Hot Monster Summer by J. Ever [Review]

Hot Monster Summer by J. Ever
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: November 12, 2025

Purchase Links: Paperback | Kindle

J. Ever
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

I planned for s’mores, sunburns, and a peaceful summer by the lake.

A little solo soul-searching. A few regretful texts to my ex. Maybe a hot summer rebound. Not, uh… monster custody battles over who gets to eat me first.

(Literally. Probably. Hopefully.)

Turns out the “quaint cabin” I rented? Yeah, it’s smack in the middle of monster territory claimed by:

• A Kraken shifter who collects vintage romance novels and thinks personal space is optional.
• A forest troll with arms like oak trees and the world’s most dangerous smile.
• A jealous Dire wolf shifter who claims I’m his mate.

I wanted time to wallow.

Instead, I got monsters fighting over who gets to roast marshmallows—and me—first.

Now my “healing girl summer” looks more like: one massive monster pile-on, three possessive idiots who don’t know how to share, and about a thousand ways this could end in very questionable decisions.

Surviving the summer might require a lot of sunscreen, a lot of bad choices… and maybe letting myself get a little bit ruined.

Welcome to my Hot Monster Summer.

Where the men are feral, the cuddles are aggressive, and the s’mores are definitely very sticky.

Thoughts on Hot Monster Summer: Lily's rented an isolated, lakeside cabin in an attempt to get over her ex-fiancé cheating on her with her sister. Which is already terrible and it's made even worse when the two cheaters expect her to be happy for them. Umm, no? But thanks for playing. So. To give herself some space to deal with her heartbreak (on two fronts), Lily is looking to be alone so she can grieve and move on.

Guuuuyyyys. Lily's not exactly alone at the cabin. There's a hunky kraken in the lake, a patient troll in the forest, and a possessive wolf patrolling his territory. And they ALL like how Lily makes them feel. The thing is, she's not even doing anything to entice them. She's just being herself, dealing with her heartbreak (which she gets over fairly quickly thanks to her monsters), and trying to remember how to be happy (which also happens faster than she expected thanks to [you guessed it] her monsters).

Each of her suitors helps her see the world around her in different ways. Each makes her feel special and adored. She honestly doesn't know how she could ever choose between them and GUESS WHAT? They might be okay if she doesn't choose, at all. And Lily? IS REALLY OKAY WITH THAT.

An isolated locale, a kraken with adventurous tentacles, a forest troll with deep magic, a wolf with a bit of a possessive bent, and a lady who likes all of them just the way they are. *thumbs up*

Alien Orc for Christmas by Ursa Dax [Review]

Alien Orc for Christmas (Holiday Romances of Elora Station #2) by Ursa Dax
Format: ebook
Source: purchased
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: November 10, 2025

Holiday Romances of Elora Station
1. Chimera for Christmas
2. Alien Orc for Christmas - Paperback | Kindle

Related Series:
(find all the books in the series on the 1st book review)
Cowboy Colony Mail-Order Brides
1. Married to the Alien Cowboy

Ursa Dax
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

The huge alien orc who runs the pub on Elora Station knows what he wants for Christmas: me.

MAGGIE
Seeing my friend Sophie find happiness on the bustling Elora Station is just the kick in the pants I need to follow my dreams. I’m finally going to open my own bakery. When a coveted rental space opens up on the festive commerce station, I jump at the chance.

I have my work cut out for me getting the bakery ready in time for Elora Station’s busiest season: Christmas. I don’t mind – I’m used to hard work.

What I’m not used to?

Having a flirtatious, grinning orc all up in my business. Literally. The absurdly-named Archibald runs the pub next to my bakery, and he spends more time in my shop than his own.

Sure, he’s attractive in a giant, muscly, boisterous sort of way. He’s also funny and kind and shockingly generous. But I need to focus. A girl’s gotta have priorities.

And those priorities absolutely do not include falling head over heels in love with an alien orc at Christmas.

Thoughts on Alien Orc for Christmas: We're back on Elora Station where a sweet, determined human woman is working on setting up her new bakery. As luck would have it, her location is right next to a pub and the charming orc who owns said pub is instantly smitten.

Archie is bold, adorably confident, and seems to be allergic to shirts. He also might be a wee bit competitive. Which means he's constantly around (to show Maggie he's good at helping out) and Maggie's shop is getting a much-needed overhaul in record time (admittedly, this is along with Sophie's alien husband, X, who rarely sleeps and likes keeping busy - having another male in Maggie's vicinity could also be a driving force behind Archie's competitiveness. You know, since he wants to be able to show Maggie he's the best choice for her.)

Let's just say that Archie makes himself useful and helps Maggie when she needs it most. Seeing as how Maggie was already attracted to the big orc, his generosity just kinda sealed the deal for her.

I must say I'm enjoying these humans and their aliens with their holiday romances on Elora. *thumbs up*

RtP's Week in Review (03/15/26)

Reading the Paranormal's Week in Review

• Saving Mr. Norcross by Anna Hackett [Review] - Mr. And Mrs. Norcross are at it again!
• The Goblin in the Sink Drain by Hailey Edwards [Review] - Dragon love!
• Chimera for Christmas by Ursa Dax [Review] - Holiday alien romance!
• Scales and Sensibility by Stephanie Burgis [Review] - Regency romance with DRAGONS!
• All I Wanted was to Read Books but I Became a Space Pirate Instead by Petra Palerno [Review] - BUBBLE BABES!
• Jack by Layla Fae [Review] - MONSTER romance!

Bookish Delights

• Books added to the pile
• None?!?
• Currently reading
• The Queen's Shadow by Adrian Blue

Jack by Layla Fae [Review]

Jack (Monster Ever After #1) by Layla Fae
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: October 23, 2025

Monster Ever After
1. Jack - Paperback | Kindle
2. Grim
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):

Jack is a monster full of tricks… with one very special treat in his pants.
Suzy is feeling lonely on Halloween. She performs a love spell, hoping to summon a nice, perfectly safe Mr. Hunky to keep her entertained… but she fails. The creature that answers her summons is neither nice nor safe, but oh boy, is he hunky!

Jack-o’-lantern is a devious ancient monster who once tricked the devil himself into granting him immortality. Now, Jack is here, a grinning pumpkin in the place of his head and a thing out of this world in his very bulging pants. The monster will have Suzy in every way he pleases, filling her close to bursting with his fertile seed… and nothing can hold him back.

Thoughts on Jack: No lie, this was EXACTLY the sort of monster-y unhinged sexiness I was looking for. It had a little holiday cheer (of the spooky kind) mixed in with a little magic. One pumpkin-headed hunk later and Suzy is is very much in her happy place. To be fair, Jack's in his happy place too. So it's a win from every angle.

BUT FIRST! Suzy is more than a little lonely and her spell to liven her love life up a bit brings her a hunk with a grinning pumpkin head and a whole lot of stamina. Which works for Suzy more than she imagined it would. Sure, Jack wasn't the man she'd envisioned, but he's muscle-y and sexy and the pumpkin head isn't nearly as off-putting as one might think.

On Jack's end, he's ready and willing to make Suzy his. It isn't long before the two are tangling up and making things happen. The only downside? Suzy's spell is only for one night. So if they want to take a stab at a future together, Suzy's going to have to be willing to throw caution to the wind and trust him to take care of her.

Some sexy spice (in more than one way), a witch who gets exactly what she desires, and a monster who thoroughly enjoys sowing his seeds. *thumbs up*

All I Wanted Was To Read Books but I Became a Space Pirate Instead by Petra Palerno [Review]

All I Wanted Was To Read Books But I Became a Space Pirate Instead (Bubble Babes #4) by Petra Palerno
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: October 10, 2025

Bubble Babes
1. All I Wanted Was Sushi But I Got Abducted By Aliens Instead
2. All I Wanted Was to Become a Scientist But Now I've Got an Alien Boyfriend
3. All I Wanted Was a Glass of Vino But an Alien Duke Kidnapped Me Instead
4. All I Wanted Was To Read Books But I Became a Space Pirate Instead - Paperback | Kindle

Petra Palerno
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Stowing away on an alien pirate ship wasn’t on my bucket list… but then again, neither was heartbreak.

☆KAMARI
My alien crush just found his fated mate—and surprise, it’s not me. Add a broken heart to being ripped from my cozy Seattle bookstore and dumped on a weird planet with zero novels, and you get… me, stowing away on a rogue pirate ship in a desperate bid to write my own adventure. I don’t expect to tumble out of a vent and land—literally—into the lap of the dangerously handsome pirate captain, Fer’oon. But hey, at least life in space has a sense of humor.

☆FER’OON
I didn’t sign up for this. My second mate bails for his earthling girlfriend, and suddenly there’s a stowaway on my ship—and she’s human. The last thing I need is distractions, but she somehow wins over my crew mate Gashna, who insists the only safe way to travel with her is… pretending we’re mates. Easy, I tell myself. Fate’s nonsense anyway. Until I have to stop relying on my usual marauder tricks and… well, feelings sneak in. Suddenly, training this soft, stubborn human might just mean rewriting the rules I’ve lived by.

Thoughts on All I Wanted Was To Read Books But I Became a Space Pirate Instead: No lie, I wasn't expecting to get such a big ending to this series. At least not yet. I don't have a reason for this expectation, but here we are. Living the finale dream. (To be fair, there could be some setup for a future series here? Like, some things that happened had strings that could be pulled and we could get more. I mean, THIS part of the series was satisfactorily resolved, but there could be more?)

So. Kamari is just done with dealing with the things life keeps throwing at her. She doesn't want to stay planetside with a bunch of aliens who could find their special someone at any moment and leave her pining in the dust. So she does something about it. Something being stowing away aboard a pirate's ship and hoping she hasn't made the most boneheaded choice imaginable.

Turns out, her decision to stow away wasn't boneheaded at all. Sure, Fer'oon isn't thrilled to have a human aboard, but he reluctantly agrees to his crewmates plan and now she has a fake mate and a chance to see all that space has to offer.

Yeah, to say Fer'oon is less than thrilled by things might be an understatement. But he doesn't believe in fated mates and the human is oddly intriguing. Especially once he stops using chemical suppressants to keep himself in line. Now he can't stop thinking about how she smells. Or feels. Or whether she's happy.

So when the chance to stop the trafficking of humans from Earth presents itself, well, Fer'oon isn't thrilled to have Kamari put herself in danger, but he has to let his little human shine. After all, he wouldn't be a proper pirate captain if he played by the rules.

A fun (if kind of gross) ending to a fun series!

Scales and Sensibility by Stephanie Burgis [Review]

Scales and Sensibility (Regency Dragons #1) by Stephanie Burgis
Format: ebook
Source: purchased
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: October 9, 2025

Regency Dragons
1. Scales and Sensibility - Paperback | Kindle
2. Claws and Contrivances

Stephanie Burgis
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Sensible, practical Elinor Tregarth really did plan to be the model poor relation when she moved into Hathergill Hall. She certainly never meant to kidnap her awful cousin Penelope's pet dragon. She never expected to fall in love with the shameless - but surprisingly sweet - fortune hunter who came to court Penelope. And she never dreamed that she would have to enter into an outrageous magical charade to save her younger sisters' futures.

However, even the most brilliant scholars of 1817 England still haven't ferreted out all the lurking secrets of rediscovered dragonkind...and even the most sensible of heroines can still make a reckless wish or two when she's pushed. Now Elinor will have to find out just how rash and resourceful she can be when she sets aside all common sense. Maybe, just maybe, she'll even be impractical enough to win her own true love and a happily ever after...with the unpredictable and dangerous "help" of the magical creature who has adopted her.

Thoughts on Scales and Sensibility: This book was really good and I absolutely enjoyed it, but MAN was I having a serious second hand stress reaction to the situation Elinor found herself in. I mean, between the potential discovery by SO MANY people and just the general jerkitude of her cousin and my worry over what would happen to the dragon she liberated, I was a mess. Which says it all, really.

Anywho. Elinor is grieving and kind and honest to a fault and she bites her tongue when her cousin treats her abominably (who then turns it around so it's all about how Penelope is treated terribly because she didn't get the things she thought she deserved) until Penelope goes one step too far. Now she's liberated her cousin's dragon (which was sorely needed because Penelope doesn't deserve a dragon AT ALL) and she's basically homeless. Then an errant wish comes true and now Elinor is heading back to Hathergill Hall wearing another woman's face with a man she admires probably more than she should considering they've just met.

Helping her cousin with her debut (as the other woman) wasn't on Elinor's to-do list, but a poor relation's gotta do what a poor relation's gotta do. Things get more complicated with the addition of new houseguests, some secrets that aren't as secret as one would hope, and another little wish that might put her aunt in danger.

Dragons, men who are willing to look beyond the surface, and a lady who is more than she believes herself to be. *thumbs up* despite the second hand stress it gave me.

Chimera for Christmas by Ursa Dax [Review]

Chimera for Christmas (Holiday Romances of Elora Station #1) by Ursa Dax
Format: ebook
Source: purchased
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: October 8, 2025

Holiday Romances of Elora Station
1. Chimera for Christmas - Paperback | Kindle
2. Alien Orc for Christmas

Related Series:
(find all the books in the series on the 1st book review)
Cowboy Colony Mail-Order Brides
1. Married to the Alien Cowboy

Ursa Dax
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

You're supposed to spend Christmas with the person you love most. But what if that person turns out to be the biggest, grumpiest alien you've ever met...?

SOPHIE
When you find out your boyfriend is cheating on you and you get laid off all in the same week, something's gotta give. I need a change, and a seasonal work contract aboard the bustling Elora Station is just the ticket. I'll spend the holidays on the glittering, festive commerce station, make a little money, and clear my head before returning to my colony planet life. It's a perfect plan.

One thing I'm not accounting for in that plan, though? My coworker. He's not human. In fact, he's one of the deadliest alien soldiers in the universe - a Chimera. Seven feet tall with black horns, heated yellow eyes, and an exceptionally grumpy disposition, I cannot for the life of me figure out why this genetically modified beast of a man is working in a tiny, human-owned coffee shop at Christmas time.

But there's more to X than meets the eye. And the longer I work with him, the more I grow to like him. Soon enough, his taciturn nature begins to charm me. Suddenly, his looks aren't quite so fearsome, but actually kind of... attractive?

As the holidays hurtle on and my work contract on Elora Station draws to a close, I realize that I don't want to go back to my old life in the colony.

And I don't want to leave X.

Can a regular human girl like me find a permanent place on Elora Station and in X's guarded alien heart before Christmas?

Thoughts on Chimera for Christmas: We briefly met Sophie in one of the CCMOB books and I was 100% onboard with seeing how she ended up with a grumbly Chimera as her honey. AND HERE WE ARE! Watching Sophie and X pretend they aren't into one another.

To be fair, Sophie's only on Elora Station for the holidays. Her position is very temporary and ends with the holiday season. After getting over her admittedly slight fear of X at their first meeting, she tried her hardest to pretend she only liked him as a coworker. Which is understandable because he's trying his level best to make sure he doesn't do anything inappropriate to her (although he REALLY wants to) and X is giving off zero interested vibes. Sure, those feelings are there and they both try not to read too much into the things the other does because life is complicated and they're only coworkers, RIGHT?

Well, with her position quickly coming to an end, Sophie throws caution to the wind and decides she can't leave the station without at least telling X she's interested. And then THINGS HAPPEN. Big things. In both a literal and figurative sense.

A little holiday cheer, a growly chimera who is a really sweet guy under all his glowers, and a human lady who ended up with a holiday season she'll never forget. *thumbs up*