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Pine Ridge Universe

The Minotaur's Valentine

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Milo has finally met the girl of his dreams. She’s funny, into 80’s metal, loves animals, and wants to be a vet.

And that might come in handy since he’s half-bull—a minotaur, to be exact.

But Libby is 100% human and not even aware of the monsters and magic that exist in her new town of Pine Ridge, New York. Everyone tells Milo to be patient and stay in the shadows. Libby’s smart and she’ll eventually figure out that something’s different about this innocent-looking suburb…

Libby Ingersol loves Pine Ridge, but it’s lonely being the new girl in town. As another Valentine’s Day looms, single Libby is desperate to get out and mingle. When she tries the Pine Ridge club scene, things go wildly wrong.

Can a shy minotaur who wears his heart on his hoof make things go right and salvage Libby’s Valentine’s night?

The Minotaur’s Valentine is a feel-good monster romance with a cinnamon roll hero. Just a warning… cinnamon isn’t the only spice you’ll find in this happily-ever-after tale of monster love!

327 pages, ebook

Published June 30, 2023

112 people are currently reading
182 people want to read

About the author

S.C. Principale

93 books132 followers
Author of romance with bite.
Especially fond of monster and paranormal romance, but she'll write some all-human romances, too!

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5 stars
120 (45%)
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87 (33%)
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46 (17%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
Profile Image for TaylorReads.
204 reviews12 followers
October 23, 2024
DNF 72% I tried y’all. But the plot is crazy all over the place, the storyline makes very little sense, and the development of their relationship is the least believable part. I wanted to like it though, so 2 stars
Profile Image for Marmom.
371 reviews10 followers
February 9, 2024
**yaaaaawwwwwnn* this book is way too long for what it needs to be. They don’t even meet until halfway into book. The FMC is dumber than a bag of rocks and her only personality traits are: ORPHAN. LONELY. METALHEAD. Repeat 500,000 times. The music thing was distracting because it was so wrong. Excuse me, but Alice Cooper isn’t CHRISTIAN METAL. And Siouxsie and the Banshees isn’t metal, either. I think the music part should have been sensitivity checked by a Gen Xer. And them quoting that Metallica song constantly, including before sexytimes, was so cringe I think I swallowed my lungs. I loved MGMF and although some Minotaur books have come close, I wish I could find that magic again. You won’t find it here, though.
Profile Image for Emily.
238 reviews26 followers
August 21, 2023
While this book had a slow burn start, it was worth it when the burn finally burned. I’m a suck for slow burn monster romances and this one didn’t disappoint! I loved how the first part introduced us to each character and their personality, so that we could see how well that they would work together. And I loved how all of the drama was wrapped up about half way through the book, so we ended with a little slice-of-life, warm and cozy vibes. This is a great monster romance. I can’t wait to read more in this series.

The author did request that I read this book and I downloaded it on NetGalley. All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.
Profile Image for Grey Story.
368 reviews22 followers
March 6, 2024
I started reading this for Valentine's Day and if you're wondering why it took me until now to finish it - it's because I read through most of it and then struggled to slog through the last 30%. Sidenote - there were like 30-40 pages of extras at the back of the digital edition that just took up a ton of space.

Anyway - first off, if you check Amazon you can see there's a much cuter illustrated cover there that I think represents the story much better than the photoshop one.

Secondly - this was soooooo much fluff. Too much fluff, I would argue. I like cozy stuff! I do! I promise! But this had no tension or conflict at all. There was nothing moving anything forward, especially after the two characters get together a third of the way through the book. Any time there could have been a source of tension, it's immediately resolved or smoothed out. You don't need some big crazy conflict to write a good story but there does need to be some kind of driving force and it didn't feel like there was one. There were genuinely sweet moments but they fell flatter than they would have if there'd been more buildup for that sweet payoff.

The two characters get together, the human learns about the supernatural world and is immediately accepting of it, and then the two enjoy a lot of sex and rapidly progress their relationship at lightning speed. The end.

The human female character Libby was alright. Her character had some background and development. I genuinely liked her relationship with her supervisor and mentor and the way the two kind of become like family. I would have loved to have seen that woven in a bit more.

Milo, our male minotaur, is ...less alright? In terms of establishing a character he was fine. My issue was with his instalove that happens before he even meets Libby. Yes, I said that right. He spots her from afar and because he's so "observant" (verbatim how he describes himself while watching her from a distance for a couple hours when she visits the market), he learns sooo much about her and falls in love with her. Has literally never spoken to her but he's in love with her. Oooookay. Libby was also, wildly, accepting of that (true to the pattern in this book, she panics for like .02 seconds before being OK with it) instead of being creeped the fuck out.

ALSO? The two characters hookup within minutes of finally talking to each other for the first time - RIGHT AFTER she was just "rescued" from being sexually assaulted. Like what???

There were also some minor things I found kind of annoying or eye-roll worthy but they're kind of petty. The characters go on and on about how they're metalheads, it's a big part of their identity & shared interests, etc. but only list popular stuff. They both fantasize about sex to the same corny song. The minotaur hooves kept getting compared to hubcaps but that makes no sense physically - like how would they get their pants on? The use of the tail in the spicy scenes was kind of weird to me because it's furry??

Anyway, if you want 100% fluff - here you go. This is for you.
Profile Image for Violet.
166 reviews7 followers
May 10, 2024
"My heart melts—again. At this rate, my heart has melted more often than cheap popsicles in August, and I don’t think it’s going to stop happening."

⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

👀Tropes: I'd say this is a small town, monster, fantasy romance. That's a lot I know, but it has all those elements. It's dual POV, with a little secret identity (ish), little holiday, size difference, and a lot of cinnamon roll MMC.

☠️CW: Nonhuman/human, explicit sex, slight verbal violence (non MC), self-doubt(FMC)

📚Read Method: Kindle eBook

✨Initial Reaction: I've read another book (novella actually) by SC Principale and I was unimpressed, but I wanted to give it another try. The alternate cover than this one is WAYYYYY cuter and matches the vibes way more.

✨Final Reaction: There is so much fluff in this book. And honestly, I love it. The main plot is pretty much over 60% ish into the book, but there is much more happy endings(if you can call just a bunch of happy scenes at the end?). I enjoyed just the pure good feelings and goodness that came from both the FMC, MMC, and pretty much all the side characters.

💖Quotes:
"When you get picked on enough, you learn to avoid drawing attention to yourself." -FMC talking about herself.
"I hope this man will be either my friend or my lover, but at the very least he’s my kitten baby daddy. The thought makes me giggle." - FMC talking about MMC
"Or nothing but the jewels. Maybe she could sit naked on that throne, her legs over the armrests, while I kneel in front of her and bury my face in her tight little—" - MMC talking about FMC
"Mom’s chant to the gods of love and marriage stops. “I heard her voice, Milo! She has a lovely laugh. That is her, with you now, two days in a row? This must be serious. When can I meet her? Is she coming for dinner?” - I cackled at this. This is so wholesome.
"He cums like a geyser, which is too much for me. I choke (very unsexy) and splutter, and end up laughing as Milo’s own “mint milkshake” rains down on us." - I hated this, but also, memorable.
"A rebel who is going to go feed her cats and send a sexy selfie to a guy who cooks, cleans, and uses his massive tongue as my personal loofah." - I mean....
"“I’m always horny.” I tap my head. “My God. That is such a dad joke. A minotaur dad joke.” Minotaur dad." - The jokes are amazing.
“We have some news. Um. Libby isn’t just my Valentine. She’s also going to be my wife.” There’s silence. Then there is deafening, explosive excitement. I catch a string of sounds that roughly translates as “WearecomingoverChristoswhereisthechampagneIloveyou-we’llbethereintenminutes.” Then there’s a click." - Again, so wholesome it hurts.
Profile Image for MsRHReviewer.
716 reviews11 followers
February 7, 2024
A sweet monster book, smexy scenes, but not much plot otherwise

This is a bit of a sweet, light romance where a minotaur watches a human from a distance longing for her, knowing he can't just approach her because she's unaware of the supernatural. Half of the book is just that, while she tries to find her place in life and to be more "social." The other half of the book is Milo (the minotaur) and Libby (the human) being in a relationship, getting steamy with each other, and figuring out what they want together. I kept waiting for something to happen - a brief miscommunication, someone from Libby's recent past to pop back up to stir trouble, SOMETHING.

The end of the book seemed to end pretty suddenly. I expected more, but when I flipped to the next page, it was just over.

It took me a few days to get through this book, even though I can normally finish a book in one. It just seemed to drag a little bit, and I found my focus drifting to other things.

It's still a sweet book, and I love all of the characters. The author did a great job with that!
Profile Image for LizKat.
762 reviews4 followers
October 14, 2024
This book should have been adorable- but it wasn't :(
I really disliked that she messed around with another guy in the book- for me when I read a romance I want only on-page smut with the 2 MCs.
Also how does she go from not even knowing the minotaur to suddenly wanting him all within a few minutes- it was annoying!

Overall a very disappointing read.
Profile Image for A life of books and ADHD.
77 reviews4 followers
July 22, 2024
It was a really cute read and Milo was so sweet !

But the ending left me on my appetite. Like. I turned the page and just gaped that it was over like that. I think some stuff in the books could've been erased and instead the ending could've been more developed. It was very abrupt and it just cut all the joy that was happening.

Tho, I have to say, I love the author's humour in most of her books ! The internal monologues usually make me laugh easily !
And Milo... swoooooon.
11 reviews
January 15, 2024
Really enjoyed most of this book but I felt that the ending was so rushed! I would die for a man like milo tho 😭💖
Profile Image for DemetraP.
5,839 reviews
July 5, 2023
I was disappointed with all of the "other man" drama. The hero has a crush on the heroine. She doesn't know who he is.

She spends the first half of the book lusting over and preparing to go on a date with a guy she met working as a vet tech. She doesn't know he is part succubus and is feeding on her when they kiss. During this time, the hero is thinking about her.

They finally meet on Valentine's Day and she finds out he is a minotaur. Then she immediately fools around with him, right after the hero throws out her date (she was making out with her date and almost had sex with the date right before this).

It really bothered me. They never went on a date at this point. She didn't know this guy. He had such a crush on her and he didn't seem special to her at all.
Profile Image for Carla.
48 reviews
February 22, 2024
Tengo muchas, muchísimas, opiniones sobre este libro. Como concepto no está mal. Como libro casi que tampoco, pero, e importante es el pero, desde el momento en el que Milo empieza a pensar solo con esa parte concreta de su anatomía de dudosa compatibilidad la del cuerpo humano femenino (además de pensar por de más en ella, que también tiene su problemática) el libro pierde mucho encanto.
¿Minotauro tímido, un poco raro y al que le gustan los gatitos? Genial. ¿Size kink? Bueno, tiene un pase. ¿Pensar solo en lo pequeña que es ella y lo muy grande que es él y cómo va a funcionar? Nope, eso ya es pasarse.
En esta misma línea. ¿En qué momento alguien pensó que era buena idea que los dedos, los dedos nada menos, de Milo fueran del tamaño de una parte diferente de la anatomía de un ser humano? Quiero decir... La anatomía no está siendo muy anatómicamente correcta, en mi humilde opinión.
El siguiente problema de mi lista, que tampoco es tan larga como pensaba, es el hecho de que la protagonista parece estar "predestinada" a los personajes masculinos. Que no es que me parezca mal en sí. Pero, sinceramente, eso de que un señor random te contrate y respete tus derechos mínimos y tú ya te montes la película de que es como tu papi... Nope.
Probablemente tenga más opiniones sobre el libro, pero después de haber dejado que todo se asentara en mi cabeza para no vomitar una reseña basada en el odio post-lectura sin asentamiento de ideas, hasta las críticas han pasado a mejor vida.
Profile Image for Emily Lindsey.
Author 4 books21 followers
May 15, 2024
Milo and Libby and the cat babies make for a perfectly adorable love story! Milo and Libby have so much in common, but she isn’t in on the town secret so everyone tries to make him wait….while he secretly falls in love with her. Libby is alone, lonely, but trying to start over in a new town. They both fall in love with some feral kittens and it’s like those felines bring them together, despite how different they are from eachother, they both seem to fill in spaces the other one has. I loved the story, how they each had secrets, but they wanted to share their lives with someone, and they were willing to put in the work!
Profile Image for Lady Grimm.
201 reviews3 followers
January 29, 2024
A sweet, fun read

I've seen this authors books and passed by them countless times because I'm really not a fan of super cartoon-y covers. I'm glad I decided to actually give this a read! The story was fun and easy to follow. I'm not overly fond of the insta-love trope, but that's just personal preference. Overall I really enjoyed the book and will give this author another read in the future for sure.
Profile Image for M. Culler.
Author 50 books13 followers
July 17, 2023
A sweet story of falling in love and overcoming the obstacles that relate to finding out your perfect person is literally a different species. I also loved all the metalhead references and the adorable foster cats in this. The nod to the "real" minotaur myth which was changed to cast minotaurs as protectors is awesome. It's my second minotaur romance and I'm so glad I tried it!
Profile Image for Gleeful Goblin Reviews.
630 reviews20 followers
November 9, 2023
There are truly not enough words to express how much I love this book. The characters are both so lovable and also each a doofus in their own ways which is perfection for me. Milo is the world's most adorable worrywart cinnamon roll and how much he loves kittens just SENDS me every time. 5/5 and one of my forever faves.
Profile Image for Brandy Harmon.
296 reviews2 followers
December 8, 2023
I'm telling you, this is a awesome book. And can you make a sweeter minotaur than what she did. Such a romantic at heart and so fun. Loving that you just can't help but feall kinds of things for this man. This book is excellent and you should Really check it out it's fun spicy and everything you could look for.
Profile Image for C A Renee.
194 reviews2 followers
February 14, 2024
So sweet and the BAM

Ok WOW. I thought I was getting this cute kind of rom-com style romance and BAM sexiness all over the place. I'm not made at it. Milo and Libby are just adorable. They go from innocent to naughty in the blink of an eye. Thier chemistry is through the roof and I loved every minute of their story together.
Profile Image for Amber Briggs chisholm.
4 reviews
March 4, 2024
Milo had my heart! He is such a sweet cat dad and so protective. Touch her and die vibes! My favorite!

Spice is 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
Plot is still wonderful because S.C. just knows how to balance.

I just love how in Pine Ridge everyone gets a Happily ever after. As ling as you are not there to harm. HEA means i approve
Profile Image for Alisa.
158 reviews
September 1, 2023
Such minotaur love!

I adored this sweet story and the cool town setting and characters in it! Milo and Libby make a truly wonderful pair. Definitely a feel good piece and a nice dose of smut too!
30 reviews
February 1, 2024
all the happy

What a cute happy book! I’d recommend this to anyone who wants spice and also just a stress and drama free happy story. The only issue I had was it ended soooo abruptly! I loved the story so much I wanted more of it.
11 reviews
May 8, 2024
Insta love

Felt like the story started off great but the insta love was just too much, I guess just to instantaneous.

This was probably a great fluff filles book for some people but it just did not cut it for me.
Profile Image for Holly Holleran.
31 reviews
July 1, 2023
Great story..,spicy and sweet and everything I didn’t know I needed! Loved Libby and I fell head over heels for milo. He was the sweetest cinnamon roll of a Minotaur!
Profile Image for Brittany.
189 reviews
July 2, 2023
Loved this book!! So glad I bought it because I can see this being a reread 🫶
Smexy scenes are 🔥 🥵
Profile Image for Ingrid Spera.
1,106 reviews27 followers
July 10, 2023
This was such an awesomely adorable read. I loved that you have Libby who is hilariously niave about the community in the beginning, a strong character, but who is still soft and is very loving to Milo...and then there's Milo, our adorably sweet Milo. He has such self doubt, but he loves Libby and is over all such a giving guy. This story was low angst, low drama, all the sweet feels with a fun supporting cast (and all kinds of spice). Definitely a nice feel good spicy Valentine's read!
Profile Image for Nami.
37 reviews5 followers
July 8, 2023
This book has the sweetest story, and the spice is blazing. It's a little too insta-love for me, but I'm still pretty pleased with my time spent reading this one.
Profile Image for Danielle Zitterkopf.
30 reviews1 follower
January 18, 2024
I loved this book. Milo is so sweet. You really don't expect things to play out the way they do. This is one of my favorites in the series!🌶🌶🌶
Profile Image for Molly.
14 reviews
February 2, 2024
I'm loving these 'other' romances right now! They show so much acceptance and inclusivity. It was a really fun read with great characters
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews

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