The Botanist and the Beast by Honey Phillips [Review]

The Botanist and the Beast (Fairhaven Falls #8.5) by Honey Phillips
Format: ebook
Source: provided through author's newsletter
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: December 21, 2025

Fairhaven Falls
1. Trouble for My Troll
2. Fireworks for My Dragon Boss
3. Mistletoe for My Minotaur
4. Valentine for My Vampire
5. Gift for My Ghost
6. Wedding for My Werewolf
7. Kiss for My Kraken
8. Healed by My Hyde
8.5. The Botanist and the Beast
9. Brownies for My Grumpy Bunny
10. Guarded by My Gargoyle

Related books:
(Part of the Sweet Monster Treats series)
Cupcakes for My Orc Enemy
The Single Mom and the Orc
Protected by the Orc
Bidding on the Orc Outcast

Honey Phillips
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis:

Botanist Mia Barnes knew that searching for a legendary glowing plant in the mountains surrounding the quirky Southern town of Fairhaven Falls would be no easy task, but she never expected to land in the arms of Kade, a towering shadow guardian. Teaming up with the grumpy—but undeniably attractive—male to save the mystical plant (and possibly the entire town) from an encroaching darkness, Mia can’t help but wonder if love might bloom in the most unexpected of places... like the foggy, monster-filled woods.

Welcome to Fairhaven Falls where monsters and magic go hand in hand!

Thoughts on The Botanist and the Beast: A short and sweet little story set in Fairhaven Falls. Mia is a human who doesn't quite fit into the great outdoors, but she's determined to step outside her comfort zone a little and search for a plant that might or might not be real. Kade is the guardian of the woods who doesn't understand why he's drawn to Mia, but who can't quite help falling for her charming enthusiasm.

Throw in a little danger when Kade (not to mention the woods and possibly the town of Fairhaven Falls itself) is threatened by the darkness slowly consuming the plant Mia is searching for and he and Mia have to team up to fight whatever this darkness is. Which works nicely since they team up *winkwink* well together.

A fun, quick read with just the right amount of spice. *thumbs up*

Aspen by Adrian Blue [Review]

Aspen (Harvest Moon #5) by Adrian Blue
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: January 4, 2026

Harvest Moon
1. Fieldwork
2. The Debt
3. Before the Frost
4. The Fog
5. Aspen - Kindle

Adrian Blue
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Running from a toxic relationship, she escapes into the November mountains seeking solitude and clarity. What she finds instead are massive hoofprints in the snow, deep claw marks on the trees, and a presence watching from the ridgeline. That night, she wakes to suffocating heat and an impossible need burning through her veins. Something is circling her tent, breathing just outside the thin nylon wall. What she finds in the moonlight is massive, inhuman, and utterly wrong. Every instinct screams for her to run, but the creature has already marked her, flooded her body with hunger so overwhelming she can barely think. She can run all she wants, but they both know how this ends.

Thoughts on Aspen: Taking an overnight trip to the mountains to get some distance from a not so great relationship sounds like a good idea, right? On paper, it was. But then something decidedly not human begins circling our girl's campsite and she's not quite sure what to think. I mean, she's scared, sure. But...BUT there's also something else there.

Something that has her excited when the beast catches her. Something that has her not fighting when he corners her against a tree. Something that has her enjoying everything he does to her.

AB monsters are always a treat and this one hits the sweet spot. So to speak. *thumbs up*

The Fog by Adrian Blue [Review]

The Fog (Harvest Moon #4) by Adrian Blue
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: January 1, 2026

Harvest Moon
1. Fieldwork
2. The Debt
3. Before the Frost
4. The Fog - Kindle
5. Aspen

Adrian Blue
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Elizabeth Ashworth arrives in Thornmere seeking nothing more than solitude and silence. What she finds is a cottage on the edge of a dark forest, terrified villagers, and a fog that moves with unnatural purpose. Every night it comes, seeping beneath her door, watching her with silver eyes that gleam in the darkness. The creature offers no safety, no promises, only hunger and the certainty that it will consume her. She should be terrified, but when the creature whispers that she'll never be alone again, Elizabeth knows she's far past saving.

Thoughts on The Fog: Moving to a small village far removed from London after the death of her husband (where she can grieve or not grieve, at her discretion), Elizabeth finds something dangerous and cold in the forest outside her cottage. The village folk aren't terribly welcoming and business hasn't even started to pick up, but that fog creeping in from the trees kind of makes up for it.

Mostly because it isn't normal fog. But I guess Elizabeth isn't a normal woman, because it fascinates her. She watches it and it feels like it watches back. And then one night she finds out it is, indeed, watching back. As it turns out, she's okay with that. She's also okay with all the other things it wants to do to her.

A little danger, a village on edge, a monster in the fog, and a lady who is willing to embrace the dark (or the, umm, glowing thing in the dark) when it reaches for her. *thumbs up*

Before the Frost by Adrian Blue [Review]

Before the Frost (Harvest Moon #3) by Adrian Blue
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: December 31, 2025

Harvest Moon
1. Fieldwork
2. The Debt
3. Before the Frost - Kindle
4. The Fog
5. Aspen

Adrian Blue
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Widowed farmer Margaret has spent eight years alone, aching with a loneliness she'll never admit out loud. Until the night she burns the last of the harvest and whispers her need into the November darkness. What answers is Jack, a massive creature of vines and earth with a carved pumpkin head and an ancient claim on her land. He says her loneliness summoned him, that she's his now until the first frost. Margaret knows she should run while she still can. But as Jack's vines wrap around her body and his dark voice fills her mind, she discovers that being claimed by a monster might be exactly what she's been craving.

Thoughts on Before the Frost: I don't know what it is about AB's monsters, but I LIKE THEM. This time around, we have a lonely woman who unwittingly summons something she doesn't expect from the depths of the land. Jack is...a lot. He's powerful and hungry for Margaret. He's also into consent. Which means he might claim her as his own, but he won't act on that claim until Margaret is ready for him to.

That said, it takes a day or two for Margaret to come to terms with the creature out in her corn field. He's big, powerful, and not at all what she expected when she whispered her wants into the darkness. To be fair, I don't know that ANYTHING that came out of the darkness would have been expected. I mean, she just gave voice to an off-the-cuff desire. Yeah, she was lonely and she absolutely meant what she said, but she never imagined anything actually coming of it.

Anywho. Margaret is lonely. Jack is there to take care of her loneliness. If Margaret plays her cards right, Jack could very much be more than a one time thing. As in, an every year thing. Since he's a giver, this sounds like an excellent situation for a lonely lady to be in.

The Debt by Adrian Blue [Review]

The Debt (Harvest Moon #2) by Adrian Blue
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: December 30, 2025

Harvest Moon
1. Fieldwork
2. The Debt - Kindle
3. Before the Frost
4. The Fog
5. Aspen

Adrian Blue
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Food vlogger Cary buys a heritage turkey for her perfect Thanksgiving content, unaware she's stolen from a territorial shifter who claims the finest birds as his own. When the enraged creature crashes through her door demanding payment, the debt is simple: flesh for flesh. Submit willingly, or he'll simply take what he's owed. But as her body betrays her with every touch of his clawed hands and silken feathers, she realizes the real danger isn't what he'll take from her, it's how much she'll crave giving him more.

Thoughts on The Debt: I wasn't sure what to expect with an angry turkey-man taking out his upset on an unsuspecting food vlogger, but I mist admit he'd showed Cary the proper way to stuff things. And by things, I mean her. She learned the intricate ins and outs of stuffing.

Anywho. Cary makes the rookie mistake of buying a turkey from the farmer's market that a monstrous creature has claimed as his. To be fair, she wasn't aware of this claiming in any way, shape, or form. But she did it. And the creature was NOT happy to have his bird in her hands. So he demands payment and the payment is...not necessarily something Cary was willing to pay, but she ended up enjoying herself far more than she thought she would.

And she's considering going back next year to buy the finest turkey again. Just, you know, to relive the experience.

Fieldwork by Adrian Blue [Review]

Fieldwork (Harvest Moon #1) by Adrian Blue
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: December 30, 2025

Harvest Moon
1. Fieldwork - Kindle
2. The Debt
3. Before the Frost
4. The Fog
5. Aspen

Adrian Blue
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Podcaster Emma Thorne will do anything for the truth about New Eden Collective, the cult where twenty-three people died in a night of unspeakable violence. When she discovers an otherworldly creature who witnessed it all, she strikes a dangerous bargain: pieces of the horrifying story in exchange for increasingly intimate contact. With each revelation, the price grows steeper, and Emma finds herself craving not just the truth but the demon's cold touch, his inhuman body, and the dark pleasure he offers. But when the last piece of the puzzle demands total surrender, Emma must decide how much she's willing to give and whether she can walk away from the one being who truly sees her.

Thoughts on Fieldwork: No lie, AB gives good monster romance. This time around, a woman looking for a truth that's been long buried meets a creature who can answer all her questions. For a price. To be fair, he doesn't answer any actual questions. He just...shows her. He shows her all the things that led up to the night when twenty-three people died.

And Emma can't walk away. Not literally. She COULD walk away. Her monster is all about consent, after all. But she can't let this story go untold, so she agrees to his first price and learns the first part of the story. Then she agrees to the second. And the third. As the story gets darker, his payment gets more intimate. Just the touch of her hand. Then a hug. Then more.

Honestly, Emma's not adverse to any of it. It might be a little strange at first, but she doesn't feel threatened by the creature. She willing pays his price time and again. The story she's learning saps her, however. It's sad and terrible and she wants to know how it all came to a head.

A little touch, a little more, a terrible story, a lonely creature, and a woman who wants the truth. Good stuff all around!

RtP's Week in Review (04/19/26)

Reading the Paranormal's Week in Review

• The Retired Assassin's Guide to Orchid Hunting by Naomi Kuttner [Review] - Dante and crew are BACK!
• While You Were Seething by Charlotte Stein [Review] - Road trip!
• To Kill a Badger by Shelly Laurenston [Review] - Shifter love!
• Guarded by the Snake by Layla Fae [Review] - Slithery monster love!
• Chained by Teagan Grey [Review] - Monster love!
• Cupid's Chokehold by Dee Garcia [Review] - V-Day sexiness!

Bookish Delights

• Books added to the pile
• None!
• Currently reading
• High noon Cyborg by Honey Phillips