Tereza’s life was all obligation and no pleasure, but she’d never expected anything else. When a glimpse of undreamed of possibilities propels her into a decision that changes everything, the consequences shatter her world.
Fleeing, bleeding, she stumbles into the arms of four fae. With them, she feels things that make her question everything she thought she knew about herself. But the past is not so easily left behind, and old promises stalk her footsteps with deadly intent.
Born and raised in the Pacific northwest, Rowan spends her days dreaming of less cloudy realities where people find love with all manner of monsters. When not writing, she's chasing around her three partners, the tiny demon they created, and her pet hellhound.
THANK YOU ROWAN. I got Bound and Beguiled as an arc in exchange for an honest review.
And WOW I loved this! It was so sexy and fun and honestly… I really loved the revenge aspects in it. So many people are afraid to broach the topic of abusive mothers. So many people are afraid to talk about rage and bad guys reaping the kind of consequences they deserve for their actions. I loved how Tereza’s love interests were so loving, supportive, and willing to pay attention/get consent/etc. I loved Tentacles and Teeth, I loved this book, and I’m SO excited for whatever is next.
This FFFMM book is full of hot scenes including submission, ropes, cups/collar, fisting, toy play, DP etc so it feels weird to call this book sweet, but it is! The fae help the fmc on her journey of overcoming several different forms of abuse on her way to self love and pleasure.
Please check TW - there are many for this book that might not be good for some readers.
This book was what I was hoping for in book one. Tereza came from the same closed off community as Katarina did and had a LOT more trauma from it. Her terrible mother, ex fiancé, and lack of support led her to have poor self esteem and lots of (understandable) trust issues. I think the fact that this book was only from her point of view was what made it work better. We are able to invest more in her perception of the world around her. To no one’s surprise, the spice was amazing. The dom/sub dynamics in the polycule were fantastic and it was all super consent heavy. Mared is probably my fave of Reza’s partners, although Efa isn’t far behind. If this wasn’t novella length, I would have loved knowing more background on each character and a better understanding of their dynamics outside the bedroom. However, there’s no way to fit that much info into a novella on that many individuals. Having grown up in a culty religion myself, it was easy to self insert in this story. The narcissistic mother, the opportunistic predatory fiancé, and the tendency for men to be believed over women were relatable. Like any religious group, there were still genuinely kind people in it. Like all aspects of life, nothing is black and white. Really enjoyed this installment.
Spice: 5/5
Triggers: cult, chile abuse (off page), domestic violence (off page), rape in relationship (off page), gaslighting, stalking (not by MCs), mention of gore, threats to life, mention of involuntary psychiatric hospitalization, abortion recovery, abortion (off page), partner tampering with birth control
This didn’t quite have the magic of Tentacles and teeth for me, but you can always count on the author for an uplifting, body positive, sex positive, hot as hades monster romance. FFMM with a human who needs some lovin’ in her life and 3 “monsters” who are more than willing to give to her? Here for it.
I tried a really did. DNF at 50% I was just so incredibly bored. Also the insta love made zero sense. Eyes meet and they’re gearing up to kill for her like “who hurt you.” There were so many of them and the attraction so instant with barely an introduction of names that I didn’t know who anyone was individually much less care for them at all as a unit. I just kept asking myself- why. Nothing makes sense. Also the amount of times I had to read “good boy / good girl / use your words” was grating.
Ultimately, Bound and Beguiled is fun and sexy. However, it starts in a pretty traumatic place for Tereza, where she escapes from her evil finance, who sabotages their birth control to force her to have a baby, and her mother's tyrannical influence. Tereza has had an abortion by the time the book starts and escapes from the cult her family is part of. I wonder how many of these types of pregnancy plots we'll have in romance since the overturn of Roe v. Wade.
This is an urban fantasy world, and Tereza finds a safe place with her cousin (the heroine in book 1, which I haven't read) and her cousin's two magical fae partners. She gets a job at a local pub and quickly falls for 4 very flirty, furred monsters who are animal shifters based on Welsh mythology. This is definitely some insta-lust/love.
With a few bits of magic here and there, the sex leans heavily into realistic and well-done BDSM. Much of it was very hot.
The stakes felt very high at points but then disintegrated. Tereza's ex stalks her, but she's kept entirely safe and doesn't leave the warded safehouse. She arrives at the wedding to truth tell — which she does — and while the outcome is cathartic — a lot of the book is reckoning with women not being believed about their abuse — it seemed a tad anti-climatic. However, I did want to see full fanart of her riding on Emyr in his house form and in her "wedding" attire.
As a novella, there wasn't quite enough time to give deep characterization to all of Tereza's paramours, plus all the world-building with other characters that Merrick was doing.
Honest ARC Review: Wow what a great book! This book is about Tereza who has finally left an unsafe situation. She is vulnerable and hurt and seeks refuge with her cousin. When she starts working at a bar she meets four fae who captivate her. She is starting to feel things she never has before and doubts herself along the way. Despite this the four sexy fae welcome her and help her with dealing with her deranged ex. The natural progression and dynamic of this groups romance was pure perfection. I loved how this poly group worked and how unique each relationship was. I loved all the love interests as well as the side characters we met along the way. I really enjoyed and respected the way BDSM was portrayed and used in this book. The kinky parts got intense and were also so incredibly sweet. This is a paranormal romance but I still felt like the romance and love in this story was so real. I would highly recommend this book if you enjoy FFFMM, invisible magic hands, hurt/comfort, found family, epic spice, poly romance, and a main character who takes her life back. Book release April 14th.
If I thought Tentacles and Teeth was hot, Bound and Beguiled is a boiling hot book 🥵
We got a brief glimpse of Tereza at the end of Tentacles and Teeth when she called her cousin Katarina—who is FMC from the first book in the series. At the start of Bound and Beguiled, we follow a Tereza who has had to leave the Covenant to escape a dangerous situation. She moves in with her cousin and gets a job as a waitress in Katrina’s girlfriend’s—Sid—bar. There she meets four Bwbachods who will change the course of her life.
In addition to the extremely well-written spicy scenes, this book tells the very moving story of a young woman made vulnerable by the physical and psychological violence she has suffered at the hands of people close to her. Thanks to Mared, Efa, Emyr and Kynan, she gradually regains control of her life and regains the self-confidence that had previously been constantly shattered. This makes Tereza an FMC with a lot of courage and strength. Mared, Efa, Emyr and Kynan are really perfect to accompany her on this long journey. I can’t think of a better match for her.
I can’t wait to read the next book in the Consorting with Monsters series.
I'm usually more of a MM reader but these books... chef's kiss! Tereza stumbles into this new life, fleeing from a very toxic relationship with her mother and the man she expected Tereza to marry. Thankfully, her cousin takes her in and introduces her to not only her new boss but a few of her gorgeous new coworkers. And though, in the beginning, she struggles to believe that anyone so beautiful like these fae could be interested her (thanks to her mother's and ex's manipulative bs), she developes a unique relationship with each of them. She finds her place in this sweet poly relationship (FFFMM in the end) and together with all of her new found family they are able to avert the dreadful arranged bounding to her ex.
A wonderful book! It's beautiful to see how Tereza changes throughout the pages and gaines more confidence in herself. The spice is insane and all combinations of participants have their own super hot dynamics.
Tereza, Reza, has joined Katrina after leaving her family behind, after she refused to marry Franklin. Now she's met a group that would love to add her in, and who want to keep her safe as Franklin begins stalking and harassing her.
This was an interesting set up, since Reza was introduced into an already functioning poly group. I loved how they took everything slow with her and didn't forced her to do too much at once. Emyr definitely became one of my favorites just with how commanding he is with her, and everyone for that matter. There were a few different steamy scenes that will make you melt, and really want to join their group for the same fun Reza is having.
I didn't get as invested in this book as I wanted to. The author would give us bits and pieces of the plot between bouts of steam, and it didn't quite work out as well as I thought it would.
Touch and go for me, I'm sorry!!! I loved the novella before this one, and this had a good concept but I don't know... Perhaps it was all the fur mentions or maybe it was the amount of spice (too much somehow) or the type of spice... There were so many characters and so little time, they didn't feel fleshed out, their romance didn't feel fleshed out, the characters were 2dimensional (not fleshed out) and thus hard to keep track of them. I'm not sure but something didn't click for me.
✓ Why choose/ poly cluster ✓ MMFFF with MM and FF ✓ Dom/sub ✓ Spicy ✓ monster romance ✓ insta attraction, fast burn ❤️🔥 ✓ exploration of religious trauma
× two doms × plot × characterisation all over the place
I feel like this book should have come with a warning ⚠️ Have some water and your *buzz buzz* fully charged ⚠️ I absolutely devoured this book. The plot was fantastic and I appreciated the fluffiness of FFFMM poly relationship. I loved the themes of self discovery, self acceptance and found family. Bound and Beguiled does deal with darker issues in regards to the FMC Tereza, but I felt it was handled well. But please be sure to check the trigger/content warning. As for the smut 🔥 holy cow this was one of the hottest books I've ever read. Instant lust and sexy from beginning to end. I could not get enough of Tereza, Kynan, Efa, Mated and Emyr.
Holy hedonistic mothballs, batman! This might be the single hottest thing I've ever read. Ever. And I read fanfiction. I love Tereza with the flaming passion of a thousand suns and I will protect her until my dying breath. Thank God for sexy fuzzy fae to show just how wonderful she is. Seriously, this book checked every box for me: it has a compelling story, mental and emotional growth, amazing characters, and enough smut to drown a cat. Better than porn.
In the first book of this series spice was bam!! Right away. However this book felt like a more slow start throwing much more info at the reader on the heroine’s back story. But once it started going phew!!!! I loved the dynamics of the 5 of them. However there were moments when there were just too many side characters and some even had similar names that I had to think for a moment wait who is that, which ended up pulling me away from the story.
I really liked the 1st book in this series and I LOVED this one.
I did like the more serious tone taken on for this book but I really liked how it developed the relationship/mindset of the FMC and the....party of paramours lmao. I do appreciate the author making each character have their own personality and not all the SAME personality type y'know?
I am excited for the (potential) next book because I really like this world Rowan has written so far
4.5 stars! I loved the aspect of found family mixed with smut in this novel. Taking a trauma victim and showing how they grow and change with a strong support system tugged at my heart strings. The FMC grew from a meek, self-loathing woman into a strong, self confident person that knew her worth and fought to start over. The way the characters interacted had me swooning and fanning myself. Much praise for Rowan Merrick! Can’t wait to see where her next novella/novel takes me!
Great follow up to Tentacles and Teeth. I loved seeing more into the Bound of Ymet and all the things the FMC has to endure and overcome. It was great to see them rebuild her confidence and help her seek vengeance against those who hurt her. I hope we see more of these characters in the upcoming books.
I don't know how a book can be so deliciously spicy but also teeth-achingly sweet. I love it when the romance IS the plot. The POV character is recovering from trauma and her newfound love helps her to heal and find herself. LOVE LOVE LOVE. Extremely satisfying ending, HEA and all the plot threads get resolved. God damn this was a good book.
This one was even better than the first in the series. Tereza's evolution and relationship with the group at the bar were done so well, and they were all so careful with her and pushed her to be strong for herself. Loved seeing more of this world and what felt like a more well-rounded story. With lots of spice.
The plot was pretty good, as was the smut, but the characters’ interactions didn’t feel super believable. Also, there weren’t enough details; for example, there’s a note but we don’t get to see what was written in it, and there are some time jumps when the situations could’ve been described.
I was hoping this would be a standalone since it was about a different MC than book 1, but I was sadly missing a lot of context with the ex that probably would’ve made the conclusion of this book more satisfying. The spicy scenes were creative and competent, and I think that’s mainly what the book is aiming for.
Revenge is a dish best served publicly. Tereza really does get everything she desperately deserves; with Mared, Emyr, Kynan, and Mared crashing into her life! A fun, smutty time with enough tension and plot to keep things moving.
Yes if: Escaping from religious indoctrination & arranged marriage sounds good
I was chosen to beta read in exchange for an honest review
First off, the representation in here is so true to the communities Rowan is writing to represent- queer, bdsm & polyamory! All represented so beautifully & written with such accuracy that I felt seen in a world where a lot of authors make my communities out to be weird sex cults.
Speaking of cults! The way Rowan handles religious trauma with the MC, Tereza, is gentle yet powerful. Tereza coming into her own - both as a person escaping her cult & as a sexual being - is written with such care to not trigger those with trauma but still make you feel for Reza.
The world building is spot on & it transported me right into the Broken Crown. The RE.👏 SPECT.👏 all characters showed one another was absolutely beautiful! The way they show consent to each & every person they meet & the “touch her & die” aspect when helping to shelter Reza from her ex is just chefs kiss 👌🏽
On a final note: fuck Franklin. Fuck Rezas mom. & fuck anyone who acts like those assholes
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
That was very fun but I felt like it could have been a little longer to develop the relationships a bit more. I mean, it’s a group of 5, it’s hard to have a convincing romantic dynamic when it’s so short.
Mouse the ogre is my favorite character outside of the FMC and her gang. I loved reading Tereza's story and how she quickly becomes the center of the Bwbachod who work at the broken crown bar anf how being with them helps her heal. I can't wait to read more in this world/series
Like the first one, I seriously didn't want to put this book down once I started reading it. I did hate when it ended because I wanted so much more, lol. The spice was seriously hot in this book. I can’t wait to read what happens next.