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

This is one for all the Friday 13th fans that wished Jason would have a little bit more fun with the promiscuous camp counsellors.

Slashers have never been wholly human, something monstrous lies within, which would explain why they keep getting better after being laid out in a morgue. The author takes this idea and lets the slasher be a whole new kind of monster, a “Hunter”. Physically human, but faster, sneakier, stabbier and has the whole “immortal” thing going for them, if they get killed all they need to do is bury themselves for an undetermined amount of time and they pop back up, fresh as a daisy and ready to do some more killing.

The story starts, as all good slasher movies do, at a summer camp. Sawyer (the hunter) has slaughtered his way through the camp and has cornered his final girl. He doesn’t want to kill her, he won’t kill her, he wants to do much much more to her instead. As he embraces his “perfect prey” he’s shot in the head by police and whisked away to the morgue.

Edie is the sole survivor of the “Fat Camp Killing Spree”, and life hasn’t been kind to her. As she returns to the camp while fleeing from her abusive husband she doesn’t expect to come face to face with the supposedly dead killer, who made her feel something she really shouldn’t. What follows is a whole lot of blood, sex and cupcakes.

The spice is as dark as it is delicious. Sawyer has obsessed over Edie for 15 years and for him it’s worth the wait. With Edie, though she’s had fantasies about Sawyer, it’s the feeling of safety he provides that is intoxicating to her. She is finally able to be herself, to be free with her desires, and we know how addictive that can be. He won’t kill her, because if he does, he won’t be able to make her come anymore and the only thing better than killing is seeing her fall apart for him. It’s hot, it’s rough but it’s loving, and that is so important for this story, and this couple.

It’s a book that blurs morals. Yes murder is bad, but, that’s his purpose, his reason for being. Through the passage of the story, he only kills those who hurt or pose a threat to Edie and in this it deviates from the well known slashers of our favourite Halloween movies. As horrifying as the thought of just some killing machine making his (or her) way around town and killing without a smidgen of guilt is, it’s surprisingly easy to forgive him, especially when we look at him through the eyes of Edie. Sawyer embraces his nature, there is no possibility of him going against it, so what would be the point. Edie, who has her own issues going on, internally struggles with it, but also with the revelation that she is more ok with the whole murder deal than she would like to admit. Bird on a Blade shines a light on what we say out loud and what we really feel is right and wrong. What is socially acceptable and what is in our hearts, locked up and buried in case we upset or scare someone.

Despite all the gore and shiny knives, it’s a surprisingly cosy romance. Sawyer and Edie are pretty perfect for each other and you’re really rooting for the two of them, even if Sawyers idea of what constitutes as a gift needs some work. There’s enough tension and drama in the outside world going on that it’s a relief to get scenes where they just get to enjoy each other’s company. I would absolutely bother with Bird on a Blade. While, regrettably, Sawyer is more “human” than I would normally like, there is no denying he is a monster in more than one way. It’s a fun ride that stays true to the whole “slasher horror” vibe, and fans of that will just eat this story up, the spice is spicing and it’s just immensely satisfying to read. I would also recommend the follow up books (three more in the series after this one) which follow other hunters and their “perfect prey” as a bonus we get to check in with Edie and Sawyer in those too. Get your warm and fuzzy feelings with some inhuman serial killers, it’s honestly a perfect autumnal read!