Written by Annabelle Hawthorne. Narrated by Amber Lee Connors
Tropes: Harem, Healing Love, Found Family, Happily For Now
Relationships: M/F, FFM
Kinks: Monster Fucking, some pegging
Story: 4/5
Sex: 3/5
Overall 4/5
Narrator: I thought Amber Lee Connors did a fantastic job as narrator. With this many distinct characters, it was great that each was given their own voice, especially given some of the group huddle discussions that happened in the story. My only issue was the voice of the character Tink, but that ties into some issues I had with her in general, which I'll explain later. But otherwise, Connors was a superb narrator. If the next book gets an audio version, I hope that she's part of the project.
Story: Despite how much mental and financial resources authors and publishers spend on cover designs, there is still some truth to "Don't judge a book by its cover." Especially in indie publishings spaces, it can be hard to get the resources you need to produce quality covers. But I thought I was safe in judging a book by its title. Radley's House for Horny Monsters proved me wrong.
As a personal preference, monster fucking and harem fantasies don't rank exceptionally high on my list of favorite erotica tropes. The book was on my TBR, but mostly because I like to support the erotica writer community, and interacting with the author on Twitter has always been pleasant. But it wasn't something I'd marked for immediate reading because I didn't find the title particularly inspiring.
I'm no delicate flower that is shocked by the use of the word horny. And while I have often used the word horny in a personal context, it's an inartful way to express sexual arousal. Its use in the title, along with the monster and harem, had me anticipating a story just about checking off a list of monsters to fuck. I love good sex scenes, but I want a story to go with it.
Given the title of this book, my expectations for story weren't particularly high. So, I don't know how long it would have taken me to get to this book if not for the All the Filthy Details podcast. For those unaware, All the Filthy Details rates and reviews erotica. House for Horny Monsters appeared on the same episode as my book, Lockdown and Dirty.
One of the reviewers on the podcast said Radley's Home for Horny Monsters: was the best-written story in that episode. I was instantly curious because I put a lot of work into my writing, and I've received a lot of really positive feedback both inside and outside of erotica writing. The podcast reviews also mentioned how the protagonist carried a lot of trauma, which is another big draw for me.
Since I was having trouble meshing that with the ideas brought on by the book's title, I picked up the audiobook and gave it a listen. When it comes to sex, the title tells you exactly what to expect: monster fucking and plenty of it. But what it doesn't prepare you for is the depth of the story connecting the sex scenes.
When I started, the hints that the trauma entailed something to do with sex and the character's mother made me a little apprehensive, but I went on. Finding out that it was about sexual shame and not some form of sexual abuse was a relief.
When Radley first gets to the titular house, he has a lot of conflicting feelings about sex. Before any of the monsters make their appearance, he gets turned on by a busty pizza delivery girl and ends up in a significant shame spiral. But from there, things start to change for him as he explores the house and himself.
Radley ends up being a bit like The Flash in that he tackles the problems he faces, using a limited set of tools to great effect. There's always compassion. But where The Flash has speed, Radley has his dick. Need to bring a water nymph back from the brink of death. Fuck her. Need to reenergize a gargoyle. Fuck her. Need to negotiate an understanding with a goblin. You get the picture.
As poignant as the story gets sometimes, this is still erotica, and the sex is part of the reason you pick up a book like this. As deceptive as the title may be as far as the story is concerned, it does deliver on the horny monster harem part. But each sex scene involving Radley did advance the narrative in some way, which was nice. It formed bonds, metaphysical and emotional. Some scenes healed a character physically or mentally. Sometimes it was used to seal contracts. But there was something about it that made it more than just sex.
The story did have a few issues. There is a brief, magically-compelled sexual assault. While the narrative builds up to it, so it wasn't surprising, I think it could have used a trigger warning at the start of the book.
There was one sex scene of somewhat questionable consent regarding having sex with a possessed person. Engaging in sexual activity using someone else's body has a cringe factor, which I'm not sure was really addressed sufficiently in the narrative.
There's a significant mystery box aspect to the story about who collected these monsters and exactly how many monsters are in this place. A magical memory block is used to preserve that, even as Radley has long conversations with the house residents. At first, it seemed a little flimsy. But as the story unfolded, it ended up serving the story as more than just an easy tool to maintain a mystery, and I could forgive some of the narrative utility.
As far as the sex scenes go, they were good but suffered from a strange problem for me. I like having an idea of what a character looks like. Still, the exact shape of each part of their anatomy is more detail than I usually want. But because this is about fucking monsters, the differences between monster and human anatomy are emphasized. When Radley first has sex with each resident of the house, the scene has a section where we have to explore, explain, and describe each monster's anatomy in detail. Since I'm not a huge monster fucking fan in general, I don't know if it's commonly a built-in feature, but it didn't always work for me. After the first time, I liked the scenes better.
However, there is one instance when a monster's lack of an asshole actually becomes a major plot point, which I found very amusing.
My biggest complaint was the characterization of the goblin, Tink. She has a speech pattern that could be described as juvenile and was given a voice that could almost be described as childlike. It might not have sounded as much like that if she spoke with something more like a regular adult speech pattern. She is also the smallest among them, being able to wear Radley's t-shirts like dresses.
It wasn't so bad until the book hung a lampshade on it. A conversation with one of the other characters stresses that Tink is intelligent and capable and that the way she talks has to do with a head injury, which brings up some other issues. If it had just been, "that's how goblins talk," as I'd assumed from the beginning, it wouldn't have been so bad.
Once attention was brought to it, it shaded the previous interactions. For a while after that, I found it hard to shake the feeling Radley was taking advantage of her in some way that didn't mesh with his character. Towards the end, it didn't seem as bad. Still, there were some parts where I had some definite questions about the ethical nature of that relationship.
And while this may sound like a lot of issues, they end up being fairly small in a book tipping towards 350 pages. It's well-written and surprisingly heartfelt at times. While almost all the relationships start out as transactionally sexual, a far deeper bond grows between the characters. When I saw the title, I expected exactly what it said: a harem of horny monsters. Instead, what I got was a found family narrative about a guy who had trouble fitting in with other humans but found his place in a home filled with monsters ... who just happen to be horny.
You can find it on Amazon here.
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