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Octopi My Heart
Daren Montgomery is a fisherman in his small hometown off Nova Scotia. His heart is as empty as the waters in winter—until he meets Lilo, a beautiful creature of the ocean depths that Daren never believed could be real. Their courtship may be a fairy tale, but the gentle curl of a tentacle or wet kiss in magically warm waters has him dreaming of summer and a storybook ending.
137 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 14, 2022
About the author
Amanda Meuwissen
59 books719 followersAmanda Meuwissen is a queer author with a primary focus on M/M fiction and romance. As the author of LGBTQ+ Fantasy #1 Best Seller, Coming Up for Air, LGBTQ+ Horror #1 Best Seller and #1 New Release, A Delicious Descent, and several other titles through various publishers, Amanda regularly attends local comic conventions for fun and to meet with fans, where she will often be seen in costume as one of her favorite fictional characters. She lives in Minnesota with her husband, John, and their cat, Helga.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews
November 20, 2022
*4.5 stars*
Is this a romance book? I think so?? Can it be a romance book with two people* who can't communicate with each other, have fundamentally different biomes, and there is a sort of HFN ending?
Regardless, I LOVED this story.
You have to have a little bit of an open mind with this one. It's tentacle-y with an outstanding BFF/crusty fisherman side character, and a whole lot of humor and charm. There is lots of athletic sex and pining, and this story takes place over a surprisingly long time-span. It's a short book but it feels like it's longer, in the best of ways.
I don't really know how to describe this story fully, and I don't want to give anything away. Just know that this book is hot, romantic, interesting, and knocked me off my feet. I'm reading Amanda Meuwissen's whole backlist now.
goodreads|instagram|twitter|tiktok
Is this a romance book? I think so?? Can it be a romance book with two people* who can't communicate with each other, have fundamentally different biomes, and there is a sort of HFN ending?
Regardless, I LOVED this story.
You have to have a little bit of an open mind with this one. It's tentacle-y with an outstanding BFF/crusty fisherman side character, and a whole lot of humor and charm. There is lots of athletic sex and pining, and this story takes place over a surprisingly long time-span. It's a short book but it feels like it's longer, in the best of ways.
I don't really know how to describe this story fully, and I don't want to give anything away. Just know that this book is hot, romantic, interesting, and knocked me off my feet. I'm reading Amanda Meuwissen's whole backlist now.
goodreads|instagram|twitter|tiktok
September 23, 2026
Octopi My Heart was a really tender, sweet mm monster romance. The mutual pining, the adorable courting gifts, the greif rep....it was all perfection. I wasn't expecting such a small/short story to have such a big impact, but I should have known better with it coming from Amanda Meuwissen. I'm so glad I gave this one a read! I'd definitely love more in this universe; I can see at least one more story blooming behind the scenes and I'd LOVE to get that one, too!
February 24, 2022
Adorable!
Such a sweet romance. I enjoyed how cleverly Amanda Meuwissen weaves the folklore of the Selkie into Octopi My Heart. Simply a wonderful, feel good love story.
Such a sweet romance. I enjoyed how cleverly Amanda Meuwissen weaves the folklore of the Selkie into Octopi My Heart. Simply a wonderful, feel good love story.
March 12, 2025
This was so dang cute. plus... Tentacles 🥵
December 24, 2021
Octopi My Heart gave me butterflies in my stomach and brought tears to my eyes. It's a beautifully written short story with so much heart. The interactions between Daren and his tentacle selkie were incredibly sweet and touching. I also loved the steamy scenes, which were tender and hot.
It's an amazing story that I cannot recommend enough.
It's an amazing story that I cannot recommend enough.
February 21, 2022
This was a fun blend of selkie lore and good old tentacle romance. I enjoyed this sweet, sexy, novella between a human fisherman and a tentacle selkie. Very sweet ending, I enjoyed this one!
October 7, 2026
Oh this was such a cute novella.
Octopi My Heart is a sweet romance between Daren, the fisher human, and Lilo, the lonely golden-hearted selkie who adores Daren. What starts with Daren finding a goodie on his fishing trips at the estuary moves on to us realizing Lilo has been leaving presents for his lovely human - and Darren is now leaving gifts right back. And now with their little rhythm of courtship taking up tempo, Daren and Lilo get to know each other.
And yes, we get to see what those tentacles do.
There was only one point in the novella where I was going "WTF? Excuse me?" but in a very good way because the foreshadowing was absolutely there, and yet, I was so surprised!
I think the only pain point here was the formatting. I'm not really a fan of character POVs being within the same chapter and prefer them to be in their own chapters and apty marked. I also felt that the author did go a bit overboard in the descriptions. This isn't to say that the descriptions weren't magical. And I have survived thicker books where it takes a very long time until we get to any character's speaking.
But with this being a novella, it was a bit clearer how heavy the descriptions were until we had dialogue. I don't consider this a plus.
Just an overall enjoyable achillean monster romance that goes straight into my "Reread this when you can't decide what to read" folder. 4.5 ⭐️
Octopi My Heart is a sweet romance between Daren, the fisher human, and Lilo, the lonely golden-hearted selkie who adores Daren. What starts with Daren finding a goodie on his fishing trips at the estuary moves on to us realizing Lilo has been leaving presents for his lovely human - and Darren is now leaving gifts right back. And now with their little rhythm of courtship taking up tempo, Daren and Lilo get to know each other.
And yes, we get to see what those tentacles do.
There was only one point in the novella where I was going "WTF? Excuse me?" but in a very good way because the foreshadowing was absolutely there, and yet, I was so surprised!
I think the only pain point here was the formatting. I'm not really a fan of character POVs being within the same chapter and prefer them to be in their own chapters and apty marked. I also felt that the author did go a bit overboard in the descriptions. This isn't to say that the descriptions weren't magical. And I have survived thicker books where it takes a very long time until we get to any character's speaking.
But with this being a novella, it was a bit clearer how heavy the descriptions were until we had dialogue. I don't consider this a plus.
Just an overall enjoyable achillean monster romance that goes straight into my "Reread this when you can't decide what to read" folder. 4.5 ⭐️
June 19, 2023
This was a short quick read that was sweet. Daren Montgomery is a fisherman in his small hometown off Nova Scotia. His heart is as empty as the waters in winter until he meets Lilo, a beautiful creature of the ocean depths that Daren never believed could be real. This book read like it was part Little Mermaid and part Celtic selkie tale. I liked both of these characters. This was my first time reading this author. This book was well written with no errors in grammar or spelling.
October 2, 2026
"maria wtf are you reading" yes 🐙
spent my evening reading this and why not as it's officially spooky month 👻 so a monster romance is quite fitting 😂
yet another absolute banger discovered via my instagram feed! in the algorithm we trust 🫡
if i had to pick one word to describe this book, it would be 'cute'. it's basically super cute and heartwarming, full of sugar 🍬 (very much needed now that the seasonal depression is starting to kick in 😔)
spent my evening reading this and why not as it's officially spooky month 👻 so a monster romance is quite fitting 😂
yet another absolute banger discovered via my instagram feed! in the algorithm we trust 🫡
if i had to pick one word to describe this book, it would be 'cute'. it's basically super cute and heartwarming, full of sugar 🍬 (very much needed now that the seasonal depression is starting to kick in 😔)
May 3, 2022
Audiobook Review:
Overall – 4
Performance – 4
Story – 5
A nice story!
This is the first book I’ve read by Amanda Meuwissen and I’m a little surprised at how much I enjoyed this audiobook. Why am I surprised? Well, I didn’t really expect to enjoy an MM book narrated by a female as much as I did. I mainly wanted to listen to and review this book so that I could experience the author narrating her own work and I’m glad I agreed to review it.
While it was a bit disconcerting to hear a female voice narrating portions of this story, overall, it was a pretty good experience. I’m not sure I’d want to listen to a longer MM book performed by a female voice but it was fine for this length of story.
Octopi My Heart is such a sweet story with just a bit of spice. Daren is enchanted with the beautiful sea-creature, Lilo, who unexpectedly helps him fish one day. They begin meeting every day and their sweet relationship turns a bit sexier when Lilo whisks Daren away to a warm underground grotto where things heat up between them.
I loved the happy ending that these two got and the story was a solid 5 star read for me.
A copy of this audiobook was provided to me at my request but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author/narrator.
***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***
Overall – 4
Performance – 4
Story – 5
A nice story!
This is the first book I’ve read by Amanda Meuwissen and I’m a little surprised at how much I enjoyed this audiobook. Why am I surprised? Well, I didn’t really expect to enjoy an MM book narrated by a female as much as I did. I mainly wanted to listen to and review this book so that I could experience the author narrating her own work and I’m glad I agreed to review it.
While it was a bit disconcerting to hear a female voice narrating portions of this story, overall, it was a pretty good experience. I’m not sure I’d want to listen to a longer MM book performed by a female voice but it was fine for this length of story.
Octopi My Heart is such a sweet story with just a bit of spice. Daren is enchanted with the beautiful sea-creature, Lilo, who unexpectedly helps him fish one day. They begin meeting every day and their sweet relationship turns a bit sexier when Lilo whisks Daren away to a warm underground grotto where things heat up between them.
I loved the happy ending that these two got and the story was a solid 5 star read for me.
A copy of this audiobook was provided to me at my request but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author/narrator.
***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***
August 22, 2022
4.5 stars. A truly lovely little story. Thoroughly enjoyed. I find the merman/tentacle trope very appealing when done well and it certainly was here. And as the tagline suggests, it does indeed read like a fairy tale. Not a lot of explanation or backstory is given for Lilo and while I wish the author had given that a bit more focus, its absence didn’t detract from the story in any significant way. The MCs were so likable and loving and had delicious chemistry together. Great writing. A lot of emotional intensity and vibrancy packed into this little gem. Def recommend.
September 27, 2026
Octopi My Heart is the story of Daren a human fisherman and Lilo a tentacle selkie. This was a short quick read but it feels like it's longer because of the timespan for the characters. I loved these two even though they really couldn't communicate with each other. This was a wonderful story with lots of pining, lots of spice, and wonderful characters, plus tentacles. I loved the story and can't wait to see what Amanda Meuwissen writes next. I would definitely recommend this book.
received a free review copy
received a free review copy
Review of advance copy received from Author
Octopi My Heart is the story of Daren a human fisherman and Lilo a tentacle selkie. This was a short quick read but it feels like it's longer because of the timespan for the characters. I loved these two even though they really couldn't communicate with each other. This was a wonderful story with lots of pining, lots of spice, and wonderful characters, plus tentacles. I loved the story and can't wait to see what Amanda Meuwissen writes next. I would definitely recommend this book.
received a free review copy
received a free review copy
February 2, 2022
This was an adorable selfie tale! I loved Lilo so much! Dry short, but so well written and full of all the feels!
June 28, 2022
Daren is a fisherman living a rather lonely and isolated existence by the Nova Scotian coasts until he meets the mesmerizing and utterly sweet Lilo, a sea creature who has…yes you guessed it, tentacles! Daren is instantly charmed by this being who is coy in the most adorable way, effusive and is just as captivated by Daren. They spend time slowly getting to know each other, sharing information about their respective worlds, and of course becoming intimate and falling in love.
I didn’t quite know what to expect with this but there was such a great balance of the sweet and sexy with this short. Both characters are just so wholesome that I immediately found myself rooting for them and their happily ever after. Daren’s effortless acceptance of the strangeness he encounters and Lilo’s pure emotional display was so beautifully captured. Despite their many differences it was so clear how much they cared for each other and strove to treat the other with kindness and tenderness.
The beats of this short were also perfectly executed for its length. As much as I could have read a whole novel about them, there was something delightfully effervescent in the brevity of the story and the stakes, development and resolution were so satisfying with the sweetest HEA for our characters.
I thoroughly enjoyed this bite-sized fairy tale romance and highly recommend it for the endearing love story and of course, for the tentacles. Another 5 star read by Amanda Meuwissen!
I didn’t quite know what to expect with this but there was such a great balance of the sweet and sexy with this short. Both characters are just so wholesome that I immediately found myself rooting for them and their happily ever after. Daren’s effortless acceptance of the strangeness he encounters and Lilo’s pure emotional display was so beautifully captured. Despite their many differences it was so clear how much they cared for each other and strove to treat the other with kindness and tenderness.
The beats of this short were also perfectly executed for its length. As much as I could have read a whole novel about them, there was something delightfully effervescent in the brevity of the story and the stakes, development and resolution were so satisfying with the sweetest HEA for our characters.
I thoroughly enjoyed this bite-sized fairy tale romance and highly recommend it for the endearing love story and of course, for the tentacles. Another 5 star read by Amanda Meuwissen!
October 3, 2026
Lilo and Daren's love story was an adorable bite-sized tale. As a small town fisherman, Daren had grown up with stories about the water that surrounded him, but he never expected to find a tentacled lover hiding under the surface. It was so cute to see how Lilo courted Daren with gifts of fish and undersea treasures, and by the time they met face to face Daren was too curious to react with fear. As the two got to know each other, it was impossible not to be charmed by Lilo's sunshine-y happiness. It genuinely felt like they'd made a love connection, and the only thing standing in their way was the land/sea divide of their biology. Luckily Amanda Meuwissen had a bit of magic tucked away to solve that conundrum for the duo, and if I thought their time in the water was sweet, their connection on land was somehow even cuter and more romantic! Now that all's settled with the main couple, I'm desperate to know if Curtis will get past his fear and take a chance on love with Bradley!
**I voluntarily read an early copy of this book. This review expresses my honest thoughts and opinions.
**I voluntarily read an early copy of this book. This review expresses my honest thoughts and opinions.
October 3, 2026
This novella was very cute. The romance between Daren, a fisherman in rural Nova Scotia and Lilo, a selfie that Daren befriends is incredibly sweet.
The relationship between the two develops and despite the differences that exist between the two they keep choosing each other. The relationship blossoms over a period of months and as it does the two face difficulties together.
There was no earth shattering tragedy that tore the two apart just some misunderstandings that they each acknowledge and grow from.
The spice that exists is what you would probably expect when one of the characters is part octopus including a set of very agile and very sensitive tentacles.
As their love story progresses each must make sacrifices for their love and come to terms with letting go of their past. Through their love others in their path are influenced and encouraged to do the same.
A lovely heartwarming novella.
The relationship between the two develops and despite the differences that exist between the two they keep choosing each other. The relationship blossoms over a period of months and as it does the two face difficulties together.
There was no earth shattering tragedy that tore the two apart just some misunderstandings that they each acknowledge and grow from.
The spice that exists is what you would probably expect when one of the characters is part octopus including a set of very agile and very sensitive tentacles.
As their love story progresses each must make sacrifices for their love and come to terms with letting go of their past. Through their love others in their path are influenced and encouraged to do the same.
A lovely heartwarming novella.
September 26, 2026
Daren is a fisherman/ odd jobs guy by Nova Scotia when one day he tries a usually off limits bay. He gets tons of fish, little gifts and good vibes from what he assumes is the Gods until he sees it's from Lilo, a part man, part octopus. It's a sweet love story about a man and a creature who love each other but are afraid they can never be together. Until it's possible!! I loved this fairy tale of a story. I received a copy of this and this is my voluntary opinion.
March 27, 2023
I definitely could have read more (listened to)
February 17, 2022
Short, sweet, and sexy
This was adorable. I was thinking it would mostly be fun with tentacles (and it was!), but it also had the sweetest romance and happy ending I could’ve wanted.
This was adorable. I was thinking it would mostly be fun with tentacles (and it was!), but it also had the sweetest romance and happy ending I could’ve wanted.
May 23, 2023
This was a super cute and quick read.
September 27, 2026
I adored Lilo and Daren! I also loved that this is a short story that I’ll be able to reread whenever the mood strikes me.
Daren is a fisherman way up north. He lives a lonely somewhat isolated life. He has friends and a community, but no one special in his life. He’s running behind on his fishing one day when he hears a splash. The noise is coming from a hidden inlet that no one fished due to superstitious stories of curses and gods.
Lilo is a cecaelia, a mythical creature that is half human and half octopus. He lures Daren to his inlet in the hopes of learning more about him. When Lilo first starts communicating with him, Daren is sure he’s either met a god or is hallucinating.
This story is the author’s take on a Selkie fairy tale. It is full of wonder, love, and angst between multiple characters. Octopi My Heart is a story that is easy and quick to read. It gives a happily ever after and leaves the author with an opening to write a follow up with the two side characters Curtis and Bradley. I definitely recommend reading this book and hope author Amanda Meuwissen writes Curtis and Bradley’s story.
* I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.*
Daren is a fisherman way up north. He lives a lonely somewhat isolated life. He has friends and a community, but no one special in his life. He’s running behind on his fishing one day when he hears a splash. The noise is coming from a hidden inlet that no one fished due to superstitious stories of curses and gods.
Lilo is a cecaelia, a mythical creature that is half human and half octopus. He lures Daren to his inlet in the hopes of learning more about him. When Lilo first starts communicating with him, Daren is sure he’s either met a god or is hallucinating.
This story is the author’s take on a Selkie fairy tale. It is full of wonder, love, and angst between multiple characters. Octopi My Heart is a story that is easy and quick to read. It gives a happily ever after and leaves the author with an opening to write a follow up with the two side characters Curtis and Bradley. I definitely recommend reading this book and hope author Amanda Meuwissen writes Curtis and Bradley’s story.
* I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.*
Review of advance copy received from Author
Octopi my Heart was originally published as a short story a few years ago, but this version has been expanded, revised, and is now being republished. Whrn the original version of this book released a few years ago, I rnjoyed it then. Now that more has been added to that already anazing foundation? I just ended up enjoying reading about these men even more than I did previously.
I rrally loved this story and these characters. I found it fascinating how Amanda made up her own creature in a way because Lilo isn't just an octopus, or a shifter, or a selkie, but rather he has similarities to all of them that make him his own unique creature. I really enjoyed that uniqueness and it was really fun reading about these two courting each other. I thought those moments were so sweet and heartfelt and I loved them so much!!
I am very curious about Curtis and a certain researcher.. I hope that eventually they'll get their own story as well because I would be very interested in reading about them!
All in all, a lovely story!
I rrally loved this story and these characters. I found it fascinating how Amanda made up her own creature in a way because Lilo isn't just an octopus, or a shifter, or a selkie, but rather he has similarities to all of them that make him his own unique creature. I really enjoyed that uniqueness and it was really fun reading about these two courting each other. I thought those moments were so sweet and heartfelt and I loved them so much!!
I am very curious about Curtis and a certain researcher.. I hope that eventually they'll get their own story as well because I would be very interested in reading about them!
All in all, a lovely story!
September 13, 2026
I received this advance review copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This was a really cute story, but for some reason I struggled to really get into it. I'm not sure why though.
It has everything usually love. It was a monster romance, which is always my jam. The characters were interesting, the setting was fantastic, worldbuilding was really good, and the language barrier made things fun. There was even some sweet cozy romance, a bit of tension, and some spicy fun. The twist at the end was great too!
I think it might be a pacing issue for me, and that the language barrier didn't end up being an ongoing issue to work through. We went from only knowing zero human words, to being able to communicate fairly well in an incredibly short time. It didn't make sense at all, especially for the very isolated rural setting.
Overall it was still a good story, and I enjoyed it. It just feels like it's missing something.
This was a really cute story, but for some reason I struggled to really get into it. I'm not sure why though.
It has everything usually love. It was a monster romance, which is always my jam. The characters were interesting, the setting was fantastic, worldbuilding was really good, and the language barrier made things fun. There was even some sweet cozy romance, a bit of tension, and some spicy fun. The twist at the end was great too!
I think it might be a pacing issue for me, and that the language barrier didn't end up being an ongoing issue to work through. We went from only knowing zero human words, to being able to communicate fairly well in an incredibly short time. It didn't make sense at all, especially for the very isolated rural setting.
Overall it was still a good story, and I enjoyed it. It just feels like it's missing something.
September 19, 2026
"Octopi My Heart" is the short, sweet story of Darren Montgomery, Nova Scotia fisherman, and Lilo, bluish purple tentacled selkie. They have a meet cute, where Lilo chucked fish into his boat. Then he climbs onto the deck and claims his first kiss. This was a short, sweet tale which combined the best of Disney (no one gets turned into seafoam) with classic Scotts and Irish selkie tradition and Amanda Meuwissen's imagination. (Happily there's no skin coat stealing either).
A gem of a romance. Swimming in a warm, hidden grotto and helping Lilo better his English. And don't forget the tentacles! They made for some sweet and sweaty scenes.
Some angst. When Lilo disappeared, Darren's pain came through loud and clear. The author always resolves impossible situations with a positive (think Zel). And I knew these boys were in good hands for their HEA.
I received an advanced copy of this ebook from the author and this is my review.
A gem of a romance. Swimming in a warm, hidden grotto and helping Lilo better his English. And don't forget the tentacles! They made for some sweet and sweaty scenes.
Some angst. When Lilo disappeared, Darren's pain came through loud and clear. The author always resolves impossible situations with a positive (think Zel). And I knew these boys were in good hands for their HEA.
I received an advanced copy of this ebook from the author and this is my review.
September 25, 2026
Un grand merci à l’auteure pour cet ARC (nouvelle version) et sa confiance.
J’avais lu la première version (longue d’une cinquantaine de pages) en 2022, je ne sais honnêtement pas quelle version je préfère mais vous pouvez lire et comparer les deux puisque l’ancienne est actuellement toujours disponible.
L’histoire est courte et agréable à lire, reprenant le mythe aquatique de la selkie mais avec un twist cecaelia.🐙 Et cette nouvelle couverture est sublime!😍
Cette nouvelle version rallongée procure plus de détails entourant les personnages ainsi que d’avantages d’événements pour l’intrigue.
J’aime beaucoup quand l’un des personnages fait la court à l’autre, et ça m’a d’autant plus amusé que Daren soit complètement inconscient que l’échange de cadeau auquel il répond, instauré par Liloki, soit justement le début de sa court.😆
🛶 Small Town
🐙 MM romance
🛶 Un pêcheur qui ne cherche pas vraiment à être en couple mais (très) ouvert d’esprit
🐙 Une créature marine avec un crush qui dure depuis plusieurs années
Les personnages secondaires m’ont beaucoup plu aussi, ils sont intéressants, bien développés et ont le potentiel d’avoir leur propre tome. IYKYK🤗
D’ailleurs si vous aimez les tritons, la romance et l’action je vous recommande Coming up for air de la même auteure.🧜♂️❤️
J’avais lu la première version (longue d’une cinquantaine de pages) en 2022, je ne sais honnêtement pas quelle version je préfère mais vous pouvez lire et comparer les deux puisque l’ancienne est actuellement toujours disponible.
L’histoire est courte et agréable à lire, reprenant le mythe aquatique de la selkie mais avec un twist cecaelia.🐙 Et cette nouvelle couverture est sublime!😍
Cette nouvelle version rallongée procure plus de détails entourant les personnages ainsi que d’avantages d’événements pour l’intrigue.
J’aime beaucoup quand l’un des personnages fait la court à l’autre, et ça m’a d’autant plus amusé que Daren soit complètement inconscient que l’échange de cadeau auquel il répond, instauré par Liloki, soit justement le début de sa court.😆
🛶 Small Town
🐙 MM romance
🛶 Un pêcheur qui ne cherche pas vraiment à être en couple mais (très) ouvert d’esprit
🐙 Une créature marine avec un crush qui dure depuis plusieurs années
Les personnages secondaires m’ont beaucoup plu aussi, ils sont intéressants, bien développés et ont le potentiel d’avoir leur propre tome. IYKYK🤗
D’ailleurs si vous aimez les tritons, la romance et l’action je vous recommande Coming up for air de la même auteure.🧜♂️❤️
July 25, 2026
“You are family now,” Lilo said in explanation. Daren wanted to ask when the pattern had been added and how—with ink, some other substance, or unknown magic—but for now, he simply said, "You’re my family too.”
Yeesh — this book was about 90% sex and 10% actual story. Still, it was surprisingly sweet, and it managed to build some solid tension despite how short it was. I really liked the twist on the usual sea‑creature lore: instead of forcing Lilo to return to the ocean to survive, the story let him live as a normal human and choose when to go back. That was a refreshing change.
I’m also not usually a fan of tentacle content, but this one was manageable and didn’t overwhelm the narrative.
Overall, not a deep read, but not a bad one either.
Yeesh — this book was about 90% sex and 10% actual story. Still, it was surprisingly sweet, and it managed to build some solid tension despite how short it was. I really liked the twist on the usual sea‑creature lore: instead of forcing Lilo to return to the ocean to survive, the story let him live as a normal human and choose when to go back. That was a refreshing change.
I’m also not usually a fan of tentacle content, but this one was manageable and didn’t overwhelm the narrative.
Overall, not a deep read, but not a bad one either.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Octopi My Heart – Amanda Meuwissen ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (received and read as part of her street team)
"No more room in Darren’s pants."
The way I LAUGHED at that. 🤣🤣🤣
"Bird meat. Sandwich."
I’m not going to be coherent in this review. 🫣
The giggling. Fuck. THEY ARE ADORABLE. I was basically reading this while kicking my feet like an idiot.
"Lilo not steal, Darren gave kisses." Nope. Definitely still not coherent.
And “Lilo too big for boat but Darren not too big for rock.” 😭🤣
Honestly, this entire book was just ridiculously cute and I loved every second of it. I laughed, I giggled, I melted, and somewhere along the way my ability to write an actual review disappeared completely.
Amanda Meuwissen does it again. Of course it’s a 5★. 🖤
"No more room in Darren’s pants."
The way I LAUGHED at that. 🤣🤣🤣
"Bird meat. Sandwich."
I’m not going to be coherent in this review. 🫣
The giggling. Fuck. THEY ARE ADORABLE. I was basically reading this while kicking my feet like an idiot.
"Lilo not steal, Darren gave kisses." Nope. Definitely still not coherent.
And “Lilo too big for boat but Darren not too big for rock.” 😭🤣
Honestly, this entire book was just ridiculously cute and I loved every second of it. I laughed, I giggled, I melted, and somewhere along the way my ability to write an actual review disappeared completely.
Amanda Meuwissen does it again. Of course it’s a 5★. 🖤
October 1, 2026
I had the amazing opportunity to read an eARC of Octopi My Heart by Amanda Meuwissen and I was absolutely floored!
This is such a sweet, funny, and endearing tale. More often than not, I was smiling and giggling to myself as I read.
The two MCs, Lilo and Daren, are a perfect fit for each other. Both are incredibly thoughtful, caring, and gentle. Lilo is a bit of a golden retriever, very excitable and attentive. Daren has been on his own for so long that he is cautious but ultimately curious about Lilo.
Of course, the spice was an absolute treat, and the domesticity was a very pleasant surprise.
This is the second book by Meuwissen I've read, and I've enjoyed them both immensely. I look forward to what she writes next!!
This is such a sweet, funny, and endearing tale. More often than not, I was smiling and giggling to myself as I read.
The two MCs, Lilo and Daren, are a perfect fit for each other. Both are incredibly thoughtful, caring, and gentle. Lilo is a bit of a golden retriever, very excitable and attentive. Daren has been on his own for so long that he is cautious but ultimately curious about Lilo.
Of course, the spice was an absolute treat, and the domesticity was a very pleasant surprise.
This is the second book by Meuwissen I've read, and I've enjoyed them both immensely. I look forward to what she writes next!!
Review of advance copy received from Author
This was so so cute!!
I never read the original, so I can't speak to any differences, but what I can say is that I absolutely adored this sweet little novella. If you're a fan of a fish out of water character (pun fully intended) then I think you will also love this one. Lilo is just so adorable. The way he tries so hard to connect to the world and the way he's been watching Darren and knew he's exactly the human he wants to keep just made me have so many warm and fuzzies. And Darren tried to say he was closed off but he INSTANTLY melted and it just led to so many tender moments between them. I honestly wouldn't have minded if it was expanded even more and truly hope we get a book 2!
I never read the original, so I can't speak to any differences, but what I can say is that I absolutely adored this sweet little novella. If you're a fan of a fish out of water character (pun fully intended) then I think you will also love this one. Lilo is just so adorable. The way he tries so hard to connect to the world and the way he's been watching Darren and knew he's exactly the human he wants to keep just made me have so many warm and fuzzies. And Darren tried to say he was closed off but he INSTANTLY melted and it just led to so many tender moments between them. I honestly wouldn't have minded if it was expanded even more and truly hope we get a book 2!
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