What a hoot! A hilariously fun monster romance set in a delightful historical fantasy setting. A mixture of what paperback smutty historical romance reads like and fantasy fiction; it's cozy but spicy with cool worldbuilding, magic, and creatures. I can't say I've ever read a Minotaur romance before but this was just plain fun & despite the obvious physical differences, Hawk reads like the typical big, brooding, possessive leading man who will do anything for the woman he loves that we often see in romantasy books. In a world where women aren't typically 'allowed' in, our FMC Aspeth finds herself in a marriage of convenience with a Minotaur, Hawk, so that she may join a team of apprentices in the Royal Artifactual Guild. Despite there being virtually no women, except for the one technically in charge of her team, Aspeth's team is made up of 4 women and a Slitherskin which surprised me since she was the only one who seemed to be given a hard time about it. But I loved the camaraderie of their group and each of the individual quirky members. It definitely gives girl power vibes there and I loved the friendships in this one as much as the romance. It's very well written with a great plot, lots of laughs, many spicy scenes, a bit of mystery and the perfect ending. Any fans of Ruby's other books are likely to devour this in one sitting and anyone looking for a light monster romance should check this one out!

💙marriage of convenience
💗hidden identity
💙monster romance
💗danger and deception
💙magic
💗friendship
💙archeology
💗hilarious quirky lovable cast of characters
💙big tough cinnamon roll mmc x cute loyal nerdy noble fmc
💗found family

Thank you Ace for the DRC via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I picked this one up to have something light and fun to read at jury duty, and that's exactly what I got! The first book in Dixon's <i>Royal Artifactual Guild</i> series plunges you into a very different world than the one of <i>Ice Planet Barbarians</i>, much more rooted in fantasy than sci-fi, and in many cases a lot cozier than that other series. In fact, aside from the marriage-of-convenience and minotaur-in-rut elements, it was a much cozier fantasy experience overall! I hope there's more to come in this world — maybe a sequel romance for Gwenna? Very charming, compulsively readable, and an exciting setup for a new series.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this edition from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The prose was a bit underdeveloped for my taste, but I still had a lot of fun with this one! A fast read and pretty easy dip into the world of monster romance. I'd give it 3.5 stars.

I was able to read this because NetGalley provided with an arc. I loved this romantasy. Great Read. I would read more by this author.

A woman who will do anything to become part of the Royal Artifactual Guild finds herself agreeing to a marriage of convenience with the very teacher of who wants her out of the Guild. Aspeth is the daughter of a holder, her family is completely broke since her dad gambled away all their magical artifacts and she broke off her engagement with her fiancee when she found out he only wanted her for her land and money... two things she actually doesn't even have. Aspeth has a plan: she'll join the Royal Artifactual Guild and explore the world and find magical artifacts..... too bad the biggest thing in her way is that the Guild does not want any women in it at all. Her workaround? Marry a guild member who will let her become an apprentice and who better then the surly minotaur who is in desperate need of a partner for the ceremony he needs to go through. Despite their differences, can they make a real marriage work between them? This was an extremely slow burn read and honestly, Aspeth was just kind of annoying. I really wish I liked this more but felt myself getting bored while reading this. It just never really hooked me and I wanted so badly to love it. It just felt slow and anticlimactic if I'm being honest. While this was a miss for me, if you like slow burn romances with magic school/training, give this one a go, maybe you'll have more fun with this than i did.

Release Date: October 15,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group | Ace for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Ruby Dixon never misses! I just love the way her books are so easy to get into and how original her characters are! I mean... a MINOTAUR??? Who would have thought?! Love her!

This copy was kindly given to me by the publisher and Netgalley for review. All opinions are my own.

There is just something slightly addictive about Ruby Dixon books. As someone newer to monster romance, I found this one probably tamer that others I have picked up, still not sure if its the genre for me but nonetheless, this was a fun addition to RD's books. I found it had a bit more plot and world building compared to her Ice Planet Barbarians series which was a pleasant surprise. For how fast I read these, that they are a nice refresher between reads, I would keep reading if this turns into a series.

When the Ice Planet Barbarians first got popular/started being published in deluxe editions at my store, I initially scoffed at how ridiculous the series sounded. But enough folks said they genuinely enjoyed it, that I picked up the first book -- and was surprised to find there was more substance to the characters/story than I had expected, and something about Dixon's writing style was really fun.

This is the first in a new, Greek mythology-inspired series from her, and I really enjoyed it! Dixon has a way of creating magical worlds that still have a grounding in reality, with their own rules and cultural touchstones. And her characters are interesting and likable, with palpable chemistry together, and enough emotional heart/heft to them individually AND together that makes the steamy scenes even more fun. Already can't wait for the next book in this series!

Bull Moon Rising was a decent start to a new series. I've enjoyed Ruby Dixon's books in the past, and while I liked this, there were quite a few things that could have been better. I found the pacing to be really off. There were times when the plot was moving quickly and then would drag, then would pick up again, then slow back down. The irregular pacing was a struggle to get through. I also think the world building was WAY too heavy at the beginning of the book. There was a lot of information at once, and paragraphs upon paragraphs of info dumping.

I did really appreciate the found family aspects of the story! And besides the issues I had with the pacing and worldbuilding, The premise of the story and romance was super interesting and I would be interested in reading the next book!

3.5 Stars
I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get into this book until we got to Hawk's first POV chapter and learned about the Conquest Moon and all of a sudden I was invested lol. I was surprised to get a really fun adventure story out of this and I enjoyed all the side characters as well though I wish the romance between Aspeth and Hawk was there more (also I feel like I would've been okay with a bit more spice, the tension was built up so much for not enough payoff imo).

Thank you NetGalley & Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC!

Ya know… did I know going into it that it would be a Minotaur romance… yes yes I did. And I thought it would be fine because I’ve read and was able to tolerate IPB…. HOWEVER I unfortunately was never able to look past the Minotaur thing and I feel like it really held me back personally from enjoying this book.

3.5 Stars
This is a book that I picked up on Net Galley because the premise was interesting.
I enjoyed meeting Aspeth and Hawk, but have to admit that I had a bit of a hard time getting invested in the story. I'm not sure if the issue was the fact that Ms Dixon is a new author to me or that the world involved is brand new.

Aspeth is a bit spoiled and her expectations of real life are unrealistic. We see most of the story from her point of view. We see her mature and evolve in slightly unexpected ways, making her easier to like. Hawk and the other five fledglings support her evolution and grow on the reader.

There is definitely commentary on societal norms (past and present) that influence the story as well.
Overall, Bull Moon Rising was entertaining, but I'm not sure I am invested in the world around the Guild enough to come back and see what happens next.

This was such a fun romantasy full of Ruby's signature humor, smut, full world, and feral simp MMC.

Ruby Dixon always infuses so much depth to her worlds, yet her worldbuilding is easily understandable and weaved into the story so well that you feel no boredom or confusion. And this world was so interesting!

We find our FMC about to arrive at the Royal Artifactual Guild. We learn about the magic of the world and how artifacts of the magical civilization of ancient times are used today in the feudal society for war and social standing. Lady Aspeth knows finding artifacts as a guild member is her last chance to save her land after her father gambled them away.

But despite being well-educated, Aspeth is naive to the real world. Luckily, her maid and best friend, Gwenna, is with her and is a delight. But even Gwenna can't help her when they learn women need chaperones to enter guild training, if they're allowed at all.

So Aspeth finds a chaperone - a husband.

Hawk is a Taurian and guild artifiacer used to cleaning up after humans in the tunnels or in training. But since he can't leave the city as he needs to work, he will need to use a human to get through the Conquest Moon, a period of insantiable lust that drives the procreation of Taurians. And who presents herself as a candidate to go through the time with him? Aspeth.

Right place, right time amiright?

Now Aspeth and Hawk are wife and husband, student and teacher, and virgin and raging bull. All as their team needs to succeed in training or they become guild servants, their mentor loses her job, and Hawk can't pay back his debt.

There were definitely times you had to shake your head at Aspeth's naivete and optimism, but she always was planning and thinking and learning which 1) delicious is spicy scenes 2) useful in a world that underestimates women.

Hawk fell hard, fast and while it did take a while for the final consumation, I liked that they took their time to get comfortable with each other and explore each other (and many chances they did take ;).

If you've read other Ruby Dixon books, you'll get her taste of smut in a new font (minotaur) which was fun (the Conquest Moon def gave resonance).

Overall, I'm excited for a new Ruby world to explore and loved that we got a full length story. I enjoyed Aspeth and Hawk and look foward to more from this world (Gwenna next?)!

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Feat: marriage of convenience, minotaur x human, fantasy world, (magic) archaelogy, virgin (30 yo) FMC, monster romance, breeding/rut, lots of spice (but slow burn to final act), teacher x student

4.25 stars
3 spice

📣 a monster romance with a marriage of convenience!

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

📖 what’s one of your Tuesday numbers? Some of mine are: one cinnamon roll, two cups of coffee, three kids I’m trying to get ready, 1 temper I’m trying to keep in check 😵‍💫🤪

Bull Moon Rising by Ruby Dixon was a mixed bag for me.

🥳 On the pluses—there’s a marriage of convenience between an heiress who’s sneakily taken a job as a historical excavator & a bull-man guild-assistant who trains her. The premise was interesting to me, as was the overall world-building!

🥳 The dynamics of the society Dixon has created are even richer when they play out in the friendships & role FMC Aspeth is exploring.

😬 But I had problems with the whole idea of a bull moon & the references to how a lack of consent might occur.

😬 & while the premise is compelling, I kept putting this one down.

This book wasn’t quite for me but YMMV!

3.5 ⭐️. Out now!

[ID: Jess holds the book in front of an arrangement of pumpkins on shelves.]

4.5⭐️
I uhave never read Minotaur romance before but this was actually REALLY good! I expected this to be similar to IPB (spice very little plot, which is not a bad thing but it’s more surface level) but this was actually really well balanced and just as addicting as IPB. I was actually so invested in the plot and all the side characters. The found family aspect of this book was really sweet. Hawk and Aspeth were everything and they had some surprisingly tender moments as well as a lot of spice and tension. I wish we had spent a little more time on the ending and the rut because we spent all the book hyping this thing up and it all happened in one chapter so I wished we had spent a little more time on that and the overall ending but regardless I had a great time.

I got about 10% in and just really struggled with it - I couldn't get into it and just wasn't feeling it, but maybe if you love romantasy, give it a try!

3-3.5 stars

This was a great start to a new series. The heavy world building at the start was a bit overwhelming, but the backstory and magical elements were really interesting. Unfortunately, the pacing was inconsistent - starting off slow, picking up steam, meandering, and then rushing towards the end. This made the book feel too long (the audio is over 17 hours!)

I also really enjoyed the found family and the quirky band of characters in Bull Moon Rising. I loved how they each accepted the other for who they were and really came together in the end. The romance was good, but all of Hawk and Aspeth’s time on page focused on the sexy times. I wish there would have been more scenes of them nurturing and developing their connection. I also felt uncomfortable with the possible lack of consent associated with the conquest moon (though I appreciated that even when Hawk was in the thrall of the moon, he still had moments of clarity and checked on Aspeth). The ending was satisfying and it will be interesting to see where this series goes.

Felicity Munroe and Hiro Diaz narrated this one superbly. I loved the duet narration and all the different accents both used to bring this story to life.

Audiobook Review
Overall 4 stars
Performance 5 stars
Story 3-3.5 stars

*I both read and listened to an advance review copy of this book*

*SCREAM* OH. MY. GOD. This was quite possibly the filthiest marriage of convenience I have ever read, and this is a KNOTTING BOOK, and wow oh wow have I discovered that in 2024 the Year of Our Lord, I do love a good monster romance novel. Aspeth’s inner voice was absolutely delightful, though at times I wanted to yell at her to put on her spectacles so she could actually see what she was doing. The chemistry between her and Hawk, leading up to and during and after the Bull Moon, was nothing short of spectacular.

this is easily my new favorite book my ruby dixon, i was a huge fan of her IPS series and jumped at the chance to get a copy of this book.. let me just say the special edition in person is STUNNING

marriage of convenience with so much tension and just so much goodness.
our fmc is so fun and quirky i adored her to piece and well.. our mmc.. hear me out... a minotaur.. let me have some of that please

“You got into the Royal Artifactual Guild.”
“What, like it’s hard?” (could be) Lady Aspeth Honori, heiress to Honori Hold

Ruby Dixon is back with Bull Moon Rising, a historical, monster romance following heiress Lady Aspeth Honori and Minotaur, Hawk. This one is packed with beloved romance tropes including marriage of convenience, student/ teacher and forced proximity. Aspeth needs a chaperone to join the Royal Artifactual Guild and Hawk needs a partner for the Conquest Moon.

What is the conquest moon? Every Taurian (Minotaur) male is hit with the need to rut with abandon until the Conquest Moon passes. I wish I could include all the conquest moon quotes in here… but guys, it is INTENSE.

This book was a delightful mixture of quirky characters (Kipp- I am looking at you), quests and a group of misfits (ie, Troop Beverly Hills) who all have their reasons for joining the guild and you can’t help rooting for. Hawk is grumpy, which only gets worse as the Conquest Moon approaches. Aspeth gave me Elle Woods vibes- she is determined, kind and smart. She makes upgraded Guild uniforms…. You can’t tell me Ruby didn’t get inspiration from Legally Blonde and Troop Beverly Hills and I am here for it.

As a fan of the Ice Planet Barbarian series, I truly enjoyed this one. And Ruby gave us a cave moment, in Ruby we trust. Please tell me Gwenna is next… I need more Minotaur romance in my life….. something I didn’t think I would ever say.

Read if you like:
•Monster romances, he’s a Minotaur
•Historical + Marriage of convenience + Student/ teacher
•Lots of steam- You’ll need a large glass of water for Chapter Twenty-Three
•And, there is a knot
•Magical artifacts
•Found family and friendship
•Squeaker- a spoiled and memorable cat

Thank you to Berkley for the e-ARC, all thoughts are my own.