Guest post written by Bull Moon Rising author Ruby Dixon
Ruby Dixon is an author of all things science fiction romance. She is a Sagittarius and a Reylo shipper, and loves farming sims (but not actual housework). She lives in the South with her husband and a couple of goofy cats, and can’t think of anything else to put in her biography. Truly, she is boring.
About Bull Moon Rising: In a world of magical artifacts and fantastical beings, a woman determined to save her family joins forces with an unlikely partner—a minotaur—in this steamy romantasy by USA Today bestselling author Ruby Dixon.
BULL MOON RISING features a hero with horns and hooves – a minotaur. If this is your first dip into the trend of Monster Romance, welcome! And if you’re intrigued and looking for more to read, I’ve got suggestions for you. Not sure where to start? I’ve scaled things on the level of reader risk based off of video game difficulties.
MONSTER ROMANCE: NEWBIE MODE
Lana Ferguson’s upcoming Under Loch and Key comes out December 3rd. It’s got a spunky heroine, lots of laughs, and a handsome cursed hero that turns into Nessie after dark. If you’re not sure if monster romance is your thing, this book will ease you into the idea. He’s only a monster part time! It’s funny and charming and has enough spice to make you sweat.
MONSTER ROMANCE: APPRENTICE MODE
CM Nascosta is well known for Morning Glory Milking Farm, but she also writes a bevy of other monsters, like werewolves and mothmen. The best thing about Nascosta’s writing is that all of these strange otherworldly creatures are ensconced in what might possibly be the coziest, most feel-good small town romances ever.
MONSTER ROMANCE: MODERATE MODE
Lillian Lark writes compulsively readable romance that just happens to star, say, a kraken hero. Or a triad of gargoyles who all want to claim one woman. Or a possessive dragon. Like Nascosta and Ferguson, she excels at spice and making you smile, but everything is nudged up to the next level for a well-rounded read with just the right amount of angst. My favorite by her? Found by the Lake Monster, which features a blind date gone wrong and instant attraction.
MONSTER ROMANCE: ADVANCED MODE
You need your spice to bite back? Like a huge dose of angst to go with your story? High heat and a hero that looks completely and utterly inhuman? Allow me to direct you to Katee Robert and her book The Dragon’s Bride. The dragon never looks human in the slightest, he’s got two eggplants, and the heroine has been sold to him for his pleasure. Got your attention? I thought so! Her entire A Deal with a Demon series features monstrous partners and the deals that humans make with them (that always turn into love, of course).
MONSTER ROMANCE: GOD MODE
Allow me to point you toward Tiffany Roberts and their (Tiffany Roberts is a husband/wife writing duo) trilogy, The Spider’s Mate. It’s the story of a human woman who gets stranded on an alien planet and the people that inhabit it are spider people. Yup. As in, eight arms, eight eyes, spider webs, the whole shebang. There’s spiderweb shibari. There’s an evil queen out to tear them apart. The spider hero is protective and sweet to the heroine…but did I mention he still has eight legs and lots of eyes and lives in a web? Yeah. The worldbuilding is intense, the hero’s about as alien as alien can get, and if you have arachnophobia, this book is not for you. But…it’s a really great read and you’d be missing out.
