Bull Moon Rising was my first book by Ruby Dixon and I am ADDICTED. I absolutely loved her writing but most of all, I loved the way that this had a developing and interesting world that was written so well and characters that were marginalized that you really wanted to root for. The plot and the spiciness was well balanced, which I was not expecting at first (and not that I don't hate when it is unbalanced, but I had just assumed), I loved the plus size character and her attitude to push through the misogyny in the future that she wants.

This marriage of convenience and forced proximity between our human FMC and her minotaur was done well, which are two of my favorite tropes so that was definitely a bonus! They were both sweet characters overall and I loved all the side characters as well. Everyone was so well and thoroughly written and the world around them that I truly cannot wait to read the next books involved. Let's not forget also the exploration of sex involved in this, which was exceptionally done and I thoroughly enjoyed. I do not read monster smut much but this one specifically tops my list on favorites!

Thank you so much for the digital copy to review!

This brightly colored, mostly pink rainbow of a book cover caught my eye a very long time ago after seeing so many people talking about it leading up to and after its release. When Berkley offered it up as a Read Now on NetGalley, I knew I just had to grab it for a read.

I don’t know what I expected from this book beyond a monster romance, but oh did it deliver much more than that! A lady on a mission armed with her determination, maid Gwenna, and scraggly cat Squeakers, Aspeth Honori ventures away from home to save her family from ruin. Her father foolishly gambled away their artifactual fortune so now Aspeth believes the best course of action to be joining the Artifactual Guild under an alias to bring artifacts back into her family Hold.

But oh, the shock to her system when she actually reaches Vastwarren City: in the mildest terms, it’s definitely not the place for a lady. Other beings beside humans roam the streets, the guild that’s been her dream is sexist, and the only way she’ll get the chance to even try to move forward in her plans is to propose a marriage of convenience with someone who will not only be her teacher but also is a Taurian male approaching a cosmic event needing a dedicated bed partner. What could possibly distract her from her goals with a transactional marriage like that?? (Spoiler: it’s a marriage of convenience; I think we can all guess where this is going).

This wasn’t just some monster romance set in modern times which I did think it might’ve been from glancing at the cover. No, it was almost a cozier fantasy tale filled with a lady (and her maid/bestie) striking out on their own to save her inheritance while hiding her identity, a marriage of convenience made to achieve that goal, treasure-hunter training, found family, lots of teaching moments both for the guild and for the marriage.

I know I said this with a previous book I just finished as well, but it was as spicy as it was sweet. The added “tomb-raider” training and team building added such a great layer to this story beyond the romance as well. And seeing Aspeth grow and discover herself was a joy to see develop upon the page as well. Even a woman in her 30s can start a brand new adventure and find what she truly wishes to do with her life.

I’d definitely be intrigued to see what comes next for these characters and this world!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (4.5)

Ruby Dixon delivers magic in this first person dual POV romantasy.

We meet Aspeth, a mature, full figured, glasses wearing FMC (LOVE THIS) and Hawk, a Minatour who is thrust into the role of taking on being a mentor due to the current leader being too drunk to care. He offers the exchange of marrying Aspeth and being her guide and her to satisfying his rutting needs, and he will teach her what she needs to know about the guild and training.

Tropes include: he's her teacher, marriage of convenience, forced proximity, "my wife", found family

This is absolutely EVERYTHING! I will be getting it in every format!

I've read Ruby Dixon's 'Ice Planet Barbarian' series and really enjoyed it so I was eager to check out 'Bull Moon Rising.'

Aspeth Honori, the daughter of a nobleman, finds out that the family coffers are empty so she decides to join an artifact finding guild to replenish her family's riches and ensure the security of her home. Aspeth's lofty ideas of the artifact finding guild are immediately dashed when she faces misogyny and cruelty from the primarily male group. She strikes a bargain with Taurian Hawk, a minotaur teacher at the guild, and they enter into a marriage of convenience. Aspeth will gain acceptance into the guild as a trainee, and Taurian will have a mate for his impending rut.

This was a true adventure story a la Indiana Jones and I was invested in Aspeth's tasks and her growth as the novel progressed. The supporting characters were intriguing and the "found family" aspect was engaging. The world building was deftly done and it was easy to picture the guild and the dangers of finding artifacts. Aspeth and Taurian's contentious relationship provided tension, however, I wish that more time had been spent on their love story. The fantasy aspect was definitely more prevalent than the romance, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but I was expecting more from the romance going by how it was marketed. The steam was also high, once we got to it, but it left me wishing it had been distributed a little better throughout the novel.

Ruby Dixon has created a very solid universe and I will definitely be checking out the next books that come out in this series.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Romance for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

First and foremost, thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for sharing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

4.75/5 Stars

I genuinely had such a good time reading this. The story never lulled but there was never just a massive information dump on the reader given how much lore and worldbuilding was needed. I was so invested with all the drama and intrigue of the guild and its politics.

Girlies, I loved Aspeth and Hawk's banter so much. It was SOO good. The only negative thing I had was Hawk says some HELLA out of pocket things that had me cackling at times and cringing at others (only reason it's not a 5 star - I can't get 'lightly furry muscle slabs' out of my head. That one line just wasn't for me). But I guess that just meant he was down bad, and we love that. The spice was for lack of a better term hot. It starts a little slow and then its pedal to the metal, thing to the floor and go! I was sitting there with my flabbers gasted during some scenes.

The character growth was so good! We start off with a ragtag bunch of students that really grow into their roles and gain confidence in themselves and each other as they went artifact hunting. If you love found family, this had a great one!

Tropes:
-Slowburn
-Teacher x Student
-Minotaur Romance
-Marriage of Convenience
-"My Wife' is used a lot
-HEA

Super fun and highly entertaining romantasy with a Minotaur MMC and a fun cave adventuring/training plotline!

Content warnings include: sex on-page, marriage of convenience, sex on-page, blackmail, attempted murder, corpses, misogyny; Mentions of: gambling addiction, xenophobia, sexual harassment.

I mainly bought this because I really wanted to buy a book in an Indie Bookstore I went to, and this looked pretty, plus I still have fond memories of the last Minotaur romance I read, Morning Glory Milking Farm. I also never read anything by this author before (though I have Ice Planet Barbarians on my TBR) so I went in pretty much blind.

For a book that doesn't take itself too seriously, this actually had a lot of plot. There is the main romance plot hook, the Conquest Moon, an event that happens every 5 years that is basically a mating phase for Minotaurs where they go sex-crazy for a day. This ties in with Aspeth, the FMC, the noble heir of a broke holder family (read: fancy lords) who in an attempt to safe the family wants to join the Artificeer Guild, who look for magical Artifacts in underground ruins. In order to join, she needs a Chaperone, and Hawk, a Minotaur working for the Guild, needs a group to train and someone to spend the Conquest Moon with, so they strike a marriage of convenience.

The way the convenience marriage was proposed was hilarious. Aspeth is a pretty stereotypical sheltered rich lady who is very naive, but at the same time she is very practical and pragmatic, which leads to a lot of funny situations and situational comedy. It never veered into overdramatic sitcom vibes, instead staying grounded and very, very fun. Particularly juxtaposed with Hawk's POV who doesn't always know what the heck Aspeth is thinking (or doing) it creates a lot of very fun situations and I had a lot of good laughs.

The other big plot is Aspeth and her merry band of five, the group of Guild students training to become Artificers. The entire group is a lot of fun, and I enjoyed the characters. I wish they had gotten a but more attention here and there, but that's par of the course - and with more books in the series there is a good chance at least one of them is going to get their own book in the future.

Both of these main plots have various subplots that each are fun and integrated well. There's Magpie, Aspeth's idol who is supposed to train the Five, but mysteriously absent; there's Aspeth's past as a holder heir which she is trying to keep secret; there's Hawk desperately trying to educate Aspeth about what's going to happen during the Conquest Moon, and while Aspeth isn't opposed, she is also a bit scattered. And so many more.

It's written in an easy and accessible way that flows nicely. There are plenty of emotional ups and downs and I was pretty invested in it. The worldbuilding isn't super deep, but it's clear the author put a lot of thought into it, and the world feels alive and believeable. I could have done with a bit less sexism, and more details about the non-human people of this world, but overall this was an interesting setting.

The ending was very fun and satisfying too, though there were a few details I wasn't a fan of (how all the plot point converged at the end) and some details at the end felt off to me (Aspeth's emotional reaction to the consequences), but overal, I had a great time from beginning to end.

Spice Level: 4/5, you're going to want a cold glass of milk for this one.

Literally the cover sold me on reading this book. Nothing that has that much epicness is going to be a disappointment. This book was a ride, literally and figuratively. I'll see myself out.

But seriously. I love a good convenience to lovers story, and one has so much more than the romance in it. All of the characters are unique and life like. I even wanted to feel for the not so nice ones as many of them were struggling with their own short comings. But the friendships, and personal growth are all perfection. We see Aspeth grow from a slightly pampered daughter to a dominate voice.

She makes many mistakes, they are all the mistakes you'd find anyone without the knowledge of the real world, and people to count on would make. Watching her discover her own worth, and what she wants out of her life is lovely. Though a lot of the pages are mostly her discovering her freedom in the bed, and well, that's lovely too. ha

I didn't see how they were getting out of any of the binds they were in, but I should have because of course there are many things you can trust about men, don't mess with their money or their woman. That's not really a spoiler because this book is full of strong willed men throwing their weight around. Watching Aspeth try her best to put them all in their place is hilarious at many points. May we all have the gumption she does.

This is very much an introduce you to the world read. We meet so many people, and discover the magic system and how the politics work so buckle up because you're going to want to dive into the next book asap.

You'll love this book if you enjoy unique magical worlds, post magic societies, a bit of grave robbing and so much romance it's going to make you want to fall in love all over again.

Thank you Net Galley and Penguin Publishing Group for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

The cover of this book is gorgeous. It’s just absolutely stunning! I really have not gotten into monster romances before but this was a nice introduction. It did seem like a super slow burn and a lot happened at the end.

No author gets me out of a reading rut like Ruby Dixon. Or into another kind of rut.

Aspeth Honori is the daughter of a broke nobleman and decides she needs to join the artifact finding guild to rebuild her family’s riches and to ensure the safety of their land. With her cat Squeaker and maid Gwenna along for the journey, she arrives to the guild only to be laughed at and harassed by the men there. In order to get accepted into the guild as a trainee, she enters a marriage of convenience with Taurian Hawk who also serves as her teacher for the guild. I love the found family vibes of Aspeth’s trainee group and how likable she is despite her privileged upbringing. Excited for Gwenna’s book next.


Tropes:
Marriage of convenience
Knotting
Found family
Virgin heroine
Grumpy/sunshine

Did not know I could be into minotaur romance, because I didn't know minotaur romance existed prior to this ARC.

Thank you Net Galley and Penguin Publishing Group for providing me with an e-copy of this book! Ruby Dixon writes binge-worthy, fun romance and that is exactly what you can still expect with Bull Moon Rising. I found the story to be unlike anything I have read before, with a sweet and spicy romance and lovable characters. I appreciated the main character’s quirks and felt she was a refreshing FMC to follow along on her journey. Overall, I had a good time reading and will reach for Dixon’s next book as well.

Girl go put your glasses on!!

Jokes aside, I always love Ruby Dixon's world building - it's always so imaginative and nothing like I expect it to be.

That being said, I did have some trouble getting into the story at the beginning. The Guild and the world are such an interesting concept, but I did found it a bit slow and lore-heavy in the first bit, but once Aspeth gets her team (and her teacher/husband, wink wink), things start to smooth out. Ruby is always great at writing groups - the dynamics, blooming trust and relationship-building of her found families are always so fun to read. I enjoyed Aspeth and Hawk - a big, surly man is always a treat, especially when he can't admit to himself how much he's falling for his unwanted wife.

I found the 'rut' scene to be a bit of a letdown, which I was surprised by because Ms Dixon usually knocks sex scenes out of the park. But it felt like this book was way more focused on establishing the world and artefact guild than it was on the romance. I'm not averse to it - it makes sense for a first in a series. But I think that it sadly led to the romance, tension, and the payoff of that falling a bit flat as a concequence.

This was a fun monster romance, and I can't wait to read the next in the series!

If you’re look for a paranormal monster romance, no one does it better than Ruby Dixon.

Monster/Human once I’ve entered the world Ruby created it’s all relative. Hawk is a grumpy Minotaur who may or may not be obsessed with our FMC Aspeth. Spoiler alert- he is 😘

This one is thick but it sets up this new world for the series and is totally worth it!

4.5 stars! Omg this was so fun! I have been a Ruby Dixon stan for so long and always just have the best time with her reads. I do think this one was a bit too long and started to drag a bit, which is really the only issue I had with it.

This is a marriage of convenience, he’s a Minotaur, she wants to join a guild of adventurers and isn’t allowed entry because she’s a woman without a chaperone. But she’s scrappy and finds out her Minotaur teacher is in need of help of his own (it’s about to be rutting season) and offers up a marriage of convenience! She’s nerdy, plus size, has a cat, and wears glasses. I loved her energy and thought she was so fun right from the start! He’s grumpy, a Minotaur, and gets reallll possessive with the “where’s my wife” energy. I just adored these two and the guild adventures as well!

3.5 Stars

Look, I came here for minotaur romance, and Bull Moon Rising technically delivers—but let’s be honest, it’s a bit more ancient artifacts and guild bureaucracy than steam. Aspeth Honori is a noblewoman-turned-apprentice trying to escape her father’s financial mess and ends up in a marriage of convenience with a huge, broody minotaur named Hawk (because of course his name is Hawk). The world-building is actually solid—think magic academia meets monster fantasy—and Aspeth is easy to root for. She’s passionate, stubborn, and just nerdy enough to throw herself into ancient history like her life depends on it. (“Artifacts don’t betray,” she says. “People do.” Girl, same.) There’s a whole adventure plot with cursed objects, shady politics, and a tight-knit band of misfits that’s genuinely fun to follow.

But the romance? Eh. For a marriage between a massive horned beast-man and a bold heroine, it’s surprisingly… chill? Most of their emotional bonding is summarized off-page (“We stayed up all night talking”), which left me wondering if I accidentally skipped chapters. The eventual “rutting” scene (yes, that’s the word used) reads more like checking off a box than the culmination of slow-burn tension. Don’t get me wrong—it’s still enjoyable, especially if you like your fantasy with a side of political drama and badass women. Just go in expecting more magical scavenger hunts than spicy minotaur moments, and you’ll have a good time.

Archaeological Fun, Knot for Snobs!

Ruby has built a delightful fantasy world to which she’s brought her usual humor and strong characterization. A fun, solid plot with adventure and nerdiness, not unlike The Mummy (the best action film of all time). The other plot (aka smut) is also fun as always. I’m excited for the next installment.

What a wild ride. It was ridiculous (in the best way) and fun. I couldn't stop reading.

Www.goodreads.com/erinsbookishthoughts

I have always said minotaurs are my favorite…..
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Having read Ruby’s IPB series, I knew that she had a talent for writing guys I love that love their girls—Hawk was no different!

Aspeth is a lovable FMC who is just trying to find her place in the world via the Artificer’s Guild….her family’s broke and if she can find an artifact worth some money, she can save everything.

Aspeth and Hawk form an unsteady alliance that could blossom to something more.

This is an absolutely gorgeous book, one of the prettiest I've ever seen. A lot of publishers are doing sprayed edges but these are so extra.

I shared this with a book group and got feedback from a member who doesn't usually read romances (especially spicy ones) but likes fantasy. She wasn't sure at first about the whole minotaur thing but got into it after awhile. She said the writing was excellent (she's very cerebral).

This is a great read for romantasy readers or for cozy fantasy readers who are willing to give something new a try.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I purchased for my library.

Bull Moon Rising was my first romance featuring a minotaur and it has spoiled me for future minotaur MC romance books. I loved both main characters apart and the chemistry when they were together. The humor was definitely my taste and I loved the world building and archeology that is the backdrop of the story. Definitely recommend reading this book and I am so excited for book 2!