A Reckless Indulgence: A Pirate Monster Romance

by Aveda Vice

Sirens can’t fall in love.

It’s a truth Lyx has always believed, even when a dying pirate washed up in her grotto. She should have killed Cav, the infuriatingly charming dragon, but despite her better judgment, she let him live.

That’s a mistake she came to regret.

Two years later, Lyx is trapped in the service of a cruel captain named Tidus. He makes her an help him infiltrate the pleasure ship, Indulgence, and he will finally return her siren song and grant her freedom.

And who has ties to the Indulgence but Cav? It’s a perfect opportunity for Lyx to enact her revenge, but all Cav wants is a chance to make things right. While he bargains to secure her spot on the ship, she agrees to aid him in a series of carnal exploration.

There’s no denying the tension between them. With every entanglement, Cav and Lyx delve deeper into each other until she begins to question what she’s always known.

She needs to remember why she’s to destroy Cav and reunite with her song. Everything else is meaningless…

Isn’t it?

This novel is a W/Nbi romance between a jellyfish siren and a half-dragon. It is intended only for adult audiences. Reader discretion is advised.

Content advisories are listed in the book's front matter and on the author's website.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Queer, Adult, LGBT, Lesbian

329 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 9, 2026

About the author

Aveda Vice (any pronouns) is a pansexual author of unconventional kink and monstrous romances. In their books, you’ll find a fondness for queer creatures, polyamorous love, and grumpy girls. She falls down rabbit holes, decorates every day like it’s Halloween, and is going to hell.

Reviews

[Sussu {Romance Obsessed}]

Thank you so much Aveda for the arc!

Unfortunately this wasn't really a hit for me, so my rating is more along the lines of 2 stars.
I feel terrible for possibly tanking the rating of a more indie book, so currently it will be unrated.

Let me start off with: if you like vicious devotion, but found it too long, you will probably enjoy this!
It feels very much in the same vein with a one sided hate situationship between two characters that have history together.

My demi heart just gets bummed out when the enemies hate each other this much, but sleep together almost immediately. There's not much build up or feelings involved, and it just kind of has me scratching my head with wondering what the point of these scenes are.

I liked Cav, I think he's a good character, but he's really just like a puppy that has been fixated on the same siren for years and has the survival instincts of a rock. I guess he's more of a HIMBO?

He doesn't really have much in terms of self respect, survival instincts or anything that he wants, besides Lyx.

I really disliked Lyx, she is a siren and hates men, especially pirates. Her whole arc is revenge and she wants to kill Cav.
It gets a bit exhausting after the 5th death threat she makes.
Like, put up or shut up, please
She grows a bit as a character, but not much, which is unfortunate bc I wasn't really ever wanting them to get together since she just seems to keep hurting Cav.


The environment where the story takes place was rich and full of details, but I found a lot to be desired and was disappointed at how confusing and flimsy the plot was.
So many things just were brought up and planned, then just kind of fizzled out when it wasn't convenient?
Nothing is really furthering the story except for Lyx wanting her song back and hating Cav.

-Lyx infiltrating the ship and gaining their trust bc this bad guy wants to find out why a circus style traveling brothel is popular.
This mystery never gets solved. TIHI 😭

- Cav stops pretty much all sex work and doesn't work for the whole book. It's supposed to be his main job on the ship.

- Their experiments aka their excuse to bang each other don't really go anywhere. Cav got permission from the captain after giving them a big sales pitch about how great performances would be and it just happens one time despite Cav wanting to try so many things??
- The ship is a supporting character (actually a live entity) that hits choppy water at the most convenient times lol and becomes a full on Deus ex machina in several points.

"I'm tired, grandpa."

- There's not much plot

- Big emotional moment was a throwaway line coerced
- There are no real problems in the storyline. All the drama comes from Lyx and the bad guy.
- The writing isn't the same quality as their other books, with weird mixed metaphors

"He wants to sink into Lyx. He wants to drown in her. She is an oasis, and he is dying of thirst. He will drink every drop of her before she vanishes."

Or
"Cav’s mind was trapped in his body like a puppet on a string..."

They don't really make much sense to me, idk.


Also the ending was a real cop out in my opinion. I won't spoil it, but there are two main things that bothered me lol


All in all, it's not terrible, but it's not great either. I would have loved to see a more developed story, and characters.

[Chloe Morscheck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoilers at the end for content warnings!
He’s so in love with her he wants to die, and she wants to kill him so bad she might fall in love…

Really a beautiful story about how people in difficult and impossible situations find comfort in complicated relationships. This is a kink positive monster f-er book that made me want to go back to the grotto where nothing bad had happened yet.

One thing I appreciate about Aveda Vice’s book is the expanding universe with a light magic system, making space for a very diverse group of monsters which I think is very cool and fun.

This was not my favorite of her books, I felt like the story was a little predictable but it was still a very fun read and I’ll stay on the Vice book train as long as they keep coming out.

Content warnings necessary for this one! Also spoilers here!

As with most Vice books, lots of sexual content, including positive depictions of sex work.
Strange abusive relationship including manipulation and physical/sexual content.
Vore! Big vore warning. Also like wound play.

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

I had the privilege of being able to beta read for Aveda, and as always I am so in love with the characters and world created 🥺👉👈. The angst, the longing, the spice, Aveda is an expert in making me feel E V E R Y T H I N G.

I love Cav, and would do anything for him… including now finishing reading my ARC copy. What a great way to start 2026 🥺. A more in-depth tangy review coming soon.

10/5⭐️

(as always please advise the trigger warnings if you’re going to read, but it’s so so so so so good 😭)

[Billie Yankie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible. It's got charm and chemistry. It's flirty and dirty. It also destroys you a little, but you feel good about it at the end.

[Betty Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cav is a half dragon pirate that can never feel content in life. Until he washes upon a shore after a wreck. And he meets her. An actual siren. And the thought of her consumes him even after she sends him away and for years to follow.

Lyx is a siren jellyfish. She feeds off chaos and misery. She lives to destroy. But then a man washes up on her shore. And she doesn’t want to destroy him. Until he betrays her. Then that’s all she wants.

This was so good. The plot was interesting but this is all about the characters. And fuck did I love these characters. Cav is a little shit head in the best possible way. He loves to push. He loves to make her say what she so desperately wants to hide. I loved how he played with gender. And if you want a man down BAD for his woman this is the book for you. And if you like a subby man into pain play, grab this immediately. Lyx is hardened but that’s just her nature. She craves chaos. She will do anything to get back what was stolen from her. And she hates Cav. Until she doesn’t. Her growth throughout the book is so fucking good. I related to her in ways. The fact that she didn’t think she could feel love and the way she thought she could only hurt others. She truly was such a great character to follow.

Yall the sex scenes were great. The kink. The Dom/sub dynamic. The pain play. I ate all that up fr. The way they wanted each other the way they couldn’t help but to lose themselves in it. Whew.

And I loved how this shows someone will love you at your most monstrous. Someone will see your worst parts and stay. People will see and love all of you.

Ok so I’m about to say the craziest thing ever and I need yall to just trust me. But I never thought cannibalism could be endearing lmaooooo. She’s vicious and wants to take bites out of him and he wants her to have a piece of him inside her. It is kinda graphic but it’s also understandable since she’s a siren. He’s just giving into all her desires. Showing her she’s not as monstrous as she thinks. That someone can actually enjoy that side of her.

All in all I really enjoyed this and if you like monster romance I think you will too.

Kinks (from avedas website)

Monsterfucking (jellyfish siren and half-dragon), extra/special appendages (tails, tentacles, unique genitals), restraint/bondage, blindfold, breath play/choking/drowning, exhibitionism, dirty talk/teasing/begging, raw sex, face-sitting/face fucking/oral sex (cunnilingus), edging, fingering, slapping, spitting, electrostimulation, crying, pain play, blood play, body modification/scarring & “cannibalism” (detailed removal and ingestion of scales)

Trigger warnings (from avedas website)

Villainous characters instigate toxic relationships, intimate partner violence and abuse, imprisonment, drink spiking, survival sex/sexual coercion

Between the main characters, there is a bargain involving multiple instances of consensual sex

Drowning, body horror, fire/burns, alcohol, vomit, child neglect, lack of aftercare

[Andrea ☾ [is inconsistently consistant] · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ This was... interesting?
Thank you so much Aveda Vice for the eARC!

Ok, let's just get into it because for the most part, I feel like this book should have worked for me A LOT MORE than it actually did. And when I say a lot, I mean heaps and leaps, ok?

- Pirates? Loveeee
- Sirens? Gimme!
- Paranormal romance with a dragon?? Come on!

Still, this book was mostly just tedious and confusing for some reason. I found the FMC reticence to engage with anything, including herself and her own feelings so frustrating and disconcerting. She kept pushing everyone away, except when she actually needed to! And the absolute level of simpness that Cav, the MMC, achives here is really something else. In like, Cavalier CARRIED this book on his scaly back basically the whole way through.

Also, it's not really discussed at length in the book, and since it's literal a paranormal world where they are literally a half dragon, half human guy and a female siren, I can't really say how far our gender stereotypes can click into this thing. I just know that Cav is trans. In my mind, that is just cannon and I don't care what anyone says. He gives two sh*ts about it and neither do I. If you have a problem with it, fight amongs yourselves, but he is THE baby and is to be protected at all times, and the only way I can ever feel this way about a guy is if he is a. written by a woman, or b. trans. In this case, it's both! Loveeeee him.

Anyway, I now love the name Cavalier even thouhgh if a person was ever actually called that, it would be kind of embarrasing, and I hate that. Also, I'm obssesed with that breed of dog, I think they are so f*cking adorable, I want one so bad! And, maybe hot take? but I think Cav was too good for Lyx and she should have been given a couple of scenes where she grovels properly for a bit. Or at least, given the option to get herself out of the grief-stricken mist that seems to involve her at all times, and come out her head for half a second enough to appreciate Cavy for the angel-dragon boy that he is!

Overall, this book was more about a siren missing herself and a gorgeous half dragon who is intent on helping her find herself. Would I call this a great romance book? No. It's a good fiction book if romance isn't really that important to you. If you want to ride the waves of this mystical, otherworldly adventure, then for sure give this a try! But also, there's very much open tenticle s*x scenes in here, so take that into account too.

[avis03 · Rating 2 out of 5]

F/NBi, Monster, Fantasy, 3rd Dual POV

Status: Non-KU, Standalone, Third Act Conflict - External, Internal

Lyx: Jellyfish Siren, Plus Size, Scarred, Misandrist, Bound to a Pirate Who Has Her Siren Song

Physical Features: Pink and Purple Hair, Light Blue Skin, Bioluminescent, Scales, Jellyfish Lower Half (Siren Form)

Cav: NBi, Half-Dragon, Pirate, Sex Worker, ADHD Coded, Long Hair, Chronic Pain (Shoulder), Brat

Physical Features: Red Skin, Scales, Horns, Spiked Tail, Claws, Forked Tongue

ADHD Notes: Impulsive, Creative, Hyperfixation, Restless, Hyperactive, Racing Thoughts, Easily Distracted, Talkative

Rep: Queer Normative, Defaults to They/Them when Pronouns are Unknown, Trans and NBi Characters, Sex Positivity, Body Positivity, NBi Affirming During Sexual Encounters (FMC Asks for Language Preference)

Notes: High Seas Setting, Enemies to Lovers (One Sided, FMC), Black Cat x Golden Retriever, Height Difference, Female Rage

Sex Notes: Kink, BDSM, Safeword, Bondage (Rope), Blindfold, Clit Stimulation, Pussy Eating, Exhibitionism, Face Sitting, Fingering, Tail Insertion, Cav Pleasures Lyx Without Reciprocation, Dirty Talk, Teasing, Begging, Degradation, Humiliation, Slapping, Finger Sucking, Spitting, Choking, Scratching, Thigh Grinding, Breath Play (Drowning), Electrostimulation, Tentacles, Edging, Crying, Pain Play, Blood Play, Body Modification/Scarring, “Cannibalism” (Detailed Removal and Ingestion of Scales)

CWs: Attempted Drink Spiking, Drowning, Imprisonment, Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse (Not from NBiMC), Survival Sex/Sexual Coercion, Body Horror, Fire/Burns, Alcohol, Vomit, Child Neglect, Lack of Aftercare, Villainous Characters Instigate Toxic Relationships

Personal Notes: I wanted to like this but so many plot points just get dropped and the ending didn't really make sense (is it setting up for another book on the Indulgence so we actually get answers?). I'm sad the "let's spice up the pleasure ship" plot fizzled out before it really got started. I have the same complaint I had with Vicious Devotion, I wanted more time to see Lyx actually grow as a character and not just be hateful and rage filled. I also would have liked to see Cav's journey to embrace their feminine side like we see very briefly in the bonus epilogue.

[Anand Suresh · Rating 4 out of 5]

AVEDA VICE DOESN'T MISSSSSSSSS!!!!
There are some parts of this I wish were better. I think the enemies-to-lovers section of this book had much more and much better foundations than some other stories, but the execution and pacing of it was lacking. I think we could've been given more time with them in the grotto, to have a more believable arc of them initially falling in love, to justify their lingering feelings for each other. I think we could've been shown more about the sex work, and how the logistics of it works in this world.

That being said... this was just a FUN read from start to finish. Aveda Vice has never shied away from making her monster romances truly monstrous and not just humans with a coat of paint, but this book goes the furthest it has yet, both in terms of monstrous biology and psychology. The worldbuilding and writing is rich and full of momentum, always giving you just enough to keep moving forward. And of course, the sex scenes are blisteringly hot, featuring the kinkiest, inventive, and varied offering of any of Aveda's books thus far. The fantasy plot itself was also satisfying in a way that Inextricably Tied's wasn't for me - the conclusion of this book caught me off guard with two major twists that I hadn't seen coming and delighted me in their execution.
Overall, a really delightful and solid book, and one that I'd easily recommend for anyone interested in the genre.

[Kelsie ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Aveda Vice for letting me read and review this book early. All thoughts are my own!

I have loved every book I’ve read by Aveda Vice, so I knew this book was going to be no different!! As soon as I started it, I couldn’t put it down. The only reason I didn’t finish it in one sitting was because I had to work and do other things.

I really love the journey our characters go on in this book, and I’m hoping to see them again in the next books for this series. There were some things I was left wondering abut, so I was happy to see that there would be more books in this universe.

Lyx is particularly special to me as a fellow emotionally repressed person. I really adored watching her realize that she did indeed have the capacity for love and that she loved Cav. I also really love the way Aveda writes representation for a wide variety of identities in their books. Cav is also really special to me, and I was deeply obsessed with the way he defended Lyx throughout the entire book.

I found the entire premise of a pleasure pirate ship really interesting, and I’m looking forward to spending more time with this crew as the series progresses!!

[Kitm0nster · Rating 5 out of 5]

He's on fire, she's electrifying!

All Lyx wants is her song back, and all Cav wants is Lyx back, no matter the cost.

In true Aveda Vice fashion, this book is as deep as the sea, and sucks you in from the start. The push and pull between Lyx and Cav as they sort through what is and what could be is beautiful.

Yes if: A second chance, a few mysteries to solve and a cheeky non-binary Half-dragon chasing his siren sounds good.

No if: You're looking for something with lower stakes at the moment.

🐚 Siren x Half-dragon
🔥 Pleasure ship
🐚 Getting her song back
🔥 Enemies to Lovers
🐚 Flashbacks
🔥 Second Chance

[Meli · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC read

It was an enjoyable read. Love the prose and the development between Cav and Lyx, especially Lyx. Her growth throughout the book was really good. But I would've liked to see Lyx's and her sister Mollo's relationship to be more fleshed out. For something that feels like a major thing, I really would've liked more than what happened.

[Izzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much for the arc!

If you enjoyed this author's Vicious Devotion then you'll love this one!
My favourite character was definitely Cav. There is something intensely powerful in his mindset "if I die, I die, but what a way to go".

I'm so curious about Cypher and her tattoos. Think we'll get a book about her and her curse?