Love Potions and Paperwork

by Bex Deveau

From Bex Deveau comes a fun, flirty, bite-sized tale set in a world full of magic and monsters you'll be dying to marry.

Eugine is a mantis barely keeping up with his intense workload. Maeve is his mean, cat-girl boss with curves that he's been fantasizing about since orientation. When picking up Maeve's usual coffee order a mix-up by a distracted barista will have scintillating consequences.

There's no way HR approved this.

This will be the first book in a series with interconnecting standalone shorts. While they can be read out of order, it is recommended to start from Love Potions & Paperwork. This is a quick, spicy read with mature themes, please review the content warnings in detail on the author's website.

Genres: Romance, Monsters, Paranormal, Novella, Monster Romance, Erotica

72 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 14, 2024

About the author

I'm a cat-mom of two, wife and spicy romance enthusiast living in Edmonton, AB. You can usually find me curled up on the sofa surrounded by a hundred pillows and reading on my kindle (or, y'know, writing.) Becoming my bestie is easy! You just need an undying love of all things sweet and be cool with watching the same five movies on repeat.

Reviews

[buket · Rating 3 out of 5]

apparently today’s theme was monsters and lawsuit guaranteed office relationships 😋

[Poppy || Monster Lover · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun! erotica story! It was engaging, kinky, and unique. It gave me The Proposal vibes, with the overworked assistant to the impossible to please boss. I’m all about new monsters, and this is the first mantis man I’ve read.
Looking forward to the next book!

Spice: 5/5

Triggers: boss/employee fraternization, grief, accidental consumption of lust potion (does that count as drugging?)

[Wicked Fox ✨️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so 🥵🥵🥵! It had me fanning myself because of how steamy it is 🤣 I was hooked straight away and looooved the tension in this book. I was in the worst sort of book slump and this was literally perfect as it was the perfect bite-sized read I was looking for.

I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a lighter, smutty read that can be read in one sitting!

[DJ K · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was steamy and a fun read! Plus I'm always a sucker for bug like aliens.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not a fan of the degradation. I would've stopped reading except this book is so short that I was close to the end anyway.

There was nothing satisfying about this book.

Plus, having someone lick the floor is just super gross!

[Biblio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hot Hot hot. I would read a whole novel on these two! The wrong ingredient kicks off a wild day for Eugine and Maeve. Eugine, an executive assistant for a fashion magazine caters to his boss’s (Maeve) every need. This was full of tension, spice, good boy… yum! Loved this. Workplace romance but make it monsters. Please give us a full novel. I need it 🤣🤌🏼


🍓This is an ARC review. All opinions are my own.

[monsterinthepages · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Potions & Paperwork
RELEASE DATE: 14th February 2024

━━ † ━━

⭐️ overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📚 plot intensity: 📚
🔥 burn: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
💋 spice: 💋💋💋💋
🍬 sweetness: 🍬🍬
🩵 the feels: 🩵
🤣 humour: 🤣🤣🤣
🍆 peen uniqueness: 🍆🍆🍆
👤 POV: 1st person — multi POV

━━ † ━━

Woah, this is one SPICY monster romance wrapped up in the pages of a quick, little novella! This is the first time I’ve read Bex’s work, but I know I’ll have to go read more now after reading this.

The writing, the pace and the story flows lovely considering it’s on the shorter side and it’s the perfect one-night read for some lighthearted steamy goodness! And MY, did this book satisfy!

The spice is DELICIOUSLY hot and packed with Femdom Dom/sub dynamics that are heavy on the humiliation and degradation side of things where he’s just as happy to obey and submit as she is in instructing him to be a “good little bug”. It also features some exhibitionism play with sexual situations in the office (both a mixture of oral in front of an unknowing person, masturbation in the office (and getting caught LITERALLY with his pants down) and, finally, some good old fashioned spicy office sex — bent over the photocopier and everything! WHEW!!! It was HOT AF!!

The trigger warnings in this book are heavily focused on the spicy scenes and I will list the most prevalent ones below.

━━ † ━━

⚔️TRIGGER LIST⚔️

— Explicit sex scenes
— Sex in the work place
— Minor elements of CNC (lust potion given without consent)
— Exhibitionism
— Degradation & humiliation
— Dom/sub dynamics
— Semi-public masturbation (MMC)
— Getting caught masturbating
— Orgasm control & denial
— Mild choking/breath play

━━ † ━━

‘Love Potions & Paperwork’ is a super smutty and super fun novella that’s perfect for a quick read (and a great Valentine’s Day treat!). It has some fancy monster peen, femdom dynamics, exhibitionism, lust potions gone VERY wrong and a cute little HEA that ties everything up on a wholesome little bow. I would highly recommend this book and I’m very much looking forward to more novellas in the ‘Claws & Cappuccinos’ universe! 5/5 stars!!

━━ † ━━

❗️I received this ARC via sign up and every part of this review is written willingly and genuinely with my own personal feelings/thoughts and is under no conditions or obligations❗️

[Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 ⭐️
5/5 🌶️

Love Potions and Paperwork is Bex’s new short coming next week!

This book is a short erotic read (69 pgs to be exact 😉) that will leave you craving more. how this author got me to read mantis p0rn is beyond me but hey - this is a perfect spicy read to just dip your toesies right into monster romance.

Our bossy MC, Maeve, runs a tight ship in the work place and gives total dommy mommy vibes. Her subby subordinate somehow balances total masculinity while ready to lick the bottom of her red louboutins… but that’s not the only thing he’s licking.

Oh, and did i mention there’s lust potions involved?

Maeve, magic, and mayhem are all tightly wrapped with a sexy bow. if you need a quick read to scratch an itch, this is the book for you.

Thanks Bex!

[Michelle Lebron · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect short and super spicy Novella, the heat in every scene was too much I could feel the steam coming out of them thanks to the lust potion that gave Maeve and Eugine free rein. If you put another story of these two in front of me I would read it with no problem, I loved it and I know that as it ends there may come a full story of these two characters. It hooks you from the first moment, Eugine does everything to please her Boss, even to please her most intimate desires, he's a Good Boy. Maeve gives me vibes of Miranda Presley in her youth, I love her attitude.

Thank you for the opportunity to belong to this ARC Team. I am leaving my honest and voluntary opinion.

[Grey Story]

No rating because I went in knowing the kinks aren't for me and they definitely weren't, so it's nobody's fault but my own that I didn't really care for the spice.

The whole reason I read it despite everything was Eugine. The mantis was so cute I couldn't resist! I want more mantis based characters!

I'd also be interested to see what else Bex Deveau cooks up for this series.

[GiGi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well. That was fun. Was it necessary for the characters to be non-humans though? Perhaps it was a conscious choice to mask all physical, anatomical and biological impossibilities. Compared to your average smut book though, the impossibilities are minimal.

[tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

omg I loved this. it's short and spicy and so good. definitely recommend!!

[Archives of Jina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good god. Could I get at least 25 more sex scenes of this couple?? This was pure fire 🔥 and my only complaint is that it’s a novella, my goodness gracious.

[Chelsey Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

short and sweet, not much plot but there was lots of action!

[May (toastyreads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10 would reccomend this book at any time of the year! 😍

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Happy valentine's day y'all 🥰

This book gave me everything I wanted, needed, and so much more. I ate this book up as soon as I got it, and I ATE IT UP!! It is one of my fave short reads of all time, I just wanted more of the couple! More shenanigans! More romance! *gasp*

I loved this couples dynamic so much. As a subby switch, I saw myself in Eugine. I loved seeing them fight occasionally for domiance but also Eugine accepting submission. Also iconic that even when submitting, Maeve is in charge. 

With how this is written, I believe much more stories are to come 💜 I am so intrigued! The first chapter was longer than expected but it was such a good set up for the series and I am so so so excited for what is to come!!

[Katie Flournoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I shivered at the honesty in his voice, my tail pressing into the small of his back. 'You’d better impress me then—I’d hate to think of what I’ll do if I leave this room disappointed.' "

Author Bex Deveau has written a whimsical world of monsters who end up accidentally sliding into their deepest desires. This lust-filled, passionate, quickie of a story hits in all the right spots. I received this as an ARC read, which was such an awesome surprise! This was a fabulous read and I simply cannot wait for the next in the series!

[Livia Mojica · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Devil Wears Prada monster romance I needed in my life. I always love a dominant female who takes what she wants. Eugine was a perfect little bug and knew just how to his Mistress Meave purr. If you love monster novellas with bad bitches and good boys, you’ll love this one!

[La quisquillosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for the ARC ✨

This was such a fun novel and it got me wanting to see more of the world and it’s characters!

If there’s something i love to see is a man on its knees begging 🔥

Eugine is a junior assistant that is given by mistake a lust potion; not only that but his boss ends up drinking it as well. What happens is a fun dynamic of power roles and smutty office scenes.

[Rae, shutupandbookup · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Poor Eugine was in for a very, very, interesting day."


Ah yes, let me get a coffee with multiple shots of a love potion. . . A mix up gone wrong or possibly very right?


Eugine is trying to be the best assistant he possibly can be, but Maeve doesn't make things easy for him. His curvy, cat-girl boss is a goddess in his eyes but our poor, shy, mantis can't bring himself to say those things out loud. I mean Maeve is viewed as a cold-hearted-tyrant of a boss so it may end with him out of a job. Little do either of them know that things are about to get very spicy, and HR will not approve!


"I wasn’t going out of my mind, I’d been spelt." - Maeve


This read is only seventy-two pages long but oh my!


While reading I kept getting "The Devil Wears Prada" or "The Proposal" vibes. Maeve has very high standards for everyone around her and if you don't meet those, goodbye. Eugine has lasted longer than the previous assistants, but nothing is a sure thing.


I liked that we had a little bit of a plot with this read and some fluffiness. It was very hot and spicy. Eugine is a subby male who doesn't shy away from that fact or see it as a negative thing. Maeve taking full advantage of it and enjoying it, but she will never admit that out loud! I appreciated that even under the influence of the lust potion Maeve still gave Eugine outs. CNC is present but consent is key in all of this, you will also just have to read the short novella to understand why Eugine approves.


I really loved this read and definitely want more of this universe! The main couple has an HEA. I liked the details of the monster MCs and Eugine even chirps! There're also some other fun details about Eugine. . . We get dual POVs, there's language throughout the read, and office scenes. Mention of grief and having to adjust to someone not being around, but again this read stays on the lighter side of things.


Reverse age gap romance, a subby male and dom female, grumpy/sunshine, and so much more. Be mindful of the TWs also make sure to have things charged or a partner on standby. . . Loved the spice and just how the scenes were written! Love Bex's writing style and really cannot wait for the next couple in the series!


Enjoy the short, erotic, monster romance, novella where even the printer gets to be an important prop! And don't forget to give the author some stars!


shutupandbookup.com

[Natasha Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The latest from Bex Deveau, a 69 page novella, focuses on Eugine and Maeve, a junior assistant at a fashion magazine and his boss, the editor in chief, in a world of magic, love potions, and catgirls being worshipped like the queens they are.

This work, while short, packs a major punch that’s sweet and spicy. The development of the main characters, allowing us to see them and their dynamic only adds to the final spicy scene and makes it even better.

Eugine, a mantis who’s submissive (but knows to how to top when it counts), gets off on degradation, and just wants to please. “I was hired to manage your needs, whatever they may be.” Maeve, a catgirl who’s a Domme (but also needs to be topped just a teeny bit), is skilled at showing how she can dominate someone, even on her knees. “I want to hear how desperately you need me.”

The chemistry between these two is noticeable, even before they consume their lust potion-laced coffees, and when they reach their final climaxes, you’re left with a sense of “finally”, because they’re just so good together.

Bex is just so skilled at writing fantastic spicy stories, with descriptions that can make you feel like you’re witnessing it in front of you, instead of just reading. And, there’s not many authors I could say that I’d read about a mantis for - she might be the only one to get me to read spicy books involving bugs.

5 stars, 5 chili peppers. You need to read this. It’s quick, it’s dirty, it’s fantastic.

**Received as an ARC.

[Lia ☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I knew she was exactly what I was looking for. The kind of monster that hid her ugliest parts behind closed doors. A woman who needed to be in control as desperately as she needed it to be ripped away from her."
----------------------—

Spice lvl: 3.5🌶️ 
Smut frequency: 4.0⏳

----------------------—

Tropes:
💚 Mantis Man x Cat Woman
📑 Boss x Employe
💼 Workplace
🧪 Lust potion gone wrong
👔 Stuck

----------------------—


Love Potions and Paperwork is short erotica in the workplace and, truly, everything is in the tropes 😂🔥.

If you want to read a quick story full of spice because of an accidental lust potion mixed up, a strong power dynamic with a very dominant cat boss and her mantis employee this is for you 😉


If you read this novella, you're in for :
😼 D/s dynamic
😼 Degradation
😼 Humilation
😼 Praise
😼 S£x in the workplace
😼 Breath play
😼 M@sturbation


---------------------—
This is an arc review. Thanks to the author for the advanced ebook copy 🙏💖
---------------------—

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received an ARC of this from the author! This review is entirely of my own volition (not affiliated).

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
I loved this short little story; it’s sweet and hot! I loved Bex’s ability to get me to fall in love with them in such a short time! Eugine is the CUTESTTT ever and I would let our hot cat boss step on me if she wanted to 👀👀👀

I hope we get to see them again in later works! I wanted this story to be longer and I can’t help but wonder what Bex put in the book to get me to enjoy Mantis/Cat 🌽🤣🤣

Bex is and will remain an auto-buy author for me, because I adore their ability to story tell and world build whilst still making each character multi-faceted!

[Sophia Cristello · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, I just found Maeve completely unlikable. Like there is a difference between being dominant and powerful and being a mean and cruel person. She was horrible to literally everyone, never showing a nice bone in her body, and then somehow we are supposed to think that she's not viciously taking advantage of Eugene? Even if he liked how she made him submissive, it's as I said, there's a difference between being dominant and essntially being a bitch literally the entire time. If there had been some sort of redeemable quality about her then I wouldn't have this problem, but the entire novella she was just the most unlikable person, so that's why this only gets 2 stars.

[Taboo and Tentacles · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

A super short, super spicy monster novella, with a femme dom and a male sub in the work place 🤭

After a bit of a mix up with a coffee order at the local cafe, our MMC & FMC find themselves in a bit of a predicament. 🫣

Eugine will do anything to please his boss, to do anything she requires of him, and I mean ANYTHING. He is a complete whimpering, begging, needy bug man. 😮‍💨

And Maeve takes her job of being in charge very seriously, and will make sure her junior executive assistant does as he’s told, and will throw in some degradation if he messes up 🥵

51 pages, 90% monster smut, great stuff 👍🏻

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given an ARC for my honest review!

It's hard for me to get into boss/employee romances but the premise of this story captured my interest. It's a quick read at 69 (nice) pages and it's less of a romance than erotica. The characters leapt off the page, even in such a short story--just really strong characterization without distilling them to one trait. The sex scene (let's be real there's just one long one) was thrilling and creatively written. I wish there were more to their story, but this bite-sized delight is a re-read for sure!

[Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be a short story, but it's full of delicious spice! An accidental lust potion loosens the inhibitions of a harsh boss and her submissive assistant. Maeve is a wonderfully dominant woman, and Eugine is a perfect fit for her. And this quote?? "I was hired to manage your needs, whatever they may be." How can you deny him when he says such sweet things? I would really love to see more of them at some point; their chemistry is just that good. I honestly can't wait for the next book in the series.

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

[Billie Yankie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Devil Wears Prada but make it a steamy HR violation.

As Bex usually does, this is the smuttiest, tastiest little read. And the detail of anatomy description was just enough to present him as a non-human but not enough to give me the heebie-jeebies, so this was just on the right side of exhilarating. I am also a sucker for soft, pining idiots like Eugene, so I loved him dearly.

I'm just a girl reading monster romance wondering if it'll help my fear of insects. So far mothman has been a hit with me, but this was a surprising twist of interest.

[Maddi · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ 5/5

Looking for a quick and ✨steamy✨ read?! Have I got the recommendation for you! I had the pleasure of reading the arc copy of this short story monster romance written by the (I have now discovered) talented Bex Deveau. This is my first time reading any work by this author and boy did I LOVE this introduction! I have always been a fan of in office romances and this definitely takes the cake for me. I only wish there was more of these two I could read about!

[Andi Downs · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short quick, fun read. Loved that the FMC was a tough, no nonsense business woman and the MMC a subordinate employee who was happy to do her bidding. But then, she is a fiesty cat girl! :D Seeing the cover, sparked my interest and then applied for the ARC team. I loved it and its pace. The characters were fun, with Eugine being rather cute. :D He definately enjoyed being dominated and whatever was in Maeve's coffee had them both enjoying some 🌶🌶🌶🌶 office fun. 🤩🤩 I do hope we get to enjoy more of this world created by the author. I'll certainly be addng to my library. 😁

[monika_is_booked · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Eugine gets his usual coffee order for his boss and himself like every morning, he's in for a big surprise.
Distracted, the witch in the coffee shop, put a lust potion in their coffees, setting things in motion between Eugine and Maeve.

This is such a fun, quick read. The dynamic between Eugine and Maeve is so freaking 🔥🥵. If you haven't read any monster romance, this would be a good start.
I'm looking forward to reading more stories set in this world in the future ☺️