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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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
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.
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.