Monsters of Faery · Mallory Dunlin
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ — 3 stars
Tags: basilisk-smut, fae-shit, fated-mates, monster-romance, dirty-talk, guilty-pleasure, fantasy-romance
꧁The Hook꧂
BESTIES. IF YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW.
It was a SERPENT SUMMER. And I, the gracious Cece, read a ton of basilisk snake monster smut books on your behalf. You’re welcome. 🐍
And Basilisk’s Gaze? IT WORKED FOR ME, DAMMIT.
꧁The World Building꧂
Okay, listen. The writing style was a little more choppy than I would have preferred, and the book was FULL of lovely tropes.
The literal phrase soulmated trueloves was used unironically.
But did I suspend all disbelief and let myself fade into the book to enjoy the ridiculousness?
ABSOLUTELY.
There were REAL MAPS AND AN ACTUAL PLOT in this one, guys. Be proud of me. 😭
AND A RAVEN COURT!
That’s unique and cool. Let’s branch out with our fae and magic types, yes? MORE WEIRD FAE SHIT.
“knew that sound. Anyone who knew anything about monsters knew that sound, and knew to run.
Because Vaduin was a basilisk.”
EXCUSE ME, SIR. 🐍
I also loved the descriptions of the world. The writing could stretch into these long, beautiful sentences as our heroine got distracted looking into the distance, taking in everything around her.
And then, when she wanted something? When she was focused on ONE THING?
Short. Sharp. Hyper-focused.
“On the sixteenth day, I got to sleep in my own bed again.
On the seventeenth day, I got my key back.
On the eighteenth day, he came home.”
DAMMMMM THAT’S GOOD.
The writing style was doing something here, and I appreciated the hell out of it.
꧁The Characters꧂
Our main character was ADORABLE.
She does what little she can, gets herself a dope-ass nickname in the process, and watching her fall in love was SO CUTE.
She’s also new to this world, which means her curiosity becomes our curiosity. We’re learning alongside her, asking questions, and trying to figure out who the hell we’re supposed to trust.
“i knew so little about the man people called the Traitor Prince”
AND THAT’S THE THING.
I was asking questions while reading, and the foreshadowing kept coming. The suspense never stopped long enough for me to get comfortable.
Then we get this:
“A year and a day for each feast week,” the Queen said, holding her dirt-darkened hand out to me.
Feeling like I was making a deal with the Devil, I took her hand, and shook.
MA’AM. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE.
I was IN THE JOURNEY. I felt the excitement, the desire for life, the fear. I was invested in whether these people would make it.
“I was starting to think that maybe we would make it—that we’d survive this.
Until Vaduin collapsed.”
OH. OH, WE’RE HURTING NOW.
Also, the chapter names! I LOVE when authors put thought into chapter titles. It’s such a small detail, but when it’s done well, it adds something extra to the reading experience.
And this book had it all, hahahahah.
꧁The Romance꧂
You can tell I enjoyed this book because I KEPT SAVING QUOTES.
Vaduin was quite gentlemanly.
He also had some EXCELLENT dirty talk.
“already was didn’t appeal. ‘It’s alright,’ I said with a smirk, brushing his tangled hair out of his face. ‘I don’t mind being ridden hard and put away wet.’
Vaduin nipped me in protest. ‘As I believe we’ve already discussed, I regard making you wet as my job. Rephrase that.’”
SIR.
SIR, I BEG YOUR FUCKING PARDON.
The man is polite AND has standards. 😂
And then we have:
“My appreciation for the casual fails to extend to rudeness to my mate, and your disdain for your soulmate’s comfort displeases my sensibilities.”
THE FORMAL DISAPPROVAL. THE SENSIBILITIES.
This man is out here being a gentleman while simultaneously being a whole-ass basilisk monster romance hero.
What a time to be alive.
And our heroine actually gets annoyed with falling in love at one point because sometimes…
YOU JUST NEED YO MAN.
“, I was willing to bet (spoiler)
Ugh, I should probably tell him that”
GIRL. 😂
Sometimes you can be a capable woman with questions and responsibilities and still need to go find your man. I support you.
꧁The Writing & The Little Things꧂
The modern cursing was a little eh, I guess for me. It occasionally pulled me out of the fantasy atmosphere.
BUT I also appreciated how the writing could shift from expansive descriptions to short, punchy sentences when the emotion called for it.
And the suspense? The constant questions? The feeling that something was always waiting around the corner?
That kept me reading.
Even the side-character dialogue had moments I saved:
“Dickhead,” he said lightly, setting his hand on Vaduin’s bare shoulder. “Even for a soulmate, I wasn’t sure you’d care to rejoin the world. I didn’t think I’d get to talk to you again.”
My soulmate subsided with a sharp hiss. “Your affection is a burden upon my weary shoulders.”
PLEASE. 😭
The affection disguised as insults. The weary shoulders. The dramatic nonsense.
I appreciate you, sir.
꧁Overall꧂
A solid 3-star read that honestly stood out to me the most looking back at my serpent-summer basilisk books.
Was every writing choice my favourite? No.
Did I occasionally side-eye the tropes, the phrasing, and the modern cursing? Absolutely.
Did I still sink into the world, get invested in the characters, enjoy the suspense, and save an embarrassing number of romance quotes?
YES. YES, I DID.
It had maps! Courts! Magic! A heroine I wanted to follow! Foreshadowing! Suspense! A gentlemanly basilisk with dirty-talk potential!
And sometimes, besties, you don’t need a book to change your life.
Sometimes you need a giant snake monster, a little fae nonsense, and a man who takes his soulmate responsibilities VERY seriously.
IT WORKED FOR ME, DAMMIT. 🐍💋
Leave a Reply