Thick Beef by Layla Fae [Review]

Thick Beef (Monster Ever After #9) by Layla Fae
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: November 5, 2025

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

Layla Fae
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

I entered the minotaur run by mistake and got caught. Let’s hope my new mate’s massive sausage won’t tear me in half…

Loan sharks are on my heels. They want to cut out my kidney to pay off my debts, and I run for my life, ending up in a labyrinth somewhere inside a creepy warehouse. There are other women running—and monsters giving chase.
One catches me and proclaims I belong to him. I tell him he’s funny and kick him in the groin.
See, I’d rather get caught by the loan sharks, because they will take just a kidney. This bull-headed, horned monster with a ring in his nose wants all of me. And judging by the size of the thick cut of beef between his legs, I might not survive his advances.

Thoughts on Thick Beef: Minotaurs, amirite?!?! As one of my friends like to say "There's nothing mini about them." For realsies.

So. Jude is in an unfortunate situation. One where mafioso loan sharks (details were a little sketchy on them, but that's what I got out of it) are expecting her to pay off her father's debts any way she can. And it that means slicing and dicing her up to sell her organs on the black market, they're willing to do it.

Jude is not down with this scenario and she escapes (barely) by running and hiding in a warehouse. This warehouse happens to be a maze used for a minotaur run and one minotaur is VERY taken with Jude when he catches his first whiff of her. So he does what any self respecting minotaur would do: he beats up her would-be attackers and whisks Jude away to his swank mansion (which isn't a mansion according to him) where he plans to woo her with everything he has.

Frankly, he has a lot. Jude is a little wary (understandable) and doesn't see how a hunky of a minotaur like Lysander would want to keep her around long term. Let's just say Lysander has his work cut out for him convincing his little human mate that she's the one for him.

A whole lot of beef, a whole lot of sexy times, a minotaur who is determined to treat his special lady like a queen, and a lady whose head might be wary, but her body is absolutely on board. Minotaurs, man. GOOD STUFF!

Bunny by Layla Fae [Review]

Bunny (Monster Ever After #8) by Layla Fae
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: November 4, 2025

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

Layla Fae
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

The Easter Bunny is shredded, adorably clueless… and bent on feeding me his honey.

When I see the buff stranger in my garden, I think he’s just a figment of my imagination. I am a divorcee so starved for romance, it’s possible I am seeing stuff – especially if stuff is heavenly buff and equipped with rabbit ears and a fluffy ball of a tail.

By the time I realize he’s real, it’s too late. Derek, who still believes in Santa and the Tooth Fairy, has seen him and is asking all kinds of questions about the Easter Bunny in our garden.

Questions which the stranger is happy enough to answer while bribing us with chocolate eggs and gifts. And when I’m finally alone with him, it turns out his visit was not a coincidence.

He has many more gifts for me, and his lack of experience won’t stop him from giving me everything I need. His masculine energy, insatiable curiosity, and intoxicating flavor soon have me hooked. But what will happen when Easter ends?

Thoughts on Bunny: For a thousand year plus entity, Bunny is adorably awkward as he tries to work through all the steps involved in wooing a human woman. You know, steps like introduce himself, assure her he's absolutely not there to hurt her, and offer her a handshake. Alice is understandably wary of all parts of this interaction and also kind of believes she might be hallucinating. So instead of going for that handshake, she cops a feel of his six pack. Because if someone's going to hallucinate a gloriously gorgeous bunny-man, the best way to determine if it's reality is to stroke his abs.

To be fair, Bunny wasn't really upset by this. I mean, he was a little shocked, maybe, but he's into Alice enough that he's willing to let her do anything she wants to him. Which mostly involves watching him warily and hovering when her high-energy son asks him to play video games with him. Yeah, Alice has some trust issues. And, you know, Bunny's a guy who is also a giant rabbit-dude and, yeah, the wariness is understandable.

Anyway. Things happen, Bunny saves her son from choking, Alice realizes she might as well grab the bull by the horns (or the bunny by the tail?) and live out a day of fantasies with this guy who's a little awkward (in the most adorable way), but treats her like she's an absolute goddess.

BUT...Bunny only gets one day on Earth every year, so they have to move fast, figure out if this is something they want to continue, and set some ground rules.

And when Bunny's day rolls around next year? Alice is ready for everything he has to give her.

RtP's Week in Review (11/08/26)

Reading the Paranormal's Week in Review

• Dark Migration by Adrian Blue [Review] - Monster love!
• Primal Territory by Adrian Blue [Review] - More monster love!
• Cold Surrender by Adrian Blue [Review] - Even more monster love!
• Winter's Deep by Adrian Blue [Review] - EVEN MOAR monster love!
• The Hungering Dark by Adrian Blue [Review] - So much monster love!
• Chase Me, Daddy by Melanie Spicer [Review] - Age gap romance!

Bookish Delights

• Books added to the pile
• Garters, Ghosts and Wedding Toasts (Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries #15) by Angie Fox
• Currently reading
• Masked Stepbrother by Holly Harper

Chase Me, Daddy by Melanie Spicer [Review]

Chase Me, Daddy (Spicy Age Gap Quickies #1) by Melanie Spicer
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: November 27, 2025

Spicy Age Gap Quickies
1. Chase Me, Daddy - Kindle

Melanie Spicer
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

I snuck into a billionaire's Halloween party to forget about my ex.

Then a sexy silver fox in a mask growled, "Little Red's wandered far from the path."

When he promised to ruin me, I ran. He hunted me through the maze. Caught me in the woods. Bred me while I called him Daddy.

I thought I'd never see him again.

I didn't know he was my ex's father...

Thoughts on Chase Me, Daddy: This is definitely a quickie reading-wise, but while Carson and Sadie might cut to the chase pretty quickly, they manage to make the most of their time together. Quickly. But not so quickly that anyone was left unsatisfied.

Anywho. Sadie is crashing a rich person's Halloween party dressed as a very sex-ay Little Red Riding Hood. The man who wants to play with her is a sexy wolf. An older sexy wolf. He wants to hunt her through the maze (and woods). She's down with that. She runs. He chases. All is well.

BUT...Carson's not okay with leaving it at that. He wants Sadie for longer than one night and he doesn't care that she's his son's ex. In fact, he kind of thinks his son is a tool for letting someone as perfect as Sadie slip through his fingers. (And he is correct, his son is a tool.)

It isn't long before Carson has moved Sadie into his house and the two are doing all the things that fire them up. Such as chasing, breeding, and getting turned on by being called Daddy.

Fast and fun with an age gap that doesn't seem to bother anyone. Except maybe Carson's tool of a son. *thumbs up*

The Hungering Dark by Adrian Blue [Review]

The Hungering Dark (Dark Season #5) by Adrian Blue
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: November 6, 2025

Dark Season
1. Dark Migration
2. Primal Territory
3. Cold Surrender
4. Winter's Deep
5. The Hungering Dark - Kindle

Adrian Blue
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Travel vlogger Amelia Sinclair's dream expedition to Antarctica turns into her darkest nightmare when she falls into a crevasse and encounters something ancient and inhuman beneath the ice. Marked and claimed by a creature that defies explanation, she finds herself torn between revulsion and a forbidden desire that consumes her very soul. As the line between captive and willing participant blurs with each encounter, Amelia must confront unspeakable truths about herself and the hungers awakened within her. With the pristine white landscape hiding unimaginable horrors, she discovers that some bonds transcend understanding—and some marks can never be erased.

Thoughts on The Hungering Dark: This collection has given us a nice range of monsters and this one might be the creeeeepiest of all. The combo of icy weather, slimy tentacles (like the moistness would cause even more cold and YIKES, bro. At least get the girl a blanket or something), and a serious disregard for personal space (so much disregard) just rachets up the creep factor.

This isn't about me and my cold weather hang-ups, though. It's about Amelia and her first visit to Antarctica. She went there to share the beauty of the continent with her followers. However, she got a little more up close and personal with the ancient thing living in the ice than she ever expected to. To be fair, she probably didn't expect to run into ANY ancient thing in the ice when she set out, so everything that happened was a shock.

A whole lot of ice, a shocking encounter, and a lady who doesn't want to be drawn to the thing out there, but just can't stop herself from responding when it calls. I'm just going to say there was some nicely done creepiness in this one and leave it at that.

Winter's Deep by Adrian Blue [Review]

Winter's Deep (Dark Season #4) by Adrian Blue
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: November 6, 2025

Dark Season
1. Dark Migration
2. Primal Territory
3. Cold Surrender
4. Winter's Deep - Kindle
5. The Hungering Dark

Adrian Blue
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Heartbroken and needing a change of scenery, Robin is captivated by the rugged beauty of Patagonia. But nature is as brutal as it is majestic. There is something dangerous lurking beneath the glassy water. Something hungry. When a monstrous creature emerges from the depths, she discovers a primal passion unlike anything she's ever experienced. In this remote wilderness where nature strips away all pretense, she surrenders to a forbidden desire that leaves her craving more.

Thoughts on Winter's Deep: To get her mind off her cheating ex, Robin and her friend have taken a vacation in a frigid, primal place. Robin is trying to forget her ex's betrayal, but she's having a hard time even surrounded by freezing air, stunning views, and dark water beneath the boat they're on.

Then something monstrous drags her overboard and now she's living the "in order to get over someone, get under someone" saying and that someone is most definitely not human. Not that it bothers her. He's feral and blazes with heat in the cold and he's showing her exactly what she'd been missing with her ex.

Yeah, she's okay with the whole thing and she's maybe contemplating planning another trip to this desolate place to experience it again. Which, right on! Live your life the way you want to and all that. *thumbs up*

Cold Surrender by Adrian Blue [Review]

Cold Surrender (Dark Season #3) by Adrian Blue
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: November 2, 2025

Dark Season
1. Dark Migration
2. Primal Territory
3. Cold Surrender - Kindle
4. Winter's Deep
5. The Hungering Dark

Adrian Blue
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Lost in a deadly blizzard, experienced hiker Emily Parker stumbles upon a mysterious cave and its even more mysterious inhabitant - a creature who radiates dangerous allure and raw, primal power. When he offers her shelter from the storm, there's only one price: her complete surrender.

As the howling wind rages outside, Emily finds herself drawn into a world of forbidden desire, where the line between fear and passion blurs with every heated touch. Brun may be more beast than man, but his gentle possession awakens needs Emily never knew she had.

What begins as a desperate bargain for survival becomes something far more consuming, leaving Emily to question whether she'll ever want to return to the human world at all. But in the depths of his mountain lair, she'll discover that some surrenders change you forever.

Thoughts on Cold Surrender: The next, err, adventure we're on is when hiker Emily gets separated from her hiking group during a blizzard. She's lost, cold, and probably won't last much longer given that her clothes are wet. Then she stumbles over (or into, I guess) a cave and suddenly there's a slight possibility her imminent death isn't on the horizon.

Except...the cave isn't exactly uninhabited. In fact, there's a massive, bear-like creature living in it who offers Emily a deal: He'll keep her warm, if she keeps him warm. Metaphorically. I mean, the dude's pumping off heat like a furnace. He doesn't actually need the warmth her puny human body generates. Anyway. He'll help her if she agrees to spend some quality time in his furs.

Given that she's not entirely repulsed by the idea of sexy times with the creature, Emily agrees to the bargain. AND BRUN SHOWS HER A VERY GOOD TIME. You know, good enough that Emily's mentally rearranging her life so she can head back out to that cave as soon as possible.

An unexpected blizzard, a cave of delights, a creature who is pretty gentlemanly (all things considered), and a lady who doesn't mind IN THE LEAST cuddling up to her furry companion. GOOD TIMES!