Forged in blood and the reeking smoke of cannon, Callum emerges from war a hero. He is captain of his own ship, famous beyond words, and a man whose career might rise to the venerated halls of the Admiralty.
Instead, he gives it all up for the quiet life of a lighthouse keeper. He settles onto an island several days north of nowhere. And while his new home might be free from politics and expectations, the sea is dark and full of monsters.
Rhenna knows what most think of her kind. Pirates, they are called, killers and plunderers. For the most part, it’s sharkin are predators. They take, chumming the water with what’s left of those who try to deny them.
Then, she spots him.
A stranger steps onto her beach. He’s handsome, he’s got a beard, and he pulls a gun on her when she first introduces herself. He’s perfect and the scent of his blood makes her whole body sing.
She wants him. She will have him. If only he would stop resisting.
Rhenna is a pirate-age fantasy romance about a man trying to survive the love of one who’s a bit more monster than girl. It is a ‘yandere light’, a fated-mates story with plenty of obsession and unhinged jealousy, though no horror. There is sweetness beneath Rhenna's thick layer of crazy and the romance here is as heartfelt as it is potentially lethal.
This book was truly outstanding; a paragon of what men's romance can be. I genuinely struggle to praise it highly enough.
The characters feel real and believable. I cared about the stakes, I understood their motivations, and I found myself wholeheartedly rooting for the HEA. When something approaching it finally arrived, the sense of catharsis was overwhelming.
This is the first book I've read by Robyn Bee, and it completely exceeded my expectations. I've had his other two books sitting on my Kindle for quite some time but, for one reason or another, never got around to starting them. You can safely assume that won't be the case for much longer.
The prose is beautiful... far beyond what one might typically expect from the men's romance genre. That is not to suggest there aren't other talented writers working within the niche, but too often the romance comes unnaturally easily, and the story serves primarily as a pulpy thrill ride rather than a carefully considered, thoughtfully crafted novel. I also never expected a romance featuring a love interest so reminiscent of a mermaid to appeal to me as much as it did, but it demonstrates just how important characterisation is. These characters possess lives, motivations, fears, ambitions, and desires that extend far beyond simple physical attraction. The atmosphere is perfectly suited to a slow-burn romance, rewarding both the characters' restraint and the author's patient, meticulous development of their relationship.
This easily ranks among the five best men's romance novels I've read. More than that, it is safely amongst the top of the best romance novels I've read. There is something genuinely special about discovering a new author and feeling as though they have written a book specifically for you. That is exactly how I felt here.
I will be eagerly awaiting Robyn Bee's future work, and I would wholeheartedly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys the gradual development of a meaningful, fully realised romance.
This book came out of nowhere for me, just appeared on my Kindle homepage. I’d never heard of Robin Bee before but decided to give them a shot.
10/10 what a read.
First, the story isn’t long (~350 pages) but it packs everything a good story needs into every page. The characters are vivid and real, the world-building is interesting while not being overly complicated or full of exposition dumps, and the relationships are relatively complex and interesting. Sexual themes are well-written and not overly intrusive/awkward/corny. Real character development happens, which is disappointingly rare in this genre.
The only note that I have relates to the ending (no spoilers). The author left room for a sequel, which… I wasn’t super on board with until the very-very end. I feel like the story was wrapped up very neatly so the plot bit that makes room for a sequel kind of felt forced in. It hooked me all the same, though, so I’m not overly concerned with a lackluster second entry. I will 100% be giving it a shot.
Honestly, I don’t have much else to say. The book is good. If you like the yandere-style romance obsession, it’s good. End of.
Kindle is often flooded with harem romance books for men. I am so tired of these. The book Rhenna was awesome. I love these mono romance books with monster women. I mean I'm not really a critic and I don't really know what to say, there were times in the book where the dialogue felt just a tad cheesy but I loved it anyway because I can tell this author has heart. Well done Robyn. Please for the love of God, write another book in this world. If I'm guessing right, one of the characters at the end will be one of the romantic couples in the next book you were going to write. Gosh I hope I'm right cause I will eat that book up trust me. I want more!
4.5 stars. I'll rate this on what it is, and it only loses a bit for not being 100% my favourite kind of book. It's very well done, and the characters are good. Looks like there will be more, and I have to wonder if Rhenna is willing to share, as there are some indications that could be an issue.
I won't pretend that any Men's Romance book is high cultural literature, but for what it is, this is a fantastic exemplar of the genre at its best. And for a genre drowning in LitRPG harem slop, a well-crafted MONO-romance is a true and rare gem.
The writing is crisp, the world believable, and the characters well-realized. Our leads have real personality, goals and struggles. There is actual threat to the two getting together and they need to work to overcome those difficulties. All this might sound like basic Writing 101, but it is amazing how many writers in this space forget to follow even the most basic tenets of storytelling, let alone execute them as well as the author does here.
Rhenna herself is quite memorable, a true and deadly monster girl who is delightfully obsessed and unhinged. Callum too is relatable, a man who just wants a simple life away from fame and the scheming of society. From the start, I was invested in both and rooting for them to succeed.
Oh, and I must compliment the cover art as well; too few authors take the time to invest in decent cover art, and this is one that is more than worthy of the cost of a physical copy to truly appreciate.
This was a book I could not put down, and I am eagerly awaiting the next work from the author.
So like many others I saw Obsession on the cinema and thats how I found the recomendation of this book.
Rhenna is the star of the book, Ive read people looking for a yandere like romance and complaining that after some chapters the craizines of the fmc drops a lot and theres where Rhenna truly shines. The way she yearns for Callum, how she stalks him, the teasing, the squeals... Shes crazy and in love, possesive and deadly. And whats does Callum do everytime she acts like that? He gets happier and hornier.
And the ending/epilogue is just chef kiss. English is not my native language but I had no problems reading the book, the writting is great and I really like the pacing of the story. Ive had a lot of fun and good laughts, Rhennas comebacks are amazing.
Alright, wrapped in 5 hours, definitely a slower and saner burn overall than Grayson and Knightley’s Rise of the Strongest Girl Next door series. But for my preference is put them on a similar level of quality. I was pleasantly surprised at how poetic the opening was, definitely took me by surprise. The Yandere infatuation had a much stronger and more believable basis than the usual seemingly random that we usually see. There is a solid sensuality laced throughout without being overly pornographic or outright Crass or crude. Overall id give the book a strong 7~8 out of ten for the solo male romance genre, it fits nicely next to series like Maid for You and similar titles. Would recommend, on the amazon scale 4 stars, good job Robyn Bee.
I loved Tomb Divers, and Rhenna is every bit as good. A fantastic introduction to a new fantasy world that sets up at least the next book cleanly at the end. Rhenna (the character) is absolutely a dangerous, mentally unstable individual who—much like it does with the mmc—wins me over completely.
If you enjoy pirate-style fantasy—that is set entirely on an island—this is a great choice for you.
Now I'd like to start with normally I'm not into "Yandere" characters but this books titular character Rhenna was a very compelling version of that archetype but it wasn't the end all be all of her character either.
The MMC and FMC both have PoV's and honestly the FMC's PoV's were definitely my favorite because seeing her mindset was so, entertaining. Rhenna's PoV was so entertaining due to seeing just how her mind worked, which also was largely an example of how her species mindset worked which is to say in human terms it's much more neurodivergent and impulsive... It made me think of if a species with ADHD had ADHD. Meanwhile Callum, the MMC's PoV were much more grounded but he also sought to understand her, that and just enjoy his semi-permanent vacation.
Now the book isn't all romance while it does focus on it significantly it isn't the only thing going on and those scenes thankfully are also well-written. The overall world is a bit bare in terms of worldbuilding but it opens the door for what will probably be a few books on this island the main characters of this book find themselves on. The species of the world are given quite a bit of detail though thankfully which paints the two of them, as quite different from humans with the one remaining being more or less, humans with horns.
A slight spoiler as to how the book develops but the romance is largely depicted as
Overall the book captured my attention, I was looking for something a bit fantasy and while there were a few moments of slowness and a few world things that were a bit unclear the rest was engaging and enough to keep my attention for the duration. I look forward to book 2 in the series which has me wondering if we'll continue to get Rhenna and Callum PoV's, it'll be new characters, or both: 8/10
I loved this book. The characters are well thought out and each point of view change shines with their voice. I absolutely could not put it down. I’ll be checking out the rest of this authors catalogue immediately. I hope everybody finds their Rhenna in life.
It's a rather good story, I enjoyed the perspective of both characters throughout and was happy it never got dark or high stakes. There's tension and conflict but not so much that it takes away from the story
Totally worth the read and I can't wait to see more from the author
I loved the setting so much, the feel of the tides and seabreeze. The vibe of this book is an absolute delight. Cozy seaside with still plenty of conflict and adventure. Rhenna, the titular lady, was also a delight. I really hope her story continues, and more comes soon. This book delivers everything the cover and back summary promise.
Great and entertaining book. I loved the love interest here. Shea cute and cutthroat! The conflict seemed realistic and i want to see where the story goes next!
Being a rare mono-romance instead of harem stupidity alone makes it 5 stars. Add in that for once, it does an insta-love/fated mates trope well (which I genuinely thought impossible) by preserving agency and making it a slow-burn is worth 5 stars as well. Add in great characters, excellent overall writing, snappy dialogue, and sufficient worldbuilding, and this is a great read.
Very well written with only a few typos. The characters are engaging and Rhenna is easy to like even with the Crazy. I'm looking forward to the next book.
This is a great start to a new series. Great editing, nice flowing storyline, and an interesting cliffhanger that makes you want to come back for more.
A brilliant romance with enough action and world building on the side as well! Great cliff hanger to build into the second book and hopefully a long series! Highly recommend.
amazing book probably would have preferred it as a standalone (for max comfiness) but the finale is nice in case you are interested in reading a series instead. just know that you will have to (sigh) wait for the next books to come out
started super strong but then got boring just like all the other books with this author. if this was a novella this would have been a 5star book but this being too long made reading this a chore. really considering dropping the author all together.