In a Rut

Camp Cryptid

by B.L. Brown

Loud, hard, and cold, Pittsburgh is as far from the woods and hills of Green Bank as Cricket has ever been. But it's where Avery wants to be, and Cricket wants to be wherever Avery is. Armed with a warm hat and ear plugs, she's determined to make city living work. But a persistent itch has grown beneath her coat, and strange bouts of fever are making it hard to think straight...not that she ever could where Avery was involved.

Avery has everything she's ever a solo in the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic Christmas Concert, a live-in girlfriend she loves, and a life free of her father's influence. But she isn't blind to how hard city living is for the woods-raised faun. Determined to make Cricket happy, she devises a plan for the new year...but even the best laid plans oft go astray. When Cricket goes into a surprise rut, Avery must act early to help her girlfriend through the intense faun rite of passage.

In a Rut is a Sapphic holiday monster romance novella set within the paranormal romance series, Camp Cryptid.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance

111 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 23, 2025

About the author

B.L. Brown is a writer of paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and fantasy. She loves a good slow burn but recognizes that sometimes two characters collide with explosive chemistry that must be acknowledged. And boy, is it fun to read.

Random musings appear on Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram.

There's also a newsletter that releases new material with less frequency than George R. R. Martin.

https://brittawritesthings.com/contact/

Reviews

[Foxglove · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quite a cute, quick sapphic romance. It’s part of a series, but you don’t necessarily have to have read the previous books to understand the story. I only read this novella, and I wasn’t confused or put off at any point. I loved the idea of these part-animal characters existing within the human world and I did enjoy how some of Cricket’s struggles could be extrapolated to other issues that already exist in the real world (e.g her discomfort in big cities and her sensitivity to noises could remind autistic readers of their own troubles). This made the characters easier to relate to. The writing is fairly decent, though not a standout, and the plot is easy to follow though not particularly special. I did get a little frustrated with the amount of times ‘oak and ivy’ was used as an expression (14 and counting, for a relatively short novella) and I wasn’t particularly interested in knowing more or in that much of what was happening, but it was far from a bad book.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[MissAlice · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you read the summary- then there should be zero surprises here. Sweet doe and human partner landlocked in an unforgiving city that only allows for the human to prosper and the doe to shrivel into a cantankerous old man yelling at kids in the yard. A home is made as the doe falls into her rut and we go full smut boogie to the end. Not your niche? Move on. Little furry kinkster? New year present for sure.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read in the series, and while it can be read as a standalone, I think it would have been more enjoyable if I had read the previous books. If I had read the previous book, it would have helped me understand the story better. It takes place around Christmas, but it wasn't really Christmas-oriented in any way. The book was just okay because I hadn't read the earlier books. I had no real investment in these two characters, and I was kind of bored with the story.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a Rut, a Sapphic holiday monster romance novella in the Camp Cryptid series. The story follows Cricket, who has moved to Pittsburgh to stay with Avery, a student at Carnegie Mellon. While Avery thrives in the city, Cricket struggles to adapt, eventually suffering from fevers and an itch that signal a surprise faun rut. Avery must then help Cricket navigate this intense rite of passage. This well-written novella features a compelling storyline and memorable characters. I received a copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Piper James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eep!

It was so fun to be back with Cricket and Avery 😍 especially during Crickets first rut 🫦 full of laughter, oak and ivy, and adjusting to a new life this was a great follow up

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

spicy

I love it! It’s like a really long epilogue with a ton of spice! So much spice. Love the way this couples story continued in this book.