The Songbird & the Forest

Creatures of Domhan na Rùin #1

by Emma Elizabeth

Ilex the Dryad has lived alone in the forest for years, content with only the trees for companions. Their greatest joy in life is feeling the sun on their face, until a woman with red hair rides into their forest astride a horse made of bone.

Dahlia is a necromancer who has a knack for crafting potions. She's never really fit in with her more somber companions in the Dead City, so when she is chosen to attend a celebration on the other side of the continent, she's eager to set off and see the world. What she doesn't expect is to find a beautiful Dryad and maybe...a chance at a love like she's never known.

Genres: Fantasy, Monster Romance, Romance, Novella, Fantasy Romance, Paranormal, Romantasy

68 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 28, 2024

Reviews

[DoctorWhosUrDaddy89 · Rating 5 out of 5]

So freaking cute! How something is cute and spicy as hell at the same time I don’t know? But Emma did it with this one!!!

[Dora · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very forgettable, even for novella standards. The dialgoue felt forced and stilted, as if they were reading a pamphlet about inclusivity than having a genuine connection 🤷🏻‍♀️

It's always nice to see a female dom represented but it was mostly contained to the epilogue. The cover is gorgeous though!

[Анастасія ꒰⁠⑅⁠ᵕ⁠༚⁠ᵕ⁠꒱⁠˖⁠♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Дуже давно читала про некромантів, та здається вперше про чоловіка друіда. Історія дуже коротка, але мені сподобалась.

[spidermse · Rating 4 out of 5]

"But if it were possible-if you didn't have to be worried, where would you go?" she asked.
Ilex remained silent for a long moment, considering. "If you had asked me even a week ago, I think I would have told you I'd stay right here. Now, I think I should like to go wherever you go, little songbird."

How adorable is that nickname?? Major swoons!

This was such a lovely read. It's fairly short - around 60 pages - and it's got romance, action, and spice. After a rather hilarious meet cute, Dahlia and Ilex both found love and acceptance with each other after years of feeling isolation and loneliness.

Dahlia is a badass Necromancer who has some really awesome, and sometimes scary, magic. And her pets are so adorable. I want a skeleton cat! Ilex is such an adorkable Dryad - they're so sweet! I loved how much they valued consent and asked questions throughout the spicy times to make sure they both were comfortable. The spice was great and Ilex definitely has some interesting parts going on. I loved how their stuff worked and that they didn't always have to form the peen to enjoy it.

Great read as an intro to this world!

[Baby Got Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shortie at 60 pages. Wonderful little peak into an interesting magical world. Sweet, wholesome, straightforward characters with their insta connections and hints of power.

As I read more short stories and novellas I try to rate them as a whole and not dock them simply because I want them to be a longer story. I like to think of them as an appetizer to the authors writing and rate accordingly

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

Ilex and Dahlia were a sweet couple, each coming from different kinds of social isolation. Dahlia was a chatterbox who was always told to be less, and Ilex had been alone for most of their life. They were tender with each other and protective. I would have loved more getting to know the world and each other, but it was good for the length of the novella.

Spice: 2/5

Triggers: violence (arrows), poisoning, social isolation, necromancy (mostly just cute, like her pet cat)

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Ahren McNamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stop right now, this novella is so dang cute! For anyone out there who plays D&D you’ll love this adorable story of a necromancer and a dryad finding love. Emma Elizabeth built a beautiful world in a short amount of time and I’m excited to get more in this series. What great little bread crumbs! I appreciated the enby rep and the amount of time spent on communication and consent. Really glad I picked this book up.

[Kaitlin Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very easy read. I didn’t not like it, but it wasn’t anything super special to me either. A medium rating of three stars.

[Isabel Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was SO cute!!! A real cozy kind of feeling. I am also ALL HERE for a smutty monster romance 🤭 This was actually the first book I read that uses pronouns and slight LGBTQ+ so it caught me off guard but I enjoyed it!! Definitely would recommend!!

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

THIS WAS SO GOOD!! I loved the characters a lot, even with the short time we spent with them. I wanted more!



ps. i need more books with animal companions pls

[Alex (HEABookNerd) · Rating 3 out of 5]

THE SONGBIRD & THE FOREST was a cute read but it didn't really stand out for me. The world building is pretty simple since this was super short; Ilex as a dryad was cool and I enjoyed the idea of a sunshine-y necromancer. These two fall for each other quickly and there's some spice right at the end.

[Alexa King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an adorable, sexy, fun book! The two main characters had me giddy with their kindness and love towards one another. I loved the queer representation in this book and the sex scenes were hot hot hot! Such a perfect intro to a new world and I can’t wait to read more from it!

[Biblio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, sweet and spicy romance with a necromancer and a dryad! Such a fun combo. There’s also a skeleton kitty named Fluffy. If you’re looking for a cozy read with some heat to keep you all fuzzy and warm this is it! I can’t wait to read book two.

[Bookmarkfaerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The way I shipped these two! Super short read that gives you laughs, swooning while filling your witchy vibes.

Oh and the spice 🤭

[Veronica Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very unique read about a necromancer and Dryad (a forest-like creature) falling in love very quickly. Their chemistry was very sweet and the spice was SPICY.

[corie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Well that was quick

[ChasxSabri💗🫧 · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars
It wasn't horrible, just wasn't my cup of tea

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick short novel about a gender neutral dryad and a girl necromancer. It was cute, whimsical and spicy. Nothing to special and nothing to serious.

[⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ Tabatha ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was very cute.

[Alex Silver · Rating 2 out of 5]

For such a short book we sure got told what was happening 784 times.

[Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was not expecting this to be SO wholesome and sweet. I absolutely loved it.

Main characters: Dahlia (she/her) and Ilex (they/them)



More to come with quotes

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I have always wanted to be alone, but I find now that I only want to be wherever you are.”
…
The Songbird & The Forest was such a sweet novella! I loved how these two unlikely MC’s end up finding one another and falling in love. This gets ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me!

This was CUTE!!! Dahlia and Ilex make the most unusual pairing as they’re a necromancer and a dryad. I love how Ilex by nature is a loner, but he’s instantly drawn to Dahlia when he spots her in his forest. They’re so adorable together! Dahlia also has a skeleton cat named fluffy (you should check out Mocco’s fanart!). This novella was short, but there’s a great backstory, some action/danger, spice, and a HEA. I can’t wait to check out more by this author!

[Nenia Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

SO CUTE. Sometimes you read a book and you can just tell that the author had a great time writing it, and that's the vibe I got with THE SONGBIRD & THE FOREST, a sweet, cozy novella about a budding (ha) romance between a female necromancer and a nonbinary dryad. The book opens with Dahlia leaving the City of the Dead to attend a celebration in another city, but on the way she ends up in a forest, where she meets Ilex, and saves them from some intolerant bandits.

This is one of those stories where I found myself wanting MORE, because the concept was so interesting. I understand that this was intended to be a novella and a one-shot, but I really wanted to learn more about the City of the Dead, and I wish there had been more adventures and banter between Ilex and Dahlia. I thought the way the author portrayed dryad anatomy was interesting-- it reminded me of the way that R. Lee Smith does some of her monsters, actually (and this is a compliment! I love R. Lee!)-- and wish the fem-dom dynamic had been explored more in some of their earlier interactions with the sunshiney necromancer surprising Ilex by taking charge.

But my favorite, FAVORITE thing??? Was the fact that Dahlia had a skeleton cat AND a skeleton horse. Why would you even be a necromancer if you didn't raise yourself some pets? Emma Elizabeth is out here asking the important questions, and I love her for that.

3 stars

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the coziest monster romance novella!! I loved getting to spend time with Ilex and Dahlia and love how kind and sweet they are to each other. They had me rooting for them from their first appearance on the page and it was so refreshing spending time with characters who were so authentic and doing their best!

As a novella releasing before the first in the series, I really enjoyed getting to spend some time in the world of Domhan na Rùin and learning about the variety of beings and magic found there. In this way, The Songbird & The Forest sets the stage really well and is a great appetizer for what stories lie ahead (it’s great because, in keeping with the food metaphor, it’s one of those appetizers that piques your interest in the first course [Mistress of Hours] but is also completely fulfilling on its own!)

I’m very excited for what will come next in the world Emma Elizabeth introduces us to here, and I hope we’ll get to see more of Ilex and Dahlia (and Fluffy!) as we go because they have completely stolen my heart!

[Shelby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yikes 😬 the idea was interesting but the execution was rough 😖 I want to use the word sloppy, I’m sorry to say.

The dialogue was really flat. Their connection was too instantaneous, so much so that it bordered on ridiculous. I get that we’re talking about a novella and we don’t have a lot of time to develop a relationship between our characters but come on! Give us something! There was no genuine, organic connection between these characters 🙂‍↔️ it felt like the author was referring to a check list, and things between the MCs felt very stilted as a result.

No world building, just vague references that were never properly developed. The spice was…something. I guess with no connection between the characters to be seen, the spice was just words on a page 🤷🏼‍♀️

I won’t be checking out any of the authors other work. The pretty cover lured me in, and I’m not gonna invest more of my time trying to make this work for me.

100%, this isn’t my jam 😑

[Candice · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was fine. This was another SYKD book that I wanted to read because it was short. I was attracted to the cover art when I saw it on the list for free. I think it was really sweet. Ilex goes by they them pronouns and they’re a dryad. Dahlia goes by female and she’s a necromancer. She’s on her way to an event and she bumps into Ixel on her way there. Ixel is just watching her from a distance and finds her incredibly beautiful and Dahlia notices them. Then later on in the book Ixel gets attacked and she helps them recover. Eventually they fall in love and we read about the interesting way that they have sex. It was a sweet book with a spicy twist. I gave it 3 stars because it was definitely entertaining. I’m excited to read more from this author. This was a successful kindle day book.

[erin | sinfulshelves · Rating 5 out of 5]

𝙸𝚕𝚎𝚡 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝙳𝚊𝚑𝚕𝚒𝚊, 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚍𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚢 𝚏𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚗𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚏𝚕𝚘𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚊 𝚛𝚘𝚐𝚞𝚎 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚣𝚎. 🥀

🕊️🌲|| 𝙱𝙾𝙾𝙺 𝚁𝙴𝚅𝙸𝙴𝚆
⚠︎ check TWs | 18+ content ⚠︎

📖 The Songbird & the Forest
Star Rating: 5/5 ★★★★★
Spice Rating: 2/5 🌶️🌶️
Spice Frequency: 2/5 🔥🔥
POV: 3rd
Couple: Dahlia (she/her) & Ilex (they/them)
Available on KU ✅

• monster romance
• necromancer x dryad
• LGBTQ+ rep
• CUTE AF
• fisting 👀
• Happily Ever After

Oh my gosh, this was so stinking CUTE I can’t handle it. In just 60 pages, Emma Elizabeth has crafted the sweetest little love story that’s also surprisingly spicy 🌶️. I loved every second of reading this and can’t wait to read more by this author!

[Liz Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5, rounded up

I recently downloaded this novella during a Stuff Your Kindle Day event and wanted a lowkey read this week. I love that the story came from both Ilex’s and Dahlia’s POVs, since it was nice to see that they both had an instant and sudden pull toward the other. It was fun to picture the two of them, one a necromancer with a bone cat and horse and the other a dryad in a lush forest, and how those two lives collided.

I wish the epilogue had been later on in the story, maybe after the celebration Dahlia was originally on her way to. Because it was immediately after the final chapter, it didn’t feel much like an epilogue, and I was excited to see how things would be for them after the event and where they would decide to make a life together.

[Balayageandbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

*This review is for the Audiobook*

This book was a sweet and cozy little monster read.

My thoughts:
-I enjoy this short little book/ listen.
-These two characters were so different and it made their journey of learning about each other that much more sweet.
-It was sweet quickly they became each other's reason for existence and how they would defend one another
-Not only was their learning about each other sweet but it was also steamy!
-Their journey of discovering each others bodies was HOT!
-Did I expect this sweet little story to end they way it did... nope.
-Am I mad about it... NOPE. (Let's just say they go all hands...fists in!)