Meh. I should probably stop reading all the monster romances. This one just didn't do it for me and I wanted so much more out of it.

Matched to the Minotaur was a fun book, but it was not my favorite. I thought it was interesting though!

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!
A quick and sexy monster romance! I absolutely love Minotaur books and this did not disappoint. The story follows fated mates Meg and Leander as they save an entire dimension using sexy times. Check the tags before reading but u highly enjoyed reading this story!

I really enjoyed this book. When I started I did not want to put it down. I needed more monster romance in my life and this gave me what I was craving.

FMC: Meg- a board game designer who is taken to a haunted house where she has to sign a waiver in order to enter only to be transported to an alternate realm to meet her mate and use sex to save his dimension. Meg is a curvy FMC with realistic responses to learning about magic, realms, etc. but has the unique qualifier of loving all things mythical and mystical including Minotaurs.
MMC: Leander- a Minotaur who is King of a dimension that is slowly dying. The only thing that can fix his kingdom and everyone who lives there is to find his mate, convince her to have sex, and create enough magic to sustain his kingdom. Now that he has found his mate how will he convince her to have sex, restore the magic, and stay forever? … also has a pierced 🍆 (which I wish was used a little more but I won’t complain)
POV: 1st person, dual POV
HEA: yes
spice: there are a few open-door spicy scenes in the book
TWs: body shaming, mental manipulation from ex-partner, parental neglect (off-page), cancer (remission, not MC), violence, house fire, sex in a temple- is that a TW?
standalone: this is book 1 in the Matchmaker Monster Romance series- The Kraken’s Prize comes out Fall 2023 and I can’t wait to devour it Luna Joya
final thoughts: WOW I LOVED THIS BOOK!! Such a quick read with a decent amount of steam/spice for a short book. I LOVED the side characters and can’t wait to see who crosses over to the next books.

read this book if you love
🔮 supernatural creatures
🪄 magic
💖 paranormal romance
🌍 world building
🧑‍🤝‍🧑 great side characters
🏝️ forced proximity (alternate realm)
♟️ game references, game creation
🫡 big MMC
🤩 curvy FMC
📖 retelling (Beauty and the Beast retelling vibes)
🌀 plot twists

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reading copy of matched to the Minotaur. This was actually such a cute and quick read. A young girl spirited away to another realm to me a fated match to the Minotaur king. The magic they could create together would save his realm from ruin but she is unsure at first. After some work they finally fall in together and are quickly torn apart again. These two riff off each other pretty well and the twists were interesting. I feel like this book could have been longer to extend out the elf and what she caused.

Monster romance? I'm there! This one does not have tentacles but it does have a minotaur who does not shape shift into a human... Oh yes. For this alone I'm interested in reading about it. To my surprise this is a quartet with each of the four friends paired off with a special non-human mate. Colour me intrigued. I read this all in one sitting and it is a deliciously smexy fun one.

The premise of this story is straightforward with a fated mate theme. From there, Ms Joya throws in demon matchmakers, other dimensions, whiny ex-boyfriends, and a big reveal. I enjoyed all the twists and turns. I liked the characters Meg and Leander. They are both likeable and well suited to each other. Their stilted interactions are adorable and as they get to know each other, their chemistry continues to grow.

I did find the conflict to be a bit heavy handed and the way it was fixed danced right on the line of deus ex machina, but it worked for me. I liked it and I am ready to read the very next book to see how Meg's best friends are paired up and what kind of shenanigans they run into with their fated mate. This paranormal romance is recommended to monster lovers who enjoy the quirky.

This was a hot little Monster Love romance, there was lots off instant heat but the story was decent to. All in all a nice weekend read.

Concept: Four woman go to a haunted house, they sign a liability contract that turns out to be a demon sex bargain and get shipped off to various mate scenarios. Our leading lady, Meg, is matched with a Minotaur. Bam.

This was such a goofy little book. I mean that in the best way possible, I spent almost the entire time smiling or laughing. I have a hard time prioritizing the problems with this novel just because I enjoyed the read so much. The characters are endearing and funny, the spice was prime although there wasn't a lot of it which was disappointing because it was good. The plot was all over the place. The first 10% of the book belonged to the girls making their way to the house and signing the contracts. I'm well aware that in series like these each book will have a pairing and yes everybody is sort of interconnected so it can be nice to see a little of each person leading up to their book's release. But, it felt clunky and bogged down with a bit too much detail.

This book is really short though so even though there were problems we didn't sit with them for very long. Like the character who appears at the last 75% mark and is arguably amazing and hilarious, and I enjoyed them and their backstory immensely. Meeting them so late in the game was startling. Devil's advocate though, I don't know that I'd do it differently since the whole book is so goofy. In other circumstances I'd say wow, bad choice, but this book isn't taking itself too seriously so I think we can give it even more license to be silly and delightful.

I will say that overall I think this could have used some tightening up. It's short and had room to grow. I'd have liked to see more time left in their bargain so that we could have seen more of the labyrinth. The market scene was sweet and then chaotic and I loved the dynamics and I wanted more of that. Also, I feel like all the moments with the D guy, whose name I've already forgotten because he was annoying, Not Dirk, the other one. Yeah, he isn't a satisfying antagonistic force and I feel a little played that he defaults to that role in a lot of respects. It could have been done a bit better.

Overall I'd say this is more than worth the read, it's hilarious and adorable and quite a lot better than some of the other demon bargain books I've read recently. Despite the problems I have with it, I can't wait to read the next books in the series. Definitely in it for the long haul with Theo and this freaking mess he's created.

Give it a try if you're into demons and Minotaurs and fated mates with quirky nerd humans. Even if your not. Just try it.

This monster romance was cute!

Matched to the Minotaur features a sarcastic, pluz-size herione and her burly and protective minotaur.

I liked the magic system, and the different dimensions, and the chemistry and smut was great! The lack of communication between the two leads was really frustrating though, as he basically avoids her twice. The first time was explained, and he did much better, but then he ignored her again?? Instead of just telling her what was going on? That was too much for me.

But I liked the happy ending and would still pick up the other books in the series.

I don't want to be one of those negative reviewers that says there is too many monster romances out there, but this reads exactly like the Demon Bargain series with less care. It should be noted I picked up both books at the same time, that's on me and I should have given both their due. There's just a lack of development of the characters and a lot was thrown at the readers right at the end that made it feel rushed in not a great way. The plot and conflict were great, I would have loved it more so if every character was just given more.

Meg is a human girl going on a trip with her 3 best friends to a haunted house for a little weekend scare. When they get there they have to sign a contract allowing them to pass through the haunted house, at which point they are separated for their individual tasks before being told they would join together again later. Though that isn't exactly what happens, as when Meg is separated she is transported to a different realm where she meets it's king Leander, who also informs her she is his mate. I should also mention that Leander is a Minotaur and his realm is quickly falling apart and the only thing that could fix it is sex magic made with him and his mate. After scaring Meg during their first meeting, Leander leaves her in his castle for 9 DAYS with his castle staff. When he finally returns he's upset to see that in his absence she has made friends with his second in command (I think he was his second in command anyway). At this point Leander and Meg realize they are both very attracted to each other (supposedly because of being each other's mates because lord knows it wasn't because of any conversation they had together) and decide to court each other. Courting lasts one day before Leander ends up between Megs legs and she is in his bed. At this point I stopped reading. DNF 56%

I am all for mixed species romance. Fated mates. Them being together is the only way to save the kingdom. All that weird *ahem* kinky stuff. sign me up. But this just didn't do it for me. They wrote in Joya wrote in Leander being gone for 9 days like /that/ was supposed to fill in for the slow burn romance stuff. but instead we just jumped forward and Meg suddenly doesn't feel weird towards him because all these other people she's been around for 9 days don't hate this guy. Which would never actually work in the real world? She also was way too on board after being TRICKED into a sex contract with a MINOTAUR. Like, girly, I don't care how kinky or easy going you are, or HOW bad you need laid, that's weird and not okay. Leander should have sent her home or she demanded to go home immediately because of that. Theo is a shady dude for not being upfront and honest with her.

And it's really disappointing that all the lead up to the smexy stuff was just so bad and boring. Because the spicy stuff was great! But I couldn't handle the quite literal world building and Leander's weird pining self. And Meg acting like she was the most disgusting thing ever because she was fat. As a fat person, no.

Also. If your heroine is going to be fat, make the cover art reflect that. Because the girl on the cover is not fat.

This gives Beauty in the Beast vibes, with feels of Demons Bargain series, and dashes of Lilian Larks monster romance charm.

A fun portal fast paced kidnapped and given to your mate to save a realm with sex magic kind of story.

Other tropes include secret parentage, hea, and a demon kitty.

God I just loved this. A monster romance is exactly what I needed; like it really hit the spot. I told everyone I know who enjoys monster romance they just HAD to read it. Sex magic, monsters, matchmaking; what more could you want?!

A big thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for the eARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. I got this on a whim. I wasn't sure if I would enjoy the book. I was pleasantly surprised. I truly enjoyed the book. Well worth the read, The characters were fun and different, unique individuals. I really loved Oggie. This was Meg and Leander's story. 4 stars

This was a super cute read that was surprisingly spicy. Leander was such a cinnamon roll, I love him. He was so sweet but also 🫠🥵
Meg was so relatable, fighting off insecurities from a previous breakup and just everyday life struggles and worries.

“I’m no savior. I create board games and worry about paying the minimum on my credit card bill.”

What you’ll find:
⚔️Plus size FMC whose a RED head
🔮Dungeons and Dragons/Gaming speak
⚔️A cinnamon roll Minotaur
🔮”Touch her and ☠️” vibes
☠️Relatable FMC
🔮MMC who wants to give her the world…or should I say realm

“What makes you question the truth of your worth? You are a warrior.” She has a deep wound, one that bleeds her confidence like a scourge. Yet I can’t see it to heal it. “It’s the same as whenever I speak the obvious about you. Your beauty, your strength, your brilliance—those are facts, realities plain for everyone to see.”

I literally only learned about and requested this book yesterday and read the whole thing today, so I feel like that should tell you something! I'm still relatively new to reading monster romances, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. We appreciate spicy monster books with consent and disdain for toxicity in relationships as main features, even when dealing with sketchy demon deals! Also while I like the cover, it does not do our main character justice at all. She is canonically curvy! And it's one of the things Leander loves about her!! Anyway, this was just a lot of fun and I had a great time! I will definitely continue with the series as they come out as well!

3.5*

I loved the concept of this book, curvy nerdy gal gets tricked into signing a s.e.x contract with a demon - as one do, she follows an adorable kitten to the depths of a magical world where she meets the *adorable* minotaur.

I am a big fan of monster romances, but usually, the monster is more "scary" than the damsel in distress.

A few things didn't sit right with me in this book.

Firstly, we are told that the heroine is a beautiful curvaceous geeky redhead (hot af), so then why do we have a skinny babe that looks like she has been pulled from a beauty pageant on the cover? If you are going to write about curvy girls, please get it right.

Also, I found the heroine to be really.. dumb? Like she was so horny that half of her decisions and most of her self dialogue were about her desire to be riled up all night long to the point where it was funny and not reliable in the slightest.

On the plus side, I LOVED the spicy scenes themselves and the idea of having a matchmaking to your own personal beast! 😃

Overall, it was a fun, spicy monster romance read that transported you in a unique fantasy world. If the cover had a better plus size representation, it would have been 4* for me.

This had such potential as I love a Minotaur/Monster romance/fated mates, but unfortunately this for me was just too bizarre at points (and that’s saying something!) sadly this wasn’t for me

I really enjoyed this book. When I started I did not want to put it down. I needed more monster romance in my life and this gave me what I was craving.

Meg is such a fun, fierce and badass character. I loved her a lot. Leander is such a cinnamon roll and the way he loves and cares for Meg was just awesome. I liked the portal magic and how sex is the way that will save the Magic.

Fat rep- Meg is described as fat, rolls, lush and soft which I loved to see. She has some insecurities with her body at times due to a previous ex fat shaming her. My big issue is the cover! There was an opportunity to show a plus sized body and this cover didn’t do that so I was frustrated. I picked this book up not even knowing it was had fat rep and to see the cover have a skinny character just made me sad.

CW- author has a great and compressive listing of tags and CW.