You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.39 AVERAGE
4.39 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
This read was a dark, spooky and gorey with monsters. AJ Merlin gave a nice bit of backstory and she builds the book up nicely. Starve is a bit more of a slow burn type book IMO, but it's excellent as usual. I do love how feral Cairo is but he's also a softer side as well. Oh and there is a dog in the book who becomes Ferns best pal.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I received an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This one was so hard to rate for me. I have been flip flopping between 3 and a 4 because it definitely rates higher than the 3 star books I've been reading lately but I don't know if it's up to a four star. So high end three stars. 3.75 stars.
I was so excited for this one. I have been on a binge of AJ Merlin books in the last little bit and this came out at such a good time. I was so, so excited. I love horror, I love monster romance, I love everything that this book was promising (except cannibalism). I have a bunch of mixed feelings on this read, and perhaps I had had my hopes too high going into it, and that's what bums me out so much.
It starts out like a horror and I was so into the entire thing. All of the stuff at the asylum and right up past that last night was so good. The vibes were great. But then it was like... It forgot it was supposed to be a horror and just turned into another romance. I was so, so excited because it felt like in was inspired by Until Dawn - down to the monsters themselves (ifkyk). It never says the name of the cryptid, but it's pretty clear, and I was so excited for that.
Then after about halfway though it kind of... Starts to feel like twilight. With the broody, sulky bad boy who doesn't want to talk about what he is because it's for her own good. Cairo is described as looking like he's in his 30s at the beginning of the book but without that one off line I would have assumed he was probably in his early-twenties at most.
Fern was... Fine. She was okay. Reading how she just rolled over to how her mother and the psych treated her irritated me, but I can deal with that. She was warned by Cairo not to go into the woods at night, and then did it, and was surprised when that warning came true. That sort of thing always annoys me.
I dunno, the book has a big warning about how dark and gory it was but it just didn't feel like it.
I also think that maybe calling it a monster romance was being generous. By the end the monsters felt more like vampires than what they were implied to be. They have sharp teeth and claws and enhanced senses, they live forever or a long time, they heal from most wounds... That's just vampires with a mimic ability. To me, monster romances are about *more*. Do *more*. Be big, and scary, and be a monster.
But all of this isn't to say I didn't like it. I enjoyed it - I read it. If I hadn't read it it would have been a DNF. It just wasn't my favourite by AJ Merlin, because I had set the bar too high in my expectations. It was a fine read. It wouldn't be the first book I'd pick to introduce someone to AJ Merlin, but it's something I would suggest people read if they were looking for more.
This one was so hard to rate for me. I have been flip flopping between 3 and a 4 because it definitely rates higher than the 3 star books I've been reading lately but I don't know if it's up to a four star. So high end three stars. 3.75 stars.
I was so excited for this one. I have been on a binge of AJ Merlin books in the last little bit and this came out at such a good time. I was so, so excited. I love horror, I love monster romance, I love everything that this book was promising (except cannibalism). I have a bunch of mixed feelings on this read, and perhaps I had had my hopes too high going into it, and that's what bums me out so much.
It starts out like a horror and I was so into the entire thing. All of the stuff at the asylum and right up past that last night was so good. The vibes were great. But then it was like... It forgot it was supposed to be a horror and just turned into another romance. I was so, so excited because it felt like in was inspired by Until Dawn - down to the monsters themselves (ifkyk). It never says the name of the cryptid, but it's pretty clear, and I was so excited for that.
Then after about halfway though it kind of... Starts to feel like twilight. With the broody, sulky bad boy who doesn't want to talk about what he is because it's for her own good. Cairo is described as looking like he's in his 30s at the beginning of the book but without that one off line I would have assumed he was probably in his early-twenties at most.
Fern was... Fine. She was okay. Reading how she just rolled over to how her mother and the psych treated her irritated me, but I can deal with that. She was warned by Cairo not to go into the woods at night, and then did it, and was surprised when that warning came true. That sort of thing always annoys me.
I dunno, the book has a big warning about how dark and gory it was but it just didn't feel like it.
I also think that maybe calling it a monster romance was being generous. By the end the monsters felt more like vampires than what they were implied to be. They have sharp teeth and claws and enhanced senses, they live forever or a long time, they heal from most wounds... That's just vampires with a mimic ability. To me, monster romances are about *more*. Do *more*. Be big, and scary, and be a monster.
But all of this isn't to say I didn't like it. I enjoyed it - I read it. If I hadn't read it it would have been a DNF. It just wasn't my favourite by AJ Merlin, because I had set the bar too high in my expectations. It was a fine read. It wouldn't be the first book I'd pick to introduce someone to AJ Merlin, but it's something I would suggest people read if they were looking for more.
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
WHAT TO EXPECT:
💀 MF
💀 Folklore-esque horror
💀 Monsters
💀 Murder
💀 Obsession + Stalking
💀 C@nnibalism
💀 Predators hunting down their prey
⚠️ Check trigger warnings; this dark content is for +18 readers
I am a fan of dark and paranormal romance, but new to monster romance, I will admit to having a few on my TBR list, so I have been curious about them. Also, because I am a fan of AJ Merlin, I jumped in to read Starve, which I enjoyed more than expected.
I was drawn into the storyline and its twists and turns. I liked Fern, who suffers from anxiety and a dissociative disorder, which makes her feel overwhelmed at times. It seems no one understands her until she finds herself in a haunted asylum. The chemistry between Cairo and Fern was there initially, even though they started as more of a slow burn before building up to spicy. I recommend Starve for a quick, dark, twisty, spicy read with monsters. I am giving Starve a rating of 4.5 / 5 stars.
💀 MF
💀 Folklore-esque horror
💀 Monsters
💀 Murder
💀 Obsession + Stalking
💀 C@nnibalism
💀 Predators hunting down their prey
⚠️ Check trigger warnings; this dark content is for +18 readers
I am a fan of dark and paranormal romance, but new to monster romance, I will admit to having a few on my TBR list, so I have been curious about them. Also, because I am a fan of AJ Merlin, I jumped in to read Starve, which I enjoyed more than expected.
I was drawn into the storyline and its twists and turns. I liked Fern, who suffers from anxiety and a dissociative disorder, which makes her feel overwhelmed at times. It seems no one understands her until she finds herself in a haunted asylum. The chemistry between Cairo and Fern was there initially, even though they started as more of a slow burn before building up to spicy. I recommend Starve for a quick, dark, twisty, spicy read with monsters. I am giving Starve a rating of 4.5 / 5 stars.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I received an arc in exchange for an honest review.
I’m going to start by saying that I really loved this novel. I knew this was right up my alley when I saw the premise, and it honestly delivered. The folk-lore is there in droves, the monsters feel real, and the horror is just enough to keep you sated without overtaking the romance (which lets be real, is 90% of why I’m here).
The novel starts a little bit slow, but personally I love that AJ Merlin tends to start with a heavier intro than other authors. Merlin gives us plenty of time to truly meet and understand the MC, LI, and side characters, which always ends up making me feel more engaged in the story when we hit the first plot point. And oh boy, when that first plot point hit? It REALLY grabbed me.
The highlight of the book for me was the relationships, specifically the different dynamics we got to experience. It wasn’t just the MC and LI who had me captivated, after all. I absolutely hated the mother, and the therapist especially , but the dynamic with both of them was so well done, and the relationship between Hattie and Tyler caught me right in the feels. I love that in the end, they basically adopt Hattie . Finally, the dog! THE DOG! Everything about the dog !
I also think that the neurodivergent experience was well described, and I appreciated how the climax was resolved. I do think that sometimes it felt a bit like the neurodivergence was forgotten about, as there were times I thought that the MC would be having a different kind of reaction then she did, but that might just be my experience and not the MC’s.
My main annoyance did rest with the MC, however. She had a particular inability to follow directions that drove me insane. She just couldn’t seem to learn her lesson about it, and I wanted to shake her when it kept happening!
Overall, I definitely recommend the book. I had so much fun with it, and I’m definitely going to be adding it to my re-read list.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Cannibalism
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Starve
“I’ll mark you inside and out, so there’s no mistake that you’re mine.”
Overall Rating: 4.25/5⭐️
Spice Rating: 3/5🌶️
aj merlin does it again, and are we surprised? I certainly am not because my queen never misses. once again, another absolute BANGER of a book from my dark romance queen! and the fact that this was just a smidge more than dark romance blending into dark monster romance absolutely had me feral and salivating for my own ruthless monster. Something about Merlin’s writing will ALWAYS do it for me and i’ll never sleep on their books.
I really didn’t know hat to expect, i’m often diving into books blind these days, the plot of this book was fantastic and kept me guessing constantly with where it was gonna go, what was gonna happen and honestly what the actual heck was going on at times. the mix of folklore, erotica, gore, horror and monsters was so so good. It was a refreshing take on something I don’t read often, and Merlin made me throughly enjoy it and wish i was living Fern’s life, monster smut and all. Merlin never misses with her writing, and Starve is just like all her other books i’ve read that’ve kept me on the edge of my seat and endlessly yearning for more.
“Claw me deeper, Fern. I want to wear your marks like you’re going to wear mine.”
what to expect in starve:
🩸 dark paranormal romance
🩸slow burn with spice
🩸folklore horror
🩸primal play
🩸 animal companion
🩸 human x monster (MF)
🩸 asylum setting
**PLEASE read the trigger & warnings before diving into this book! **
as always, a huge thank you full of love to the wonderful AJ Merlin for letting me arc read this book & celebrate this new release with you! Starve just released today so run and grab your kindle and pick this book up asap!!
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was so fascinating.
This is my first time being chosen for an ARC, and I was NOT disappointed.
The setting is appropriately creepy, especially since I am already so close to the Appalachians. Everyone gave me weird vibes. Except for Moro. She is a perfect girl.
I was ready to fight various characters so often! The tension is so high, and the mental health struggles are so familiar.
I loved every second of Fern’s journey.
AJ Merlin is so fantastic at bringing creepy characters to life, but still making you want to be on their side?
I tried to go really slow when I was reading, so I could soak it all in. I’m ready to reread it immediately. Like IMMEDIATELY.
This is my first time being chosen for an ARC, and I was NOT disappointed.
The setting is appropriately creepy, especially since I am already so close to the Appalachians. Everyone gave me weird vibes. Except for Moro. She is a perfect girl.
I was ready to fight various characters so often! The tension is so high, and the mental health struggles are so familiar.
I loved every second of Fern’s journey.
AJ Merlin is so fantastic at bringing creepy characters to life, but still making you want to be on their side?
I tried to go really slow when I was reading, so I could soak it all in. I’m ready to reread it immediately. Like IMMEDIATELY.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Cannibalism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
3/5⭐️
2/5🌶️
This book felt like a whole lotta build up with not a lot of action. I also felt confused most of the time. I normally love AJ so maybe this just wasn’t the book for me.