Alex
I can't believe I'm writing this, but ENSNARED had me falling for a giant spider alien. I've read a lot of monster and alien romances over the years with all manner of shapes, colors, and appendages. But this was the one that had me questioning if I'd finally gone too far. I mean come on, spiders?! But I was barely halfway through the book and I was already really enjoying it -- from its attention to detail, to its wild setting, to it's strangely beautiful spider hero.
One moment Ivy was being put into cryosleep for a journey to colonize a new planet and the next she's waking up an unknown amount of time later to a giant spider man carrying her through the jungle. Talk about a rude awakening! Ivy might not have had a lot of confidence, due to her upbringing and past, but she embraced her new life with a lot of inner strength and resilience. I loved seeing her self worth grow under Kethan's gentle care.
That's right, this giant 7 foot spider was practically a gentleman in the soft way he treated Ivy, taught her how to survive in the Tangle, and protected her from danger. He even cuddled her during thunderstorms and made her a silk dress! He might be a spider man but how is my romantic heart supposed to resist that? And when Kethan learned about Ivy's past and made it clear she deserved so much better? Heart absolutely melted.
Kethan and Ivy's relationship was a super slow burn but I truly appreciated seeing them work through their language barrier and come to understand the differences between the Vrix and humans. That culture clash is often missing in alien romances but it was done so well here! I also liked that they weren't instantly lusting for each other; they each individually had to come to terms with their attraction to someone who wasn't their own species. There was a little bit of dubious consent early on before they could understand each other and because Kethan didn't really know what Ivy was but it was resolved quickly.
ENSNARED was tightly focused on Kethan and Ivy surviving alone in the Tangle but we did get some scenes of other Vrix when Kethan would bring meat back to his people's underground home. The scenes with the Queen, who wants Kethan as a mate even though he's not interested, were intense and I have no idea how this will get resolved but I'm ready to jump right into book 2 to find out! I also loved Kethan's friends and I can't wait to see their reactions when they finally learn about Ivy.
Content Warning: threats of a forced mating (not between MCs); some dubious consent because Kethan doesnt understand human anatomy and language; parental abandonment; past manipulation from a partner
I can't believe I'm writing this, but ENSNARED had me falling for a giant spider alien. I've read a lot of monster and alien romances over the years with all manner of shapes, colors, and appendages. But this was the one that had me questioning if I'd finally gone too far. I mean come on, spiders?! But I was barely halfway through the book and I was already really enjoying it -- from its attention to detail, to its wild setting, to it's strangely beautiful spider hero.
One moment Ivy was being put into cryosleep for a journey to colonize a new planet and the next she's waking up an unknown amount of time later to a giant spider man carrying her through the jungle. Talk about a rude awakening! Ivy might not have had a lot of confidence, due to her upbringing and past, but she embraced her new life with a lot of inner strength and resilience. I loved seeing her self worth grow under Kethan's gentle care.
That's right, this giant 7 foot spider was practically a gentleman in the soft way he treated Ivy, taught her how to survive in the Tangle, and protected her from danger. He even cuddled her during thunderstorms and made her a silk dress! He might be a spider man but how is my romantic heart supposed to resist that? And when Kethan learned about Ivy's past and made it clear she deserved so much better? Heart absolutely melted.
Kethan and Ivy's relationship was a super slow burn but I truly appreciated seeing them work through their language barrier and come to understand the differences between the Vrix and humans. That culture clash is often missing in alien romances but it was done so well here! I also liked that they weren't instantly lusting for each other; they each individually had to come to terms with their attraction to someone who wasn't their own species. There was a little bit of dubious consent early on before they could understand each other and because Kethan didn't really know what Ivy was but it was resolved quickly.
ENSNARED was tightly focused on Kethan and Ivy surviving alone in the Tangle but we did get some scenes of other Vrix when Kethan would bring meat back to his people's underground home. The scenes with the Queen, who wants Kethan as a mate even though he's not interested, were intense and I have no idea how this will get resolved but I'm ready to jump right into book 2 to find out! I also loved Kethan's friends and I can't wait to see their reactions when they finally learn about Ivy.
Content Warning: threats of a forced mating (not between MCs); some dubious consent because Kethan doesnt understand human anatomy and language; parental abandonment; past manipulation from a partner