Welcome to THE MONSTER BOTHERER!

We are thrilled to welcome back Emma Penman, who exclusively reviews monster romance, and has returned for another week of Monster Bothering. We decided that as all her reviews have a specific aim, we’ll house them all in one handy feature-cage!

Whilst not necessarily bothering many monsters herself, Emma will be letting us know which monster romance books are worth bothering with…

Content warning: These books are usually explicit unless stated otherwise

In a world where monsters run the show after “revealing” themselves three years ago all anyone can do is try to survive. Winter is struggling to make ends meet, take care of her frail grandmother and worry about her brother who was lost to the high of vampire blood. Oh and she’s also an oracle who needs to work out how to save the world from further destruction.

I picked up the ARC of The Reveal, though I’m not keen on anything kind of post-apocolypsy, but the blurb intrigued me enough to give it a shot. There’s no cosy love story here. It’s raw and it’s brutal in its way, but a warmth also seeps in through the cracks in the little moments that normally would be so forgettable, but I guess when you’re facing death every day, the good times deserve to be remarked upon.

The myriad of characters in this book are what bring it to life though. From the monsters who help Winter, to her immediate family and new renters, there are so many different personalities, you’d think there would be more clashing, but it works. Crane really digs into complex human emotions and brings them to the page without overcomplicating things, what Winter feels, and indeed the other humans (not many at this point), was pretty visceral to me as the reader, both positive and negative. While not much phases me, quite a few scenes made my stomach drop.

Spice wise, the main and only love interest is a vampire. A Spartan vampire to be precise. While he was indeed hot and Winter was indeed really really into him, it was okay. Love me some biting, love me a bit of blood and vampire compulsion antics are always a lot of fun but there wasn’t anything really jaw dropping or spectacular. Just some vampire/human nookie. It didn’t matter because while it could be labelled as a monster romance it was really an exploration of human (and other) natures. Winter had locked herself away so tightly from all that could hurt her. When she finally faced the “monsters” she found relief, safety, freedom and strength. She could pretend to herself that she had it, but only when she accepted the things she didn’t think she wanted, was she truly who she was meant to be. Every action she takes is taken out of desperation in the beginning, and we see that growth, where eventually, with some help from her monstrous crew, her choices become what they should be. Choices.

Would I bother with The Reveal? I would. The story flowed smoothly and kept me turning the page until I finished the entire book in one sitting, the characters were well written and fully formed. There didn’t feel like there was anything lacking in any department. I loved the use of the cards (and I’m a stickler for witchy protocol in fiction) and while I do prefer more spice I don’t feel it was needed. What Winter and Ariel felt was enough, the fact that they bumped uglies doesn’t even matter. It was all about letting go of her own restraints.

The Reveal comes out on the 7th October 2025. You can pre-order your copy HERE