Clowns & Jesters & Mirrors Oh My!

by Aria Maze

Chiara is very ready for the festivities at the Monsters, Mazes, and Misfits Festival. Every year she treats herself to candy apples and rides  terrifyingly fragile roller coasters. Most importantly though, Chiara always makes her way though the Hall of Mirrors.

This year she plans to wait for her friend and have a little fun in the maze. The night unexpectedly changes when Chiara ends up juggling the attention of a Jester and a Clown.

Hold on tight, the monsters may bite in this festival.

84 pages, Paperback

Expected publication October 9, 2026

About the author

Aria Maze lives in Florida with their husband and their two rambunctious kitties. She spends her days avoiding the sunlight, drinking way too many energy drinks, and writing sweet but spicy monster romance. Though she has plans to dabble in a variety of genres, non-human romance has their heart. Author of Finding His Hen, a duck shifter romance, you truly don’t know what she has coming next. Honestly, neither does she.

Reviews

[Aiden Messer]

Fun and hot. This book manages to be both creepy and cute. If you want to read about fear play (and trust me, you do), this is made for you!

[Kate Brasington]

🤡🤡 ARC REVIEW 🤡🤡

Clowns are scary but also kinda sexy and Aria definitely channels that in this book!
I loved how the FMC gets ✨✨excited✨✨ from being scared and when she ends up in a liminal carnival space she’s just h0rny for the scary jesters.
The spice in this was insane there is a scene with stilts that is -chefs kiss- I don’t know how to use stilts but now I want to because boy did that sound like fun!
If you are looking for a spicy novella where you’re going to have a scarousing time you’re going to want to read this book! Clowns & Jesters & Mirrors OH MY! Releases October 9th!

[Vanessa Gaines]

Clowns & Jesters & Mirrors Oh My! is freakishly delicious. One wild carnival ride for sure. Chiara, the spunky, confident FMC, knows what she wants and, with an open mind, finds any way to get it. Aria Maze turns fears into cheers (of pleasure) with her imaginative writing. Consent is given in multiple stages, so no ill feelings in this colorful short story.
Overall, I enjoyed this quick, creative read. Some minor grammar issues, but nothing so glaring that it took me out of the story. I did receive an advance review copy of Clowns & Jesters & Mirrors Oh My! for free and am voluntarily leaving this review.

[Diana]

Absolutely loved this story. It is a great spicy Halloween novella. It has everything from spooky moments to steamy fun. I really enjoyed the vibe of the story. I knew Chiara was going to end up in the mysterious tent. Absolutely loved it when she found Vani and Daddy. This trio is fun and sexy. We get a glimpse of her friend Lila in the end looking for own special Halloween moment. I hope we get a story about her in the future.
I did receive an arc from the author. This is my honest review.

[jessicajlovesbooks]

This was a naughty and entertaining Halloween quick read. Definitely a very spicy short story, but I enjoyed the dynamic between the trio and the mutual respect. At times I wasn’t sure if what was happening was real or not, but that kept it interesting. This isn’t my typical vibe, but who doesn’t love a good clown romance😉🤡 Definitely recommend!

I received the e-arc for free from the author and BookSirens in exchange for my honest review.

[Koa]

I adore Clowns and Jesters, and these two were a tremendous duo! So naughty 😈 and the FMC even more so!! I couldn’t stop giggling at certain scenes because yummm 😜 short read and very entertaining, loved it!

[BookNhooks666]

Who doesn’t love a frightening good time 😈 absolutely loved this from the plus sized baddy to the creepy clown and jester I mean can we have a moment for Vanni 😩😩 the bites the house of mirrors the shweeds

10:10

Also thank you Bruno 💋 😏 here’s an extra $10

[Onyx Reads Smut]

Nothing is better during the spooky season than a short, spicy, clown romance. And a sentient one at that. I was one of the kids terrified of clowns growing up, then books changed all that for me😂 and this one was no different!

[Aimee C]

I felt like this was a great read short but I loved it. I would really like to read more about Chiara,Vani and Big guy. And I think ive become a new fan of this authors work.

[Hannah]

Great little Halloween read.

[RoseLabyrinth Reviews]

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ (2.5 to 3/5 stars)

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

⚠️ Trigger Warnings ⚠️: (Note: The author includes a helpful "What to Expect" section right at the start to set clear reader expectations). Contains dark carnival themes, monster romance tropes, body modifications/alterations, and explicit sexual content.

First Impression: I love when an author includes a curated Spotify playlist and sets expectations right up front so you know exactly what you’re getting into! The cover art and quirky dark carnival concept showed a lot of promise, and I was genuinely curious to see how the monster romance elements would play out.

My Reactions & Emotions
Promising Monster Romance Vibes: The aesthetic and overall premise have plenty of fun, eerie energy. The concept of blending dark carnival atmosphere with monster romance tropes had great potential right from page one.
Underwhelming Character Investment: While the setup was intriguing, the characters felt underdeveloped and thinly sketched. I struggled to build any real attachment or emotional connection to them as the story went on.
A "Draft-Stage" Reading Experience: Rather than feeling like a polished, fully realized novella, the narrative often read like an early working draft. It left me stuck in an awkward middle ground—it isn't bad, but it isn't great either, leaving me with a lukewarm overall impression.

Constructive Thoughts & What Would Earn 5 Stars
Deepen Character Arcs & Emotional Friction: Expanding the length to flesh out the characters' personalities, internal motivations, and emotional bonds would help the romance land with genuine impact rather than feeling surface-level.
Refine Sentence Flow & Polish the Line Prose: The line-level prose has moments where the grammar and phrasing feel a bit clunky and awkward. A thorough editorial polish would smooth out the flow and bring the storytelling up to publication-ready quality.
Expand the Worldbuilding: Leaning further into the unique carnival mechanics and bizarre monster lore would elevate the entire premise, helping the story reach the full potential hinted at in the opening chapters.

Ultimately, Clowns & Jesters & Mirrors, Oh My! has a creative foundation and fun aesthetic elements, but the shallow character depth and rough draft execution keep it from shining. It serves as a light, quick monster romance snack, but it isn't one I’ll be revisiting anytime soon.

[Lisa Ann D.]

•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸

“We can certainly help with that. But you’ll have to pay the price.”
“What price?”
“Oh, I am not the one who decides that, little one. But be sure to choose wisely, for once you do, you cannot take it back. Though you may not get a decision afterall.”
•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸

𝚎𝙰𝚁𝙲 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚒 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠
Clowns & Jesters & Mirrors Oh My!
by Aria Maze @ariamazeauthor

84 pages
Releases October 9, 2026

Would I recommend? YESSS!!
My Rating
4.5 (𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚞𝚙 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚜)
•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸

𝙰 𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚢 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙼𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃𝚈 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍!

➽ 𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀 & 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘀:
Liminal Spaces
Flavored 💦
Stilts
Eiffel Tower
Sexy AF
Animatronic Sentient Costume
Bisexual Rep
BIPOC
Biting


•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸
➽ 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗼𝗼𝗼𝗼𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗔 𝗠𝗔𝗭𝗘! 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗼 𝗳𝘃𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝘂𝗻!
•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸

𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗕𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀.
❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎
𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥
𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗙𝗔𝗧 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥
𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗗𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗘 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥
✨🌈✨

[Cheryl Romine]

Spice: 5/5 - one of the most unique I've ever read

Character Development: 4.5/5 - surprisingly wholesome

Overall: 4/5

One of the most unique eroticas I've ever read. Never could have guessed the ending. Very unexpected and heartwarming. Definitely interested in reading more by this author.

The only thing that held me back from a 5/5 was the grammar and punctuation. Almost DNF'd, but decided to stick it out to see how the spice was. Glad I stayed!

NOTE: I was gifted an advanced reader copy free for the purpose of writing a review. This is my honest review of the book. Thank you to the author for this opportunity.

[Noelle Sideyardbookclub]

I was really excited for this one, but it ended up not being for me. The cover caught my eye while scrolling IG and I decided to apply for the ARC because it was a Halloween naughty novella, so why not? After getting a few pages in I wasn’t really a fan of her writing style, it felt repetitive and not very descriptive. The spicy scenes weren’t really home runs either. I felt a little let down by this one.

Overall, I don’t think I’ll be picking this one up again for a Halloween re-read. If you think it might be for you, give it a shot! It was a quick read. But overall, this is not one I would recommend.

[Marcia]

Okay… this might be the weirdest, naughtiest book I’ve read in a while, and I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about that.

But honestly? I had fun with it. There were so many moments where I was questioning whether what was happening was actually real or if it was all in the main character’s imagination. I genuinely had no idea what to believe half the time, which definitely kept things interesting.

It was weird, a little chaotic, and definitely spicy, but somehow it all worked. And I have to admit, I thought it was kinda cute how everything came together in the end.

Not sure this book was entirely my usual vibe, but I can’t say I didn’t have a good time reading it!

[alexz]

i like to be scared but definitely not the way Chiara likes to be scared and you know what, good for her, you do you girl. getting high to go into the hall of mirrors is a choice. lol
the liminal Halloween carnival setting is truly creepy af. the love interests are equally creepy.
i will definitely be exploring more of the horroromance genre this spooky season.
this is an honest ARC review. eARC courtesy of the author via BookSirens.

[skye]

𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐒
started: october 3
ended: october 3
— e-arc

So! This made me fall in love with clowns so bad ahah (I'm still very much afraid of them)—but we'll ignore that in this moment.

Aria's writing is so good and beautifully executed. This is a perfect read for the start of the spooky season (and it's pretty short too, what's not to love!!) 🤭💖

Thank you once again to Aria for giving me an arc!

[Kyliala]

This was a fun read not as spicy as I had expected but still good I like the idea behind this, the fear kink coming true is such a fun thing to see. the hidden circus tent that holds so much more then in seems! it’s a quick fun halloween read. I hope to have more of this world in the future as it was kinda set up already for another book with different characters. but either way this is now on my spooky season read list.

[Queerbookdad]

Hot hot hot 🥵

If you like clowns this book is for you and if you don’t maybe you read it anyway and find out you’re into something you never knew before

I am obsessed with this book, Chiara is a fantastic character and I relate to her very much and her story with Vani and Jiggles aka Daddy is honestly so tantalizing 🤤 all I know is I want more and also what Chiara has lol

[Claudia Rambles]

I'm not a big fan of clowns, but I wouldn't mind being lost in a maze with these two.
That said, I never expected this Halloween to be quite so spicy, and I'm certainly not going to complain about it.

Chiara is funny, sexy, and knows exactly what she wants! Even if that means getting stuck in the Hall of Mirrors with her bits tingling and craving some sentient action in the shape of a clown and a jester.

And what more can I say?! This is a short and fun read that became even shorter because I simply couldn't stop reading it.

[Vanessa Valenzuela]

Short, fast paced, and a fun Halloween read! I don’t fw clowns like the main character Chiara does, but I’m very proud of her for doing just that 🙂‍↕️👏🏻 pretty spicy!

Thank you to the author and BookSirens for allowing me an ARC of this book!

[christy]

super short and super spicy lil halloween novella. the vibes are immaculate. lil why choose action with a bisexual twist. i just wish we had a tiiiiny bit more substance from the overall story. the spicy scenes are top notch though!

[Addison Houser]

This was pretty cute, funny, hot, and alittle sweet. I really liked the atmosphere too

[Lina]

An extremely creepy, entertaining and spicy short read. Been the first time being short did not take away 😉I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.