Bull Moon Rising is a wonderfully creative fantasy romance. Ruby Dixon has crafted a fascinating magical world of artifacts and guilds. I loved the slow-burn romance between Aspeth and Hawk. Both of them are so sweet and I love that Aspeth finally found someone to love and appreciate her as the bookish and smart person that she is. The found family aspect among the team of misfits was one of my favorite parts. The world created in Bull Moon Rising lends itself to many possible stories to explore and I’m excited to read more from this world!

Readers who enjoy slow-burn (but spicy!) romance, found family, and excellent magical world-building should check out Bull Moon Rising.

Thank you so much to Ruby Dixon, Ace, and NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc.

This is my first ever Minotaur romance and I was not disappointed!
The archaeological aspects and magic were super intriguing but the romance and spicy elements really did it for me 🤌🤌
Aspeth’s growth throughout was so special and I loved that for her. The political aspects really added to the intrigue and kept me invested in the outcome!

A unique voice in romance, with breath taking descriptions of magical places.

Somehow the book is a mix of adventure like Indiana jones,

Sci-fi like treasure planet

And fantasy because MAGIC!

If you’re into all of this plus monster smut then this book is for you!

I really enjoyed this storyline! The concept of the guild and treasure hunting was so fun. The characters were well-developed, including the secondary ones. I especially liked the dynamic between Aspeth and Hawk — their relationship felt natural and had a nice, steady progression. Aspeth’s dry humor was definitely a hoot. Some of her lines were perfectly timed. The only thing I wished for was a bit more of Hawk’s Minotaur side to show through in his day-to-day interactions. Sometimes I forgot he was one. Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group, and Ace for the copy!

The book is beautiful. It’s one of the most gorgeous books I have ever seen. The story was cute and entertaining, and I enjoyed reading it. Thanks for giving me an early copy,

First off, thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for granting me access to this book in exchange for a honest review.

This book just wasn't for me. I had a hard time getting through it, and it really fell flat in every way. It was definitely not my cup of tea! I will admit, I totally judged this book by its cover. It's absolutely stunning, gorgeous even.! Sadly, the story didn't live up to the cover's promise. The characters felt underdeveloped, and by the end of the book, we were still being introduced to new ones. What's going on there? The world building was lacking, leaving much to be desired. Honestly, the only redeeming quality was the beautiful cover.

3.75 / 5 Stars

I really enjoyed this fun romantasy book about Aspeth and Hawk! The plot is layperson terms:
Aspeth’s dad is nobility and nobility hold their claims through magical artifacts. But Aspeth’s dad gambled all of their magical artifacts away which leaves them vulnerable because not only do they not have money to take care of the land, but any other noble could come along and take everything and easily kill them. So Aspeth decides to do something about it. She and her maid, Gwenna, will join the Royal Artifactual Guild, find new artifacts, and save their claim. Easy peasy! Except 1) no one can find out that she is a noble and 2) women aren’t allowed to join the guild without a chaperone (misogyny … gross).

Hawk has been working for the guild for years now, indentured to Guild Master there. He is a minotaur and they are known for their amazing tunneling abilities but are not treated as equals at the guild (treated others as below you … also gross). Oh and it is a once-in-every-five-years event where he has to rut (very intense mating) and he would much rather do that with someone he knows instead of someone random. So, Aspeth proposes a marriage of convenience: he will be her chaperone and she will be his wife for the rutting. It’s almost foolproof except for 10,000 fools who interfere and make everything so much harder. But that’s the adventure and it is fun, steamy, and has many twists.

While it was a bit slow in the beginning, I felt like the book really picked up for me when the character’s started their guild training. This really got to my nerdy side because I was so fascinated by everyone learning about artifact hunting and tunneling. I, like Aspeth, wanted to know all of the history, all of the information, and was so invested in their team succeeding. And who wouldn’t root for a bunch of underdogs! Their team of fledglings is made up of women and a lizard (obsessed with Kip and his eyeball licking). Everyone is rooting against them so you can’t help but root for them. And their bond with each other was a really great pay off of the book. Gwenna’s practicality and loyalty made her one of my favorite characters.

I really enjoyed Aspeth and Hawk’s relationship. It has some very fun tropes: marriage of convenience, he falls first, spice lessons, “my wife.” Hawk and Aspeth, of course, had miscommunications which could be frustrating but I really appreciated Hawk’s steadiness and Aspeth’s open heart. I did feel like Aspeth’s character in the beginning was a little naive and stuck in her ways. I wish that she had complained a little less because she really did need to learn, but I understand where it came from.

And I love a cat in a book! More cats in books, please.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group | Ace and NetGalley for providing this reading copy! All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for a complimentary copy of this book, and all opinions in this voluntary review are my own. Aspeth is a noblewoman whose family and holdings have fallen on hard times, thanks to her spendthrift and careless father. She leaves to join a male-dominated magical guild in order to turn things around and keep everyone safe from marauding noble families (led by her dastardly ex-fiancé). Thwarted by the guild's misogynistic rules, she enters into a transactional marriage with Hawk, a "Taurian" (i.e., a minotaur) and the teacher of her guild training group. Will she be able to find what she needs to refill her family's coffers while keeping her heart safe in the process?

I've read this author before and enjoyed her books, the feel of this story reminded me of her "Aspect and Anchor" series, which I really like. There was an engaging plot with a satisfying amount of tension and intrigue, complete with villains and mortal danger. I sped through this enjoyable story, even though normally I'd try to slow myself down to savor it a bit more. There were lots of touches of humor, and what I love most about a book like this is that once you embrace the ridiculousness it's such fun to read. I liked Aspeth ("Sparrow") a lot, she's a great mix of prim and passionate, and she and Hawk together were surprisingly sweet. That said, what I think makes the story more satisfying is the wonderful found family vibe Aspeth discovers in her training group. From her loyal ex-maid Gwenna to Kipp (for whom I have a soft spot), the supporting characters were distinctive and well-written. (I'm looking forward to the next book in this series, especially since it focuses on the practical and loyal Gwenna.) And I admired Aspeth's courage and pluck, she had strong Evie from "The Mummy" vibes, but with a lot more magic. There's a lot of sexually explicit content which, if you've read the description (or anything by this author), won't be a surprise to you. Pay attention to content warnings too, as there are some potentially triggering plot points and events. If you're in the mood for an open-door romantasy story with a hidden identity plot and a marriage of convenience that leads to something more (and a "happy for now" ending), not to mention a great team of endearing and plucky underdogs, then this is the book for you! 4.25 stars.

In a world of magical artifacts and fantastical beings, a woman determined to save her family joins forces with an unlikely partner—a minotaur—in this steamy romantasy by USA Today bestselling author Ruby Dixon.

As a Holder’s daughter, Aspeth Honori knows the importance of magical artifacts . . . which is why it’s a disaster that her father has gambled all theirs away. Now that her family is in danger of losing their hold—and their heads—if anyone finds out the truth, Aspeth decides to do something about it. She’ll join the Royal Artifactual Guild and the adventurers who explore ancient underground ruins to retrieve the coveted arcane items.

It’s a great plan—with one big problem. The guild won’t let her train because she’s a woman. Aspeth needs a chaperone of some kind. The best way to get around this problem? Marry someone who will let her become an apprentice. Who better than a surly guild member who requires a favor of his own? He’s a minotaur (it’s fine) who is her teacher (also fine) . . . and he’s about to go into rut (which is where it gets tricky). He also has no idea she’s a noble (oops), and he’ll want nothing to do with her if he discovers her real identity.

Now Aspeth just has to pass the guild tests, thwart a fortune hunter, and save her hold—oh, and survive a rut with her monstrous, horned husband, whom she might be falling in love with.

It’s time to dig deep. Literally.

~Amazon

tl:dr review: Once I got past the first person narration, I was hooked.

Bigger review: As I said, the first person narration was hard to overlook. A few times I wasn't sure who's head I was in. Sometimes I'm not sure the author knew either. However, first person is the dominant voice in erotica and it's to be expected. It helps the reader get hands on into the action. Pun intended? Maybe.

The author starts out with trigger warnings such as claustrophobia, spiders, alcoholism, and unprotected sex. The one I saw the most sense in was the misogyny. That one triggers me the most because it's the most relevant to the real world. There were a lot of things that the faint of heart would have trouble with though in addition to the patriarchy around every corpse and rat. You can't say she didn't warn you.

The story starts with Aspeth, her maid Gwenna, and her ginormous cat Squeaker rolling along in a carriage with no horse past fields and forests, building the world and introducing the reader to Vastwarren City, the ancient ruin of Old Prell, and character motivation. Aspeth is painfully sheltered and so booksmart it makes her completely blind to the problems she'll face that aren't covered in her history books. Also, she's blind as a bat without her glasses that she refuses to wear. So she's got that going for her too.

Fortune favors fools and children and Aspeth, while not a fool or a child (she's a spinster at 30), has a great deal of luck. She only has one of her bags stolen and finds an inn where no one tries to murder her in her sleep. The inn is also where she happens to find Lark who drunkenly gives Aspeth the foot in the door of the Royal Artifactual Guild after she makes a fool out of herself trying to join the regular way. Lark's aunt Magpie is the only female Guild member and also frequently drunk. She has cobbled together a team of 4 students and needs a fifth to form a fledgling class.

When Aspeth and Gwenna arrive on the doorstep of Magpie's nest (not literally a nest, it's dormitory for fledglings), they are greeted by a very large, very grumpy minotaur. Hawk is not allowed to be a Guild Master as a Taurian so he takes the post of Magpie's assistant teacher. The only thing Magpie can teach is drinking and vomiting the next day, Hawk is defacto leader of all training. There should have been a trigger warning for racism too.

In order for a woman to be allowed to train, she has to have a chaperone. Gwenna declares Aspeth her chaperone. Magpie is chaperoning Lark leaving Aspeth searching for a chaperone of her own. Lucky for her (?) Hawk needs a wife before the Taurian mating season that will cause him to lustily loose his mind in 3 short weeks. Taurians usually leave human's and cities behind during the 5 days of "the rut" because they can't trust themselves to not mate with every living thing whether they want to be mated or not if they don't have a partner.

Hawk reluctantly agrees to a marriage of convenience. Aspeth and Gwenna are accepted into the fledgling class that consists of a priestess named Mereden (how come she doesn't have a chaperone), Lark, a lizard creature named Kipp that caries his house on his back at all times, and a player to be named later (who finds out he's going to be surrounded by women and a lizard creature and promptly runs away).

There's a lot of training and a lot of naughty thoughts and actions. Aspeth loses her rose colored glasses when faced with the reality of what it means to become a guild artificer (someone who goes into the ruins and retrieves artifacts). She also finds out that a minotaur has a third horn that's just as menacing as the two growing from his head. There is a lot of build up and virginal explorations until the climax (fitting) of the story where Hawk is overcome by his biology during the Conquest Moon and Aspeth loses her virginity too. For 5 days. With barely enough time for bathroom breaks. And then she gets thrown into prison. So much for afterglow.

At it's essence this is a romance complete with happily ever after, but I couldn't put the book down because I could not see how Aspeth and Hawk would make it to that ending. Once the story got rolling, it kept me reading past my bedtime ... and past the end of my lunch break ... and in the car before going in the house. I just had to know how it would all turn out.

Who would like this book? Well, someone who thought Wheel of Time was missing a minotaur doing delightfully naughty things in the raunchiest way possible to a human woman. Someone who thought there weren't enough naked boobs in Game of Thrones. It's perfectly porn-y in a in your face (all over it) way. It's animalistic and raw. It's also full of humor which is important in fantasy otherwise it gets too dark and serious.

Who wouldn't like this book? I talked about the first person, but it's to be expected and you'll have to get over it (like I did). A few of the sex scenes didn't seem organic in that they were too sudden and out of character. There were a few scenes that should have progressed to sex and didn't for one reason or another. Finally, for someone so smart, Aspeth was at times too stupid to live. She lived to grow out of that which is a positive, but it was painful to watch sometimes.

Overall verdict: a solid B. I may look to see if there are other books set in the world built in this one. The writing is solid. The author owns a dictionary (or knows how to use one online). She can build a world and make the people that live in it make sense.

Also she called a minotaur a "pouty bull-man" and I loved it.

I was given access to this book by NetGalley and am not being paid for this review.

I bought this book as a gift for a friend when it came out, and at the time was intrigued by the gorgeous cover. When I saw it was Read Now on NetGalley I jumped at the opportunity. Thank you Berkley/Ace for the free review copy.

I had such a good time reading this. For as well developed as the world Ruby Dixon has created is, I appreciated that there wasn't a huge amount of info-dumping. Everything felt very organic within the story. The characters were charming (or incredibly not), the plot was interesting, and the pacing was good.

This is the second minotaur romance I've read that turned out to be surprisingly sweet and cozy. I really enjoyed Aspeth and Hawk's story, and I'll definitely be picking up By The Horns to read Gwenna's story.

“Have you ever found something you wish you could keep?"
"You.”
Just finished the beautiful book by Ruby Dixon who in my opinion has never disappointed me, IA girl desperate to save her family from ruin meets a mysterious minotaur. He agrees to teach her, but their connection deepens into something more. 🔥 Highly recommend this one for fans of fantasy romance! I loved her ice planet barbarian novels and fell in love, very much looking forward to the 2nd one. This book had me hooked from the start.

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