The Gargoyle Grinch

Motham City Monsters #2

by Lilith Stone

Can her sunshine melt his frozen heart this Christmas?

Gargoyle security guard Grayson Lightfoot never celebrates Christmas. It brings back too many bad memories. Besides he’s got a job to do—watching over Motham City 24/7 from his rooftop.

Maisie doesn’t celebrate Christmas either. Orphaned at an early age, she’s a sensible human with a mission—to earn enough money to open up a drop-in center for street kids in Motham. So naturally she jumps at a lucrative holiday contract to work as a housekeeper for Grayson.

Except Maisie hasn’t factored in what a total grinch Grayson is. And sure, he may be handsome, but when her cheery presence meets with stony silence and a granite stare, Maisie’s good nature is tested. But when Maisie suddenly gets sick and Grayson flies down from the roof to nurse her, she gets to see a very different side to the grumpy gargoyle.

As for Grayson… could Maisie be the Christmas gift he’s always secretly longed for?

Find out in this cozy Christmas monster novel, full of heart, heat, and humor: Book 2 in the Motham City Monsters series.

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Christmas, Monster Romance, Holiday, Monsters, Paranormal

210 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 6, 2023

About the author

Lilith Stone spent her childhood checking for monsters under the bed. Now she writes sweet and steamy romances for grown-ups who’d prefer a monster in their bed than under it.
She suffers from an over-active imagination which means she’s constantly anxious unless making up stories in her head. She wrote and illustrated her first gothic novel at age 12 and hasn’t really stopped since.
English by birth, she now lives in Australia and keeps out of the sea where there are too many real life monsters.

Reviews

[DIVINITY🌙 · Rating 3 out of 5]

✨3.75 ✨

OMG!! This was such a cute monster holiday read!!

Summary: Maisie our curvylicious FMC is looking for a well paid Christmas job in order to save more money towards her project. She gets in luck when she gets accepted for a housekeeping job working for a gargoyle who owns biggest security business in the city. He’s grumpy and wants nothing to do with her at first but then finds himself unable to resist her 😉 Did I mention he has wings?! 🤭

I love the dynamic between Maisie and Grayson. Their relationship wasn’t instalove but grew gradually. They both connected on their past hardships as both had it difficult growing up.
When she got sick and he all of a sudden started taking care of her 🥹 it was the sweetest. He even decided to decorate the place for Christmas🎄despite not celebrating in years. Our grumpy gargoyle started simping bad for our girl 🥰🧎🏽‍♂️

This is a low angst novella and it gets to the spice pretty quickly 🥵🔥

There is a 3rd act breakup 🙄🙄 I hate them. I want to see my fictional men on their knees begging with tears in their eyes willing to lick the ground she walks on if needed.

The HEA\epilogue made me happy..I happy danced around my living room 🤭💗the scene in the sky though 🫠🔥🥵 no words I was speechless

Tropes
-grumpyXsunshine ☀️
-forced proximity
Spice
🌶️🌶️

Quotes that me smile 😊🥰
“Maisie, I don’t know what this is, but being with you has been the best Christmas present. More than I deserve.”
“I knew I was falling for you before that, but then… when you decorated the Christmas tree. I realized what an effort that was for you. I think that’s when I knew I had fallen in love with you.”

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Final verdict: cute

Grinchy, gargoyley, Batmany cuteness.
3.5 stars rounded up, it felt a bit long and dragged in the middle and I could have used a little more levity. But this monster romance had a lot of goodness, a sweet grumpy turned mushy hero and didn’t suffer from the usual insta-love/fated-mates nonsense in this genre.

Lots of good consent and condom use too, no breeding kink (yay for me).

[ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

how am i attracted to a gargoyle?

thank you to booksirens and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Kate V · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Gargoyle Grinch was a feel good holiday romance with a grumpy gargoyle and a sunshine human female. Grayson has a past that sometimes digs its claws into him and thus has made his life shadowed and cold. Maisie has dreams and always tries to find the goodness in life despite what she has been through. When Maisie takes a holiday job looking after Grayson...well they both get way more than they bargained for.

Grayson's cold exterior starts to melt and Maisie finds herself attracted and falling for the grinchy gargoyle. But will their pasts keep them from making the jump to love?

"Are you okay?" Alarmed, she wondered if she'd given him her virus. "You're not sick?"

"Yeah, I'm sick," he said softly as he approached, his eyes never leaving her face. "Sick with wanting you."

This was super cute. Maisie was so unassuming and thoughtful. Just a really kind heart. Grayson got in his own way a lot and I thought for sure he would be a little more dominant in bed but that didn't shine through as much as I wanted it to. This was a slow burn with heart and the steam when it finally surfaced was really sweet. I think I enjoyed the first in this series better but The Gargoyle Grinch still packed a festive punch!

"Welome to the land of beasts." He laughed, low and soft. "Because the sound you made, baby, when you came was definitely not quite human."

[Callie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked:
•Christmas vibes without being over the top
•Maisie’s goals for opening a place for kids who need it
•some action and angst
•him caring for her when she’s sick

I didn’t so much like:
•a little fast paced considering how grumpy he was for years
•that his past is hinted at the whooole time and it’s dropped at the very end
•that he was in love with a human in the past (at least he says it was more infatuation or lust looking back)
•that he’s had flings and “love”, etc and she had one crappy boyfriend who she never had good sex with (why is this always the case)
•one convo and no grovel at the end!!!

Things I wasn’t sure about:
•I’m glad that she wasn’t drop dead gorgeous and that she’s realistic but he says she’s not a beauty in the beginning and I know he’d grow to change but…that bothered me! 😂 And she always found him good looking.

Overall this was a quick, cute monster read with some heavier tones that were never too oppressive. It’s my personal taste that I didn’t like a few things, so maybe you’d enjoy it more than me!

[rae ✿ · Rating 2 out of 5]

dec 21th🎄🪽

2 stars for not using the wings for good use😞

starting today dec 20th to 24th i'm going to start reading 5 christmas books but make it monster/paranormal romance🤭

[JaywhyGee Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐️/5
2.50 🌶️/5

This is a cute monster romance just in time for the holiday season!

What we get
• Dual pov
• Boss/employee
• Gargoyle/human
• Motham City
• Sick bed scene
• Pumpkin nickname

Story continues in the same city as Mail-Order Minotaur, which is where we are introduced to Grayson the Grumpy Gargoyle. I love that we get a Bryn and Ivy cameo.

I loved how Maisie and Grayson felt such a strong connection with each other right away. Their steamy moments were hot, and Grayson nursing Maisie back to health really warmed my heart. These two both had tragic family backstories, and I could get how they felt the need to keep others at a distance.

I could have done without the 3rd act breakup, since it isn’t my favorite, but I love the advice Grayson is given from his longtime housekeeper. Unfuck it!

Recommend if you’re looking for a fun monster romance with some pining and yearning, and are ready for a Christmas/New Year season read.

Thank you to Lilith Stone for the ARC. All thoughts/opinions are my own and my review is voluntary.

[b.andherbooks]

heard this cover is A////I so nope will not be reading

[ReneeReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a grumpy/sunshine monster romance that is a must read for the holidays. Our MMC, is a gargoyle named Grayson who prefers solitude to romance until he meets his temporary housekeeper Maisy who isn't afraid to break down his stone walls. Can her sunshine melt his frozen heart this Christmas? I guess you'll need to read to find out but this book will have you smiling and swooning for our stony muscley gargoyle lover.

I read and loved Mail Order Minotaur and this second book in the Motham City Monsters series was just as good. I can't wait to read more by Lilith.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Biblio · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a cozy and steamy monster romance! It’s everything I didn’t know I needed. Maisie is our precious human FMC, totally ball of sunshine despite her difficult past with a dream of opening a center for troubled youth (monster and human variety) and then we have our grumpy gargoyle daddy Grayson. He is EVERYTHING. I love him. This is a perfect cozy monster Christmas book. HEA. Sky lovin’. All the spicy delicious moments. Obsessed. Lilith nailed this.

✨I received an ARC from BookSirens in exchange for my honest review✨

[shumi · Rating 4 out of 5]

"You've been in my thoughts," he said softly
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. All the time."

"I have another request. Along with marrying me and spending your life with me..."
"What's that, my darling?" she whispered against his neck, raining delicious little kisses onto his skin.
"Will you do me the honor of flying with me...?" He felt himself flushing.
"I mean, like, really flying with me?"

These two are cute. I want more of them! As someone who hates Christmas, he bought her a Christmas tree because he knows it will make her happy. I wish this was a full-length novel. I need more books with MMC that has wings 😩.

[Hannah Blackwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This was such a cute holiday romance! I flew through it. I personally had a couple of issues with the hero especially his grand gesture at the end, and the 3d act breakup. That being said, it was cozy, spicy and a super fun time!

[Manda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A grumpy gargoyle meets his match when a sunshine sweet human takes over as his temporary housekeeper for the holidays. Grayson Lightfoot is the head of Tower Security, keeping a watchful eye over the city from his rooftop perch, and shutting out any type of warmth or emotion from his life following a traumatic experience at Christmas years ago.

Maisy Brown, raised in an orphanage, dreams of opening a drop-in center for youth in the city; monster or human, all kids need a place to belong. The lucrative housekeeping contract will provide the final bit she needs to be able to apply for a loan to get her dream off the ground. Christmas has never been a time of festivity for her either. When Maisy falls ill in the days before Christmas, and Grayson takes care of her, everything changes.

Full of humor, spice, and with engaging characters that quickly had me rooting for their HEA, this romance left me with all the warm holiday feels! The cameo appearance by Bryn and Ivy from Mail Order Minotaur was a treat, but The Gargoyle Grinch can be read as a standalone.

TW: PTSD, loss of parents, siblings

I had the opportunity to read an advance copy of The Gargoyle Grinch and my honest review is voluntarily provided.

[Mandy Robitaille · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love grumpy/sunshine romances, especially when its Christmas themed. Add in that its a human/gargoyle monster romance with some forced proximity and you've got yourself a delightful Christmas tale!

Grayson was grumbly on the outside but soft on the inside. Absolutely loved that he took care of Maisie when she was sick. And that he called her pumpkin! So sweet.

Maisie was a sweet and adorable human. I loved watching her push Grayson's buttons at time, and then seeing her grow confident in what she wants out of their relationship.

I loved watching these two fall in love with each other and learn how to be together without letting the past influence their choices, especially Grayson.

Highly recommend this monster holiday romance!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Janessa ❁۪ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so picky when it comes to grumpy/sunshine tropes, but I really loved how this one was done! Maisie wasn't over the top and she had her trauma that made her a relatable character. & Grayson!!! Am I in love with a gargoyle?? I think I am.

The Gargoyle Grinch was a nice fluffy, holiday romance and the way the steam was written is just… perfection!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Katie Mandley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a feeling this rating is completely inflated by how much I want to like it and how promising the beginning of this was…

About 50% in everything gets a complete tone change and it feels like a different book. Grayson randomly starts calling Maisie “pumpkin” and “babe” which could make sense bc they start hooking up but that’s not really his character vibe? And there’s no explanation? And they’re “just hooking up”?

I also really was put off by how often Grayson gets fixated in her body and talks about Maisie’s boobs and her butt? Like at one point her “shirt just becomes unbuttoned” while they’re dancing (before their first kiss) and he can’t look away from her breasts. And it’s just really weird…. Like I have a situation happening up top and I’ve NEVER had an issue with my clothes staying buttoned like this? Like it’s not one button, it’s multiple?? I get showing that the character is attracted to the other, but this was too frequent and specific and weird for me.

His grinch-ness started off really promising but by the time his heart melted I was just cringing through the rest.

[Meena Sharma · Rating 1 out of 5]

pumpkin as a nickname

Like who uses pumpkin as a nickname… in a Christmas romance. The main characters are so annoying but the story feel disjointed and awkward. If had to really try my hardest to finish this. Not sure why this was recommended so much on my FYP. I usually love a good gargoyle and monster romance… this was not it

[Madison · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started out with good potential, but halfway through took a nose dive. The last half felt very juvenile.

[Chiara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Grumpy/sunshine is not one of my most favourite tropes but this one was very sweet!
When we met Grayson in MOM I had no idea he could be so intense - first of all - but at the same time so deeply scarred and scared about the events of his past.

Maisie, in spite of what happened when she was young, can still see beauty and happiness in life and in Christmas. It's easy to keep everybody out when tragedy and grief surround you - that's what Grayson did. Her strength to see past it and to always find the positive things in life, should be something many of us should copy.

I have enjoyed so much to read about Grayson leaving his shell and enjoying the god things in life, friends and festivities thanks to Maisie, but it was easy to go back to his old routine when something bad happened and he blamed himself for everything that went wrong.

Lilith is always a guarantee in mosnter romance books and her spicy scenes are just fantastic. This was a fantastic book to stat getting us all in the mood for Christmas.

[Poetry Drive · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love me a grumpy gargoyle romance, and Stone absolutely delivered on that, all the way down to the he’s-only-nice-to-her trope. Grayson is the ultimate Christmas grinch that secretly doesn’t want to be, but slowly he thaws for her. This story is a little darker than book 1 but it fits well and I was glad for a little more grittiness in the Motham series. And the spice — perfection 🤌🏼.

[Lora · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a sweet story. I was hoping after reading the first in the Motham City Monsters Series that we would get to learn more about Grayson. The city building between this one and the last is amazing and I love that this book has a map. I can't wait to read more in the series.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Mrs.Kriz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was really cute, but I agree with others when they say that the ending was frustrating. If you truly loved someone and you know they have PTSD, you wouldn’t act the way the FMC did in reaction to the third act breakup. Grayson deserved better.

[Dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story. Especially the miscommunication that is eventually resolved. A gargoyle who hates Christmas and a human who melts his stone cold body. Spicy and so captivating I end up reading it in one setting

[Maaren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a lovely holiday romance, with a sprinkling of grumpy and sunshine and insta-love thrown into the mix. Both Grayson and Maisie are so cute together and I enjoyed how they opened up to one another during this story.

And the way Grayson took care of Maisie when she was sick was so adorbs!!

[omega’s rights activist · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.9

[Mags · Rating 4 out of 5]

warmed my heart

[Marian Pattechat · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful, cozy, and heart-warming holiday read! This book left me with the warm fuzzies, the characters were so good for each other! They had realistic personalities that made me wish I knew them in person lol. And the spice was 🔥🔥🔥 I enjoyed the humor in the book as well. In short, I loved everything about this book!

[BookishSoph_ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay to begin with i sobbed quietly at 3am when i was reading this and when i say sobbed, i do mean sobbed. I was so in love with this book and wow where do i even begin to show how much i loved this? I felt that this story was such a beautiful story of finding yourself as well as just falling in love. Every book of this series you fall harder and harder in love with this world.

This book truly is one of my favourites where i just felt so connected to the characters both of them in fact which is rare i normally find I’m either connected to one or the other but not normally both!

I do not know or understand how lilith writes such beautiful books but wow i am so beyond amazed at how i fall hopelessly in love each and every time. Grayson was a delight of a character, okay perhaps not at first but oh my goodness does he ever grow into the love he shows to our main character. Maisie is such a sunshine character who is just the most lovable woman ever, i am in love with her!

If you love grumpy sunshine you will love this story of how this sunshine manages to melt this gargoyles heart!

[Lilith Stone]

I think one of my favorite tropes has to be grumpy/sunshine. Which is why #2 in Motham City Monsters features grumpy gargoyle, Grayson Lightfoot, and sunny-natured human, Maisie. But beneath the sunshine, Maisie is dealing with her own clouds from the past, and inside Grayson's granite-hard body is a soft heart just waiting to emerge. Put them up on a snowy rooftop in Motham City at Christmas, and expect a wild, spicy, and sweet as mince pies ride! I really hope you enjoy reading The Gargoyle Grinch as much as I enjoyed writing it!

[Gaea Wyatt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did they change the author in the middle of this book?