Taken by the Wisps

by Ali Evers

It was only supposed to be a hiking trip...

Nothing but an annual backpacking weekend among friends.

Then the storm breaks.

Yera wakes in a world where nothing makes sense—where magic lives in everything, and monsters walk like men. She’s a brilliant wildlife biologist, but nothing in her training prepared her for this place… or for him.

A towering forest guardian with horns, claws, and a voice soft enough to unravel her.

As they search for her lost friends and dodge the creatures hunting them, something unexpected grows.
Something warm, slow, and dangerous in all the right ways.

Getting home might be harder than she thought.
Leaving him might be impossible.

Taken by the Wisps is a cozy, soft-monster M/F romance and the first book in the Across the Veil of Monsters series.

Genres: Monster Romance, Ebooks

238 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 1, 2024

About the author

Cursed with an overactive imagination, Ali Evers lives in the comfort of her own head. Occasionally popping out to hike, travel, and, most unfortunately, work. Then back she goes to the intricate worlds she builds full of cinnamon roll monsters.

Reviews

[Jade Voyles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Author Ali Evers first book and I was fortunate enough to be an ARC reader for her. I really enjoyed this book. I loved all of the outdoor talk and the MFC’s line of work and how it tied in to her adventure. I loved the descriptions of both MFC and MMC. There were parts that I genuinely laughed out loud, along with elements of suspense and of course 🌶️HOT. I follow this author now on TikTok and Instagram and GoodReads and suggest you do the same!

[Kassybetweenpages · Rating 4 out of 5]

A portal monster romance with trickster will-o'-the wisp's? yes please!

Yera is thrust into a whole new world when she's caught in a storm with her sisters on a hiking trip. she finds herself in the hands of a protector of the forest with no sign of where her sisters might be.

for me this book felt like the perfect blend of a high fantasy world with an epic journey and spice all rolled into one entertaining read. It definitely seems like there will be another book to follow this one and if so I can't wait to see where it takes me next

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing story! Loved the characters, fleshed
out very well, and the story had a hood flow. It
read rather quickly. The spice was good it
added to the story and wasn't just thrown in for
the sake of spice. Cannot wait for more from
this author, amazing first book.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a sucker for story about a girl transported to fairyland. In this case the fmc Yera is a 30 year old woman who is on a hike deep in the Oregon woods when she’s stolen by the firefly-like fairies. She’s helped by the mmc Arrick, a 150 year old magical guardian of the forest. I like how he’s a magical being but not like a god. It’s just his job to take care of that part of the forest. I was hooked by the characters in the first half of the book when they fall in love. But I was totally immersed in the world during the second half, which is when Yera is dealing with their enemy the queen of monsters. This is a cozy fairy romance, so their problems are solved without violence (mostly).

This book should probably best be considered part of a trilogy because Yera has two friends Mari and Ava who also get kidnapped and separated from her. There are a lot of lead-ins about what is happening with Mari but not Ava. Also we don’t find out what was really going on with the Wisps and other magical mysteries. I hope to see more from the magical side characters Dia and Kalevi in the third book. An interesting side character Patti gets more time in the second book, but not Dia and Kalevi.

[Bekah Zabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a cute and cozy fast paced treat! When Yera and her foster sisters head out for their annual hiking trip, a storm hits in the forest and Yera suddenly portals to a magical land. Running into grave danger right away, she is saved by a Vaki named Arrick. They embark on a journey to find her sisters as affections quickly unfold.

I LOVED how many magical beings were sprinkled throughout this book. We have Vaki (seemingly crosses between orcs and demon?!), ogres, sprites, fairies, winged beasts called harpies, and more.

Portal Fantasy,
Monster Romance,
Voluptuous bodied & brown logical fmc who can hold her own!
Low stakes plot with a heartwarming HEA.
and yes, there is spice! I’m so excited to read the next book in this interconnected series. A beautiful debut by Ali Evers.
4.5⭐️/🌶️🌶️

[Rachelqueenvixen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4-4.5 stars

Loved this. It was cute and spicy. This is is series I'm eager to continue

[Lora Guest · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was in the mood for a cozy fantasy and this book really hit the spot. The FMC finds herself transported to a new world through a fairy circle where she meets the MMC who helps her find her way back to her friends. This book was full of adventure, loveable characters, and a little bit of spice 🧚🌶️. I loved the world that the author created, so I’ll definitely be reading the next in the series 😊

[Rah Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Epic fantasy adventure into monster romance

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌶️🌶️

An epic journey into the world of fantasy with adventure, outstanding storyline with some added spice. The suspense of navigating, with Yera, through a journey to find her sisters after being portaled into a world of mysterious fantasy creatures was riveting.

While on a hiking trip, the true adventure begins with twists and turns keeping you questioning what will happen next. A page turner that keeps you intrigued with spicy scenes adding just enough heat to the storyline to make you swoon. The ending has me looking forward to the opportunity for this to become a series.

Ali, thank you for this awesome story. This was my first monster romance and it didn’t disappoint. I look forward to reading additional novels you have written.

[Nicole Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and Cozy Monster Romance? Yes, Please!

This book follows Yera, who is taking her annual hike with her two best friends. Things take a turn when a storm starts, and strange things follow. Yera finds an anomaly that calls to her from deep in the woods, and when she follows it, she finds herself in a world similar to her own but completely different at the same time. Things almost have an inverted quality, not to mention the fact that there are monsters. That is when she meets Arrick, a tall Vaki who is the protector of the forest.

Yera's curious and logical nature compels her to understand this new world around her and the monsters that live there. But are they really monsters? She quickly realized they are more alike than she initially thought: feelings bloom, and urges are hard to resist.

I thought this book was so cute and fun to read. There is an array of different mythological beings with fun takes on their "typical" nature and behaviors. The world-building is simple and effective without completely overwhelming the reader with info dumping.

The writing was so well done with very few mistakes, which is refreshing. I loved Yera's quirks and how Arrick is such a simp for her. I was kicking my feet at the sweet romance and how the spice slowly progressed until they couldn't keep their hands off of each other!

The cozy vibes of camping, hot springs, staying at Inn's etc really made this novel so fun to read. Often times when I have read books with traveling it was very practical and rigid, but getting drunk in the forest with a sprite named Charlie is my kind of camping LOL.

I love that this was a cleverly disguised low states fantasy, but with that comes the one thing that I thought was a bit odd and I wasn't a fan of. When Yera confronts the main antagonist, she "unravels" her plans in less than 5 minutes of talking to her. I'm not sure how Yera knew she had no wealthy land owning backers etc. but most "villains" have a certain thought process for years and a human coming to her world and dismantling her plan wouldn't stop them. But seeing as this is a cozy fantasy, I can understand wanting to tie up the conflict with a pretty bow, even if I find it a bit unrealistic. But I guess sprites, Vakis, ogres, and harpies aren't realistic either LOL.

Overall, this book was a fun read, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves cozy fantasy or monster smut! This is definitely a book that will be on my shelf.

[Ashley Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

My biggest complaint about this book is that I wish it were longer!

I really loved the character work in this and Yera felt visceral, complex, and real. Her brain and thought patterns with her desire for logic were so similar to my own. Arrick was such a golden retriever of a little monster man, and I love that he learned to speak for her (albeit very quickly). I was surprised how quickly he took to Yera's quirks and culture, but we did get 2 weeks of relationship in just a few chapters, so it wasn't unrealistically fast. Charlie was also a favorite character and I could have used some more of his shenanigans!

I do wish the parts with Dia had been more detailed because Yera said she made friends with all the castle creatures, but we didn't get to see/experience that and I think those scenes would have been silly and added to the world building. I liked that nothing ever dragged, but it did feel too fast at times.

That said, I'm excited to keep going in this series because the last chapter was so cute/hopeful! I had never heard of the Vaki before, but I'm glad I got to experience them for the first time through Ali!

[Katieandgroot · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very cozy portal fantasy and it did a good job of setting up the series. I liked that Yera uses logic in the face of the illogical to ground herself. I also enjoyed the vulnerability that her character shows, but that she doesn't let that vulnerability stop her from her goals. I love how supportive, and protective Arrick is. I like that even knowing helping her find her friends threatens to take her away from him he never once hesitates. I also liked that this first glimpse into the world has me itching to know and see more. Obviously we will get Mari and Ava's stories, but I also want to explore the tension going on between the Stormland Queen and Vaki.

[Viviana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cozy fanatasy

This a good palette cleanser when in a slump it's a quick and funny ready that has some spice to it. Yeah and her friend have a traditional of going on a hike once a year except this year leads them to a new relam year is separate from the other two. In a new place she is finds her self being helps by by arrick a guardian of the Forest. As he leads he leads her to where she might find answer then get to know more about eachother. This story will have you wanting more and my favorite are the orcs

[Shayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

very entertaining!

I have to say that I don’t normally read books with cartoon covers, as they don’t normally do the book justice. And in this case it does not. This is a well written story with a new take on the fantastic. It has adventure, danger, and sex. It leaves us at the end with the path towards a sequel, which I hope is forthcoming. Well done! (This just needs one more read through with an editor for a word check and clean up, but it does not take away from the story).

[Bri Hires · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this read. It was a quick and cozy. I loved how willing to help Yera, Arrick was and her teaching him how to talk out loud was such a cute part in the story.
The only reason I didn’t give more stars was there was a lot of editing issues that were sometimes jarring. But I still enjoyed the story a lot 😊
I also loved how it was left opened ended with the possibility of coming back to this world I would love to see more of it.

[Yasha Stoker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cozy palette cleanser

First in what will surely be an interconnected trilogy. Each following one of three foster sisters/best friends.
Very cozy palette cleanser for in between dark romances. 😆
Written in alternating. POV between the FMC and MMC.
I loved how the MMC went front barely able to talk (used to communicating telepathically) to bring an expert dirty talker 😏 as well as putting his mouth to other uses 😉

[Katrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a superb cosy monster romance.
This is more than a quick cosy read this is a new world set up with new lore and dynamics, the spice level is just right for a cosy romance and the hint of the monster was so well done it’s like it should always be that way.
The story flowed brilliantly so that I wanted to keep reading for it to progress and I needed to know how it finished.
My first monster romance and added to my favourite list now

[i_hype_romance]

I skimmed the last half. I’m not going to rate because this book didn’t feel like a finished product.
There was too much verb tense switching in the middle of paragraphs, words used in the wrong context and inappropriately and while the bones of the plot were visible, it needed fleshing out.

For instance “buy” instead of “by”, “need” instead of “knead” and “positioning” instead of “pistoning.”

[Brittany A Tilley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first monster romance, and now I’m hooked. The story in World building was fantastic. This author did an amazing job and the characters are amazing. They were very well developed as well as the whole storyline was easy to follow, but was done with a very meticulous writing style that I appreciate.

[Sin Loxie · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastically written, unique and fun story

This is a wonderfully written world, with good character development and surprises. The spice is medium plus and doesn’t detract from the fun and magically storyline. I honestly thought I knew how this book would end, am I so pleasantly surprised that I didn’t see it coming. Absolutely worth the read and can’t wait for more!!!

[tammys_reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cozy Monster Romance

Yera gets separated from her friends while camping in the forest and ends up in a land of monsters and magic. Arrick, a Yaki, saves Yera from another creature and sets out to help her finds her friends. This book had fun banter and spice and was definitely on the cozy side as opposed to scary.

[Aisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

not bad

I’ll start out by saying that this book started out with so much potential, but I felt like in the end it became kind of jumbled and fell short. I do like the story but somewhere the love story kind of did a little downturn and it never picked back up for me. I would say give it a try. It just wasn’t for me.

[TheBookLady · Rating 4 out of 5]

The perfect quick cozy read. The characters, Yera and Arrick, just meshed so well together. The world building pulled you into the story. There were certain moments in this book that made me laugh out loud. If you’re wanting monster romance, spice and fantasy in a book then this is it. As this is listed as book one I’m hoping there will be more to this story.

[J. J. Hynd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. I would say the ending dragged a little. It resolved around 69% and just continued on for a while, before finally introducing an idea that im assuming is to allow for an additional book. That said it was nice, cosy light hearted fantasy with spice.

[Shalon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick and entertaining

This was a very quick and entertaining read. I loved all the characters. Our main characters were well written and had wonderful chemistry. The side characters were well versed and interesting. I am so excited to continue this series.

[Angel Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing fantasy read

I absolutely loved this book! I’m happy with how it ended. The spice was definitely spicing but it wasn’t all spice the plot had me on the edge of me seat wanting to know what was going to happen next! I can’t wait to read the next one.

[Kayla Sargent · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book scrolling TikTok & was kind of iffy on it. It's not my usual read, but honestly, it was a breath of fresh air. It's just an easy read & keeps you intrigued. There are some unanswered questions, so I'm hoping that means there will be a 2nd book.

[Tricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

a truly fun story

This is not like other books I have read, however I absolutely loved it. It was just a fun story. No big break ups. No poor communication. Just a fun witty story with a fantastic FMC! I am looking forward to reading more from this author!!!

[Distracted Melody · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short and sweet (but spicy) cozy romantasy with some action sprinkled in. A logic driven nature lover gets dumped in a magical world and a cinnamon roll saves the day. I audibly snickered a few times, this is a great low stakes read.

[Jensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

spice was good but needs stronger plot

The spice was great and Arrick was amazing. I wasn’t convinced of The Evil Woman. Without giving too much away, I feel like more conflict should have happened? There was enough sense of danger I guess?

[Emma220_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a ride this was. My first monster romance and won’t be my last. Really enjoyed and will read more from this author. My kindle highlights have gone crazy. Some of the most beautiful moments woven throughout an interesting story and looking forward to next book in series!