young heroine. This trilogy features incredibly imaginative worldbuilding, a wealth of interesting secondary characters and universal themes including love, friendship and betrayal. I was crying by the end and I mean crying, like actual salt water leaking from my eyes.
Do you have a REYLO VIBE recommendation? Submit or contact me!💙💙💙
Who needs social events when you get three books at once in your mailbox right?? I like Radiance so far, a very interesting interspecies romance with a monstrous guy, recommended by @fuck-yeah-monsters-and-villains, and another two books by Juliet Marillier because I loved her Blackthorn and Grim series so much!
Not having to be at any social events is a blessing.😉 I usually prefer a good book over those pesky social activities.
I heard you. Sometimes, in silence, at night, I hear the voices of things beyond eyesight, like echoes of ancient songs. I heard your voice, lonely in my dreams—it woke me, so I came. You see, I know how it is when you speak a name into an empty room with no one on earth to answer to it.
–Coren of Sirle, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld
Young Sybel, the heiress of powerful wizards, needs the company of no-one outside her gates. In her exquisite stone mansion, she is attended by exotic, magical beasts: Riddle-master Cyrin the boar; the treasure-starved dragon Gyld; Gules the Lyon, tawny master of the Southern Deserts; Ter, the fiercely vengeful falcon; Moriah, feline Lady of the Night. Sybel only lacks the exquisite and mysterious Liralen, which continues to elude her most powerful enchantments.
But Sybel’s solitude is to be shattered when a desperate soldier arrives bearing a mysterious child. Soon Sybel will discover that the world of men is full of love, deceit, and the temptations of vast power.
–Amazon Summary
Despite it being published over 30 years ago, I just read this sophisticated, lyrical, romantic but unsentimental, thematically compelling YA novel for the first time. Not gonna lie, I did get some Reylo vibes here–it’s a coming of age story centered on an isolated heroine, Sybel, with tremendous but untested power. Furthermore, this book portrays an attempted “mind rape”, and I have to say, it could not be further from what went on in the Reylo interrogation scene. As the above quote suggests, there are also themes of loneliness and neglect that fuel the relationship between the protagonist and her love interest, much like Rey and Kylo.
Thematically, the novel explores how and why one so powerful (and even ones not so powerful) could be used and abused to further the machinations of man. It also does not shy away from pointing out how even the best of intentions can be interpreted as abusive and does not back down from portraying a heroine capable of the very real human failing of holding others to a double standard. Against a really simple but beautiful metaphor, Sybel ultimately learns that one cannot merely survive one’s fears by staring them in the face, but also must accept them as part of herself. It’s also some of the best feminist YA fiction I’ve read in recent years and deals considerably (though not overtly) with the role of consent and choice as well as puts forth thoughtful ideas about captivity and free will.
Anyway, it was a terrific read and if you like lyrical, nuanced prose and dialogue that is by turns delicate and unsentimental, romantic but fierce, ambiguous while also direct, then this is highly recommended.
I love Patricia A. McKillip and often thought that her books have that dark fairy tale vibe which always reminds me of the reylo dynamic.
I haven’t read this one yet but I can wholeheartedly recommend this author. Her writing is pure magic.
Further recommendations by this author:
The Riddlemaster of Hed trilogy
Ombria in Shadow
In the Forests of Serre
Alphabet of Thorn
The Changeling Sea (This one had the most reylo vibes for me.)
I’m guessing Winter Rose should have a strong reylo vibe as well. I’ve yet to read it but I know it’s an adaption of the Tam Lin tale which also may have been an inspiration for the dynamic between Rey and Kylo/Ben.
OMG @fuck-yeah-monsters-and-villains, if you love this author you have got to read Forgotten Beasts soon! Apart from anything Reylo, it’s just a splendid and emotional read.
The Changeling Sea was a book on my reading list for awhile, so I’m reading that now, and I strongly second your “most Reylo” comparison thus far, especially at times when Peri, the female protagonist, hopes to “give the sea indigestion” by throwing a jagged ball of glass and metal junk into it. That’s so Scavenger Rey to me lol.
Ha, yes that part was great. I’ve almost forgotten about that bcause it’s been a while since I last read a book by her. I best remember the bittersweet and yet uplifting ending of the Changeling Sea.
The forgotten Beasts of Eld has been on my reading list for a while and this post has definitely been a incentive to pick it up soon.☺
I heard you. Sometimes, in silence, at night, I hear the voices of things beyond eyesight, like echoes of ancient songs. I heard your voice, lonely in my dreams—it woke me, so I came. You see, I know how it is when you speak a name into an empty room with no one on earth to answer to it.
–Coren of Sirle, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld
Young Sybel, the heiress of powerful wizards, needs the company of no-one outside her gates. In her exquisite stone mansion, she is attended by exotic, magical beasts: Riddle-master Cyrin the boar; the treasure-starved dragon Gyld; Gules the Lyon, tawny master of the Southern Deserts; Ter, the fiercely vengeful falcon; Moriah, feline Lady of the Night. Sybel only lacks the exquisite and mysterious Liralen, which continues to elude her most powerful enchantments.
But Sybel’s solitude is to be shattered when a desperate soldier arrives bearing a mysterious child. Soon Sybel will discover that the world of men is full of love, deceit, and the temptations of vast power.
–Amazon Summary
Despite it being published over 30 years ago, I just read this sophisticated, lyrical, romantic but unsentimental, thematically compelling YA novel for the first time. Not gonna lie, I did get some Reylo vibes here–it’s a coming of age story centered on an isolated heroine, Sybel, with tremendous but untested power. Furthermore, this book portrays an attempted “mind rape”, and I have to say, it could not be further from what went on in the Reylo interrogation scene. As the above quote suggests, there are also themes of loneliness and neglect that fuel the relationship between the protagonist and her love interest, much like Rey and Kylo.
Thematically, the novel explores how and why one so powerful (and even ones not so powerful) could be used and abused to further the machinations of man. It also does not shy away from pointing out how even the best of intentions can be interpreted as abusive and does not back down from portraying a heroine capable of the very real human failing of holding others to a double standard. Against a really simple but beautiful metaphor, Sybel ultimately learns that one cannot merely survive one’s fears by staring them in the face, but also must accept them as part of herself. It’s also some of the best feminist YA fiction I’ve read in recent years and deals considerably (though not overtly) with the role of consent and choice as well as puts forth thoughtful ideas about captivity and free will.
Anyway, it was a terrific read and if you like lyrical, nuanced prose and dialogue that is by turns delicate and unsentimental, romantic but fierce, ambiguous while also direct, then this is highly recommended.
I love Patricia A. McKillip and often thought that her books have that dark fairy tale vibe which always reminds me of the reylo dynamic.
I haven’t read this one yet but I can wholeheartedly recommend this author. Her writing is pure magic.
Further recommendations by this author:
The Riddlemaster of Hed trilogy
Ombria in Shadow
In the Forests of Serre
Alphabet of Thorn
The Changeling Sea (This one had the most reylo vibes for me.)
I’m guessing Winter Rose should have a strong reylo vibe as well. I’ve yet to read it but I know it’s an adaption of the Tam Lin tale which also may have been an inspiration for the dynamic between Rey and Kylo/Ben.
Watch the new Vaginal Fantasy Romance Book Club episode with Felicia Day, Veronica Belmont, Bonnie Burton and Kiala Kazebee discussing the book “Radiance” (Wraith Kings, #1) by Grace Daven! Plus booze!
Here’s an older CNET article of Vaginal Fantasy co-host Bonnie Burton that’s a hilarious yet informative read about Cthulhu, Bigfoot, dinosaur romance books.
Monsters and Villains 