Take a photo of a barcode or cover
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Sexual content
Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Abandonment
Minor: Drug abuse, Death of parent
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What if she… I don’t know, marked her territory by pissing in the corners of rooms? Did humans do that? I had no idea what they got up to at home.
If I had to describe my impression of this book in one word, the word would be "puzzled." So many aspects of it just made me go... "Why? Why write it like that?" To be clear, I'm not referring to the content/concepts behind the story. What gets this reaction out of me is how they were executed. When it comes to the actual concepts, I actually really love them! There's plenty about this story to enjoy. The setting is interesting. The characters and their arcs have potential, and it's sweet how they're doing their best to be kind and considerate at all times. The romance evolves in interesting ways, both in terms of romantic and sexual dynamic. And I generally adore slice of life stories and slow burn. So this was supposed to be a book just made for me, right?
Wrong, apparently.
While I do enjoy character-driven slice of life books, I find that I want them to be, well, character-driven. I need the characters arcs and internal conflicts to come at the forefront of the story. Just like in a more high-stakes adventure novel I would expect every scene, even the downtime ones, to somehow move the adventure forward, in a character-focused slice of life I expect every scene to be about the character's journey. Here, I didn't get it at all. In fact, the character's journeys are totally buried under pages and pages of fluff, to the point that when they do recall what the supposed tentpoles of their arcs are and decide to think or talk about it, it hardly feels natural.
Like... Greid is supposed to be lonely, getting over his recent break-up, and coming to terms with his submissive nature. Beryll is supposed to be building a life of her own after getting out of a cult. Both those arcs have great potential and can be interwoven in interesting ways. Instead, the characters literally just Netflix and chill. There are multiple instances of the kind of inane conversation all of us have with our roommates. "What are your plans for the day? What should we have for dinner? Do you want to watch wrestling again?" It's way too mundane, too samey, and doesn't really tell me anything about the characters, the way it is executed. There are entire chapters devoted to describing food, made-up soap operas, infomercials, and goddamn blanket onesies. Everything else just drowns in this stuff. There are occasional relationship developments, poignant conversations, and funny lines of dialogue, but it's like trying to make out snippets of songs in a cloud of white noise.
Also, the characters feel so much younger than they should be. I did a double take when I read that Greid was supposed to be in his fourties. I was convinced that he was younger than Beryll. The way he acted, his thought process—all of it screamed "twenty-something" to me. Like, in one of his earliest appearances, he states that his ex was wrong to call him immature for smoking shade (a weed equivalent), because he was old enough to legally buy it, so that was the most mature thing he could do actually. Tell me this doesn't sound like someone who has *just* got old enough to buy legal drugs/drink/whatever, I dare you.
With Beryll, I guess her immaturity is a little more understandable because she had spent her entire life in a cult. However, I have problems with her characterization as well. It's not just that she doesn't act thirty-five, it's that her behavior is inconsistent with her stated intentions. In the early chapters, when she's still in the cult, she's supposed to be "playing the long con," convincing the cultists that she shares their beliefs and values. What she actually does in those first few chapters is pointedly dress differently than literally everyone else and, in a conversation with her devout cultist friend, diss the object of their devotion. How that doesn't raise any suspicion is a wonder. It's the kind of behavior I would expect from a "not like the other girls" teenager in a YA novel, and even then I would raise an eyebrow if there were no repercussions. Also, later on the degree of Beryll's unfamiliarity with the real world keeps varying. It's mostly brought up when it comes to stuff like "I've never tried coffee or burgers," then gets forgotten when she does things I would expect someone who's been very sheltered and exposed mainly to a specific flawed world view to have trouble with. Such as various social interactions.
I have a bunch of other books by Lily Mayne on my TBR. From the blurbs, all of them look super intriguing, but I guess I should take a deep dive into reviews before I decide if it's worth reading them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content
Moderate: Abandonment
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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:
Yes
Feel good, fuzzy warmth. Sweet, loveable characters. 🌶 intimate scenes when they start.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Sexual content
Moderate: Bullying, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Sexual content
Moderate: Chronic illness
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Loved it. My first m/f in a long while and they are too precious (while also being incredibly steamy). Lily did a great job fleshing out lots of side characters as well. The world feels believable and I look forward to more in this verse.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Alcohol
The toxic relationship was with Greid's ex. The drug use is recreational and a weed analog. There is never any sex after drug use or alcohol, consent is emphasized.
relaxing
I cannot get over how fucking COSY and low angst this is.
It's almost 600 pages of being comfy at home with your favourite person. It's absolutely lovely.
And because I'm used to Monsterous I did get a lil stressed expecting angst but there was NONE.
Contains:
💓(Fictional) drug and alcohol use. Definitely very close to weed.
💓FMC has vaginismus and doesn't want penetration anyway
💓Recovering from being raised in a cult - and this definitely continues to be a Thing Beryl has to deal with through the whole book which I very much appreciated. But again it's very low stresses about this.
💓 Bottom MMC. Soft domme FMC.
💓Pegging
💓 Extremely weird peen
💓 Once again - just being the most cosy at home with your favourite person. This is what life is all about 😌
It's almost 600 pages of being comfy at home with your favourite person. It's absolutely lovely.
And because I'm used to Monsterous I did get a lil stressed expecting angst but there was NONE.
Contains:
💓(Fictional) drug and alcohol use. Definitely very close to weed.
💓FMC has vaginismus and doesn't want penetration anyway
💓Recovering from being raised in a cult - and this definitely continues to be a Thing Beryl has to deal with through the whole book which I very much appreciated. But again it's very low stresses about this.
💓 Bottom MMC. Soft domme FMC.
💓Pegging
💓 Extremely weird peen
💓 Once again - just being the most cosy at home with your favourite person. This is what life is all about 😌
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Sexual content
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Abandonment
- Anxiety
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book re-wrote my brain chemistry.
When I opened it and saw that the content warnings included (among other things): fem-dom top, FMC with vaginismus and aversion to penetration, pegging, etc. I thought “idk about this..”
It was certainly like nothing I’ve read before, but I loved it. LOVED it!! I highly recommend it, even if (or maybe especially if) it doesn’t sound like “your thing.” I didn’t think it would be mine either, but these characters are so sweet and desperately lovable.
I really really appreciated that Lily Mayne wrote an FMC with vaginismus, because that’s something that doesn’t get enough representation in romance/erotica considering how common it is in real life. Not only that, but she chose to make that character someone who isn’t interested in penetration anyway, because she didn’t want to make the FMC’s condition something that needed to be “solved.” I respect that decision so much! It was absolutely the right call. There is no limit to the ways sexual intimacy can look between consenting adults, and heterosexual sex that doesn’t involve p-in-v penetration is so valid!!
I also really really cannot stress enough how much I thought the soft fem-dom/sub-bottom dynamic not only fit perfectly with these characters, but also how important it is to include that sort of representation in monster romances specifically.
I think one of my biggest complaints about monster romances that I’ve read, is that they tend to fall into this trap of gender essentialism (the masculine-presenting character must be, by nature, the dominant one in the pairing), since you usually have an MMC who is big and strong and could crush the FMC if he wanted. (I understand that primal kink typically has a large role in these types of stories, which, by its nature, leans into gender essentialism quite a bit.)
But including an MMC who is soft-spoken, anxious, tender-hearted, and whose primary desire is to get high, watch tv, and eat takeout—who is not only sexually submissive, but who struggles with a lot of shame over his desires because society as a whole as well as previous partners have made him feel lesser for it?? How IMPORTANT that representation is, specifically within the context of a monster romance.
Not to mention the book itself is well-written and the pacing is perfect. The narrative doesn’t get bogged down by unnecessary, tedious scenes like work shifts (which, a book this long, easily could have), and instead focuses mostly on the relationship. There’s very low stakes, no third-act breakup, just a lot of warm fuzzy feelings and sweetness.
When I opened it and saw that the content warnings included (among other things): fem-dom top, FMC with vaginismus and aversion to penetration, pegging, etc. I thought “idk about this..”
It was certainly like nothing I’ve read before, but I loved it. LOVED it!! I highly recommend it, even if (or maybe especially if) it doesn’t sound like “your thing.” I didn’t think it would be mine either, but these characters are so sweet and desperately lovable.
I really really appreciated that Lily Mayne wrote an FMC with vaginismus, because that’s something that doesn’t get enough representation in romance/erotica considering how common it is in real life. Not only that, but she chose to make that character someone who isn’t interested in penetration anyway, because she didn’t want to make the FMC’s condition something that needed to be “solved.” I respect that decision so much! It was absolutely the right call. There is no limit to the ways sexual intimacy can look between consenting adults, and heterosexual sex that doesn’t involve p-in-v penetration is so valid!!
I also really really cannot stress enough how much I thought the soft fem-dom/sub-bottom dynamic not only fit perfectly with these characters, but also how important it is to include that sort of representation in monster romances specifically.
I think one of my biggest complaints about monster romances that I’ve read, is that they tend to fall into this trap of gender essentialism (the masculine-presenting character must be, by nature, the dominant one in the pairing), since you usually have an MMC who is big and strong and could crush the FMC if he wanted. (I understand that primal kink typically has a large role in these types of stories, which, by its nature, leans into gender essentialism quite a bit.)
But including an MMC who is soft-spoken, anxious, tender-hearted, and whose primary desire is to get high, watch tv, and eat takeout—who is not only sexually submissive, but who struggles with a lot of shame over his desires because society as a whole as well as previous partners have made him feel lesser for it?? How IMPORTANT that representation is, specifically within the context of a monster romance.
Not to mention the book itself is well-written and the pacing is perfect. The narrative doesn’t get bogged down by unnecessary, tedious scenes like work shifts (which, a book this long, easily could have), and instead focuses mostly on the relationship. There’s very low stakes, no third-act breakup, just a lot of warm fuzzy feelings and sweetness.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use
Moderate: Bullying, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Alcohol
Minor: Addiction
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was offered an ARC copy of Berries and Greed by the author and I am voluntarily leaving an honest essay of a review.
10/10. 20/5. Immediate favorite. One of my all time favorites ever. I absolutely love Lily Mayne's Monstrous series so I was very interested in this new series, Deep Earth Dating, although a tad bit nervous. Afterall, I'd grown very fond and comfortable with the world we know in Monstrous and there was always a chance I wouldn't like the world created in THIS series.
A CHANCE IN HELL! I fucking love this! This world is an alternate Earth where an intelligent, sentient race known as the demiurgus evolved deep underground and a couple generations ago decided to pop on up to the surface to make themselves known. Fast forward to today and some demiurgus have never left the underground, some have lived their whole lives above ground, and in-between. Humans are Not Allowed in Deep Earth. The book delves into a bit of learning how the demiurgus culturally, socially, and biologically differ from humans and I loved every bit of that.
The premise has our female main character, Beryl, living in a sex cult dedicated to the worship of the demiurgus but not actually buying into that whole garbage. She knows and believes they're just every day people going about their lives. Lily Mayne handled Beryl's journey so well that I found myself in the beginning thinking that Beryl seemed almost too normal. Too robust and well-rounded for her situation. It didn't make any sense! I should have trusted Lily because over time we see Beryl's confident exterior start to crack as she realizes how much she really missed out on growing up with the cult as she begins to build a life for herself and navigate the outside world.
(Important side note about the cult: All members save Beryl are grown adults who join the cult voluntarily as adults. The cult is wholly dedicated to the demiurgus, not on growing the cult leadership's power, influence, resources, etc. Anybody can leave at any time. They're like a self sustaining community with a very weird, very limited goal. There is no child abuse IN the cult nor a lot of the abuses we may tend to associate with cults. It's still a creepy sex cult with some very strict rules, though.)
Greid, our socially awkward and painfully lonely male main character, is a demiurgus who knows of the cult (who doesn't?) but has VASTLY underestimated how weird and creepy and sexual the whole thing is (oh no. oh no. oh no no no). But, well, he already trudged up all the damn stairs to get there and Beryl seems cool and he ends up landing himself a roommate in spite of the strange circumstances.
I fell in love with both characters from page 1 and it only grew from there. Greid is SUCH a dork and ya'll already know that is my jam anyway but holy shit, SUCH a doofus! Beryl is outwardly confident and so sure of herself but struggling day to day with all sorts of manner of adult life. I found myself surprised on how much I related to both of them. I'm already well aware of my lifetime status as a Certified Dork(tm) but I was a bit caught off guard on how much of Beryl's struggle I related to. I didn't grow up in a cult. I wasn't particularly sheltered or anything. I did, however, grow up without many friends, no social life, and my entire 20s were a wasteland of grief, mental illness, and chronic illness that left little room to properly handle Adult Things like I was supposed to so that I got into my 30s and found myself experiencing things for the first time that I really should have had a decade or two earlier. Beryl says something almost exactly like that and I was a little shook:
10/10. 20/5. Immediate favorite. One of my all time favorites ever. I absolutely love Lily Mayne's Monstrous series so I was very interested in this new series, Deep Earth Dating, although a tad bit nervous. Afterall, I'd grown very fond and comfortable with the world we know in Monstrous and there was always a chance I wouldn't like the world created in THIS series.
A CHANCE IN HELL! I fucking love this! This world is an alternate Earth where an intelligent, sentient race known as the demiurgus evolved deep underground and a couple generations ago decided to pop on up to the surface to make themselves known. Fast forward to today and some demiurgus have never left the underground, some have lived their whole lives above ground, and in-between. Humans are Not Allowed in Deep Earth. The book delves into a bit of learning how the demiurgus culturally, socially, and biologically differ from humans and I loved every bit of that.
The premise has our female main character, Beryl, living in a sex cult dedicated to the worship of the demiurgus but not actually buying into that whole garbage. She knows and believes they're just every day people going about their lives. Lily Mayne handled Beryl's journey so well that I found myself in the beginning thinking that Beryl seemed almost too normal. Too robust and well-rounded for her situation. It didn't make any sense! I should have trusted Lily because over time we see Beryl's confident exterior start to crack as she realizes how much she really missed out on growing up with the cult as she begins to build a life for herself and navigate the outside world.
(Important side note about the cult: All members save Beryl are grown adults who join the cult voluntarily as adults. The cult is wholly dedicated to the demiurgus, not on growing the cult leadership's power, influence, resources, etc. Anybody can leave at any time. They're like a self sustaining community with a very weird, very limited goal. There is no child abuse IN the cult nor a lot of the abuses we may tend to associate with cults. It's still a creepy sex cult with some very strict rules, though.)
Greid, our socially awkward and painfully lonely male main character, is a demiurgus who knows of the cult (who doesn't?) but has VASTLY underestimated how weird and creepy and sexual the whole thing is (oh no. oh no. oh no no no). But, well, he already trudged up all the damn stairs to get there and Beryl seems cool and he ends up landing himself a roommate in spite of the strange circumstances.
I fell in love with both characters from page 1 and it only grew from there. Greid is SUCH a dork and ya'll already know that is my jam anyway but holy shit, SUCH a doofus! Beryl is outwardly confident and so sure of herself but struggling day to day with all sorts of manner of adult life. I found myself surprised on how much I related to both of them. I'm already well aware of my lifetime status as a Certified Dork(tm) but I was a bit caught off guard on how much of Beryl's struggle I related to. I didn't grow up in a cult. I wasn't particularly sheltered or anything. I did, however, grow up without many friends, no social life, and my entire 20s were a wasteland of grief, mental illness, and chronic illness that left little room to properly handle Adult Things like I was supposed to so that I got into my 30s and found myself experiencing things for the first time that I really should have had a decade or two earlier. Beryl says something almost exactly like that and I was a little shook:
"Sometimes I felt embarrassingly juvenile. Like I was experiencing all these things for the first time in my thirties that other people went through years earlier, and it was painfully obvious to those around me how small my world had been before."
Beyond their obvious traits (and I am severely skipping over so much I love about both of them, like I could go on for ages about it), I also really enjoyed seeing both how good they were for each other as people, friends, that help the other grow and how good they were as a couple. It was SO. Good. They complement each other so well and it was so sweet, cute, and wholesome seeing them develop feelings for each other. I constantly wanted to wrap them in blanket burritos and squeeze them in a big bear hug. UGH, Lily Mayne is a master at getting me to want to bear hug her characters.
I'll let one line each speak for them and their relationship because I copied SO MANY THINGS for this review but can't include them all.
Greid: For her, I could withstand an evening out in the city. Because it was her, I wanted to.
Beryl: He was such a dork. A perfect dork. Who I was in love with.
The side characters were all great as well. Greid and his sister Kiti talk to each other how I talk to my siblings, complete with calling one another buttface despite being in their 40s, Lol. Greid's mom was great and felt realistic. Beryl's friend Corva was an absolute hoot and I hope we see more of her in the future. Beryl's coworkers seemed great and I liked that for how little we really saw them, we still get a glimpse of them having more personality and Beryl has a range of experiences with them.
Last but not least, the spice. It helps my lil gremlin demisexual heart that these two are something of a slow burn so I was very, very invested in their relationship by the time the spice hits but still, it was also very good spice. When it came to the content warning list's notes on the sex related items, it was more like a checklist of "ooh yes" interests than a warning and I was not disappointed. One thing I want to really call out is how well the BDSM was handled. Beryl is a fresh faced newbie to BDSM who literally learns about it for the first time during the events of the book and handles is SO WELL. She immediately researches, arms herself with knowledge, takes notes, and she and Greid have honest, open discussions with each other about what they want. Then. THEN she still takes things slowly to ease into everything and doesn't take that initial conversation as carte blanche consent to go hog wild on everything immediately. And they discuss again! Wow! Like you know, real people should do! It was great. Amazing. Loved it. Made everything that much better.
One final thing to mention is the content warning for recreational use of a fictional drug. It was admittedly the one thing that gave me pause on the list and it came up among ARC reviewers as well. I don't smoke cigarettes and although I believe firmly in the legalization of marijuana, I'm not that comfortable with being around it. Unlike our lovable goof goblin Greid, I think it's likely to exacerbate by anxiety. (Spoiler: Like Beryl,
That said, the fictional drug shade felt ...different. I described it as having the sweet smell I associate with vaping but the calming effects of weed and none of the consequences of either. I likened it to having a cup of tea but it happens to be an herb that's smoked rather than drank. That's what it felt like to me when reading about the use of shade. It was a complete non-issue.
Overall: I loved it, can't wait for the next one, and I want to personally give Lily Mayne a hug.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Drug use, Mental illness, Abandonment
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Alcohol
the drug use is by the main character and is casual and non-addictive
the drug abuse and addiction is in the past by a side character
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Um gang? Lily Mayne can write a soft, sweet, HAPPY SUNSHINE, contemporary spice fest!? What good works did I do in a past life to deserve this?!? This story was absolutely adorable and so low-angst. Which, if you have read any of Lily’s other books, is a SURPRISE.
Beryl, the FMC, was raised in a cult that worships the “monsters” in this world, the demiurgus. Greid, is a male demiurgus who just wants to eat snacks, watch TV and get high when he’s not designing jewelry. The demiurgus, despite what the cult thinks, are just regular folks who like mostly the same things as humans except sometimes they get the zoomies and their anatomy is a lil different.
Greid is dealing with some anxiety and loneliness after his ex shamed him and shared details about his seggsual preferences with their friends after they broke up. So Greid goes to the demiurgus-worshipping cult hoping for… something (?) he’s not really a super planned out kinda guy. But there, he meets Beryl, who is looking for a way out of the cult’s compound and her comfort zone. So they become roommates, and then friends and then more. They are both vulnerable in different ways and the way they figured each other out was simply perfection. They support each other so beautifully and the communication in this book is EVERYTHING. 🥹
Thanks to the author for the ARC in exchange for a review. This book comes out June 30!
👍🏻RECOMMENDED. If you enjoy CM Nascosta, you will love this. It is soft, sweet and so spicy. It also reminded me a little of Rosie Danan’s The Roommate and Olivia Dade’s All the Feels because Greid is a freaking sunshine disaster boi and I just couldn’t help but love him for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Abandonment
Minor: Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Alcohol
Moderate - kink shaming (in past), loneliness, social anxiety
FMC has vaginismus and is not interested in treating it.