Tentacles and Truffles by Aly Tatum [Review]

Tentacles and Truffles (Lunar Station Eros #1) by Aly Tatum
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: November 14, 2025

Lunar Station Eros
1. Tentacles and Truffles - Kindle
2. Tentacles and Troubles

Aly Tatum
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

When a chocolatier’s cosmic confections unleash an irresistible brew of tangled tentacles, glitchy cybernetics, and royal pheromones, love on Lunar Station Eros becomes anything but ordinary.

Hailey Calloway thought running Sweet Nebula—the coziest café on Lunar Station Eros—was wild enough. But one Valentine’s Day, a mischievous PA’s botched recipe accidentally turns her signature truffles into dangerously potent aphrodisiacs. Now, Hailey can’t stop blushing under the combined affections of three utterly different men:

• Xy’lan, the brilliant alien scholar whose tentacles betray his hidden feelings.
• Ronan Garret, a stoic bio-mechanical assassin struggling with emotions he’s never dared to embrace.
• Prince Kael’ith, a glamorous rogue royal whose pheromones mask a surprising vulnerability.

Locked inside her café until she finds a cure, Hailey realizes she’s not the only target of this chocolate-fueled fiasco—Xy’lan, Ronan, and Kael’ith have equal (and sometimes highly flammable) interest in each other, too. When the antidote finally materializes, they all face a choice: sacrifice these edgy, life-altering desires or let a Valentine’s accident become the sweetest discovery of their lives.

Thoughts on Tentacles and Truffles: A helpful bot's ingredient substitution has Hailey and the three alien men she's attracted to buzzing. Actually, it's more than just the fur of them. There are multiple individuals on the station looking for alone time with their chosen special someone as Hailey's Valentine truffles work their magic.

But Hailey? She has three wildly different men looking at her and each other like there's a whole lot they want to explore. So these four do what any group would do when dosed with an aphrodisiac. They enjoy it while it lasts.

Xy'lan, Ronan, and Kael'ith are adventurous, creative, and willing to explore this thing brewing between them. Hailey gets to not only enjoy them individually, but watch them enjoying each other, as well. Which she is VERY into. BUT...they're also a group trying to navigate a new dynamic and they're careful with one another as they learn what boundaries to push and lines to cross.

Some potent honey, more than a few longing looks, a cafe that will likely need to be sanitized DEEPLY before Hailey can reopen, and four individuals who are willing to throw caution to the wind and see where this attraction takes them. *thumbs up*

Pillow Talk Killer by London Lovett [Review]

Pillow Talk Killer (Frostfall Island #8) by London Lovett
Format: ebook
Source: purchased
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: November 18, 2025

Frostfall Island
1. Murder at North Pond
2. Death by Rocky Road
3. Ice Cold Killer
4. Bakery Bump Off
5. Harvest Moon Misfortune
6. Candlelit Calamity
7. Killing at the Kite Fair
8. Pillow Talk Killer - Paperback | Kindle

London Lovett
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

The PTK strikes again!

The notorious Pillow Talk Killer has been terrorizing the city for years. They’ve struck again, and now, the monster has come to Frostfall Island. Anna St. James never hesitates to jump into an island murder case, but this is different—a cunning, vicious serial killer who has evaded the police for years leaves no room for error.

Anna’s seen it all in her quest to bring killers to justice, but even Anna isn’t prepared for the shocking twist that awaits her this time.

Thoughts on Pillow Talk Killer: Full disclosure, I have a very difficult time talking myself into picking up the final book in a series. Not because I think it won't live up to the rest of the series or anything, but because I don't want to let series I've enjoyed go. So I'm patting myself on the back for convincing my unruly brain to dive in and watch it all play out.

And BOY did Anna have a lot to deal with. I mean, the PTK case has stumped the police and driven a dedicated homicide detective out of the force because not being able to catch the killer ate at him until he couldn't handle it. Nate's healed since those early days, but every time the PTK claims another victim his failure in stopping them hits him all over again.

Now PTK has come to the island and Anna is absolutely not going to sit idly by when she's 100% sure the police have arrested the wrong person. She starts following clues and her gut and puts herself in danger to find the truth.

No lie, this was a solid ending to Anna's series. She got closure on more than one front, saved the day (again!), and helped keep someone who matters to her out of prison. GOOD STUFF all around.

Baby for the Alien Warrior by Honey Phillips [Review]

Baby for the Alien Warrior (Treasured by the Alien #14) by Honey Phillips
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: November 17, 2025

Treasured by the Alien
1. Mama and the Alien Warrior
2. A Son for the Alien Warrior
3. Daughter of the Alien Warrior
4. A Family for the Alien Warrior
5. The Nanny and the Alien Warrior
6. A Home for the Alien Warrior
7. A Gift for the Alien Warrior
8. A Treasure for the Alien Warrior
9. Three Babies and the Alien Warrior
10. Sanctuary for the Alien Warrior
11. A Miracle for the Alien Warrior
12. Hope for the Alien Warrior
13. Legacy for the Alien Warrior
14. Baby for the Alien Warrior - Paperback | Kindle

Honey Phillips
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

A warrior with nothing left to give. A woman who’s lost too much. A miracle that changes everything.

Dr. Corinne Vale thought her life of quiet study ended the day she was abducted and sold across the stars. Now, she’s on the run with a traumatized teenage girl and a baby she risked everything to save. When she encounters Commander Selik, a huge Cire warrior with haunted eyes, she expects another cage. Instead she finds a hero.

Selik has done his best to bury the past and the family he failed to save. He doesn’t expect the fierce, beautiful human he rescues to awaken feelings he thought long dead. But when a night of shared grief leads to a moment of passion, the impossible happens.

Now Selik will risk everything for his fragile new family.

Because sometimes the most powerful bonds are the ones you never saw coming.

Thoughts on Baby for the Alien Warrior: We're back with another Cire warrior who's given up on ever finding happiness and BOY does he get hit in the feels. Selik is stoic, does his duty as he feels he must, and absolutely resigned to living out the rest of his life alone. After all, he had a mate and a child he lost to the Red Death and he's both grieving and convinced (thanks to the Cire council) that with no Cire females left, bonding again is out of the question.

GUESS WHAT? These human ladies change things for all the Cire warriors they meet and Corinne is no different. Selik is drawn to her from the first. The fact she's adopted a Cire infant (which is an impossibility according to what he's being told by the council) and is fiercely protective of her stepdaughter awakens something in him. That she would continue fighting when the odds are against her stirs him in ways he never expected to be stirred.

As for Corinne, she has a teenage stepdaughter and a baby depending on her. She doesn't have time for breaking down or giving up. That said, she's teetering on both the emotional and physical edge when Selik crosses her path and it's either trust this proud warrior or let the desert world they're stranded on swallow them.

No surprise, she chooses the warrior. And what an excellent choice it is. Selik is kind and patient and willing to give up everything to keep her family together.

A little danger, a baby who shouldn't exist, a new life on a distant world, a warrior who will defend his new family with everything inside him, and a lady who never expected to find love among the stars. *thumbs up*

RtP's Week in Review (03/22/26)

Reading the Paranormal's Week in Review

• Alien Orc for Christmas by Ursa Dax [Review] - Alien romance!
• Hot Monster Summer by J. Ever [Review] - Monster love!
• Healed by My Hyde by Honey Phillips [Review] - Back in Fairhaven!
• Hunted and Knotted by the Wolf by Imani Jay and Siena Stone [Review] - Wolfy love!
• Grim by Layla Fae [Review] - Monster love!
• Frankie's Funhouse by Beatrix Hallow [Review] - Animatronic love!

Bookish Delights

• Books added to the pile
• Nothing? OMG!
• Currently reading
• Gearing up to head out of town, so nothing at the moment!

Frankie's Funhouse by Beatrix Hallow [Review]

Frankie's Funhouse (Umbra Valley #0.5) by Beatrix Hallow
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: November 8, 2025

Umbra Valley
0.5. Frankie's Funhouse - Paperback | Kindle
1. Meet at Midnight

Beatrix Hallow
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Desperation for cash has led me down a rainbow painted hallway to Frankie’s Funhouse—a children’s gambling casino. Or as my boss likes to call it, a pizza arcade.

The coworkers are strange, the patrons are disturbing, and the animatronics are possessed. Which I was willing to put up with until my boss died.

Well, he was murdered, actually.

Now I have to serve pizza and birthday cake while thinking about burning down the mall to hide a body for an animatronic that keeps hitting on me.

Drug dealings in the backrooms, puddles of blood seeping out from the storage closet, and parents threatening to talk to my (dead) boss if I don’t get their screaming kids' pizza was all manageable...

Until I realized I didn’t mind Frankie’s possessed tongue in my mouth.

Thoughts on Frankie's Funhouse: Going to be honest, a circa-1980's mall is already setting the stage for some serious carnage, so when a possessed animatronic gets thrown into the mix I just figure that ALL BETS ARE OFF. And I was right.

Ramona has taken a job that would probably steal the soul of anyone given enough time. Roller skates, rainbow booty shorts, and barely cooked pizza served to sugar-hyped kids (while their parents are busy getting busy in the back room). As if that's not enough, the animatronics are giving her the creeps. Well, one animatronic. And, umm, it might not actually be the creeps. I mean it is, but it maybe also isn't. Like, maybe she likes being chased by a possessed animatronic coyote who sing-songs her name while hunting her through the arcade.

But wait! That comes later. First, she has to get through her first shift (on her own, for the most part), deal with her now-deceased boss's body (yeah, things happen in those employee only rooms), and try to save the screaming kids from the bloodbath she's pretty sure is coming. You know, because of the possessed animatronic and the chainsaw it's wielding and all that.

A whole lot of creepy vibes (not all from the animatronics, thankyouverymuch), a little chase or two, way more blood than one would expect as a pizza arcade, an animatronic that wants to get its hands on Ramona, and a lady who just wanted an okay job, but ended up wearing rainbow booty shorts and finding out she might not mind the big metal creature stalking her through her work. Bloody, wacky, and pretty darn fun!

Grim by Layla Fae [Review]

Grim (Monster Ever After #2) by Layla Fae
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: October 24, 2025

Monster Ever After
1. Jack
2. Grim - Paperback | Kindle
3. Satan
4. Orc
5. Crow
6. Full Sack
7. Mr. Jingle
8. Bunny
9. Thick Beef
10. Jack 2

Layla Fae
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

When I’m hanging over a cliff and getting ready for death, the only way out is to promise the Grim Reaper anything he wants.
Because what’s a girl to do when her arms are going numb and she doesn’t want to become a pancake? Also, he is kind of gorgeous. I mean, apart from the terrifying skull he has instead of a head, his eye sockets filled with fire, his horns, and his prehensile tail.

When I fall to my death and Grim catches me to whisk me off to his lair, I am ready to look past the skull and the horns. But then, it turns out I’m not really saved. The only way for me to stay alive is to drink his essence. The essence that shoots out of the sinfully monstrous thing between his legs. Yup. That essence.

It tastes nothing like what I’ve expected.

Thoughts on Grim: Faced with an ignoble end, Beth does what anybody who's about to expire thanks to falling off a cliff while trying to help an abandoned goat would do. She tells her Grim Reaper she'll do anything to survive. He, quite naturally, sees this as a binding agreement and now Beth has to complete her side of the bargain since her Grim DID save her.

Well, he didn't actually save her. But she also isn't quite dead. And if she wants to keep being not dead, she needs to get a little physical with the dude who facilitated this. Which isn't as much as a hardship as one might think. Because her Grim? IS HOT.

He's also hot for Beth. In fact, binding the two of them together is kind of one of those things he's very happy to do.

A not so great trek up a mountain, a whirlwind seduction, a tasty surprise, a Grim who knows what he wants, and a lady who is willing to grab onto the best thing to happen to her with both hands. *thumbs up*

Hunted and Knotted by the Wolf by Imani Jay and Siena Stone [Review]

Hunted and Knotted by the Wolf (Knotty Fairytales #1) by Imani Jay and Siena Stone
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: November 11, 2025

Knotty Fairytales
1. Hunted and Knotted by the Wolf - Paperback | Kindle
2. Knotting Cinderella
3. Knotted by the Beast
4. Hunted & Knotted by the Minotaur King

Imani Jay
| Amazon |

Siena Stone
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Red’s plan is to drop off treats at her grandmother’s cabin, and maybe catch a glimpse of the Wolf everyone’s warned her about. But she’s about to discover that some legends are dangerously real—and impossibly tempting.

The Wolf doesn’t just want to catch her…he wants to claim her.

One sniff of her scent, and this alpha’s primal instincts roar to life. This curvy girl is his fated mate, his omega, and he’s ready to chase her down, knot her tight, and show her exactly what it means to be caught by the big bad wolf.

Thoughts on Hunted and Knotted by the Wolf: I enjoyed this book overall, but I did think there was a lot of repetition in how often both Red and Wolf thought of how she'd been claimed and was his now. Like, I absolutely get that this is supposed to be primal and a deep, driving urge and maybe both of them were lost in the moment and what was happening, but there was a lot of how he had claimed her and marked her and was now his.

Did it detract from my overall enjoyment of the book? The repetition took me out of it a little because I kept focusing on how he'd thought this exact same thing two paragraphs before (or the chapter before or the page before, you get the point), but I'm really here for Red getting caught by a big, bad wolf and I was definitely given that. So did it detract? Minimally, I'd say although I did notice it. (and I also get that there are only so many variations on how someone can claim the other is theirs, so take this entire review with a grain of salt.)

Enjoyable and I'll likely see how Cinderella fares so *thumbs up*