Chuckles: A Monster's Prey

by Kat Bethel

He claims her as his whether she wants him or not.

Esme Rinah only cares about one where are the children?

For five relentless years, she’s hunted the creature who stole her daughter. Now that she’s closer than ever, it’s become impossible to tell the difference between friend and monster.

With the rules of the hunt rewritten and her instincts screaming, Esme doesn’t know who to trust, especially the unhinged clown stalking her every step.

Is he the deadliest desire she’s ever let close?

Or is the monster who took everything from her hiding behind his smiling mask?

Let’s play, Chuckles.

**This book is intended for adults who love spooky and spicy and is part of a standalone series that does not require you to read the other books to enjoy**

Kindle Edition

First published February 13, 2026

About the author

Kat Bethel writes omegaverse, paranormal romance, and fantasy romance.

Reviews

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC REVIEW

WOAH! “REVENGE WAS BEST SERVED bloody.” What a wild ride that was! This book had all the good stuff a horror book should have, and then some - creepy clowns, because who doesn't love a good nightmare? Esme is a strong, likeable character, even if she does have a knack for picking losers. Maybe she needs therapy, or a crash course in 'Spotting the Psychopath'? I love this book! Know your triggers!

Thanks to Book Sirens for sending me an advanced copy to read and review

[Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got the ebook arc so damn quickly when I saw the mmc was a clown. Been wanting to find romances with clowns for a long while (I love clowns! 🤡). I enjoyed the book very much as the plot was full of revenge, action and a badass heroine. It touched me emotionally many times. I found the mmc to ber unique, unhinged, mentally insaine and strange in the best way and I adored his stuffed bear companion. At first I tought I knew the twist, and while I kinda did it still took me slightly by supried as I hadn't figured out the bigger picture.

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book definitely had me thinking and really engaging what I was reading. It definitely messed with my mind a bit! I loved the clowns, loved the circus part and definitely loved the spice! If you enjoy horror and spice this is definitely your book!

[Kori · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who read Echo last year and then proceeded to recommend it to everyone who would listen to her, I was very excited to receive this ARC!
Also, as someone who has always been a little apprehensive when it comes to clowns, I was very interested in finding out how Kat was going to sell me on one .... I was not disappointed in the least. The story is well thought out with just enough back story and a few more turns and surprises than I was expecting.
If you love horror/monster romance and don't shy away from heavy topics with a healthy dose of gore, Chuckles is waiting 😏
Heed the trigger warnings 💀☠️🩸

[Berenice Peltier · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s my first time reading this author, and honestly? They have me dangling by a single, trembling thread. We got plot. We got smut. We got mystery, rage, and raw, unfiltered lust. A full-blown emotional rollercoaster from start to finish. I’d love just a touch more gore description if they’re aiming for pitch-black territory, but even without that… it’s so, so good. I loved it

[Tehmeena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Content Warnings; Check your triggers! Your mental health matters.

~I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.~

Tropes;
𖦹🎭𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍 𝑪𝒊𝒓𝒄𝒖𝒔
𖦹🎪𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑹𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆
𖦹🎭𝑭𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆 & 𝑴𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒚 𝑭𝑴𝑪
𖦹🎪𝑼𝒏𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝑪𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝑴𝑴𝑪
𖦹🎭𝑶𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝑨𝒕 𝑭𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝑺𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕
𖦹🎪𝑻𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝑯𝒆𝒓 & 𝑫-𝒆
𖦹🎭𝑺𝒍𝒐𝒘-𝑩𝒖𝒓𝒏 (𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂)
𖦹🎪𝑲𝒊𝒅𝒏𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒓/𝑲_𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝑰𝒏 𝑻𝒐𝒘𝒏
𖦹🎭𝑯𝒆 𝑭𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝑭𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕/𝑩𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝑯𝒆𝒓
𖦹🎪𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝑻𝒐 𝑻𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕?
𖦹🎭𝑹𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒉 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒆
𖦹🎪𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 & 𝑮𝒐𝒓𝒆
𖦹🎭𝑴𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒆
𖦹🎪𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝑮𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔
𖦹🎭𝑺𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒔 & 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒄
𖦹🎪"𝒀𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒆"
𖦹🎭𝑵𝒐 𝑪𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒇-𝑯𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓
𖦹🎪𝑯𝑬𝑨

In the small town of Connecticut, where children keep vanishing. Esme vows to hunt and kill it, the same monster who took her daughter, Roseanna, five years ago. She goes on date with Sebastian to the circus and watches the ring-leader, creepy clown, walk out onto the stage. That night, she follows him to his tent, but what happens when her plans don't go to plan? Bodies keep piling up, and children keep vanishing. What if the creepy clown doesn't want to let her go? Can she fight through the obstacles and distractions to find her daughter?

Esme is a fierce and bad-ass witch. She's searching for her daughter, who had been kidnapped by the monster years ago and still hasn't given up. She's quick-witted, clever, and determined, too. Her backstory does make you sympathise with her and understand her motives for doing what she does. What a fabulous heroine! All she needs is her daughter back and someone to love, but Fate throws her a love-triangle is the most crazy ways, even I didn't predict, but I don't complain. (Wanna hear something controversial? Don't hate me. I LOVE love triangles. But only when her love interest is MY love interest, y'see? Of course you do.)

Willow is a brilliant character! I wish we got more of her because I actually love her for her blunt personality. And Sebastian? Ahem. I won't spoil anything. Not to forget that my heart goes out to Roseanna - I wish we got a POV from her perspective. And Ira, her backstory is fascinating in the most heartbreaking way possible. I hope we get to see something about her in the future.

Oh, and Chuckles, the clown? He's mine. He's perfect. Everything about him gives me blush in the best way possible. He's my crush. I'm confessing. Give him to me. (Now, granted that the poor boy has past childhood trauma, he's doing quite well. He is, trust me. I feel for him. He's doing his best. We get some backstory, and I wish we got some more.) Anyways, beautiful, messed up, and psychotic, knows what he wants, and gives gory presents that are meaningful in his own way. How sweet? And he guards Ira, his purple teddy plushie with his life, as he should. He also talks to her. Cute. And she talks back. Adorable duo. He's so likable yet unhinged, I love it! Or, maybe that he's a clown, and that's what does it for me. Yeah, he's my new favourite fictional man.

The story is intriguing and immersive (I love anything to do with circus/clowns), and the plot twist has me gagged. The heat and chemistry are palpable, and the spicy scenes will leave you blushing. The plotline is almost like a crime/mystery with a HINT of psychological thriller from the constant mind games we get, which keeps you on the edge of your seat. The conclusion in the end tugs on your heartstrings that the reader goes through with the FMC from start to end as the mystery falls open and Esme faces what happened to her little girl. I do appreciate how the villain is dealt with. However, I wish there was a little bit more female rage and angst. I needed gut-wrenching, heart-wrenching tears, that's all. Other than that, I enjoyed this little goodie.

If you're searching for a spicy horror romance with suspense, blood and gore, magic and mystery, witch lore, and more, then this one is for you!

Out of Fives;
𖦹🎭𝑪𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓:✨✨✨✨✨
𖦹🎪𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒆:🔥🔥🔥🔥
𖦹🎭𝑫𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔:🖤🖤🖤🖤
𖦹🎪𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒇𝒖𝒍:🃏🃏🃏🃏🃏
𖦹🎭𝑩𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔:🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋
𖦹🎪𝑯𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓:☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️
𖦹🎭𝑴𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒚:🔎🔎🔎🔎🔎
𖦹🎪𝑺𝒖𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆:🎡🎡🎡🎡🎡
𖦹🎭𝑪𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒚:⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡
𖦹🎪𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅/𝑮𝒐𝒓𝒆:🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸
𖦹🎭𝑽𝒊𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆:🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪
𖦹🎪𝑻𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏:🫦🫦🫦🫦
𖦹🎭𝑺𝒍𝒐𝒘-𝑩𝒖𝒓𝒏:❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥
𖦹🎪𝑨𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏:💥💥💥💥💥
𖦹🎭𝑬𝒔𝒎𝒆 𝑭𝑴𝑪:🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷
𖦹🎪𝑪𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝑴𝑴𝑪:💚💚💚💚💚
𖦹🎭𝑰𝒓𝒂/𝑷𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒆:🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸
𖦹🎪𝑷𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆:🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬
𖦹🎭𝑷𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈:⌛⏳⌛⏳⌛
𖦹🎪𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑫𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕:🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
𖦹🎭𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑩𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈:🌏🌎🌍🌏🌎
𖦹🎪𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅: 𝒆𝑨𝑹𝑪/𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒆.
𖦹🎭𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔: 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆 (𝑨 𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒚, 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑻𝒘𝒐.)
𖦹🎪𝑷𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔: 242.
𖦹🎭𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔: 32 (𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑬𝒑𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒖𝒆).
𖦹🎪𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆: 𝑭𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒍, 𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑹𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆.
𖦹🎭𝑬𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑷𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏: 13 𝑭𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒚 2026.
𖦹🎪𝑾𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝑰 𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅: 𝒀𝒆𝒔.
𖦹🎭𝑶𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓 𝑹𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

After reading Rot (4/5 stars) and Echo (5/5 stars), I was determined to see how this series tied together, even though the premise of Chuckles had me a bit nervous at first. I wasn't sure how the author was going to make me root for this situation, but I am so glad I stuck with it! Between the incredibly creepy cover art and the dark carnival vibes, this was a twisting, high-stakes ride that kept me completely invested.

Note on Content: As with the rest of this series, please read the trigger warnings. This book handles very heavy themes regarding children and trauma, and it is not for the faint of heart.

My Reactions & Emotions:
• The Premise & Mystery: I went into this very skeptical about the MMC, but the way the mystery unfolded was brilliant. The author worked hard to balance the dark elements with a plot that makes sense. I found myself so sucked in that I actually got annoyed when I was interrupted!
• The Lore: I loved the deeper dive into the "Rinah witches" and how they draw in supernatural forces. There is a fantastic nod to Echo that ties the world-building together perfectly and makes the series feel like a cohesive, lived-in universe.
• The MMC (Chuckles): He is a fascinating, complex character with a very distinct "code" for who he targets. The dynamic between him and the FMC, Esme, is intense—he's a monster who draws the line at very specific things, and watching their relationship evolve through the chaos was gripping.
• The FMC: Esme's journey is heartbreaking. Watching her hunt for the truth while navigating the trauma of her past made her an easy character to root for. Her growth into someone who continues the hunt alongside a monster was a very satisfying conclusion.

Final Thoughts:
While this isn't necessarily a comfort reread for me due to the heavy subject matter, it is an undeniable 5/5 for the sheer quality of the storytelling and the emotional payoff. It’s a dark, up-and-down crazy ride that proves this author knows exactly how to subvert expectations. If you’ve been following the series, this is an essential (and intense) piece of the puzzle!

[Melanie Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chuckles leapt straight into the action from the first page and everything was happening so fast it took me a chapter or two to find my bearings… my god I’m glad I kept reading!

This has a fabulously eerie vibe, with a vengeful witch, a creepy clown, a possessed teddy bear, and a doting exterminator. Esme is desperately trying to protect the children in her town from a paranormal entity, after failing to save her own daughter years before. Attracting the interest of two men; sweet Sebastian the exterminator, and a killer clown she believes is involved in the childrens disappearances, complicates matters further in the most delicious ways… I’m halfway through and absolutely hooked, turns out I have a thing for delectably murderous clowns 🤡

[Sabrina Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a twisty book. More of a plot than I expected and I was here for it. A few twists and turns I wasn’t expecting but enough backstory to feel connected to the main characters and why they act/react the way they do and to understand why some of the things happen. Well written and very enjoyable if you don’t mind a lot of death, blood and gore

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book of Kat Bethel’s that I’ve ever read and now I know I have to check out more of their work! I loved the setting to start with, I loved the Rinah Witch lore and the journey Esme went on with accepting the loss of her child, there was a real depth for me with the characters. Overall, Chuckles was a fun, spicy clown featuring read, it balanced spooky, spicy and emotional really well and I’d love to see more books in this world!


Check this out if you like;
🤡 Clown Monster
❤️ Monster Hunter Witch FMC
🧺 Dark/Heavy Themes
🪴Healing After Loss
🎃 HEA
👻 Kinkiness

[Jenni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esme was on a mission after losing her own little one, she determined to stop others from being taken, what she didnt anticipate was Chuckles and he didn't Anticipate Esme either. Well written dark captivating reading that has you guessing everything!

[Tricia Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story struck the perfect balance between narrative and spice. It had just enough heat to keep me turning the pages, always craving more. Every chapter left me eager for what came next, and the pacing never let my attention slip.
Rating: 4 ⭐️
Spicy: 3.5 🌶️

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

*ARC review*

I went in expecting one thing and was given that plus more! I really enjoyed the build up of the story, and Chuckles had me chuckling a few times. The tension build up between characters had me unable to put the book down. Now, I can not go thru this review and not mention the spice. Kat wrote some amazing spicy scenes!!
Definitely reccomend for my people who enjoy some spicy romance with their horror! 🫣😉