From amnesiac vampire slayers to fallen angels, space vampires to cursed tattoo artists, sleep paralysis demons to ancient wish-granting entities—six stories prove that even monsters deserve a happily ever after. Treat yourself to a collection that's equal parts spooky and steamy.
Hot for Slayer by Ali Hazelwood When vampire Aethelthryth—"Ethel"—finds her nemesis, vampire slayer Lazlo Enyedi, with no memory of who or what they are, an ancient hunt becomes an unexpected chance at forbidden passion. He's crashing on her couch, solving her sudoku puzzles and looking at her like she's his eternal flame (minus the whole bursting-into-ashes part). As his memories return, Ethel realizes she might be in danger of losing more than just her head.
Beautiful Nightmare by Katee Robert When sleep paralysis demon Gemma's first solo haunting goes hilariously wrong, she finds herself captivated by her intended victim. Caleb, a romantic who believes in all things supernatural, finds her adorably pink skinned horned form more alluring than alarming. As their steamy night unfolds and unexpected feelings bloom, Gemma must choose between her demonic duties and the human who makes her feel anything but monstrous.
Falling by Christina Lauren Cat should be afraid of Brigan—the gorgeous stranger at a Halloween party whose presence makes everyone else fall at his feet. But while his supernatural allure drives others to obsession, Cat somehow keeps her wits…even as she surrenders to temptation. When this cursed being realizes she alone can see his true nature, one night of passion could break a centuries-old spell—or doom them both.
Space Vampire by Ruby Dixon Dana, the human pet of an alien scientist, and Vlad, a genetically engineered vampire with a taste for more than just blood, find themselves suddenly alone on a deserted space station. As they plot their escape, they'll have to navigate cramped quarters, steamy encounters and the growing realization that they might be each other's perfect match. But with their captors in hot pursuit, will their budding romance survive the emptiness of space?
My Boyfriends Are All Monsters by Kimberly Lemming Lucy Sawyer's wish for true love lands her in an enchanted town where the men are supernatural, the chemistry is off the charts and everyone wants to date her. But they say that things that seem too good to be true usually are, and soon Lucy may need to decide if she's willing to pay the cost of her happily ever after.
Spicy Little Curses by J.T. Geissinger Petra is skeptical when it comes to the French Quarter's urban legends. Until she meets Dax Rousseau, the proprietor of the House of Ink and Blood. The markings on his flesh tell more than the tale of a doomed bloodline. They come alive. And the nearer Petra gets to the deeply sexy Dax, the closer she is to being the next victim of his ancient family curse.
I'm Ali, and I write contemporary romcom novels about women in STEM and academia. I love cats, Nutella, and side ponytails. I'm also currently learning to crochet, so as you can tell I'm a super busy gal with an intense and exciting life!
I only use Goodreads as a reader, to review and hype books that I've loved (many of these book are ARCs received from fellow authors).
Here’s my ranking of the Scared Sexy series! I’m not a big novella girly, and my main critique is that I wish most of the books were longer so we could enjoy more backstory and more of the relationship development.
#1 Space Vampire - 5/5 stars
This is by far the best one. A vampire mutant alien who turns out to be the biggest sweetheart? Soooo good. Miss Dixon did it again.
#2 My Boyfriends are All Monsters - 4/5 stars
I loved this writing style. I wish this wasn’t a novella and was a full-length novel, especially with the almost thriller vibes when the FMC is in the town. As a full-length novel, this could’ve easily been 6 stars. Also, this audiobook was delicious!
#3 Falling - 3.5/5 stars
I’m an insta-love girly, so I ate this up. I would probably rank this as the spiciest book in the series. I was really able to connect to the characters, even though this is a short novella.
#4 Spicy Little Curse - 3/5 stars
Sexy tattooed MMC has cursed tattoos. The curse causes any woman who falls in love with him to die. I listened to the audiobook for this one, which was a BIG plus—that probably moved this up a whole rank because… Troy Duran.
#5 Hot for Slayer - 3/5 stars
FMC vampire and MMC vampire slayer. We don’t learn too much backstory, but I guess it was okay for a novella. I really enjoy Ali Hazelwood’s books, but I’ve always had a hard time with her novellas.
#6 Beautiful Nightmare - 2.5/5 stars
I didn’t hate this, but it just didn’t give me very much. Also, 20% felt like a sex ed class on consent and safe sex (which I normally love, but this felt so textbook).
Hot for Slayer by Ali Hazelwood the setup… Vampiress Aethelthryth has been immortal for over a millennium and during most of that time she’s been hunted by Lazlo Enyedi, a Hesling vampire slayer. She’s now living in Manhattan and during a scuffle with another vampire challenging his territory, Lazlo appears and ends up with a concussion and no memory of who he is and, more importantly, her. Even more terrifying is he seems to be highly…enamored with “Ethel.”
the heart of the story… Ethel’s attempts to lie her way through the situation were hilarious and Lazlo’s moves even more so. I had no idea where this would land but the journey was fun. And, I loved her recountings of their past escapades and near misses.
the narration… Nina Yndis and Maxim Reston were voice perfection, delivering a lively performance and he mastering a fine Hungarian accent.
the bottom line… It’s been some time since I visited a vampire world and this one is unique. It fits so well into this collection as the scary shows up early and the sexy took some time to brew. Nice way to kick things off. 4 stars
Falling by Christina Lauren the setup… Cat goes to a Halloween party with her loser boyfriend Jake who quickly leaves her own once they arrive. A strangely alluring man notices her and compels Cat to come to him but she barely gives him a glance. See, Brigan is a fallen immortal who has been around for nine centuries and this is the first time his power of allure hasn’t worked on a human. But strangely, she can hear his voice. Both are curious about what’s going on and deeply attracted to each other.
the heart of the story… When Cat and Brigan engage, their banter is fun, witty and sexy. Both feel an elusive attraction to each other beyond the physical, though that was inevitable. The cursed immortal has never felt this way since the death of his humanity.
the narration… Marli Watson’s silk and sexy tone combined with Nicholas Broughton’s low and vibrating voice captivated me from the first page! This story is best served up on audio because this team nailed it.
the bottom line… I had a good time with this one as both characters were nicely developed, especially for a short story and the witty dialogue kept me guessing. The ending has a very nice payoff. Scared sexy indeed! 4 stars
Beautiful Nightmare by Katee Robert the setup… Gemma is a demon in training and it’s not going well. She’s been given the lowest of supernatural powers, sleep paralysis, and scaring humans should be easy but, well. This is her last shot. Her first solo outing target is a man named Caleb and things go a little off the track…into the erotic zone.
the heart of the story… I haven’t read many stories involving demons as the main character so this was enlightening. I really liked Gemma who was such a misfit in her own world. Loved the form she created for herself (bubble gum pink skinned with purple hair) and she was delightfully insecure. But it kinda worked for her when she connected with Caleb.
the narration… Andi Eloise seemed to literally inhabit Gemma. She captured her angst and curiosity. I highly enjoyed her performance.
the bottom line… This was such a cute story, even with all that steam. Gemma didn’t quite capture scary but she nailed sexy with Caleb. I had no idea how this was going to end and am quite pleased where it landed. 4 stars
Space Vampire by Ruby Dixon the setup… Dana was abducted from Earth by an alien race over two years ago and has since been the private pet of one of the scientists on a space station. She awakens one day and finds the ship abandoned, except for the reason they fled…the genetically engineered vampire they created and can no longer control. She gives him the name Vlad (original, right?) and decides the enemy of my enemy has got to be my friend. Let’s hope Vlad thinks so, too.
the heart of the story… Vlad doesn’t look like the romantic vampires depicted in most stories. He’s an amalgamation of many species so his appearance is more akin to what we think of as a monster. But Dana doesn’t seem him that way and as the two plot how to escape from the station, she’s inexplicably drawn to this creature.
the narration… Beth Roeg captured Dana’s wry humor and Ryan West was deliciously campy as Vlad the vampire. I loved their voices for the characters and the storytelling was great.
the bottom line… I wasn’t looking forward to this one and was quite happy at how much I enjoyed the story. Dana is clever and Vlad a sponge as he learned from (and romanced) her. This is a steamy little gem that is indeed scary sexy. 3.5 stars
My Boyfriends Are All Monsters by Kimberly Lemming the setup… Lucy Sawyer goes on a hiking trip with her jerk of a boyfriend who abandons her halfway up. She tries to descend, stumbles and finds herself in a dream of a town with lots of charming, delectable men who are all vying for her attention. Trouble is, she’s gotten the attention of an ancient shapeshifter who is determined to make her his priestess.
the heart of the story… What would you do if all of your romantic dreams start to materialize before your eyes? Of course Lucy gets swept up in Hemlock’s creations and at some point begins to think all that glitters isn’t gold. It is all whimsical and fun, especially the parts where she’s conversing with her group chat buddies. It’s when the sexy shows up that I went off the rails…a demon, a vampire and a kraken? Uh, no.
the narration… If there’s one consistency with this collection it’s the superb performances by the narrators. Sean Crisden & Aure Nash were absolutely fantastic! His baritone combined with her comedic talents made this a delight.
the bottom line… I was having so much fun until the sexy moments, which were skillfully executed. I just couldn’t get the kraken out of my head. Otherwise, I enjoyed this story quite a bit for its humor and creativity. 3.5 stars
Spicy Little Curses by J. T. Geissinger the setup… Petra is a reporter from Chicago, dispatched to New Orleans to track down some of the supernatural urban legends surrounding the city. One in particular involves Dax Rousseau, owner of the tattoo parlor House of Ink and Blood who has a cat named Lucifer. Sources say his body is covered with tattoos…but they’re not inked and he was born with them. And, as one of the male line of Rousseaus, he’s living with a curse that originated in an earlier generation. Petra’s pretty cynical so when she experiences an unexplained connection and phenomena, she becomes a believer of this sexy specimen.
the heart of the story… Petra is full of snark and chatter, the taciturn Dax no match for this woman who showed up out of nowhere but was recently in his dreams. I loved their banter (he calls her Notebook and she calls him Sunshine). And, that curse is not only real but dangerous.
the narration… Seriously, this collection is full of 5-star narrators and Vanessa Moyen & Troy Duran delivered spectacular performances. They made their characters pop from the pages.
the bottom line… I enjoyed the story, particularly because of Petra and her oddball nature and cynical sense of humor. Tracking down the curse was interesting and the ending held promise of more to come. Great way to close out the collection. 3.5 stars
Scared Sexy es una colección de Amazon que tiene diferentes novelas cortas de romance paranormal escritas por varias autoras. Y, para ser sincera, tenía mucha curiosidad por la de Ali Hazelwood. Claramente, unas historias me gustaron más que otras, pero en general pasé un buen rato leyéndolas.
Aquí hay un punto clave: mi opinión es subjetiva. Al ser novelas cortas, muchas tienden a usar clichés que aceleran la trama como mucha importancia en el spicy o el instalove. No estoy diciendo que sean clichés malos, pero como persona demisexual, las conexiones románticas instantáneas no me convencen, y eso influyó mucho en mi opinión. (Nada que ver pero los apodos fueron súper cringe)
Sin más que decir, aquí desglosaré mis calificaciones por relatos y pequeños comentarios:
•Hot for Slayer de Ali Hazelwood (3/5): Es una de las historias más sólidas de la colección y, para ser sincera, no me extraña. Ali sabe manejar perfectamente tanto el formato corto como el romance paranormal. La dinámica cazador y vampira me cautivó y me tenía al borde de la silla. Ahora, siento que la brevedad le jugó en contra en algunas cosas y todo era muy conveniente para la historia, además, de un personaje, ¿el villano?, que tuvo 2 segundos en escena y en general fue muy meeh, pero eso no quita que el relato destaca claramente del resto.
•Falling de Christina Lauren (2/5): Esto era como Crepúsculo reimaginado con reencarnaciones y ángeles. Muy aburrido todo. No me voy a dejar influenciar por este relato con respecto a las autoras, ya que tengo en la mira libros de ellas que tienen una muy alta probabilidad de gustarme.
•Spicy Little Curses de J.T. Geissinger (3/5): Personalmente, este relato compite por mi favorito de la colección con el de Ali. Spicy Little Curses me comenzó encantando, el humor y este lore de la maldición familiar estuvieron extremadamente interesantes. Mi problema fue el romance, que se sintió demasiado abrupto, puedo entender la atracción física instantánea, pero el sentir "amor" y ser capaz de hacer todo y pensar en renunciar incluso a tu vida por una persona que conoces desde hace menos de una semana... I don't know. Sin embargo, la atmósfera que logra la autora es increíble. (Amé a la mascota de Dax, aunque salió poco).
•Space Vampire de Ruby Dixon (1/5): Este es el que menos disfruté, aunque era previsible. Yo sabía desde un principio que no me iba a gustar leyendo la sinopsis y mi historial con la autora (leí Ice Planet Barbarians y fue 1/5 estrellas). La trama se basa en los mismos elementos que no conectan conmigo: una conexión ilógica instantánea, extraterrestres súper grandes y damiselas en apuros.
•Beautiful Nightmare de Katee Robert (2/5): La premisa estuvo súper original. ¿Un demonio de la parálisis de sueño? Una idea fascinante. Siento que se le pudo haber sacado mucho más y el final personalmente no me gustó, pero en general me entretuvo.
•My Boyfriends Are All Monster de Kimberly Lemming (1/5): What the fuck?
No entendí lo que pasaba la mitad del tiempo... Me esperaba otra cosa, entiendo el título y a la misma vez no. (Tuve que haber sospechado que algo raro iba a ocurrir al ver los tentáculos de la portada 🫠😶). No creo haber entendido por completo la historia ya que fue muy confusa.
En conclusión, Scared Sexy es una colección que cumple con su promesa de ser romance paranormal rápido y directo. Es una antología ideal si buscas historias cortas, con mucho spicy y conexiones instantáneas sin mayor complicación para pasar el rato. Sin embargo, si (como yo) prefieres romances más desarrollados y no conectas con el instalove, es probable que tu experiencia sea irregular.
Actual rating 3.7 stars. It was funny, all of the short stories straight up mention Halloween, but I felt only the last one really captured the ‘spooky season’ vibes.
The others leaned more into the trope of ‘monsters are sexy’. Which, I mean, is cool if that’s what you’re into.
I wasn’t sure if I’d like these, having not read much monster smut in the past.
I liked some more than others. More so based on the believability of the character’s connection than anything else.
Hot for Slayer (Ali Hazelwood) - these characters fit right into Ali’s usual mold (he’s obsessed with her, she has no idea), and I loved it. I need her to write more outside of contemporaries (although I love those too). Falling (Christina Lauren) - not much of a monster/paranormal romance. I liked the idea of this one but didn’t connect to it as much. Spicy Little Curses (J.T. Geissinger) - spooky! Really liked the way New Orleans felt like a character. Wasn’t enamored with the way the ending left at least three loose ends. Space Vampire (Ruby Dixon) - this was interesting! Very very forced proximity. Beautiful Nightmare (Katee Robert) - I actually loved this one. Great connection between the characters and loved how it wrapped up. My Boyfriends are Monsters (Kimberly Lemming) - this was a little boring and hard to follow until it reached a point where it suddenly became a little overwhelming. Definitely had her trademark humor though.
Okay so I haven't read the last three novellas in this collection because their blurbs suck and I cannot for the life of me push past the first chapter (which i tried for like 3 weeks) so i gitta move on to my tbr.
The first three novellas were pretty decent though. but I think these should be kept to a 50 page limit or so.
While I wasn't a huge fan of the Amazon holiday romance shorts last year, this latest collection of #SpookySeason stories were all a hit for me. My favorite was definitely the first one, Hot for slayer by Ali Hazelwood that has two enemies - a vampire and a slayer forced together when the slayer who's been hunting her for years suffers from amnesia and she takes pity on him. My least favorite was probably Christina Lauren's Falling and the surprise standout was Spicy little curses by a new to me author. The New Orleans, cursed romance was perfectly atmospheric and unique. Overall six great stories that were fantastically narrated. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!
Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
3.5 hearts overall
I enjoy these compilations of some fun short stories from various authors written to celebrate different holidays. While it is unusual for me to love all six stories, I did have a good time with the Halloween vibe all of the stories brought and it was a fun way to try out a few new to me authors. Remember this is the sexy collection so each story is going to have at least one spicy scene to get your heart pumping.
4.5 Hearts - Hot for Slayer was my favorite out of the collection. Ali Hazelwood really captured a fun story of a vampire and slayer falling in love. This seemed like the most established couple in the selection as their overall story spanned centuries. I enjoyed seeing snippets of Ethel and Lazio’s past as enemies and how once Lazio had a case of amnesia his obsession seems to change and Ethel learns what it is like to be close to a person again. Great short story with a kick of romance for Halloween.
3.5 Hearts - Both Fallen and Spicy Little Curses had something to really like in them. I love a broken man and in both stories the man in question was cursed and only the right woman could save him. They are very different stories though and I was happy to be along for the ride. Fallen had me wanting more at the end because I liked the couple so much, I really wanted to see what could happen with them next.
3.5 Hearts with a setting in New Orleans and some voodoo type curse, I was drawn into the story immediately. I love a good grumpy/sunshine type romance to go with my doomed relationship. Any woman who falls in love with Dax is doomed to die. Petra was just there to interview the cursed broody bartender. But when her name gets inked into his skin she is marked for death. Petra will need to help Dax find a way to break his generations long curse or she will end up in the grave. I enjoyed their banter and nicknames for each other. They were a fun couple that wasn't lovey dovey but so much fun to spend time with.
4 Hearts - Space Vampire by Ruby Dixon ended up being a lot of fun for me. This is probably because I have read some of her works set in this world so my knowledge and foundation for the story was set. Humans are rare pets in space, most abducted for not so nice, slavery type reasons. Dana is left on an abandoned space station with one of the lab creations once he escapes and kills a few of the scientists. She has become good at handling male aliens so this new spliced creation should be no trouble either. Vlad has been created for a client but some of the cloning didn’t go quite right and he has an aversion to sunlight and needs blood to survive. Dana and Vlad will need to band together to get off of the station before reinforcements arrive. Another good story with some sexy and happy endings.
3.0 Hearts – Beautiful Nightmare was my first experience with Katee Roberts. It is a decent short story but was not really for me and my least favorite story of the collection. A demon needs to scare a man to eat, except he isn’t very scared of her and instead has some pretty sexy thoughts. But a girl demon needs to eat, so Gemma changes tactics and something unexpected comes from it. There is a lot of consent talk in this and yes yes…important in the real world but in this fantasy, it seemed too much, a bit heavy and forced. So while some might enjoy it more, for me this was just an okay story.
3.0 Hearts – All My Boyfriends are Monsters was the first time I’ve read anything by Kimberly Lemming. She was funny and I had a good time with the characters, especially the girl friend group. Plus, what women doesn’t want a wish made in a well to come true, even if the creature granting it isn’t your typical Halloween haunt.
Narration: There are some great narrators picked out for these stories. I think all of them really captured the Halloween fun and played with it well in their performances. Some great voices that seemed to fit the characters in the novellas. You only get about two hours with each story so even if one narrator isn't your favorite it is time for the next story and the next set of narrators. I was able to listen to every story at my normal 1.5x speed.
4stars for the collective series!! So many great Author & Narrators!!
I was given this entire collection as an ALC review by NetGalley & it was a fun ride!! 6 stand alone short stories that were perfect for spooky season!! I absolutely loved all of the narrations & the stories were both fun & entertaining! Some were a little out of my norm, but I had a great time listening to all of these!! If you need a fun, quick paced, sexy, Halloween vibe series this is it!!
Scared Sexy is a great collection of short stories written by prolific romance writers and each story was so fun!
And that’s the whole point right? To have fun with these stories, take a break from life for a moment and sink your teeth into something humourous, sexy and easy.
The narration was impeccable with each story and I genuinely couldn’t fault the performance. Stand out for me was Sean Crisden, Nina Yndis and Maxim Reston. I do feel slightly biased in saying that I wasn’t a fan of seeing Troy on the narration here, due to his polarizing beliefs about certain groups of people.
One of the best stories on here was of course, by Ali Hazelwood… but truly Katee Robert and Kimberly Lemmings stories were what truly stood out from the rest.
I would absolutely recommend getting the whole set, or at the very least, Hot for Slayer, My Boyfriends are all Monsters and Beautiful Nightmare
These short audiobooks were such a blast and ended up being my favorite of Audible’s collections so far! I followed a friend’s advice and listened slowly—one story a day—and I’m so glad I did. It made the whole experience more fun, especially since I did a little research and saved the best ones for last. They’re silly, spooky, and absolutely perfect for the fall/Halloween season. 🎃
Hot for Slayer – Hands down my favorite of the bunch!
Spicy Little Curses – Dax runs a tattoo shop in New Orleans, and his magical tattoos move across his body like something out of Moana. But his family is cursed: any woman who falls for a Rousseau man is blood-marked and murdered by the terrifying “hollow man” (yes, the creepy doll on the cover). Petra can’t resist Dax, but the two set out to finally break the centuries-old curse. The audio was incredible—smooth, sultry voices with top-notch duet narration.
Beautiful Nightmare – A sleep-paralysis-demon-in-training struggles at her job of harvesting fear. Instead of scaring Caleb, her victim, she excites him… a lot. Repelled by the taste of fear but needing sustenance, Gemma realizes she can survive off Caleb’s lust instead. Spicy and creative!
Space Vampire – Dana, a self-described “poodle” of the human space pets, gets left behind when a lab-created monster escapes. Everyone else flees, but Dana encounters the monster herself—who turns out to be muscular, attractive, and in need of a little help (and blood). She names him Vlad, and the adventure begins.
My Boyfriends Are All Monsters – Now that was a monster story. Definitely a new experience for me—felt like dipping my toes into true monster romance for the first time. Eye-opening! 👀😱
Falling – Probably the weakest for me. For a second, I thought we were heading toward a wing-play scene, but it didn’t quite deliver. It could’ve used something more shocking or unique to stand out.
Cute compilation for spooky season. Ranked favorite to least favorite in my opinion: 1. Spicy Little Curses- J.T. Geissinger 2. My Boyfriends Are All Monsters- Kimberly Lemming 3. Hot For Slayer- Ali Hazelwood 4. Falling- Christine Lauren 5. Beautiful Nightmare- Katee Robert 6. Space Vampire- Ruby Dixon
Decided to branch out from my typical genre for the spooky season... the first couple were by authors Im familiar with and I liked them... but the remaining just got wierder and wierder... my takeaway is I have no interest in reading about a woman having a three way with a vampire, demon and krakin. lol
Well that concludes the Halloween season! I had a fun time with this little romance collection. None of them were my favourite novellas of all time, but a lot of them were really great. Obviously I know a few authors in this collection, but there’s a few that I actually might add to my radar (assuming they don’t always write monster romances?). The paranormal romance is not my genre, usually most fantasy isn’t. But around Halloween? Why not! It’s time for spooky, creepy, crawly vibes. I’ve written reviews for each story down below!
Hot for Slayer- Ali Hazelwood: As someone who has low-key sworn off Ali Hazelwood for the foreseeable future, I’d like this a lot more than I expected to. That being said, I also was a fan of Buffy and Spike as a couple-ship when I was a teenager. So I’m caught between two worlds here! I think this had most of the things I like about Ali Hazelwood, specifically the pining man. And it didn’t have enough time to get tedious. I saw a lot of complaints about this being that it just wasn’t long enough, I disagree. I liked it as a short story. I thought she was able to pack in a lot of really interesting stuff. She was able to put in a detailed past relationship, some sexy banter, a fun amnesia plot line, a bit of vampire lore, a fun flashback, and a sexy scene. That’s pretty good for a tiny little two hour Novella! Honestly, it’s my favourite Ali Hazelwood in a minute! 4 Stars
Falling- Christina Lauren: OK, loved this one! This was definitely one that I almost wanted to be a little bit longer. That ending was so good! I could’ve used a little bit of an epilogue, however there is also something kind of juicy about a story ending on a climax like that. That’s kind of the beauty of a short story. In a novel that might piss me off, but it was kind of fun in this situation. I loved the idea of a supernatural creature/cursed/angel? It was something that I’ve never really read before. Not like a vampire or a werewolf or the typical romantasy things you come across. I also really like that this story took place over one night. A perfect little pocket for a short story. I didn’t mind that it was kind of an instant love situation considering it was a moment that he has waited for for centuries. I also really like that spicy scene in the middle, it was fun! These authors very often impress me. Christina Lauren books are always filled with such good chemistry, and I’m impressed that they were able to build it so quickly in this short story! 4.5 Stars!
Spicy Little Curses- J.T. Geissinger: The epilogue for this one had me really curious, as it felt like the author was setting up a sequel or more stories that they were going to build in this world? I don’t know, but I definitely be interested in looking into it! This was a fun one, however, the chemistry wasn’t as good as the first two. I liked the banter, but I felt like the story focussed more on the curse, breaking less on the actual romance. There was kind of an off balance. On top of that the curse breaking felt a little bit rushed. I think there were just a few too many supporting characters, with the fortuneteller and the hollow man and the ancestors, etc. It just got a little bit convoluted. That being said it wasn’t bad by any means! 3.5 Stars!
Space Vampire- Ruby Dixon: Short and sweet! Based on the title I didn’t expect to like this one, but it was surprisingly fun! I love a disaster scenario, so being trapped on a spaceship was definitely interesting to me. I’m warming up to vampires. The more I read stories about them. I do like that. They are very similar to humans. However, I did it in my head pretend that he wasn’t blue. I don’t fuck with that lol. I really did appreciate the women in stem aspect of this. The fact that she was kept as a prisoner/pet, but was still incredibly intelligent and able to save both of their lives was awesome. I don’t love the born yesterday trope, as consent always feels a little bit weird there. Still a good one though. 3.5 Stars.
Beautiful nightmare: Immediately turned off when she said she has hooves. I don’t fuck with that. Lol. I’m very glad that she’s able to change her shape, though, and clearly became a lot more humanoid throughout the story. That being said, this kind of monster romance is really just not for me. The romance is written really well. Especially the MMC. I love that. He’s kind of awkward and wants to help her out in any way he can. However, I really do struggle with this kind of monster romance. I’m not gonna read it highly because it’s not my taste, but if you love the idea of a shifting horse like sleep, paralysis demon coming to fuck you in the middle of the night? Go at it girly. That’s great for you! I was definitely a lot happier at the end though 😂. 3 Stars
My Boyfriends are all monsters- Kimberly Lemming: This one really didn’t work for me :/ I thought this story had such cool ideas, they just weren’t executed very well. The idea that a God would be so obsessed with a woman that he creates an entire town for her liking? I’m in. Unfortunately, the build kind of went nowhere. There was an extra random character that warned her from him, and we didn’t get enough of him being a villain. I think this might have worked better as a full novel, but it would need a lot more to fill it out. Especially on the romance front. The only real positive in it to me were her friends. They were very fun. 2 Stars.
The Scared Sexy collection is a collection of 6 short stories, all available on Kindle Unlimited. When getting them through KU, they also come with the Audible versions included, so I inhaled the audiobook versions. Each one is short and made to be binged in one go. If you get the collection directly from Audible though, it costs one credit. So if you have KU, get the full collection via KU and it will automatically give you the Audible versions too!
I thought I'd just put my combined review against the collection rather than marking each short story as Read, because half of them are only 50 pages! I've put the mini reviews into preference order.
Hot for Slayer - Ali Hazelwood, 94 pages, duet narration. I would have loved this vampire/vampire hunter to be a full length novel because this funny enemies-to-lovers paranormal romance was amazing! Short but sweet, and I really liked the humour. I adore Ali's paranormal romance books even more than I do her contemporary romances so it isn't a massive surprise that I loved this one!
Beautiful Nightmare - Katee Robert, 52 pages, sole narration. I was surprised that I liked this one as much as I did because it was one of the shorter ones in the collection. It was like a sexy Monsters Inc. This one was solo narration with a female narrator, not duet or dual narration like the others in the collection.
Spicy Little Curses - J.T. Geissinger, 90 pages, duet narration. This supernatural short story is about a cursed tattoo artist and his unexpected love interest in New Orleans' French Quarter. This one was pretty plot heavy for a 90 page novella, rather than being spice-focused. There were a few loose ends though, that felt like the door might be being left open for more in the future.
Space Vampire - Ruby Dixon, 77 pages, duet narration. From traditional vampires in Hot for Slayer to space vampires. This was a typical (but condensed) Ruby Dixon experience - similar to her existing full-length spicy books about alien clones. Nothing particularly new but it's a quick and easy listen.
Falling - Christina Lauren, 56 pages, dual narration. I had to listen to the end twice to make sure I understood the ending. It wasn't bad, but wasn't very memorable.
My Boyfriends are all Monsters - Kimberly Lemming, 52 pages, dual narration. I just don't think Kimberly Lemming's work is for me - I recently DNFd 'I Got Abducted By Aliens and Now I'm Trapped In a Rom-Com' because I found it too cringy but if you like her full-length books already, this will likely work for you.
Overall Spicy Little Curse by J.T. Geissinger was my favourite of the series. Loved that this has a bonus audible option, when borrowing the books from kindle unlimited. This is a great alternate option if you can pick up the ebooks to read at the time and want to continue with the series.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Hot for Slayer by Ali Hazelwood When the vampires worst enemy aka a vampire slayer, loses his memory and she becomes responsible for him. But Ethel’s feelings towards him slowly change. The story of Ethel and Lazlo’s history is told in this short story, from every key moment their paths have crossed. These sworn enemies over a centuries-long game of hide-and-seek-and-stab, eventually become lovers.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Falling by Christina Lauren Brigan’s life has been under a curse for years, and had felt vacant from true emotional connections. That is until he meet Catalina (Cat) and she didn’t immediate fall under he’s spell. There’s little Twilight references throughout this story, which I enjoyed. But this story, overall left me with the feeling that the story was incomplete.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Spicy Little Curse by J.T. Geissinger Dax is cursed and only one person can help lift the curse that’s haunted his family for generations. This story had the most interesting and addictive plot. There was so much these two went through, and in such a short story.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Space Vampire by Ruby Dixon Dana and Vlad are the only two beings left on the ship/space lab and this forced proximity story is a little spicer than the others in this series. Since everyone else has fled these two need to come up with their own plan of escape, and unfortunately for Vlad there’s no blood left on the ship…but lucky Dana is a willing donor. This story also had a little hint to other series by Ruby Dixon.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Beautiful Nightmare by Katee Robert Sleep paralysis demon who unexpectedly finds another way to “feed” that’s not fear related, bring on this being steamy.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ My Boyfriends are all Monsters by Kimberly Lemming Lucy and three mythical beasts known as Hemlock, find each other in this Hallmark/monster romance. The story had a more in-depth storyline than I expected for a short story.
Alright, since these were all 90 minutes or less audiobooks, I figured it'd be better if I did one big review because honestly I find it so hard to rate novellas beyond enjoyable it not.
They're all some flavor of paranormal/monster romances with at least one spicy scene, so it was a nice way to get a feel for some of the authors I was interested in but hadn't read before (like Ruby Dixon). I'm bummed to see individual ratings being so low for these stories- personally I thought they were all a pretty good time.
My absolute favorite narrator was Aure Nash, (AMBAM) she showed an impressive range of......well, lets call it voices 😂 and Sean Crisden for his deliciously deep baritone 🤤💦
Most of these just had me laughing, especially AMBAM. This one was so beyond ridiculous but I loved every minute of it. 4.25 ⭐
I've discovered that I'm not really into alien romances, but Space Vampire was definitely hot 🥵 3⭐
If you've ever said to yourself, "self, I want a sexy child free version Monsters, inc" then I recommend Beautiful Nightmare. The twist at the end was great. 3.5 ⭐
Ali writes all my fave books and can do no wrong. I thought Hot for Slayer was super sweet and funny, plus bonus points for the Twilight reference. 4.5⭐
Falling was probably my other fave, because I'm a sucker for soulmates with British accents. 4.25⭐
And finally Spicy Little Curses was also really good. I enjoyed the The Illustrated Man vibes and JTs typical twist on stories 4.25⭐
Okay, I loved this novella series! It was the perfect paranormal romance series to get me in the spooky season mood. I put all my individual comments on the novellas themselves, but I wanted to share my ratings here:
Hot for Slayer: 4 (I love you Ali Hazelwood, but I think I needed *just* a bit more from you.)
Fallen: 3 (Christina Lauren’s typical rating from me, actually)
Spicy Little Curses: 3 (I just didn’t see any chemistry between these two people. I was not invested at all.)
Space Alien: 5 (This was so amazing and immediately convinced me to read Ruby Dixon’s Ice Planet Barbarian, so clearly she knows what she’s doing with the alien romances)
Beautiful Nightmare: 5 (I felt intrigued by this prompt lol no other when I originally read the descriptions, and after reading, I can say this is just such an interesting and cool concept. I’ve never seen anyone else tackle a sleep paralysis demon, so points for creativity and originality)
All My Boyfriends Are Monsters: 4 (I didn’t love the writing style of this one, but I will totally admit that the end solution of this book (the girl literally just has to love in the magical woods for all eternity and she will get all her heart’s desires including multiple hot boyfriends) is totally something I could get behind.)
6 kleine Geschichten die sehr unterschiedlich sind, sowohl was die Beschreibung der expliziten Szenen an geht als auch was das Übernatürliche/Monsterhafte.
Hot for slayers 4⭐️ Typisch Ali Haselwood. Hat mir gut gefallen, aber irgendwann wird ihr typischer Aufbau aus sehnsuchtsvollen Männern langweilig. Die Sex-Szenen sind detailliert aber angenehm gewesen. Wenig Monster das fand ich gut.
Falling 4⭐️ Schön zu hören mit guten Charakteren aber ein bisschen zu langweilig für 5 Sterne.
Beautiful nightmares 3⭐️ Nette Geschichte mit Sympatischen Charakteren und Monster-Sex. Da steh ich glaub ich einfach nicht so drauf.
Space Vampier 1⭐️ Für mich gar nichts und viel zu abgesagt. Ich kann mich einfach nicht vorstellen mit einem blauen Alien Vampier Sex zu haben der mich dabei auch noch aussaugt.
My Boyfriends are all Monsters 3⭐️ Schön geschrieben und unterhaltsam. Vor allem auch stark vorgelesen. Aber auch hier ist der Sex für mich einfach ein wenig zu verrückt gewesen für mehr Sterne.
Spicy little Curses 4⭐️ Für mich die beste Geschichte. Es ist viel Chemie und Spannung aufgekommen und im Gegensatz zu Hot slayer gam es mehr storyline was ich echt schön fand. Wenig und normaler Sex aber das hat mich nicht gestört.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Okay, so the concept? Obsessed. Six short, spooky, steamy stories from some of my fave romance authors? Sign me the hell up. And honestly… it mostly delivered. Emphasis on mostly.
Ali Hazelwood, Ruby Dixon, and Katee Robert absolutely understood the assignment. Smart, flirty, spooky fun with just the right amount of heat? Yes, ma’am. Those three carried the collection on their sultry, supernatural backs. 🖤
The other three? Ehh… take it or leave it. They weren’t bad, just kind of there. Like the Halloween candy you eat last because it’s fine but not exciting. Cute ideas, meh execution, and not enough spark to make me care.
Overall, it’s a fun little sampler platter of monsters, curses, and chaos. Just know some bites are way tastier than others. 😏
I think I figured out that I just don’t love novellas, there’s just not enough time to get me as interested in the story and characters as I’d like. (although, that probably wasn’t the point of this series 😂)
These were all fine, cute, fun… liked Space Vampire and Beautiful Nightmare the most.
1) Hot For Slayer - 2.5
2) Falling - 2.5
3) Spicy Little Curses - 2.5
4) Space Vampire - 3 - Ruby Dixon is always fun!
5) Beautiful Nightmare - 4 - Bonus points for creativity… a sleep paralysis demon who’s bad at her job?! That’s hilarious! I also love a… supernatural workplace? The idea that there are sleep paralysis demons in training, with mentors… I just thought it was fun!
Beautiful Nightmare (Katee Robert) - 5⭐ I giggled and laughed out loud. I related a lot to both Gemma and Caleb and how they view the world and exist as parts of it. "I'm scared every day, all fucking day. The world is in shambles." Exactly, Caleb. EXACTLY.
Falling (Christina Lauren) - 3.5⭐
Space Vampire (Ruby Dixon) - 4⭐
My Boyfriends Are All Monsters (Kimberly Lemming) - 2⭐ Please, for the love of God, don't listen to this on audio. The narration (both male and female) is absolutely abysmal. I had no idea what was going on the entire time, but I did like the idea of the town.
Amazon’s seasonal short stories series are some of my favorite— especially when they include so many of my favorite romance authors. These six standalone short stories were romantasy, leaning spooky— which is perfect for Fall. I listened to these on audio and I thought the narrations which were dual were exceptional, and the narrators totally matched the vibes of the characters. Some of these stories sounded so absurd and out of my wheelhouse, but ended up being so fun. I had such a great time listening to these and recommend them— fun, quick, atmospheric!
*I posted separate reviews for each novella under their personal listing but removed them from my 2025 reading challenge, this is acting as a placeholder to count all 6 novellas as 1 read*
All in all, I loved this series! It was a fun October read and kept me entertained. I wish they weren’t so short but that’s the point so… ain’t nothing I can do about that. I might have even found some new authors to give a chance!