Taken by my TBR: A Sentient Object Story

by Holly Wilde

What happens when the book you’re immersed in, becomes immersed in you?Tossing and turning doesn't just apply to a restless night in bed. It also is what happens when you can't find a book to quench your mood-reader thirst. Turning pages and tossing books into the growing TBR stack is how Paige spends her night. Unfortunately for her, giving up on her night of reading isn't an option.

When her stack of books comes to life, they make their intention tonight is the night the TBR gets its finish. The only question is, will the happy ending lead to a happily ever after?

Taken by my TBR includes a compilation of many popular genres in the literary and romance world. As a result, it includes certain tropes and themes that may not suit all readers. Please check the content warnings before curling up and becoming one with this book.

Genres: Romance, Novella, Smut, Fantasy, Paranormal, Erotica, Paranormal Romance

Unknown Binding

About the author

If you’re looking to escape the boundaries of reality that we are so often confined to, then look no further. Sentient-smutty-smut and literal personification of everyday items is what you’ll find here.

Hi! it’s nice to meet you, I’m Holly “no-explanation” Wilde, and if you don’t buckle your seatbelt up for this ride, your chair will do it for you.

Follow me over on IG to get updates on my latest releases!

Reviews

[Sabrina · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Since when did it switch from me tackling my TBR to you tackling me?”

Putting down the book she’s reading because she’s not in the mood for it? Relatable

Changing up the genre because it’s not what she needs at the moment? Relatable

Getting dnfed herself by the end with no satisfaction as a means of revenge? Burn the book

Imagine a fusion of literary worlds where your physical tbr comes to life through an entity? (dream come true yet not here) all because you started books you didn’t finish (a mix of 4 genres). at least he offers the fmc the choice of what she’d prefer to enact during sex. very demure, very considerate (I’ve had enough of this, but I had to, please forgive me)

These books never fail with the cringe but that’s the point lol it’s morbidly fun. *one of the genres is dark romance, so knife play was mentioned*

there goes another one towards my reading goal tho✨

“You spread your legs even better than you spread pages." um.. why’s that kinda -

"I do love that about you. The way you always need just one more chapter to be satisfied." the praise is music to my ears 🤭

His pace is punishing, as though every thrust is a tribute to each book that I failed to finish.” “And, fuck me, that’s a lot of books.” he was on a petty and determined mission

“This was all about him, making sure he got his happy ending and exacting his revenge to DNF me.” It’s disturbingly comical

“Nothing compares to the pressure of your physical TBR pile staring you down.” Mine must want to throttle me atp

“Still, my p—- is eager to explore what fucking a monster will feel like. Glaze, like the frosting of a cinnamon roll, coats my inner thighs as my body pours out lubrication for what's to come.” Help

“Ride his bookworm” 😵‍💫 no

[Madi · Rating 5 out of 5]

don’t look at me like that. actually don’t look at me at all.

[Kristina]

DNF 75%

This one was too dark for me. It didn’t have the fun and whimsy I’m used to and the scenes from other books took me out. I had to stop due to knife play and tentacles which are very much not my thing.

The idea was an interesting one but the execution was not for me.

[Sadie E · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The ever growing TBR pile is a dirty little secret all readers share.”

And in this case, that secret has developed sentience and a grudge.

Paige is all of us. She keeps buying books. She adds and adds and adds to her TBR with unwavering optimism and no follow through. Then she adds a few more books just for good measure. And eventually, her TBR reaches breaking point. He’s done being half-read, dog-eared, forgotten, and emotionally neglected. And now he’s taking matters into his own hands.

And not gently.

Because he has a mission.

To DNF her.

The content warnings alone had me locked in. Why is there a murder warning in sentient object smut?? That’s not a question I expected to ask today, and yet here we are.

What unfolds is less a linear story and more a controlled spiral. This is a bookception situation: multiple genres and narratives, all colliding into one increasingly unhinged experience. We’ve got romantasy, dark romance, monster smut, horror, shifters... every trope you’ve ever flirted with is here to hold you accountable.

Because the TBR's an amalgamation of every book Paige has dipped into that night. A “monstrous fusion of literary worlds.” A dragon-riding shadow-daddy serial-killer tentacle-monster mafia-boss (yes, really) who exists purely to punish her for her reading sins.

“Just, um, please don’t wear your shoes on the bed.”

That’s your concern, Paige??? Not the literal genre-blending nightmare man in your bedroom??

The tone walks a fascinating line between satire and sincerity. On one hand, it’s aware of how absurd it is. On the other, it commits so hard that you start to question whether the absurdity is actually the point, or just the vehicle.

And underneath all the chaos, there’s something we all know: reader guilt. The endless accumulation of books. The performative optimism of “I’ll get to it.” The "I don't know what I'm in the mood for." The quiet shame of pausing books three chapters in and starting new ones. This TBR weaponises that guilt.

It's also surprisingly dark. There’s a lack of restraint here that pushes things beyond playful parody into something sharper and occasionally unsettling. I found this one less funny than the others and more uncomfortable. Some moments (fine, most moments) are completely unhinged. Kissing with a knife between them, tasting each other’s blood, knives in other... body parts. It’s a lot. There are a lot of knives.

“Let’s just skip the part where we are enemies and jump to the part where we become lovers.”

Weirdly, this is the book where Holly Wilde’s talent really shows. No, not in the deranged wordplay ("slam his bookmark up inside my pleasure pages") but in the seamless genre-switching. The embedded excerpts feel distinct and genuinely engaging. I would absolutely read any of the books that exist in the book's world. It shouldn’t work but it does, because she understands exactly what she’s playing with.

This book also sparked a genuinely unsettling thought: what would my TBR look like? What tropes would it weaponise against me? Because I love the idea of a TBR evolving into a villain/hero/monster/shadow daddy hybrid.

Checking my (currently) abandoned books... Ghost. Serial killer. Cannibal. Serial killer. Scottish folklore abomination. I am not going to have a good time. Please send help. (Do the two serial killers cancel each other out? 🤔)

[•maria•୨୧ (Joey Lynch & Loren Hale’s Version) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I AM FULLY TRAUMATIZED. i don’t even know how some people rate it 5 stars.

[readwithhanhan (IG) · Rating 3 out of 5]

LMFAO. 3 stars because I just can’t give it anything higher as I read this on a vc as a joke to the girls in my book discord server. we had fun tbh and I laughed so much! honestly I will forever look at my physical tbr differently now.. I’m scared lowkey so I think I need to put my kindle down and start a physical book immediately.. although… my tbr coming to life wouldn’t be THAT bad.. would it? 👀

[Tsyhanchuk Anastasiia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Така дивна історія, смішна чимось, я трішки в шоці була
Треба терміново читати свої книжки на полиці🌚

[The Windy City Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sheer TBR Perfection

Holly Wild is a master craftsman when it comes to sentient object smut. I had no idea what I was in for with 'Taken by My TBR" but this novelette brought all the right things.

Witty play on bookish words and turns of phrase made this story a 5 star 4 spice read.

If you want quick and dirty, grab this one. But don't neglect it and leave it on the TBR pile, or it will find revenge. Sweet, schmexy, filthy revenge.

[Libbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can't believe I'm saying this about a sentient object romance but I actually really liked the premise and the set up for it. It was unique and kinda funny.

Unfortunately the rest of it is just beyond horrific

[Raisa (TBRaisaa) · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you see this review: no, you haven’t. Just move on.

[Isabelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I needed a distraction after a fantastic ARC read refused to let me move on to other books. This definitely did the trick. While there were some extremely funny lines in this and it definitely was entertaining with an ending that set this apart from the other sentient object stories I’ve read, the MC’s internal dialogue made this feel really choppy sometimes.

[Hol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book club will be hearing about this 😤

[josie ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡⋆ · Rating 1 out of 5]

this was ass.
i already hate the concept of men, let alone alpha male ultra dominant men. also i hate that she wasn’t into it at all but he kept goingg like ugh.
also i found out today im not into knife play😥
this book just did not sit right with me at all and i think this is my least fav sentient object smut

[Alyssa paulk · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wild ride. I wanted a laugh and I definitely got it.
CHECK TRIGGERS PLS

[Rune · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique and enjoyable sentient romance

This book was a great quick read with a bit of spice and no regrets! Give this read a shot if you're looking for something fast paced, fun, and outside the box. You know you want to!

🌶️ (3) Descriptive with tentacles and more!
Be sure to check the content notes.
(Full blog post coming)

[Sherry Moyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imagine your TBR stack came to life and embossed you.

That’s a euphemism for the smutty, smutty acts of sex about to be thrust upon our hero Paige. What I didn’t expect was how hilarious book puns can be when referring to said acts.

Three stars because the beginning was annoying.

GIVE US THE SENTIENT SMUT. Don’t make us wait.

[cey ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

guess i’ll be finishing my tbr…

[❀ melissa ❀ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess this is my sign to stop ignoring my TBR

[Kate Dash · Rating 3 out of 5]

Смішно, хтиво, що ще треба. Авторка вміло пише сатиру на відомі жанри та потім перетворює це в найбільш неочікуваніше шоу

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars (rounded up)

This was so funny and so unique! I thought the plot was executed well and I was laughing at how bizarre it got. Also, her TBR did her so dirty at the end haha!

[Ashley · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a tad bit boring. She was living out various scenarios from books. It dragged for no reason and didn’t land.. I know I know.. it’s smut about her tbr. 😩

[kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

okay this was kinda fire

[Jen (noelle w. ihli's version) · Rating 2 out of 5]

ok i usually love me a ridiculous holly wilde sentient object smut book, but this didn’t do it for me

[Rose]

Don’t mind me, I’m just trying to reach my reading goal 😄

[Ashlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why did I read this book? Because someone told me to read it and share what it was about. But really I was actually feeling like reading something that would be a short fun book, similar to Unhinged. While this one was short, it was a little different from what I expected. So this girl starts reading books from her TBR, but the author wrote the first chapter in the book, so I was reading it until the FMC decided she didn't want to continue the book. After going through about 4 different books, she goes to bed...or at least tries to until this monster of a creature comes alive as a combination of all the main male characters in the books she read but decided not to finish. This is basically when the spice hits, which is pretty much at the end of the story. I was really expecting there to be more spice, but it's okay. But I was honestly kind of disappointed that she didn't get her HEA. I feel like I wanted this to be more, for it to be longer than what it was. Or maybe less of her reading the actual books and more of the after she tries to go to bed part. I'll probably end up reading the next book that's about her kindle books though, so we shall see how it goes. I did kind of love all the overly ridiculous book puns throughout though. Those made me laugh.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our protagonist's TBR literally comes to life as a physical sex God, but leaves our protagonist 'unfinished' just like the books she didn't finish.

It was a slow beginning, and I did contemplate not finishing (no pun intended), but when our dark, mysterious and beautiful lover enters, I was hooked! The smut was *chefs kiss* and saved this story for me! Four stars just for the smut alone!

Hold a knife in between my legs any day please and thank you xo

[Trisha Cisneros · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well that was… something. Unhinged Book Club Strikes again.

Ok not really. That was all me. 🙃

This one was ok. I actually liked how she wrote a bunch of different genres and the pieces we got were actually things I’d probably read. Holly is a super talented writer and I’m absolutely loving her. She hit all the trope and even some I wish she hadn’t. Lol they were all there though!

[Biblio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holly's creativity never ceases to amaze me honestly. It was like reading mini books in one book and it was honestly so fun. I cannot wait for Queen Queef and the Peen Invaders. The idea of a TBR monster is honestly brilliant and I sat there for days wondering about mine and what kind of tropes he would use against me. Such a fun and different read.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine all the different beings all in one person - please ma’am may I have some more?

[Amy Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best way to describe an endless TBR

This book was a great quick read for a funny way your TBR can get back at you for neglecting it. It started a bit slow but it got good quickly and I was not about to put it down for fear of retaliation from the monster those books created 😂