Bull Moon Rising by Ruby Dixon is the first in a fantasy/monster romance series and a new favorite of mine!

Aspeth Honori is the daughter and heir of a Holder, which means she has the expected duty of marrying well and having children to manage the hold. Aspeth has dreams of joining the Royal Artifactual Guild and decides to join to find artifacts that can restore the wealth of her hold that her father gambled away. She did not know that the guild did not allow women to enter without a chaperone. Hawk is a guild member and as a minotaur, he is about to go through a rut cycle and needs someone to help him through it. Aspeth and Hawk make a deal to get married to help each other.

I absolutely loved this book! I had so much fun reading about this new world Dixon made, but especially the relationship between Aspeth and Hawk. I love a good marriage of convenience, especially when the characters develop their relationship over time like Aspeth and Hawk. I also enjoyed the relationship between the side characters and watching their friendships bloom.

If you like marriage of convenience, monster romances, forced proximity, and minotaurs, then this book is for you!

Thanks to Ruby Dixon and NetGalley for the ARC! I can’t wait for the next one!

4/5

* Read via NetGalley

This book is so freaking fun. I started reading it because I heard the sequel was going to be released.

Plenty of sexy times yes, obviously. The characters and magic system are great too. The hunting for artifacts is intriguing and the whole society being built around it is interesting to read about.

The characters really make the story. Hawk and Aspeth's relationship and back and forth is well done. The side characters shine too, especially Kipp who I don't know why but I imagined him looking like that Richard Scarry worm carrying his apple car on his back.

A surprising humorous read with some great twists and turns too. Looking forward to the next book.

Honestly, the cover is what drew me into this book! It's gorgeous and I went in completely blind from there. I really enjoyed this book and it felt like something new to the fantasy genre!

First, I absolutely love Ruby Dixon! I will read anything that she writes because I know it will be fabulous. I was so excited to read Bull Moon Rising when I first heard it announced. The world building and characters were top notch as always! I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

This was a lot of fun and engaging. I enjoyed the world building, Ruby Dixon gave the reader information about this world in perfect doses, not info dumping.
It was on the long side but Kit the Slitherskin kind of made of for it.

I'm going to be honest, I downloaded this book for the memes, expecting it to be silly, but I was so invested the whole time. I thought the plot was super interesting, the world-building was well done, and the characters were much more complex than what I've previously read in monster romances. I can't wait for the next book in the series!

First of all.. gasp* how stunning is this cover and special edition pages?! I’m in love 😍

Hands down, Ruby Dixon is my most-read author by far. I went down a rabbit hole years ago while browsing her ice planet barbarians series, and after binge reading the entire world, I haven’t looked back,

I was so excited to read her latest monster romance, which centers around Aspeth who has to save her family’s hold.

WHAT TO EXPECT
-the perfect escape read!
-slow burn
-Morning Glory Milking Farm vibes
-monster romance
-Minotaur romance

*many thanks to Berkley Romance and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

While this wasn't really my jam, I am glad I gave it a try. I do think it will absolutely find readership at my library, so we will purchase for the collection. I have some patrons in mind already that will love it.

Bull Moon Rising by Ruby Dixon has been on my TBR list since it came out. The cover was so sparkly and gorgeous and I’d been primed for minotaur romance after finishing Morning Glory Milking Farm. I thought I knew what to expect, but I was wrong in the best way! This was much more than just a romance. There was great worldbuilding, palpable history behind the narrative, and incredible characters that were memorable and well-rounded.

Going into this, I thought this was going to be all about Aspeth and Hawk building their relationship and a ton of spice and bedroom lessons. That is such a minimal portion. This is much more of a slow-burn with bits of spice between actual plot. Seeing how they interact in the world, do their job, and then slowly build up this fake romance marriage of convenience was so great to read. They felt like actual people who lived in an actual world. Aspeth’s naivete was endearing and her awkwardness relatable. She grew up with words and books, not love and hugs. So it made sense for her to be pragmatic when it comes to sex and love, as well as naive. She doesn’t know what to make of Hawk, if he is sincere, if this means as much to him as it does to her. Meanwhile, Hawk is so used to be prejudiced against, being constantly reminded of his status as less than in society, as being viewed as mindless brawn, that he thinks he has won the lottery at having someone throw out the barest minimum in agreeing to marry him. Having Aspeth treat him without prejudice but as an equal forces Hawk to realize he is worth more than what society dictates. Watching them build each other up was extremely satisfying. There are some moments of angst in their relationship – that one bedroom scene killed me – but they are addressed fairly quickly. Also, I love that they addressed something I feel like is never address in monster romance, esp with non-humanoids – kissing! How do those mouth parts work??

Side characters were great. I loved how ride-or-die Gwenna was for Aspeth and cannot wait to read more about her in the second book of the series. My favorite side character, however, has to be Kip. I want a book where he is our MMC. He’s so interesting and I am desperate to know more about slitherskin culture. I want to see what his little house is like. Ugh, I love him so much.

Plot-wise, that was where I got emotional. Aspeth as an only daughter whose only value is in finding a fruitful marriage. She is so smart and it doesn’t matter simply because of her sex. Throughout the book, she works at changing herself, and works at saving her homeland and undoing her father’s foolishness. The ending, despite it being a Happily Ever After, destroyed me. I was ruined. I cried. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll put the rest under a spoiler tag. The fact that after everything she did, it didn’t matter at all. Her father still disowned her. She still lost her status as heir. The mistress came in and took her role and named an unknown child as heir. It destroyed me that she gave so much and no one appreciated it. And that’s why I loved this so much. Because it felt much more realistic. Yes, there’s a happy ending, but it is melancholic – for me. She herself is fulfilled and happy, but boy am I bitter and angry on her behalf for doing so much for her family/people and not having a single one of them acknowledge her, see her.

If you’re looking for a book that is a solid fantasy and a solid romance put together, I definitely recommend Bull Moon Rising by Ruby Dixon. There isn’t as much smut as you’d expect out of a minotaur romance, but it is definitely there and definitely spicy. There is a lot more worldbuilding and bonding than the typical romantasy. Definitely loved this!

**Review will be posted/crossposted May 2nd**

A monster romance with Indiana Jones vibes! Alspeth was a smart character that refuses to take no for an answer. I appreciated her wit and stubbornness.

Laugh out loud funny, and incredibly endearing.

Huge thank you to Berkley Publishing Group / Ace for the Read Now copy of this ARC. It’s been on my TBR since I first saw the beautiful cover, and I’m so glad I picked it up!

Speaking of the beautiful cover, if you saw the cover and thought, “Is that a Minotaur and a woman?”, your eyes did not deceive you. This is indeed a paranormal romance and no, he doesn’t occasionally transform into a beast, he is quite literally a Taurian 100% of the time. So if that suits your fancy, you absolutely have to read this book.

Aspeth is an incredibly naive heiress from high society that’s trying to join a guild of treasure hunters. It’s been her lifelong dream, and now that her family is secretly poor, it seems like the perfect time to disappear and start a new life. Unfortunately, she’s going to have to earn her place in the guild and its current members think it’s no place for a lady.

Bull Moon rising takes the vibes of Indiana Jones and smashes them into a historical romance. It was such a fun mix of two genres I enjoy. Aspeth is so out of her league despite how much she wants to be part of The Guild. Where she lacks the physical strength and dexterity to actually navigate the treacherous tunnels, she more than makes up for in brains. I loved her tenacity! Despite how challenging joining the guild is, she doesn’t give up. She’s got so much stacked against her. Including a terrible mentor, and a team of fellow recruits that don’t entirely believe in themselves, and a brooding Taurian who doesn’t want to help them.

Only Lady Aspeth refuses to let any of that stop her. She comes up with the crazy idea to marry the Minotaur in exchange for his mentorship. He can’t be any worse than Guild Master Magpie, who’s too intoxicated to teach their team.

I was fully sucked into this world and loved the Indiana Jones-esque quality to it. I was fully invested in the treasures they were finding. Although the storyline was slow at times, I flew through the audiobook. The narrators did an incredible job bringing the characters to life, and I found myself blushing up a storm when the Conquest Moon finally arrived. Aspeth had no idea, what she was signing up for.

This book was truly adorable. The ending was so sweet, and I loved the way the story unfolded. I’m very interested to see where the series goes next.

A mucking good time with a surprisingly solid plot. The characterizations weren’t my favorite but Ruby’s unwavering commitment to her craft kept me reading.

3.5⭐️

**thank you NetGalley for the ecopy!!**

Hawk is a surly minotaur and instructor for the Royal Artifactual Guild, a semi-archaeological program that teaches people to find magical artifacts. Lady Aspeth Honori is the daughter of an aristocrat and lover of history. Aspeth’s father gambles away their generational wealth and Aspeth is determined to save her family’s fortune by becoming an expert artifact hunter. In order to join the Royal Artifactual Guild, she needs a chaperone or a husband. She enters into a marriage of convenience with Hawk, who is looking for a partner for the upcoming Conquest Moon, the big “heat” that happens to minotaurs every five or so years.

Bull Moon Rising is an interesting debut for Ruby Dixon’s new series. I was very confused by the lore and world-building in the beginning of the novel. It wasn’t immediately clear that the artifacts they were hunting for were magical, and I wasn’t sure of the intended purpose. I was also very confused by the setting and time period. As the story continued, the plot became more engrossing and the climax was full of action and surprises. I’m glad I stuck it out. I do feel like the romance took a backseat in this story. I didn’t feel much of a relationship between Hawk and Aspeth outside of lust. I’m hoping the next book has more romance and a little less archaeology.

Bull Moon Rising was absolutely amazing! Minotaur smut is something I never expected to be into, but here we are. The book was so well written that the romance didn’t overshadow the main plot. I loved the teacher-student dynamic, the training aspects, and the themes of found family and marriage of convenience. The ending was perfect – it wrapped everything up so beautifully, like a bow on a thoughtful gift. I’d rate it 100/10!

This gave me Indiana Jones vibes set in a fantasy world where our heroine is fighting against a patriarchal society and trying to save her holding and territory.

Lucky for her, she finds a smoking hot bulky Minotaur to be her fake husband and help her out. The catch? She has to help him through the Conquest Moon which equates to a rutting and knotting good time.

The originality of this story and the world building really sucked me in, and Hawk teaching our virginal heroine how to enjoy herself was icing on the cake.

I do wish we had a little more knotting, because like, that was fun 🥹😍😂🖤 Can’t wait for book 2!

This was an exciting monster romance with Indiana Jones vibes! Aspeth and Hawk were a perfect pairing! And the side characters! They were as perfect and as much a part of the story as the main characters. I loved that, while she had lived a life of luxury, Aspeth wanted to learn and do something with her life versus just marrying well and managing the "help" all day. And the archaeological aspect including an ancient city was new and interesting choice.

Marriage or convenience!!!!! Honestly one of my favorite tropes and I will eat it up every time. This was no exception! I had so much fun with this book and I cannot wait to read the sequel.

I really love the society and the lore and while the spicy bits were spicing, the plot and the world building had me in a chokehold. A non sexy chokehold. All I’m saying is that Aspeth could talk to me about Old Prellian and glyphs any day of the week.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Berkley for the review copy! This was my first Ruby Dixon and I see why fans are feral!!!!

📚Trainer/Student
📚30 year old FMC
📚Possessive MMC
📚Monster Romantasy
📚Marriage of Convenience
📚Knotting

I absolutely LOVED this book! I originally picked it up because of the gorgeous artwork on this cover, but also because I love everything Ruby Dixon writes. She has a way of writing the most entertaining and unusual characters and puts them in fantastical settings and writes story lines that grab you from the start. Every character is relatable, even the Minotaurs.

This was entertaining and cozy and spicy. It was just as enjoyable as Ice Planet Barbarians and I can’t wait for more stories to be told in this same universe. I already look forward to rereading this several times over.

Bull Moon Rising

Aspeth and Hawk
marriage of convivence
minotaur +
virgin plus size heroine
artifact finders
grumpy / sunshine
knotting
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
The daughter of an artifact holder leaves her engagement to become a pledging to the royal artifactual guild. Being a woman, though, she needs to have a chaperone approve her. Unable to ask her previous relations for help, she arranged to be married to a Taurian(minotaur). Hawk needs someone to be his rutting partner once the conquest moon arrives. He accepts Aspeth’s offer of being her chaperone in exchange for her willing participation for the rutting week. While in the training for the guild, Aspeth is pushed to her limits. Hawk is trying his best to train the group of 5 in place of the drunken teacher. Hawk is also trying to get his untouched wife ready for him, mentally and physically. Their relationship grows from distain to a spicy partnership. The conquest moon approaches, and Aspeth still needs to find some artifacts to secretly send home her penniless father.

Honestly, I picked this book up for the cover art. This is not my first book from Ruby Dixon, so I was somewhat aware of the spice level I would be getting into. While I do still skim / skip most of the spicy bits(lots of bits, big bits, too), I think the rest of the story was a worthwhile read. It was a bit of a slower burn for the marriage to be consummated, but there were plenty of other things they got up to before. I'm aware that minotaur romance is probably not for a lot of people, I think Hawk was caring, charming, and quite rational. Aspeth and Hawk really seemed to complement each other with their opposing sunshine / grumpy personalities. While the marriage started off as a convenience for both parties, feelings developed into a real love match. The narration was duet style and fantastic!

3.5⭐ There were so many things I enjoyed about this book, but especially the found family situation between the other “misfit” fledglings. I liked that Gwenna, Lark and even Kipp were so unapologetically themselves and took to one another as they went through the Guild training. Of course, the dual POV is my favorite feature to see in a romance, along with the marriage-of-convenience trope. And I couldn’t get enough of the grumpy x sunshine dynamic between Hawk and Aspeth (especially seeing how he softened up for her)!

I think this could have been a stronger read for me if a few things would have been different. I was hoping to have a connection with Aspeth right away, but unfortunately it took nearly half the book, despite the perspective being written in the first person. I also would have loved it if there was more depth to the world-building. Many times I was left with questions about the different habitants and the background with the animosity between the holders was lacking. A lot of telling instead of showing was happening and I would have liked more information in that regard to draw me more into the story. Additionally, some of the word choices took me out of the story, whether it was during the spicy moments or more modern terminology used throughout.

All in all I had a fun time reading ‘Bull Moon Rising’! I so appreciate that it was offered as a recent Read Now option, as it’s one I had been interested in reading for a while.