Mothman Is My Boyfriend: Ten Tales of Cryptid Love and Lust

by McKayla Coyle, Wendy Stephens (Illustrator)

Fall in love with a secret town and its mysterious inhabitants in ten charming tales of human–cryptid romance, from the author of offbeat lifestyle guide Goblin Mode.

Welcome to Cryptid Creek, a secret town full of undiscovered creatures, from yetis to lake monsters. Only very special humans can find their way here, but when they do stumble in, they can’t resist the allure of this cozy locale—or its fascinating citizens.

Join the humans of this inclusive fantasy community as they browse the bookshop with Mothman, hit the skate park with nightcrawlers, wander the botanical garden with the Jersey Devil, and go on other dream dates that offer new spins on classic romance tropes. Stories

A friends-to-lovers slow burn with the Loveland FrogA fake dating scheme with a swamp monsterA butch/femme hookup with SasquatchA second-chance drama with the Michigan DogmanAnd more fun trysts with your favorite creatures!
If you loved Legends and Lattes and That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf, get ready to dust off your cryptozoology equipment and put on your cutest outfit—because monster lovers, misfits, and anyone who relates to cryptids will never want to leave this mountain town.

Genres: Romance

192 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication May 5, 2026

Reviews

[Jac Collo · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Mothman Is My Boyfriend" was a different read for sure! Composed of vignettes that follow various townsfolk from Cryptid Creek, Coyle introduces us to a really dynamic set of characters (both human and cryptid). It is a fresh spin on cryptid tales that is so perfectly cozy. The vignette style made me feel less pressured to keep up with it, but I also loved how light it was enough to not put it down.

Aside from the second person introduction that borders on the self-insert style the title almost hints at, the world meshed well together throughout the chapters. It was fun getting to flip back and forth between chapter and map to memorize the town layout and each characters commutes from chapter to chapter. I feel the nature of the creek itself might've been better introduced throughout the chapters, though, instead of in the Prologue.

The illustrations were adorable, especially of the cover character, Mothman, in his barista getup, and I found myself wanting to see each namesake character instead of just the occasional one. On this note, I will also add that I found myself disappointed by the fact that it is not *just* Mothman, as that was my original expectation, and that we *began* with Mothman, once I came around to the idea of reading about various cryptids. I feel like the cover & title both really set you up for it being Mothman-centric (and he is mentioned the most out throughout the chapters as far as references go), but it's very once & done with him at the end of the day.

As for my review of the actual contents, I feel like each chapter felt so separate from the last that they need their own reviews. I think this comes from the fact that each chapter made me form a different opinion of the writing, if I'm being honest. Like, overall it was a cute, cozy read that was the perfect breather in-between longer books on my TBR, but some chapters were stronger than others. I do think its worth noting, though, that its hard to get attached to any one character in particular since each chapter is just bordering on not being fleshed out / long enough. Even when I would get attached to a character, I'd end up just missing them when/if they were mentioned later on. I'll list my reviews below in order of how much I liked the chapter:

BEWARE!!!! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!

- The Moon and the Mothman: Okay, yeah, I got the ARC for this book because of Mothman on the cover & I thought it would be a silly read for when I was curled up with my little Mothman build-a-bear. Sue me. However!!! This chapter was my favorite for reasons other than it being the Mothman chapter. Like I said before, I was a bit sad we got this one right off the rip, which was a feeling which stuck with me as I kept reading. "The Moon and the Mothman" felt like it was the most fleshed out/strongest chapter of the collection to me, so I feel like it diminished the rest of the collection for me. I started this one near the end of my shift at the bookstore I work in (so, maybe Lucy is just my vibe rn) and ended up finishing it in my car before I drove home at the end of my shift because I *needed* to know what happened in the next one. The relationship felt smooth and unforced and I was drawn in by both Lucy & Mothman- not just one or the other- which was nice. Cryptid Creek is framed nicely in this chapter too! The town felt natural in this segment, and I didn't feel inclined to look at the map. I like looking at the map, so not a bad thing, but in some of the other stories I was lost and HAD to look at the map. I also love love LOVE the way Coyle approaches the whole Mothman-having-no-mouth situation. The projection of thoughts, memories, and feelings was so well executed.

- A New Leaf: The second chapter in the collection, and a great follow up to "The Moon and the Mothman." I couldn't put the book down and had to keep reading after the first chapter, and "A New Leaf" didn't disappoint. Friends-to-Lovers done right. This romance was soft, gradual, and natural. It hit that spot in my chest the way a warm chocolate cookie hits my sweet tooth. From pining across the way, to bonding over different forms of grief, and the sweetest conclusion... this chapter felt like peace. Def one of the strongest in the collection.

- Skate God: Love the inclusion of a younger group of kids and the platonic love as well! Yes, the crushes of the young are present, but its never something that becomes a solid at the end of the chapter like most other chapters which I appreciated. Sometimes you can be just friends with your crush and its better that way, especially at that age. Fresno & Sloane both felt very real to me. Sloane, in particular, struck a chord as very relatable. Their shows of vulnerabilities and fuck-ups were great and really made their dynamic more complex & solid. I do wish we got a bit more detail & moments of the others in the group though! More of them interacting outside the boundaries of the skate park would've been fun too.

- Night Shift: I almost put this one above "Skate God," but it fell a bit short in development. I wish we had more... moments. The couple was super cute, and I love the miscommunications and realizations, but I wish we got more scenes of Theo struggling with her methods to try and make contact with the cause of the abnormalities. We hear a lot about how she is failing, but I wanted to see it myself. Not a lot of the night shift for a chapter titled "Night Shift." Also, the one like... tangible moment of physical attraction we see from them is a bit forced, in my opinion. Awkward, yeah, I get that, but... this was a step more than that. Theo and Flatwoods are super cute though, was super happy to see them again in "Skin and Fur." Also, it was interesting to explore a cryptid I didn't know before!

- Dumb Little Crush: As much as I wasn't a fan of "The Moon and the Mothman" being the first chapter, having Lucy and Cleo be the protagonists on the receiving end of love at opposite ends of the book was soooo perfect. The whole book I was itching to see more Cleo, and this chapter scratched that itch for sure! It is also the perfect closer to the book, especially with those last two paragraphs. This one had me laughing out loud... Cleo is so me. Yes girl, lock in. I did feel the writing of their romance was more flat and unrealistic than the rest of the stories above. I think it is more so tied with "Night Shift" than below it, but the 'first, we did this, and then...." format & the all-in-one-day romance is the reason its not above it. That's definitely a personal thing, though... I love slowburn.

- Yearn For It: I'll get right into it. I'm not really a smut reader, which is something I was a bit worried about with reading this book because of the whole "Ten Tales of Cryptid Love and Lust" thing. So, obviously, you could see why I would've been a bit nervous about getting to this chapter by the title. However! It really defied all my expectations!! Another one that I would say is tied for fourth place, to be honest, if not a little short of fourth. They really DID yearn, and I loved that. The incorporation of the bet to not hookup was really interesting here, but I don't know if I really got that vibe from Romy. I did love the tension (both romantic and sexual) between Romy and Cactus Cat, and I love that we were left hanging here. It worked that we get sucked into their game... and I think its great they were reminded about literally being at work because I was freaking out about that myself! Critique wise, I wanted more.... emotion? dynamicness? vulnerability? from Cactus Cat, for one. I liked the few small showings of his feelings that we got, but overall it was very much just 'he's so chill' and he felt kind of flat because of it. The whole bet threw me off too since we got the Mason romance chapters before and I was hung up on it because like... Romy would've known this about her best friend even if he didn't tell her since she'd be seeing it around town as Mason & Swampy went on all these dates, no?? Plus, they were working together all this time but we get thrown into the beginning as if they've just met? Logistically, I had a few gripes. Maybe I'm picky. I also definitely needed to see CC in this style, to be honest.

- Ripple: The grief was so tangible in this one. It was a mournful piece that didn't really fit the vibe of the rest of the collection, but in a way that I liked! I wish we got more Nessie from the Nessie chapter, and I wish it was just a focus on Nessie being the last of her kind from this unique lens without the elements of lust and love that it did incorporate. I didn't care much to learn about Bridget and Beth, if I'm being honest. I appreciated Bridget as a vehicle to learn about Nessie, but found myself racing through the solo parts and reflections. As for the elements of love and lust, the desire for Nessie felt... weird and didn't really match the tone I wanted from this chapter. I think this should've been a piece on love lost and grieving... regardless of the shape it takes, rather than a cryptid lust/love story, especially since its mentioned a few times with no pursual (which I was glad about). This one was also one that gave me a problem location wise. Where as in "The Moon and the Mothman," I felt a sense of trust in the author while navigating the town, I did not have the same here. In fact, I had a vision in mind based on the text and was SOOO off base when I actually checked the map. Loved Nessie though.

- Skin and Fur: I thought this one was really fun! To be honest, I'm glad it addressed some of the whole cryptid/human romance stuff, because I had so many questions throughout and, as much as I can just go with as a fantasy reader, there were a few things I just was curious about and wanted to know. Did I need to know, no, but I wanted to. That is especially true considering the prologue and the fact that we barely ever address the type of being the MC of the chapter is in favor of the type the love interest is. I do like the humanness (lol) of Griffin... his flaws that he both acknowledges and realizes later on and his passive aggressive attitude and the way he leans into the gossip about his ex rather than acts too good for it. I think them hashing out their issues and just making complaints about the way they were at the end was great, but the ending felt unearned. I get tension and all that, but I wanted us to build a bit more to getting back together instead of it being instant the way its hinted at. I cared for the chapter, but was more drawn to the other characters instead. Theo and Flatwoods being here was the highlight of the chapter to me, too, which isn't the best sign. Soo,,, I guess more so an appreciation of the context it provided? I wanted more tension and almost craved a not happy ending too.

- Practice Makes Perfect: A cute spin on the fake dating trope!! I don't know that I have enough complaints to place it this low, but I also don't have enough praise to really place it higher either. Let me put it this way... this chapter made me take my first break when reading, and I didn't pick it up for a day or two after. Also important to note that I stopped in the middle of the chapter. I just didn't really care too much for either character, and the story felt a bit too predicatable, especially considering how heavy the flirting was on fake date one and the fact that they never DID set up rules. Maybe the fake dating rules would have made this chapter a bit more... worth it to me! I was looking forward to seeing them. Maybe a personal thing, too, but Mason felt hard to place for me. I could never really "see" him despite all the descriptions we got about him, if that makes any sense.

- Dream Girl: This one is at the bottom simply because I did not like it. Sas did not feel like a real character to me at all. There would be random details thrown out about him that just didn't really feel like they matched the way the character was described and I just could not place him at all. Was he a player? No? Was he charismatic and charming to the alt girls or did he like to stay in and hone his craft and not talk to people? Was he really skilled or did he miss a pivotal step in the carpentry process that would matter regardless of if it was furniture or 'stage?' June was cute, but felt a bit flat herself. Part of me wishes it was from her POV, part of me wishes Sas was just. different. Can you tell I did not like Sas.... sorry! The chapter itself also felt weak to me. Similar to how "Night Shift" had a summary instead of scene problem, but on a bigger scale that made me struggle to find redeeming qualities with it. I also wish we had a more interesting turn with their relationship. It felt very... straight line and predicatable.

OK.... whew... longest review I've ever done. Overall, well-written, cozy, & compelling. You'll like some chapters more than others and that makes this book feel like an interesting slice of life! 3.25 stars...? Doesn't feel like quite 3.5, so we'll say that.

[Bryanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not at all what I was expecting, but it was an adorable surprise, though a bit too brief for me to feel fully engaged.

Mothman Is My Boyfriend is not like other monster romances. It's not incredibly steamy. It's not very comedic. It's not full of adventure. It is mostly understated, cozy, and cute. Each story captures a vignette of a pairing, from a bookseller and barista to a grieving spouse and the last nessie. Some are sweet, some are sad, some are empowering... It's a good mix of content and the representation is great, plus the themes are emotive.

The beginning being in second person almost had me DNFing right at the start. It stops this very quickly, but it was a baffling introduction to the collection.

I did find it very difficult to connect with the characters as each story is so short. I found myself wishing for a novella that expanded the relationship, world, and atmosphere more as this felt like a teaser. I enjoyed each vignette, and most do feel complete in their telling, but they're all so short it was hard to stay engaged as you're constantly shifting POV within the same town.

This wasn't quite for me, but it is a good collection of stories that will leave you feeling uplifted and thoughtful if you're wanting a quick and easy read.

[Ash K · Rating 4 out of 5]

—• 4.0 •—

Arc Review: very cute and fun read! I don’t usually read short story compilations like this but i very much enjoyed it. These shorts include so many flavours of queerness that don’t usually get touched upon which is wonderful.

includes:
- nonbinary mcs
- t4t relationships
-bi4bi relationships
- he/him lesbian
-sapphic relationships
-achillean relationships
-sex positivity without being nsfw

[Shandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a lot of fun. It is unique, creative and heartwarming. I really appreciated the inclusivity/diversity in these stories. I would love to see the author expand on these characters and concepts! Each story left me wanting more, but in a good way. My favorite one of the collection was Ripple.

[Rachel MacDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this book, but I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed all the short stories. If you're the right kind of person, you might wander through the forest to encounter a special town full of friendly cryptids aptly called Cryptid Creek. Would you choose to stay and join in the short stories of romance? The first story follows Lucy and their intrigue with the local barista, Mothman. More than coffee heats up in their story. The second story follows a widow and divorcee taking a second chance on love. Practice Makes Perfect follows a recently open transmasc swamp monster as she finds love and her true self. Ripple is a quick view of grief and insight from the Lochness Monster. Night Shift starts when Theo gets called to the house of Flatwoods to help with a haunting and encounters more than she bargained. I'd never heard of a cactus cat, but after reading Yearn for it, I'd very much like to know one. A skateboarding friendship, rekindled romance at movie club, Sasquatch building a stage along with sexual tension, and a plant shop with more than greenery blooming make up the rest of the stories. Best of all, characters reappear in other stories and the infamous Mothman shines throughout the book. I'm not the biggest fan of short stories or romance, but if those are your things, I'd highly recommend this book.

[Jennybeast · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm pretty sure I'm just too old to appreciate this. Mostly I have to go with sweet, but disappointing. The illustrations are pretty cool, but the stories fail to sell me on the idea of any of these creatures really being romantically attractive. Soothing, yes, but even the ones that purport to lust are tepid. Frankly, I was hoping that this would be spicier -- if you're going with a kinky concept, go there! Anyway, there are some very lovely trans moments. There are some eye-rolling mistakes -- believe me as someone who lives in the Pacific Northwest, we don't have fireflies. And while I am willing to allow the wrongness of describing a mullet as tasteful, there seems to be a lot of confusion about where the "party" is -- in the back, friend, in the back. Gave up about 3/4 of the way through.

Advanced Reader's Copy provided by Edelweiss.

[lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks so much to NetGalley for this arc! It was a cute, fun read, and I enjoyed the different stories to encapsulate the different relationships between the characters. I also liked that it was more than one couple featured throughout the story. It is a great book to read between books, especially if you are looking for something witty, creative and light.

[Sabina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually delightful!!! Cozy fiction for queer freaks (said by one queer freak herself) and I loved it!! Surprisingly romantic and thoughtful, with lots of thoughts on mental health and the day-to-day struggles of navigating social and dating spheres in smaller communities. Also Mothman is a barista and you can date a tall mean mommy alien robot.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was a silly read and i enjoyed it. i’m still not the biggest fan of short stories but i thought this was just fun.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and cozy! A collection for those loved Legends & Latees and Sweet Berries

[mister ma’am · Rating 2 out of 5]

ARC via edelweiss