The Minotaur's Mate

by Delaney Rain

Can a bull-headed man and a marshmallow-hearted bull unite to prevent a war and save a people?

All his life, Nat Konstantinidis has watched helplessly as his people sacrificed their own to the Minotaurs who dominate this planet. Are they killed? Are they eaten? No one knows what happens to the captives, but Nat is determined that this is the year it finally ends. Whatever it takes, he’s going to stop the sacrifices.

But from the first moment he’s handed over to one of the beasts, nothing is what he thought it would be. Now Nat doesn’t know what to believe, but he might know whom to trust—the Minotaur prince Nat might not hate as much as he thought he did.

What’s a virgin to do when a big brute looks at him with hearts in his eyes while making promises about saving the world together? And did he just propose?

This novella has an enemies-to-lovers, virgin hero, size difference story with sci-fi elements, a bull-headed human and a marshmallow-hearted bull, spying on your neighbors, shopping for sex toys, one heck of a history lesson, monster-sized anatomy, megalomaniacs fighting to stay in control, and a little stabbing, but there’s a wedding and a HEA ending.

Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Aliens, Science Fiction, LGBT, Fantasy, Monsters

Unknown Binding

First published April 30, 2023

About the author

Emerging author of gay erotic paranormal romances featuring monsters and the men who love them.

Reviews

[~✡~Dαni(ela) ♥ ♂♂ love & semi-colons~✡~ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great ideas, not so great execution, which is the norm for this author.

This could have been a kickass 300 page book, but that would have required the author to build a believable world, sketch complex characters, and think through multiple plot points.

As it stands, the story begins in the middle. There's a human sacrifice, childish insults, dildos, and political intrigue (kind of).

There's no coherent plot, no rising or falling action, just random scenes hobbled together into a novella.

It's honestly too bad because I see the potential. An enemies-to-lovers story between a human and a minotaur, a blend of fantasy and sci-fi with monster dick thrown in for good measure? Bring it!

Sadly, this isn't that story.

[Iman (hiatus) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t feel anything reading this book. I couldn’t get into it in the beginning so I lost around 20% Afterwards, the story did pick up a little, but it was lacking atmosphere. I couldn’t enjoy it; it was flat and bland. I liked the concept especially with enemies to lovers, but it could’ve been better. Not a fan of the transition from “enemies” to lovers to mates. I understand this is erotica, but not even the hotness can give me the feels in this book. I was bored.

I noticed Delaney has different structure of writing for each book so I can’t expect anything from her even though they all have the same elements. I guess that’s good, but it’s mostly been hit or miss which suck. I only pick this up because of the bull on the cover and apparently my love for monsters is bizarre af LOL.

[Audi♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nat folded so fast 😂 one minute Art is an ugly cow the next they're shopping for dildos and butt plugs together.

[Rachel Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another winner from this author for me! I loved Nat and Asterius together. I especially loved all the Prince nicknames Nat was coming up for Asterius at the start. And gosh, I just loved Asterius!

I loved that this was a mix of minotaurs with sci-fi! Very cool concept. I would have loved even more with the world building, and I would have also maybe loved a bit more spice lol but honestly, I loved it.

Feel good monster romance, another great book from Delaney. This author always leaves me wanting more in the worlds that they have created.

[Andi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting characters and world building. For a shorter story it moved pretty quickly. It would be nice for her to actually write more about these characters. I liked it.

3.5 rounded up

[rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

**3.75 stars rounded up to 4 stars**

Well, colour me surprised. This was amazingly good.

There was a lot more to the story than I thought. Politics, romance, feelings, well and sex of course, but that was to be expected.

I really liked this.

[peach · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[SophiaH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly few sexy times for Delaney Rain, but not complaining, it was actually nice to have more space for character development, plot and world-building. Nat is quite the character at the beginning, I felt like he was acting like a person who was supposedly behind a sound proofed wall not realizing that everybody could hear everything being spouted. Asterius was a sweetheart and I loved his sassy mum. And OMG Heimsal I ❤ you so hard!

Well, fine, he had mentioned that Heimsal would make the humans rethink acting aggressively, but good grief. He stood there looking like the personification of death, his clothes and armor as black as his midnight skin, his horns capped by spiked balls, rusty-looking chains looped over his arms, and not one but two massive swords on his hips. Not to mention a giant fucking hammer in his beefy hands. "You're going to make the babies cry," Nat said as he passed Heimsal.

I do hope to get a sequel, I don't want to leave Asterius and Nat just yet. And afterwards please and thank you one with Heimsal 🙏🙏

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

MORE!!

Ugh, every time I read a Delaney Rain story I'm disappointed that it ends. I want 12 more books at least of Nat and Asterius as soon as possible please.

The world building was superb, especially for being so short. You could feel the weary desperation of the people in the compound even in just a few paragraphs. The confusion and anger from Nat as his entire world view was flipped upside down was utterly palpable. This story was short, yes; but it was stuffed with more "everything" than some books 5 times as long.

Nat and Asterius fit so well together it was a joy to watch them gain comfort and confidence in each other's spaces. Their romance felt natural and sweet especially from a sort of enemies to lovers stand point. Honestly loved both of these characters and wish there was more of an opportunity to see them together.

I'd give this 10,000 stars top to bottom and I genuinely can't wait to read it again and again.

[Delta Auri · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, I did not finish. Couldn’t get into it with how fast it moved. I forgave the fact that the world building and plot wasn’t all that properly fleshed out (it’s only 146 pgs after all) but if there is one thing that turns me off a book it’s unrealistic rushing. I get it. It’s a short read at 146 pages - I love a good short read btw - but for so much ambition in the story telling it needed to be longer and I needed the main character to grow into the circumstances not flip flop from one point of view to another in a matter of days. Anyway I usually love this author, if you’re looking to read another try “The Demon’s Mate”, I rather liked that one. 4.5/5 for me.

[Rin (indefinite hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 rounded up.

This collection of books by Delaney have either hit the spot or were a big miss. This one is one of the better ones. Pretty solid world building for such a short book.

[Grey Story · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, solid story and I enjoyed it!

Human MMC Nat was kind of unlikable at first but he comes around as the story progresses and he learns things that skew his attitude. I didn't care for some of the lack of communication at the beginning between Nat and minotaur MMC Asterius, but it did have a canon reason for it that's explained later so I was mostly placated.

The only other thing was that it felt like they hooked up a little too fast. It happens about half way through the story but in terms of in-story time, it's like two days and barely knowing each other. It also felt a little instalove as well since all the great quality traits they state they like about each other... well, it sounds nice but we the reader don't see it for ourselves on the page. A shortcoming of the length of the book. :/

In any case, I liked it and am totally going to go devour another one of these by Delaney Rain. Can't wait!

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came for the romance, which I loved! If you like enemies to lovers, size difference, and cinnamon rolls, pick this up!! I ended up loving the history and lore of this world so much! It was more complex than I was expecting in a novella and I thought it was very well done. This was my first time reading Delaney Rain and I will absolutely be picking up more of her books.

[Vintage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute

Cutie pie novella that brings a human together with his special someone who happens to be a Minotaur. Misconceptions are clarified and two species are brought together. Fun.

[Flick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet minotaury fun!

This was such a sweet story. Yes there was some sadness in the sense that some of what happened and why historically was awful. But the story itself was super low angst and had such a soft, gentle slide to it. Nat and his Prince (because honestly his nicknames had me chortling the whole time and now I think of him more in respect of the nickname than his actual name lol) were so good together. They had such pure hearts and once they saw that they had the same goals (albeit coming from very different angles) the way they worked together to achieve it whilst also falling in love was perfect. I don’t want to give too much away but though there moments of melancholy the book as a whole left me feeling happy in that soft way you get after reading a really lovely, sweet book (with some fun smexiness involved too hehe). I’m really hoping we’ll visit this world again. I have a certain terrifying chambray guard I want to see get a HEA (I just have a feeling he’ll be a total softy on the inside)! Fingers crossed we get to visit again!

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book starts out as kind of a comedy and then became rather serious about the political aspects of the world it's set in. Neither really worked that well for me. Both were a bit overdone, and the switch was odd. Plus, it tried to be more than it could achieve in such a relatively short book. It's not bad, it's just not quite what it was trying to be. Also, the cover ruined any thoughts of them kissing me, the idea of kissing a cow just doesn't appeal. I would check out some of the other books in the series, but it's nothing I'm going to rush to read.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the characters, but there was a lot left out and unexplored. I would have liked more of Ignatius (Nat) and Asterius being a couple. I would have liked more of both their families, especially Asterius’s since he had so many siblings. I thought Nat took the change fairly well considering what he’d been told his whole life. The last couple chapters/epilogue were my favorite. I thought maybe Nat’s father had a problem with him being gay given the comment where someone said they wanted to go after Nat, but his father discouraged it. Overall I guess I’d give this 3-3.5 out of 5 stars. It was good, but I would have liked more of this world and the relationship within it. We didn’t even really see Nat talk to other “sacrifices” and see his new home.

[Kestrel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a sweet, low angst (given some of the subject matter), easy read, and for a novella less than 150 pages, it manages to stuff a lot in. It's got enemies-to-lovers, an adequate relationship development between the two MCs, a decent amount of sci-fi world-building, a war-torn history between the humans and minotaurs, and corrupt governing bodies.

Now, would I have liked this to have been longer, and all of these aspects to have been expanded upon further? Yeah, sure, I'd have loved that. And I do feel this particular plot and setting would have been served better as a full novel, with a helping of a truly delicious slow-burn enemies-to-lovers (well, kinda. It's really one-sided, and God I'd have loved the reveal as to why that is to be more drawn out). But I didn't feel this really lacked for not being longer, it was fleshed out enough to keep me interested.

I liked all the characters, particularly the MCs, Nat (human) and Asterius (charbray) - (I can't completely prove it but I'm so sure ALL the names are cow-based, possibly puns, and that alone got this an easy 2 stars, I'm a simple girl at heart) - our determined and resistant 'sacrifice' who volunteers with the aim to save his people and the soft-hearted prince making, well, cow-eyes at him in return. Their coming together is a bit quick but doesn't feel improperly paced within the scope of the story. They're really cute and sweet together with a bit of snark to keep things fresh, and I believed they were genuinely interested and invested in each other.

So far this author has a 100% success rate with me (admittedly with only two books). When I'm next in the mood for a reliably feel-good, quick and easy read (of the monster persuasion) this author is going to be top of the list to check out more.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

History or a story

Set in an alien world far away from Earth in time and distance where humans crash landed on a planet already inhabited by another species. Now, years later after a lost war, they eke by a living in a small company, forever on edge at the threat of the Minotaurs who run the planet, and always sending a yearly sacrifice to keep what tenuous peace there is.

Nat was born after the war and the compound is all he had ever known, but he is determined to give himself and his fellow human survivors more. Nat volunteers himself as sacrifice with a plan to attack the Minotaurs, learn more about their technology and abilities, get the humans out from under their thumb and maybe off planet. But his captors seem to immediately know what his plan is and are watching him closely, even as they introduce him to a wider world of happiness, prosperity, and unified peace. Nat doesn't know what to believe anymore and the prince Asterious coming to him personally to show all of this just has him more confused than ever.


This was a short but really lovely story. Two men that are generations removed from the trials of their world but trying to heal the old hurts. They can each see faults in their own sides, and that ability to see, to communicate, and to accept faults and need to change makes for a big difference. Whether that means they can change the circumstances for others in their world is a big question. It was a good story with a truly interesting world and history that has a very satisfying ending!

[Jeanette Waters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nat volunteers to be a Minotaur sacrifice with a plan to overthrow the Minotaurs, steal a ship and/or kill the Minotaur king. Anything to rescue his people. Asterius is a prince of the Minotaurs, or charbray as they are known amongst themselves. He presents an alternate history of their peoples' interactions. Which leads Nat to realize that the charbray are not the villains in the story. It's his own human council.
The pair have remarkable chemistry and their interactions are lively and fun. The intimate scenes between the two are smoldering hot and quite smexy.
This is a sweet, fun story. With open minded characters, hard lessons learned and a great HEA. This is my first book of the author's that I've read. Have to admit, the title and the pretty blue cover intrigued me. The author's prose style grabbed my attention immediately. And I really look forward to the other two books I see published by them and really look forward to more.

[Captain Comic Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another smutty, monster loving book that I read because I really enjoyed the last one this author wrote. I have to say, I was a bit disappointed with this one though. While I do like this book, the pacing is way off and there are a lot of holes in the story. Since it's just a novella, I'm not expecting heavy detail, but at the same time, parts of the book did deserve more information and time. My friend who read the book with me put it best when they said "she writes like she has a word limit she can't go over." The book plays on the miscommunication trope I dislike a little bit, and when they do speak, it was way too easy for Nat to just accept everything Asterius was saying. The book was fun and light and easy to read - I don't not recommend it - but even some of the smut was added at the last minute like an afterthought. The Sea Monster's Mate was a better book overall, quality of writing wise.

[Danis ❤️ MM · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun story.

The setting is about 30 years after humans have crash landed on a planet. They live in small camp outside of the alien city. Every so often they need to sacrifice a human (s) to the dominate alien race who resemble a mix between human and minotaur. The humans who are sacrificed are carted off to who knows where never to be seen again. The protagonist, a young man, is determined to make this stop and so gets himself on the list to be sacrificed. He doesn't expect to meet a very appealing Prince of the Minotaurs or discover what really happened 30 years ago.

What made this a 4 star rather than a 3.5 was the snark. The main human character is so snarky and comes up with all sorts of names for the prince:
Prince Danger Di%k
Prince Inappropriate
Prince Thud-Foot
Prince Caught Lying
Prince Thrashing Cow
Prince Fu%ks Alot

You get the idea. It was a fun quick read.

[Sabby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wasn’t expecting this to be so good

I admit, I judged a book by its cover and wasn’t expecting much going into this. Boy was I wrong. For a short novella there was a surprising amount of depth. I truly just wish the book was longer because a lot of things felt a bit rushed and the plot was decent enough that it could have been a short novel instead of novella. But regardless, loved the main characters and the writing felt experienced. I was definitely feeling the emotions of Nat at the beginning, I don’t think I’ve felt so mad alongside the character, but that feeling faded as it faded in Nat. That was a great example of how the author was showing a lot of the emotions Nat felt and not just telling us. So yah, highly recommended. Just wish it was much longer.

[LJ Henley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Asterius and Nat

Delaney Rain has cornered the market on gay monster romance. I've read several of their books and I think this one is the best. The setting in on a planet that isn't earth. Its inhabitants are Minotaurs. When humans crashed landed on their planet, they wanted to learn from the humans and help them to acclimate to their planet. But the humans started a war. Then there is a treaty where humans are sent to the Minotaur's land as a sacrifice.

There's a bit of history that is explained within the story that answers lots of questions. But Nat wants to put an end to the sacrifices and volunteers himself to go. Meeting the prince, Asterius, is challenging to Nat but soon he learns the truth about the war.

I loved the story and the HEA!

[Trip · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the setup for this book, the world building is incredible for a short read. The details are stunning and build up of the history of the minotaurs & humans.

Nat and Aster are wonderful together, the teasing and bonding as everything gets revealed. It's very fast paced, but they have great chemistry and a fun romance. Along with some steamy scenes 🔥

Overall an interesting story with a spark of love conquering, these two get their happy ending and look towards a beautiful future together.


Royalty
Size difference
Butt Plugs
Dildos

*This authors writing is so amazing, I always end up only wishing the stories were longer to explore more.

[Liz Prosser · Rating 5 out of 5]

delightful

Another amazing read by one of my top ten favorite authors! I gotta say at first I really wasn’t liking Nat but when the truth is revealed he’s a completely different person who just wanted a better life for his fellow humans and I fell in love, but I am absolutely in love with Asterius. There is just enough world building and detail to make a great story without becoming drawn out frustrating. I would have loved for it to be longer but I always feel that way with this authors books because I adore the worlds and characters so much

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Minotaur's Mate is an interesting paranormal story. It has a little bit of a sci-fi edge as humans ended up on the Minotaur's planet when they crashed from a spaceship. The two sides ended up at war and when the peace treaty was drafted the humans were required to regularly send some of their people as sacrifices to the Minotaur's.

It's difficult to talk about the plot without giving away too much. But I did find it really fun to have the humans the low-tech people who were poor and barely getting by, but the Minotaur's were high-tech and rich, with royalty and a castle.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish this were a longer series. This one has so much potential and there are still a lot of things about this world that could have been explained a bit better. At the beginning, I didn't know how they'd get over that initial first meeting but I think the romance progressed at the right pace for the length of the story. I'm surprised at how much detail the author was able to give to this world in such a short word count.

[la review bleu · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is what it says. A gay sci-fi romance with a bull. I am here for the bull/Minotaur. I loved it. The plot and setting were something different, it even shows the history of the humans and Minotaur's. I liked the political stuff in there, reminds someone to always look on both side and not be blinded by only one. Both of the characters were really likeable. I like Asterius – the bull. The heat between him and Nat, the human, was great. I wished for more.
I like the cover.

[Kelly Ries · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bovine Awesomeness

This part of my minotaur binge read and was by leaps and bounds my most fave. Perfect blend of world building, character development, plot, and sexy times. Would very much like to revisit these two characters again in another story and adventure maybe in space?