DadReadsRomance

Welp, I read a Monster Romance and once again I am proven to be wrong about what I will not enjoy.

The Spoiler Section of this Review includes references to the sexually explicit material in the book.

Medium Used: 100% ebook via Kindle iOS app

Ratings out of 5

Overall Rating: 💜💜💜

Sweetness Level: 🍫🍫🍫

Steam Heat Level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥

FMC Likability: 😈😈😈😈

MMC Likability: 🧑🏼‍🦰🧑🏼‍🦰🧑🏼‍🦰🧑🏼‍🦰

Plot Engagement: 💋

At least 1 bad dad (pass/fail): 0️⃣

#NSFW

Spoiler Free Review

Maneater is a cozy monster M/F¹ romance novella set in the 1980s. It is a prequel to Emily Antoinette's Monsters in Moonvale series. Our story swaps perspectives between the FMC, Elle, and MMC, Shane². Shane is a shy, D&D playing, witch that recently moved to the city to start a paranormal PI business off the ground. Elle is a softhearted Succubus who loves her job as a dancer at the gentleman's club Heaven's Door.

Shane and Elle's meet cute³ is eccentric, yet, adorable. Shane is invited to attend a meeting for a coven in his new city. Said coven ends up being a bunch of creeps who cast a spell to summon and trap a succubus (Elle). Shane helps Elle escape a witch coven summoning and binding he mistakenly partakes in and then gives her a ride back to work. Elle is immediately smitten with her bashful savior. Shane is equally taken by the friendly plus size beauty. Elle asks him to come see her at work the next day and their love blossoms from there.

My biggest complaint with this story is there was not enough of it. The main characters and their friends were lovable, the romance was sweet, and the (frequent) spice scenes never got stale and escalated at a pace to create a “slow-burn-like” tension. The world building was interesting but left me wanting more (which I guess is what you should expect in a Novella length prequel). If, like me, you are hoping for a mystery b-plot at minimum because one of the MCs is a PI, tamper your expectations. I would happily read an expanded version of Shane and Elle's story in the future.

What I liked about this book

• Shane and Elle are close in height.
  
• A wonderful use of dual perspective across the whole story including mutual yearning.
• Neither MC fills the broken or 'needs to be fixed' archetype. Just two caring people falling in love.
  
  

What I did not like about this book

• The book left a lot of the world feeling unexplored. We meet a moth man, a fae, a werewolf, demons, and witches. It is implied that this is a rich supernatural world, but I could not tell you what the difference between fairy magic, witch magic, and succubus magic is.
• I prefer my spice with a bit more plot.
• Elle's got an Ex that comes up frequently, but no plot purpose outside of developing Elle's past. The amount it is dwelled on took away from the overall cuteness of the story for me.
  
  

Spoilers Review

Click to reveal spoilers

What I liked Spoilers

• Elle and Shane both not wanting to say 'I love you' too early. If this trope is overplayed I do not care, I adore it.
• Shane leaves Elle a voicemail, he forgets to leave his number. He does not want to be creepy and keep calling her. His friend convinces him a second call is okay.
• We get an epilogue that is not 1-5 years in the future but 40 years in the future. One of their children is an MC in the first full length novel in the series.
• Okay fine, I get the hype around MCs with unique anatomy in spice scenes now😳.
  
  

What I didn't like Spoilers

• Elle walks in on a D&D session, and she doesn't ask to play? Missed opportunity to move into a role play scene later in the book.
• Early on Elle talks about her mother's demon realm home. We never get to see the demon realm.

Other Tropes in Maneater – Virgen MMC
– Confident late 30s Woman with Shy mid 20s Man
– Soft Femdom

This Book Reminded Me of

• The Spice in The Contract by Elizabeth by Elizabeth Kelly
  

Who should read this book?

• Any one seeking a fun and cute read that is quick and packed with steam will walk away satisfied. If you need action (outside of the bedroom) or more plot than “two lovable people meet and fall in love” then you can skip this one.
  
  
  

Get the book

Lovely Cover Art as a Bonus

¹ “Male/Female” – a Romance story about a heterosexual relationship (in this case both characters are bi/pan but the relationship is heterosexual).

² MMC = “Male Main Character”, FMC = “Female Main Character” these are common abbreviations for the primary characters in a monogamous heterosexual relationship romance story in romance internet circles.

³ Meet Cute is when the MCs (ie. Main Characters) meet in a Romance story.

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