Book Review: Tentacles and Teeth (Consorting with Monsters #1) by Rowan Merrick

When I picked up Tentacles and Teeth (Consorting with Monsters #1) by Rowan Merrick, I thought, ‘It’s not my thing, but it’ll waste some time.’ Turns out… I must have more kinks than I knew ‘cause…

Whoa.

Tentacles and Teeth introduces a world where Fae and otherworldly creatures live side-by-side with humans. Humans, it would appear, they like to fuck and fuck hard. The main character of the novella is a confident, curvaceous human called Katarina who goes to a bar looking for exactly that… and finds it in the tentacled bar owner, Sid.

Gotta admit, when I picked up tentacle porn, I was not expecting one of the Fs in a FFM to be the one with the tentacles... but it works, creating an interesting dynamic between Sid, Katarina, and Fenn, the werewolf who can’t wait to take a bite out of his roommate’s feisty new girlfriend.

Still with me?

Merrick does a surprisingly good job of worldbuilding and character development in such a short time. Her world feels like a place you could step into, a place with history, culture, and rules. The characters were just as developed, well-rounded with individual personalities and goals. Tentacles and Teeth also introduces a myriad of side characters that you just know will get their own stories eventually.

And I’ll be there for every one of those.

Tentacles and Teeth is a fun and sexy little romance (yeah, there’s some wild fucking, but the relationship between Katarina, Sid, and Fenn is still sweet and respectful) that, at times, borders on the taboo when Katarina and Fenn finally get it on – in his werewolf form. Scenes that make me blush aside, Tentacles and Teeth is a good story that, really, could have been fleshed out into something more than quick smut. Although it lets itself down a little in that area, I still recommend this one for a steamy light read.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐