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

Cupid's Chokehold by Dee Garcia [Review]

Cupid's Chokehold (Festive ASF #2) by Dee Garcia
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: November 25, 2025

Festive ASF
1. Bad Santas
2. Cupid's Chokehold - Kindle
3. Dublin My Luck
4. Slash or Smash
5. Midnight Mischief

Dee Garcia
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Lala and Suki are celebrating their third Valentine’s Day together.
Not that they need to spice things up—they’re compatible in every way—but Lala wants to kick things up a notch for the day dedicated to love. A couple of enhancement chocolates, an app controlled device, and some drinks at this cozy little dive bar… Sounds like the perfect night, right?

Eros Lovett hates Valentine’s Day.
The only reason this grump opens his doors for the ridiculous Hallmark holiday is to offer a place of refuge for all his fellow anti-Valentiners. So when the girls waltz into his bar, giggling and brazenly affectionate, he whips up Cupid’s Chokehold on a dime, hoping the molotov cocktail will have them out the doors sooner rather than later. Just because the rest of the world falls captive to this scam of a holiday doesn’t mean he needs to be subject to it, too.

Turns out, the only thing going out the doors are the patrons because when the girls suddenly proposition Eros with a festive ménage à trois, he can’t find it in himself to decline.

This Cupid’s arrow might not be laced with love, but lust is in the air, and three isn’t always a crowd.

Thoughts on Cupid's Chokehold: It's Valentine's and Suki and Lala are enjoying themselves (immensely) while Eros is grumping his way through the end of the night as he just waits for it to end. Then Suki and Lala invite him into their celebration and suddenly Eros isn't hating the holiday quite as much.

No lie, Suki and Lala are both a little uninhibited, they don't mind public displays of ANYTHING, and they both think the grumpy bartender is smokin' hot. So they invite him to join them in their holiday celebration and WHOO-BOY does he apply himself to their pleasure.

A sex-ay, sex-ay evening with three individuals who are all about doing what feels right. And good. And pleasurable. Let's just say they all end up happy and leave it at that. *thumbs up*

Chained by Teagan Grey [Review]

Chained (The Bastion #1) by Teagan Grey
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: January 6, 2026

The Bastion
1. Chained - Kindle
2. Ravished

Teagan Grey
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

He’s a monster in a cage, and she’s the only one who can tame him.

Arabella Kane is out of options. Desperate for money, she signs on as a Tamer at The Bastion, the underground prison where the world’s most dangerous supernaturals are caged. Her first assignment? A twenty-four–hour session with Rowan Hale—the most volatile inmate of them all. A hulking werewolf locked in a permanent state of rut.

He’s hunger and instinct, claws and fury—and he doesn’t just need release. He needs her. His possessive nature demands more than her body. It demands a mate.

For one day and one night, Arabella is trapped in his cell, at the mercy of his relentless desire. She only came for a paycheck. What she doesn’t expect is the dark thrill of surrender, or the way her body answers his every command. And when he whispers one possessive word against her skin, she knows she’s already lost.

Thoughts on Chained: Arabella honestly doesn't know what to expect when she signs on as a Tamer, but she needs the money and she doesn't see a lot of other options. When the warden throws all the rules and regulations out the window and asks her to take on Rowan Hale, Arabella is a little freaked out, but she says yes. Because the money is just that good for such a dangerous inmate.

While things could have turned out very badly for Arabella, they didn't. Rowan likes her scent (A LOT) and gets right down to business. He's rough around the edges and pushes more than a few of her boundaries, but he's careful enough to not do any permanent damage.

And twenty-four hours is plenty of time for both of them to know they've found something in that cold cell. To be fair, Rowan kind of knew he'd found something good as soon as he caught her scent. Arabella took a little longer, but her werewolf is exactly what she needs in all the right ways.

A cold prison cell, a snarly werewolf, and a lady who finds out a whole bunch of what works for her in a very short time. *thumbs up*

Guarded by the Snake by Layla Fae [Review]

Guarded by the Snake (Monster Security Agency #2) by Layla Fae
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: January 6, 2026

Monster Security Agency
1. Guarded by the Golem
2. Guarded by the Snake - Paperback | Kindle
3. Guarded by the Spider
4. Guarded by the Kraken
5. Guarded by the Leshy
6. Guarded by the Vodnik
7. Guarded by the Nightmare
8. Guarded by the Reaper
9. Guarded by the Phantom
10. Guarded by the Krampus
11. Guarded by the Yeti
12. Guarded by the AI
13. Guarded by the Symbiote
14. Guarded by the Steel Seraph
15. Guarded by the Clanker

Layla Fae
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

She stole her way into my cold, serpent heart like a thief in the night.
The tiny human hires me to shield her from the vengeance of a powerful organization. There’s nothing wrong with that, except she stole from them, got caught, and now I have to clean up her mess. Add to that her incessant chatter, and I’m in for the most unpleasant job in my career.

Until her enemies bring out the big guns, turning the irksome protection assignment into a lethal fight for survival. Necessity pushes my principal closer and closer—too close for comfort. Forced to hide in small spaces, her skin rubbing against my scales, her warm breath on my face, my exasperation gives way to lust.

It’s just physical attraction, I tell myself. All I want is to bury my two spikes in her tight body and feel her writhing under me in pleasure. Nothing more than that. Because it’s impossible I could want her–the annoying, ballsy little thief who makes the sun shine with a smile.

One thing is certain: this is no longer just a job. I’ll butcher everyone who wants to hurt her.

Thoughts on Guarded by the Snake: Kim is in a tough situation and she needs the help of MSA to stay alive long enough to get revenge. Except, it's kind of one specific MSA agent she needs. Asan. A grim, scowly (he might not actually scowl, but you can FEEL the scowl he's holding onto in his neutral expression) shehru who is NOT thrilled to be taking on her contract.

Kim's fidgeting sets off his predatory instincts. Her willingness to take risks with her life makes him upset. And the fact she thinks she's going to be going into dangerous situations ALONE? Yeah, not happening. The big guy might not have wanted to take this contract, but he did and he's going to make sure his principal stays alive no matter what.

Honestly, spending day and night with her isn't nearly as irritating as he thought it would be. Her fidgeting grows on him. Her smiles are nice. She still takes way more chances than a human in her position should, but that's why she hired him.

More than a little danger (a person does not hire a bodyguard if there isn't danger on the horizon, you know!), some snake-on-human public smooching that the other snakes aren't thrilled with (shehru/human couples are pretty taboo, but Asan doesn't care!), one VERY sexy time on the dance floor, some oddly sweet dirty talk (Asan is a master as convincing his human to try just a little more), a snake with a protective streak a mile wide, and a lady who is more than willing to be talked into trying new things. *thumbs up*