Our Little Monster

by Lashell Rain

She doesn't know whether to kill them or keep them...

In a world where monsters lurk in the shadows, Serina Velika is a hunter, born and raised to keep the balance between humans and everything that goes bump in the night.

But no one is safe in the dark.

When vampires viciously attack her and her father, she is left shattered and bleeding on the forest floor, forced to bear witness to the horrifying scene as they mercilessly take her father’s life. The one person who anchored her is gone and now she has nothing left to lose.

She embarks on a mission for vengeance, keeping her heart guarded and her loved ones at arm’s length. But fate has other plans.

After eight months of little to no answers, Serina crosses paths with three captivating vampires—Bastian, Nox, and Thorne, who propose an intriguing deal. With no other options, she reluctantly allows them into her life and is thrust into a world of deception, unaware that with every shared moment her resolve weakens and her emotions ignite like wildfire.

Will their love conquer all, or will her need for vengeance tear them apart? Dive into this thrilling adventure where passion ignites, bonds are tested, and a new dawn of hope awaits.

Genres: Dark Romance, Vampires, Fantasy, Why Choose, Romance, Paranormal Romance, Paranormal

382 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 28, 2024

About the author

Lashell Rain is a foodie fueled by a shameless amount of caffeine and a passion for storytelling. The Texas native lives at home with her two beautiful kids. Between being a mom by day, and a writer by night, she brought her dreams of becoming an author into a reality.

Reviews

[ashlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little Monster 🖤

As someone new to vampire romance, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this book had me obsessed. The action was intense, the emotions were raw, and the romance? Absolutely everything.

I loved how each of the three guys brought something different to the table, and their bond with her felt genuine and swoony. The loss of her dad broke my heart, but watching her rise up and become such a fierce hunter made me love her even more.

[Michelle Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delicious, thrilling, suspense, and exciting! Completely had me in a chokehold and read the majority in one setting. Such a fun read! 🎉I really enjoyed the plot amidst all of the yummy spice. As a vampire diaries fan I had set the bar high for this book and it exceeded my expectations! I was even more thrilled to realize it is going to be a series. I also loved the why choose trope! Very excited for Sam’s story and for the future books in this series. 💕

[Lemon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plot: 4.5/5 • Smut: 3.5/5 ————> This felt like Supernatural meets The Vampire Diaries meets True Blood. It was like a perfect blend of all three. She’s a hunter who gets some help from three vampires. Three vampires who have been poisoning themselves to help her on her quest for vengeance. Does she know that? No, but she’ll find out soon enough. Hearts and flowers. We get a HEA.
The smut is good. There’s standalone scenes and group scenes. For centuries old vampires there’s no MM. Which was a little disappointing.

[Krissi Vonasch · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5⭐️ I loved this book!! It was like vampire diaries and twilight had a baby and it was this book. Bastian, Thorne, and Nox were perfect for Serina!!
🩸🪵🏍️❤️🖤💚💙

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ohhhh.. I really, really wanted to love this one.

Ok. This book is if Vampire Diaries and Supernatural had a spicy baby.

My issue with this was that it read like fanfic of the 2 shows combined. There was no originality at all, all concepts weren’t even edited a little, it was a straight copy and paste. For example:

- Her dad is called John, drives an Impala and does air guitar to Eye of the Tiger
- The vamps wear daylight rings, drive the same cars as in the show, the descriptions of the eyes are the same and they are weak to vervain. There was even a “don’t hide from me” quote lifted straight from the show.

I think because I love both shows so much (and am currently rewatching TVD right at this moment) this just didn’t do it for me but this is just my opinion. If you love TVD and Supernatural and don’t mind fanfic I would 100% recommend this to you.

The best part was the spicy scenes which were *chefs kiss*. This book has a lot of potential and genuinely, if the author would maybe tweak some things so it was more original it would be a 5 star read.

[Victoria Ribot · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot!! Love love loved it.

[Sandy Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

🩸 Our Little Monster by Lashell Rain

There is just something special about picking up an indie author at a book event and diving in blind… and Our Little Monster absolutely pulled my book bestie and I in from chapter one.

We start with vampire hunters. Not just vampires, but wolves and anything supernatural that harms innocent humans. Serina has been raised in that world alongside her father, her cousin Sam, and her uncle. Different families work different regions, all with one goal: eliminate the monsters.

Then tragedy strikes. On her birthday, Serina witnesses her father’s murder at the hands of vampires. And from that moment forward, revenge becomes her oxygen.

Serina’s grief makes her reckless. She is bold, impulsive, and willing to risk everything to get justice. But when she finds herself in over her head, she’s saved by the last beings she would ever expect: three vampires.

Bastion. Knox. Thorne.

And here’s where it gets interesting.

They aren’t the monsters she was raised to believe in. They don’t kill for sport. They don’t crave chaos. But they are under the control of a powerful vampire named Victor, who has compelled them to follow Serina and eliminate her. Instead, they fight that control. They secretly take vervain to weaken the compulsion and protect her… knowing full well Victor would destroy them if he found out.

The tension between Serina and the men is layered with distrust, attraction, grief, and slow emotional unraveling. Watching her struggle between her upbringing and what she’s experiencing in real time was one of my favorite parts. The dynamic builds into a why-choose romance, and the spice? 🔥 It delivers.

For my bestie and me, this started off incredibly strong. The premise is gripping. The emotional setup is intense. The morally gray but protective vampire energy? Chef’s kiss.

However, toward the end, the pacing began to slow down for us. The momentum that had us hooked in the beginning didn’t quite maintain the same sharp edge, and it felt like the story lingered a bit longer than necessary before closing.

Overall, we landed at 3.5 stars. A strong start, compelling characters, delicious spice, and a why-choose vampire romance that paranormal lovers will absolutely enjoy. I’m very curious to see where book two goes because there is so much potential in this world.

If you love:
• Vampire hunters turned reluctant allies
• Morally gray but protective MMCs
• Why-choose dynamics
• High spice paranormal romance
• A villain with world-domination ambitions

This one is worth the read.

[Marisa Noelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our Little Monster has a compelling premise and plenty of tension, and I found myself genuinely invested in seeing how Serina’s journey would unfold. The darker tone, revenge-driven plot, and shifting dynamics between hunter and vampires made for an engaging read, and there were moments where the emotional stakes and danger really landed.

I also appreciated the clear nods to shows like Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries. As a fan of both, it was fun to spot those influences and see them woven into the world and character dynamics. However, at times those references felt a little too on-the-nose or overly similar, which pulled me out of the story instead of enhancing it.

While the plot itself was compelling and the tension was handled well, the prose needed stronger editing. Frequent typos and technical errors disrupted the flow and made it harder to stay immersed. I also struggled with the depth of the characters. Their emotional development felt quite shallow, which made it difficult to fully connect with their motivations and relationships.

The romantic and spicy elements were another mixed point. Some of those scenes felt rushed and slightly out of character, and the shift in personality during those moments didn’t always feel natural. Instead of deepening the relationships, they sometimes made them feel less believable.

Overall, this was an entertaining paranormal romance with a strong central idea and plenty of drama, but it would have benefited from tighter editing and deeper character development to truly reach its potential.

[Jessica Osorio · Rating 5 out of 5]

YOOOOOO READ THIS! READ IT NOW!
Why choose??
Vampire romance??
Stabby h???
Did you see why choose!?

All 3 vamps are TO DIE FOR (pun intended).
Bastian with his overprotective and dominant nature .
Thorne with his kind eyes, thoughtfulness, and hidden dark side.
And Nox with his bad-yet-sweet-boy persona.

And our h and little monster herself, Serina Velika. Part of a line of infamous monster hunters, hunting those that cross the killing line. But it takes a monster to hunt a monster, and she’s the greatest threat they’ve ever seen. Or so they thought. Something else lurks in the shadows, AND GUESS WHO HAS TO TEAM UP TO PLAY DETECTIVE???

Did I mention this is TVD and Supernatural-esque 😏?? Just a bit darker and a whole lot smuttier! Thank the vampire gods 🙌🏽.

I honestly loved this so much, I’m for sure getting the physical book for my trophy case aka bookcase 😭. 10/10 would recommend. I was so freaking giddy, literally doing a little happy dance and kicking my dang feet with every interaction with the guys 🤣. They’re so blood thirsty and cute! Also pun intended 😂. Don’t delete me 😫.

If you love TVD and Supernatural, if you love when the heroine goes on a rampage for vengeance and blood (my favorite), if you love HAVING 3 VAMPY LOVERS LOVE YOU AND ONLY YOU, Our Little Monster is for you 🖤.

[RaeAnne Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a great read! The dedication really got it set up for us, too! There was lots of spice and fighting in the book, but it seemed pretty balanced with it all. It wasn't all pure smut we did get an interesting story throughout.
Serina is our FMC, and she is a badass hunter who isn't really dependent on anyone else. Bastian is the oldest of the 3 vampires we are with, and he's very obsessive and overprotective. Nox is our bad boy of the 3, but he has a sweet side to him as well. Lastly is our sweet Thorne, who is kind and selfless, plus he cooks, but he's got a little dark side to him as well. After a hunt goes wrong and Serina almost dies, she ends up turning to these boys to help her hunt her father's killers.
As she spends more time with them, things start to change for her and how she thinks/acts. She had forgotten how her father was with the supernatural creatures, but these boys helped ground her and change her perspective. There are darker things lurking in the shadows, though. There are some unexpected plot twists throughout the book as well. This book was mainly Serina's POV, but we also got to see from the boys and even a bit of their past. I am excited to see there will be another part of this, but from a different POV than what we got in this book!
I did receive this for free for a book tour, but this is all my honest opinion!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 stars for the read and an extra star for the spice!

I so badly wanted to love this book but I just couldn't. Let me start off by saying my love for vampire diaries is eternal, and my second favorite is supernatural. This was like a mix of TVD, SPN, and twilight while I enjoyed some of the references (theres a TON of stolen stuff), I was literally falling asleep, and struggling to keep my eyes open and read it until the 35% mark. There was a lot of grammatical errors that bothered me and made me question why I spent $5 on this ebook, the whole book just seemed mediocre. The only reason I didn't DNF it was because of the spice, the spicy scenes were fantastic, that I can say. The 3 vamps Bastian, Nox, and Thorne are extremely likable and are what fantasies are made of which is why it was given the extra star and why i continued to see it through hoping the story would turn around and redeem itself. I feel like the story had so much potential but just fell super flat. I also would not consider this dark by any means, yes vampires themselves carry a dark theme but if your looking for a true dark romance this isn't it. These vamp are not dark, they don't kill, the are soft, loving and gentle, who make you breakfast every morning and make sure you eat.
I wanted a spicy Damon Salvatore, because who doesn't. Im just super bummed.

[Jess Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I saw that this book was inspired by The Vampire Diaries and Supernatural I knew I needed to read this immediately! This book was the perfect mix of both but darker & spicier🌶️ 🥵

As someone who is quite literally obsessed with TVD & SPN I was sooo happy and excited to read all the references from the show and Lashell did an amazing job at making it different from them while still having some of the same details (ʜᴏᴡ ᴠᴀᴍᴘɪʀᴇꜱ ʟᴏᴏᴋᴇᴅ, ᴠᴇʀᴠᴀɪɴ, ᴅᴀʏʟɪɢʜᴛ ʀɪɴɢꜱ, ʜᴜɴᴛᴇʀꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʟᴀꜱꜱɪᴄ ɪᴍᴘᴀʟᴀ)

Now this book had me hooked from page one and I could not put it down. I always appreciate a spicy book with more plot to it and this one was suspenseful, thrilling and very well written. I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys these tropes..

🩸𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲
🩸𝗩𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀 & 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀
🩸𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗯𝘆 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗠𝗖
🩸𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗛𝗲𝗿 & 𝗗𝗶𝗲

“𝐵𝓊𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊’𝓋𝑒 𝒶𝓁𝓈𝑜 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝑔𝑔𝑒𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝓂𝑒, 𝒮𝑒𝓇𝒾𝓃𝒶. 𝒩𝑜 𝒷𝓁𝑜𝑜𝒹 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝑜𝒻𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝒶𝓋𝑒𝓃𝑜𝓊𝓈 𝓂𝒶𝒹𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝓂𝑒… 𝒴𝑜𝓊’𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓇𝓃 𝒾𝓃 𝓂𝓎 𝓈𝒾𝒹𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝐼 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝑔𝓁𝒶𝒹𝓁𝓎 𝒷𝓁𝑒𝑒𝒹 𝒻𝑜𝓇.”

[Belinda Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved all the TVD and SPN references and vibes, but the plot was flimsy at best. So many references had me squealing in joy the entire time. The Hunter dad was named John, drove an Impala, performed Eye of the Tiger. The vampires wore daylight rings, vervain was their weakness, they were very similar in characteristics to the Salvatore brothers.

This was more like a fanfic for both shows clubbed together. Serina was a delight. She was a fierce hunter and her relationship with her dad was NOT like the one from the show, thank god. She has a cousin named Sam though…

The romance was nonexistent. It was lust to something more with no flow to follow. Made it feel off. It felt like there was some bond for the vampires with Serina when they saw her for the first time, but no idea what it was. They had secrets but Serina didn’t think much of it. There were a lot of inconsistencies in the plot as well.

It was a fun and sexy read! Thank you to the author and RR Book Tours for the copy to review!

[MagentaSparkles · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ I believe I got this book for free through a giveaway. Gave it a chance and here we are! It was a decent read if you like vampires and rh! Also, I'm a single parent and have so much respect for an author who is also a single parent 💜. I mean this in a good way - this read like a gender bent Supernatural fanfic. Love the call backs to the show while also being its own thing.

Things I liked:
- the spice was spicing!
- this wasn't a drawn out story just for the sake of writing a ton
- Supernatural vibes
- vampires are my weakness and I will always love them
- all 3 mmcs were obsessed with her
- fmc was decidedly not useless

Things I didn't like:
- the mmcs could have used a bit more fleshing out
- I would have liked to see all three mmcs pov more often

Overall, this isn't some masterpiece, but it is enjoyable.

[jennifer langdon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vampires, who doesn’t love a good vampire romance?
And this one was why choose!

This was such a fantastic read. It was thrilling with plenty of spice. It had a great plot, and the characters were amazing.
3 hot broody vampires, I was melting in my seat. Bastian, Nox, and Throne.

Serina was a vampire hunter, and her and her dad hunted down the bad vampires until they were attacked. They killed her dad, and she was left for dead.

Then she teams up with the boys to try and figure out what happened.
But nothing is as it seems...

This book gave me supernatural vibes with a pinch of vampire diaries thrown in.

This book is also part of a series, and I am beyond excited to read the next part, Sam's story.

[Madison Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

“To those who wanted The Vampire Diaries to be a why choose, this one is for you.”

This was definitely for me..
first book vampire romance , I saw the dedication , I love vampires diaries so why not give it a try & I think I found a new book obsession , especially ready for the next one in this series 🤭

These Quotes : 😫😫

So,”—thrust—“Fucking,”—thrust—“Perfect,”

“If my mouth wasn’t full of cock, I’d be fucking screaming.”
(This actually made me giggle)

“Now, we weren’t just fighting to be free of Victor; we were fighting for Serina. For her right to live, to laugh, to love in a world that had shown her little kindness.”

The love they had for her from the jump , the spice , the characters 10/10 👏🏼👏🏼

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, I didn’t hate it. It was very basic….? Nothing original on the vampire side from a character or characteristic/lore perspective. Tons of stuff borrowed from Twilight and Vampire diaries. There was an actual scene that was literally right out of Vampire diaries. See notes below. It was a good story line, a bit choppy.


Serina is a hunter (of monsters) her father dies in an attack from vampires on her bday. She goes on a unaliving spree for vengeance. Catches the attention of 3 brothers( by heart not blood) who are vampires. They make a deal with her to help her get her vengeance. A TON of vampire diaries and twilight references. (Daylight ring, special powers, vervain)

[Kelly Stepp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t put this down, it was everything I needed and more! The story starts off strong, with lots of action and immediately pulled me in. I loved the close relationship between Serina and her father as well as the close bonds between Bastian, Nox, and Thorne. The guys are each so different, yet so caring with Serina, that I couldn’t help but love them. Throw in some dark secrets, betrayals, and hidden agendas and the drama reaches edge-of-your-seat, must keep reading levels of excitement and suspense. I loved the writer’s style and look forward to definitely reading more from her in the future! If you’re in the mood for equal parts plot and spice, you need this now!

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

TVD But Make It Why Choose -

Overall rating I’d say 3.7. Well written, the nickname was cute (I’m always nervous about pet names for the fmc). The emotions were well written. I didn’t get bored once when reading. This was my first vampire smut but as a TVD girlie I was here for it! The spice was minimal but when there, was good. On a spice level I’d say it’s a 2 🌶️ rating. For a why choose very tame. But not without. The buildup was good! And I normally get annoyed when it’s too much angst but this was the right combo. I’m recommending it to the girls!

Glad I found it via the author’s TikTok post!

[Catherine Hare · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a fun book for fans of The Vampire Diaries or Supernatural. You have three vampires who are trying to keep things the same, but an older vampire wants to take over everything. There are also a bunch of hunter families that help keep the supernaturals in check. Then, one day, their worlds collide, and they need to help each other.

This starts out a little slow, but when it picks up, it is so good. Their banter is good. I especially enjoyed Nox. Some of the twists are obvious, but good all the same.

[Tatiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is giving Supernatural meets The Vampire Diaries and then becomes a why-choose! This hunter out for revenge on the creatures who killed her father, and the three older vamps who are insistent on helping her. Obvs we get an HEA. Smut? Amazing and SPICY. This is a stand-alone but it’s part of a group series! I wish there was some more world building, and maybe a bit more in-depth descriptions for our MMC’s. But overall really good!

[Alissa Clark · Rating 1 out of 5]

⭐️ / 5
🌶️🌶️🌶️

I thought about DNF-ing but I powered through because I loved the Supernatural and Vampire Diaries parallels throughout the book.

Serina *sigh* …. You’re telling me that her dad is killed on a monster hunt by vampires. Then she goes on a yearlong rampage killing any monster she comes across. THEN she falls instantly in love with a group of vampires who help her get her revenge?????

I would’ve loved any murder attempts, tension, revulsion but no.

[Courtney Romano · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not sure why, but I just couldn’t get into this book. I’m a huge vampire fan, Halloween fan, true blood. I love it all.

I don’t think there was much elaboration on the characters past or what made them what they are in current time within the book. There was one character in particular that didn’t get enough attention.

[Fey Leduke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our Little Monster was very thrilling and adventurous with a lot of spice! I started this book on Monday and finished Friday, and left me wanting more at every turn. Rated 3 stars of 5 because after a good portion the writing seems to dim slightly but still had the tension necessary behind it. Waiting for the next book to release in Sam's perspective!

[Amber Loves reading and now it's cool · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

I picked this book up to read this month knowing nothing more than the blurb.

I thoroughly enjoyed the read. The author develops a great FMC and world around her. The plot moves well and with good pace.

The romance is medium spicy and on page. There are trigger warnings so do read them.
I look forward to reading more from this author.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely enjoyed the story
We have a bad a33 vampire hunter
this was an entertaining paranormal romance with spice. I am a vampire diaries fan, and this story was along the same line. It was a nice entertaining read.If you liked the vampire diaries, you would love this book. I learned its going to become a series, so yall check them out.

[Angel · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF 87%

Okay so it wasn't bad but I fear I have to agree that this feels like a fanfiction. It is a mix of supernatural, twilight and TVD and it is very obvious. It was a light read. I liked the characters but I really didn't care about any of them.

I stopped reading after she turned into a vampire I really didn't care tbh.

[nvl_reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good why choose vampire romance. It does remind me of The Vampire Diaries as it seems to be very similar. A fun, easy read with an engaging, suspenseful plot that I enjoyed. If you liked The Vampire Diaries, I think you will enjoy this.

[hellorizzling · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was unhinged in the way that its so unoriginal like it reads like fanfiction of TVD & Supernatural and like 50% of it is them all lusting over each other (in a v sexy way ngl) BUT do i also need 3 hot vampire men to fall in love with me and attend my every whim and need???? YES I DO

[natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

must read

absolutely phenomenal book definitely a book to read if you like the supernatural and paranormal if you love reading about vampires and romance definitely read this book highly recommend