Such a fun, quick read! This is a smutty nonsense in all the best ways. It's monster romance that delivers on everything it promises (lots of kink, tentacles, and a happy ending). I loved the quick glimpse of Elsie and mittens from "I Married A Bear Prince."

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for providing a digital ARC of this book!

I've read Nascosta, Moon, Mayne, basically everything in this genre. This holds its own with the best of them. The institutional critique angle is something I haven't seen before in monster romance and it elevated the whole book. Poppy is one of the strongest FMCs I've encountered and calder is such a cute cinnamon roll . My only note is I wish Akari had more page time.

such a fun, quick, laugh-out-loud read!

I need this on audio IMMEDIATELY. poppy's internal monologue is begging for a narrator with comedic timing.
I adored her being a scientist, which made her dialogue/reflection unique among FMCs.

I enjoyed the creativity and monster situations which were very novel, in a genre that's getting a bit repetitive with wolves and minotaurs.
LOVED the cozy, lower stake setting, (no world is dying here, maybe just a priest) paired with a disproportionate amount of monster smut.

finished it in one night!

I mean how do you even give a book like this a star rating? Was it weird as hell? Yep.

Was it basically octopus porn? Yep.

Was it hilarious and ridiculous? Also yep. 😂

Some highlights for me -

‘Monsters stacked on monsters like horny lasagne’- I’m pretty sure that’s absolute peak literature.

She f**ks someone who’s half spider? 😂 like what?

Okay so the 6 fairies come back to thank her for the… pleasure she gave them. And she said she needs something to erm, help her out…so 2 of them pull their wings in close and just dive tf in?
I’m sorry but any way I picture this is absolutely hilarious.

If the priest *cough* arrives … from his one particular tentacle… then he dies. ‘I’m watching him hold his own life in his own trembling tentacle 🐓’ LOL

Spoiler alert her magic vagina saves him & we get a HEA! 🤣

Omg for monster erotica this book was definitely great and a fun read and would definitely love to read more by this author!

i knew i needed a good ole monster smut to cleanse my palette, but this was so much more.

poppy is a sex psychologist who, although she's knowledgeable beyond her years, struggles to achieve true satisfaction. until she signs up to travel to Hearthpetal and present herself to be married off to one of many mouth watering monsters for a year. 😮‍💨

father calder changes the narrative: proposing instead that poppy comes to assist the temple of tentacle priests with their studies involving sex and arousal, along with detachment and its ability to produce purer results through studies.

their bond is electric, forbidden, and addictive. when father calder must complete the ritual for high priest and risk it all, and poppy must prove whether clinical detachment is the best method of scientific sex research.. how will they both make it out alive? 🤔

this is a 5/5 spice for me 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶

deliciously hot scenes all over the place, but still beautifully written and with plot that keeps you engaged and on the edge of your seat. well done ava for keeping the balance while still delivering a heartfelt book that could make anyone tingle for some tentacles 🤣🫡

Thank you to NetGalley, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, and the author for a copy of this book.

3.5 stars rounded up for sheer audacity.

This was unhinged in a pretty novel and entertaining way. Academic heroine studying orgasms? Celibate tentacle priest whose biology literally makes love a death sentence? You have my attention.

What I expected was absurd, tentacle-heavy chaos, and that's exactly what I got, with a smattering of other monsters thrown in. Poppy is confident, funny, and unapologetically curious, and I loved that her brain was just as involved in the story as her libido and her adaptive anatomy. Calder, for all his suction cups and vows, is basically a touch-starved cinnamon roll with a crisis of faith.

The humor lands, the worldbuilding is creative, and the spice is plentiful. It’s explicit, inventive, and fully committed to the bit. Beneath all the chaos, though, there’s something unexpectedly sweet about two people challenging doctrine, biology, and their own fears for the chance at connection.

Weird? Absolutely.
Mostly octopus smut? Also yes.
But funny, bold, and oddly heartfelt sometimes.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

As a longtime lover of monster romance, this one hit all the right notes for me—and Poppy is absolutely girl goals. She’s fierce, tender, and wonderfully complex in all the ways that make a heroine unforgettable.

I loved how the story blended spice with rich world‑building, all wrapped around a deeper message about love, compassion, and seeing beyond the surface. That balance of heat and heart is what makes this genre so special, and this book delivered it beautifully.

I stumbled across this ARC on NetGalley and immediately knew I was about to experience something wild.... and wow, this book absolutely delivered.

First of all, this story is hilarious. I was not prepared for how funny the writing would be, or how much I’d adore our FMC, who is confident, chaotic, deeply committed to “research,” and fully willing to throw herself into a cross-dimensional pleasure study with zero hesitation. There were multiple moments where I was genuinely laughing out loud.

And listen… for scientific purposes, I did keep track of the “field research” participants. Our girl truly believes in a comprehensive methodology: a spider hybrid, a centaur, a dragon, a demon, a selkie, several extremely enthusiastic fairies, and of course our tentacled MMC — the priest, the legend, the tentacle daddy himself. Academic dedication has never looked so committed.

The spice in this book? Absolutely unrestrained. The author clearly woke up and said, “limits do not exist,” and then proved it repeatedly. By the end, I felt like I’d completed an advanced elective in speculative creature anatomy that I definitely did not expect to take in 2026, yet here we are.

Beyond the chaos and comedy, I also loved how funny, self-aware, and oddly heartfelt the story felt. Underneath the madness is a genuinely engaging romance, a touch of doomed-but-destined longing, and a heroine whose enthusiasm for discovery is honestly inspiring.

Did I expect to finish this book feeling like an honorary expert in octopus biology? No.
Did I have an incredible time anyway? Absolutely.

This was chaotic, hilarious, wildly spicy fun — and I regret nothing.

The only thing I’m still processing is my new, deeply conflicted relationship with the word cream.

I absolutely loved this. Monster romance done right. Going to read the first in this series next! Such a smutty good time!

I loved the raw unfiltered passion I felt when I read Temple of the Tentacle Priests. I loved how unashamed and confident Poppy was and the yearning. Oh do I burn for the yearn. I would've been happy if you made the book longer and the delayed gratification just as torturous as it was for Poppy, but it was still perfection. The connections between the characters and the connection I felt with them was just masterfully crafted. It was a wild ride and so creative.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to "read this with (my) whole face. With (my) eyeballs. By choice". (Once you read this and get to the author's note in the back, this will make sense).

This is exactly what you think it is, but also so much more. It is all of the crazy tentacle fun you think, plus many more species included, but also has really emotional moments with depth. There is filth and just ludicrousness that you have to just accept and not think too much about, but then also such grounded, touching moments talking about overcoming trauma, or seeing a truly inclusive and accepting society.

A quote I'm not going be able to stop thinking about -

"Your dedication to doctrine is not in question. Your belief that you were protecting...is evident. But dedication without wisdom is zealotry. You have spent decades enforcing rules you believed would save others from the pain you experienced, and in doing so, you have caused incalculable harm to the very institution you sought to preserve"

That is HEAVY and so powerful, and admittedly not something I was expecting to come across in this book.

So now I'm just obsessed with Ava Wilde and will read all of her backlog and whatever else she writes!!

I want to use all the silly fun spicy expletives I can for this book. I came for the monster smut. I fell in the love with the humor, the science of it all, and unabashed realness & s3xual confidence of the MFC. I stayed for the death-defying "climatic" ending, and the actual relationship, which was super sweet & changed a whole world! This was such a wild & unforgettable ride. Sometimes you need a palate cleanser, especially if you are reading heavy/emotional books. Forget that nonsense - I could live off this book/these stories (looks like the first one features a tiny side character from this book - onto the TBR pile it goes). Normally I'm bummed with novella lengths, but this was perfection as is. I'm not going to get nit-picky & say their relationship happened too fast/wasn't believable. Come on now - look at the setting, let's take a little leap for the purposes of storytelling. Would this be "too spicy" for some? Possibly - but you should have known what you were getting into. Would this be "too silly" for some? Maybe - but again, this book isn't meant to solve world hunger, it's here for fantasy entertainment, and it delivers.

Thank you so much to NetGalley & the publisher for the opportunity. There was a bonus chapter via the author - yes, I signed up & immediately gobbled up that fun too. I really hope we get to see many more in this series. I knew I would be in for a good time when the author started her bio with "I write filthy, funny, feel-good monster romances." Couldn't agree more.

This book is absolutely hilarious, super dirty in all the right ways, very well written and somehow also finds a way to bring an emotional aspect to the storyline.

I will start by saying that I am not usually one who reads monster smut, but I knew this was a quick read so I figured I would give it a go. I’m glad I did!

Wilde’s writing is so descriptive, but not overly wordy. I could easily follow what was happening in the story & had a great idea of what everything looked like in my head. I am super impressed that she wrote such a good story in 160 pages.

The FMC, Poppy, was so relatable & her take on sex is absolutely empowering for anyone who reads it. She is so flirtatious, funny, and bold as hell.

I will def be reading more of Ava Wilde :)

Thank you so much for this ARC!

This book was AMAZING. If you read "The Kiss of the Basilisk" and you're looking for a read just as wild, THIS is the book for you! My jaw was on the floor for most of the spicy scenes, but I loved the love between Poppy and Calder. It was the perfect amount of funny, spicy, and wild!

This was such a fun read!

A friend of mine messaged me the other day and told me to get an account on NetGalley to read this book with her, so I absolutely did. And I absolutely finished it before her.

This was so on par with posts I read on Tumblr, so thank you so much for this little treat.

I posted my review on Instagram, attached below.

I picked up Temple Of The Tentacle Priests: A Monster Romance Novel expecting unhinged tentacle chaos… and yes, it absolutely delivers that 😌🐙 — but it also surprised me with how fun, self-aware, and cosy it is.

This book knows exactly what it’s doing. It’s filthy, funny, and gleefully committed to the bit. Poppy is an academic heroine I instantly adored: smart, curious, deeply done with bad sex, and fully willing to cross dimensions for science™. Her internal monologue had me laughing more than once, and the whole “pleasure-as-religion” setup is ridiculous in the best possible way.

Father Calder? Peak grumpy, touch-starved cinnamon roll with vows, tentacles, and a biological ticking clock. The forbidden-love tension works, the caretaking hits hard, and the worship kink is… extremely present. 🌶️🌶️

This isn’t trying to be serious or realistic — it’s escapist, absurd comfort reading with lower stakes, big laughs, and a guaranteed HEA. That said, there are thoughtful touches under the chaos, especially around doctrine, control, and what happens when rules stop serving people.
Is it subtle? No. Is it weird? Very. Is it having the time of its life? Absolutely. 😂

📚 Perfect for readers who love:
- Monster romance that fully commits (Ice Planet Barbarian fans will LOVE this)
- Academic FMCs + forbidden love
- Cosy, low-stakes chaos
- Laugh-out-loud smut with heart

If you want a book that makes you forget real life for a few hours and laugh while doing it, Ava Wilde has you covered. Strap in — it’s weird, wonderful, and very tentacle-y. 😂✨

Temple of Tentacle Priests by Ana Wilde is an unapologetically bold and niche fantasy romance that fully commits to its outrageous premise. From the title alone, you know this isn’t going to be a subtle read—and honestly, that confidence is part of its appeal. Wilde leans into the exotic, otherworldly atmosphere, creating a setting that feels strange, sensual, and intentionally over-the-top.

What surprised me most was that beneath the provocative elements, there’s actual structure to the world-building. The temple hierarchy, rituals, and power dynamics add layers beyond pure shock value. The romance is intense and highly explicit, but it also explores themes of surrender, power, and agency in ways that feel purposeful rather than random.

This definitely isn’t a book for everyone—it’s designed for readers who enjoy monster romance and boundary-pushing fantasy. In my opinion, if you go in expecting something wild, immersive, and unabashedly spicy, Temple of Tentacle Priests delivers exactly what it promises.

Thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing for the ARC of Temple Of The Tentacle Priests

This book was definitely a wild ride. It leaves you with the feeling of "what the hell did I just read." I will say although this book was full of spice, it also had a lot of humor. The FMC was a bit over the top for me, but over all this was an unusual but fun read. This is the first book I have read from Ava Wilde and I am looking forward to seeing what else she comes up with.

I reviewed this book on Goodsreads 2/27/2026 at the link below:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8395784879

She came, she saw, she conquered. But actually.

This was exactly what I was hoping it would and so, so much more. Highly educated and super horny, our FMC is immediately likable. Is this fanfic for researchers? If so I’m so here for that incredibly niche demographic representation.

The writing is very well done. At 50% I was checking to see if Miss Wilde had other books for me afterwards. Not only were my steamy expectations met, but the plot showed up in a way I was not expecting and I was so sat for the last little bit of this book.

Wow. This was funny, filthy and nonsense and I loved it so much.

It was so smutty but done in a way that doesn’t feel redundant. I flew through it and wished it was longer! It was very well written and so much fun. Will definitely check out the authors’ other books.

Thank you for the chance to review!

The yearning in this book was top tier. I finished it in a day and have no regrets for the fun escapism read!

It's a quick read for everyone who's looking for monster smut reads with perfect banter that'll leave you out-laugh and kicking your feet in the air.

Thank you for the eARC of this to read before publication.
This was a fantastic read, the smut was smutting and I had a whale of a time reading this. Just what I needed for a mid-week read.
A far off planet with a temple to explore pleasure….. a good storyline and a climatic ending!

Holy pretzel! This one is spicy. Our FMC, Poppy, is a sex psychologist and also has a healthy appetite for pleasure. She gets frisky with almost every person / monster she meets. Shtupping a centaur? Sure why not. Finger painting with a bunch of faeries? Absolutely.

This is thrilling smut but also takes a unique scientific approach which was interesting and so much better than it has the right to be. The book is all about empowerment and reading was therapeutic in a way that makes it okay to have desire, to want, to explore. If you are looking for an antidote for shame, this is it.

The story resolves around a priest of pleasure and an adventurous heroine that parallel parks with different partners for “research” whilst our hero watches on. This may sound like an oxymoron but it’s actually a slow burn between Poppy and Father Calder aka Tentacle daddy Calder despite all the monster Tromboning. They silently fall for each other even though the risks of discovery are high and the consequences deadly. This book has real heart and I adored how the author effortlessly weaves humour and desire throughout. I laughed in that ugly goblin way more times than I care to count.

I was pretty much all in as soon as I read the dedication:
“For the women who found their way to tentacle romance because a creature with three hearts finally seemed proportionate to the love they had to give.”

The spice is spicing and it may be light in the plot department (as the title all but screams it should be) but the world building was surprisingly excellent. Go in to this one with an open mind and charged batteries.

🐙 Monster Romance | Forbidden Love | Extra Spicy | Kink Friendly | Grumpy x sunshine | HEA | Book 2 (but can be read as Standalone | 📖 197 pages

Thanks to Ava Wilde, NetGalley and Victory Editing for the ARC. Genuine thoughts and human written review as verified by my own quirky monster loving brain

Did i literally devour this? Yes
did i stay awake until gone 2 in the morning? yes
Did i love it? I'm scared to admit it but yes!!!

I'm not entirely sure how I'm supposed to review this. for my own sanity, I don't even think I can. but all I can say is I've been introduced into a new world of smut!!!
the writing was brilliant, and there was even points that had me laughing so much I swear it hurt so much.

Ava Wilde, has written an extraordinarily funny smutty read for monster smut lovers and its going to be one I recommend!!.

Review of Temple Of The Tentacle Priests by Ava Wilde
* * * * *
A humours, sweet, wildly erotic monster romance read that I was honestly not ready for! Not what you would expect, and a book I definetely should not judge by its cover.

This story was a lot more romantic than I was expecting. In truth, I was assuming this would be a quick monster erotica. Boy, was I in for a surprise and some delight.
There is much more depth, and speaking of things that go deep, a lot of spicy creative scenes between out FMC and lots of monsters...not just her forbidden love interest. Our FMC being a very clinical person, knowing how to work people and very honest in her sexual curiousity and psycological expertise in the area. It has people dumbfounded, but you love how she's just getting straight to the point.

Very much enjoyed it, and loved going through this read. Comes with drama, secrecy, deception, and tons of orgasms.

"Temple Of The Tentacle Priests: A Monster Romance Novel" was a wild ride--LITERALLY for our FMC Dr. Poppy Flynn. She's a sex therapist and scientist, but while she's fixing everyone else's sex lives and intimacy issues, she's been thoroughly neglected. So of course, she signs up to be auctioned off as a monster bride for a year via interdimensional travel, because the poor monsters have lost the ability to mate and procreate without human women. 

Poppy is "The woman who is so catastrophically lonely she's willing to yeet herself into another dimension for a chance at feeling something..." but her character is strong, sex positive, and doesn't back down from what she believes in. I was rooting for her from the start. 

Listen, the subject matter was bonkers and out-there, so if that's something that you don't want to read--don't. The writing, however, is hilarious, well thought out and well written. Monster romance is a place to "let the delulu run free," as the author says, and I have to agree. I constantly was like, 'what the HECK am I reading!?' The comic relief and absolutely unhinged premise of monster sex science had me giggling and enjoying. Well, okay, I hate spiders, so without spoilers, that was a skim zone for me... LOL.

I always read the author's acknowledgements/notes and like the story itself, they had me chuckling: "...the direct result of me googling 'octopus mating' at 2AM like a sane person with healthy hobbies." Sex science applied IRL! 

I would read more from this author.

Tropes: Women in STEM, Monsters, Monster Sex, Monster Appendages *ahem*, Mars Needs Women, Chosen One, Smex Magic, Science!

Thanks for the ARC! :)

Rate

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶
Sweet: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Review:

I love it how Poppy came to challenge everything the priests thought they knew, how she didnt allow her self be silenced. I liked that the book has an actual plot aside from monster Smut. If anyone appreciates monster smut i 100% recommend it.

Quote :

"There's no shame in wanting, Akari. Only in pretending you dont"
"If they thought i would sit pretty and behave, they brought the wrong Earth bitch into their temple"

This book was a perfect pick for our book club contest about who could submit the most unhinged romance novel. While it didn't win, I felt like the concept was an ideal contender. The FMC being so driven by the experimentation side of her scientific nature definitely led her into a Penthouse fantasy cliche, but it also aligned with the path of the plotline and her desire to allow the science to better society.

When I saw the title of the book, I was already interested because of my love for monster romances. What really kept my interest is the perfect balance of smut, and plot. I find that a book that has too much smut often gets monotonous, and repetitive.

In this case you have the unique personality of Poppy as a s*x psychologist, who has a genuine interest in figuring out how people tick s*xually. I believe her pursuit of knowledge and complete acceptance of her sexuality helps really bring a sense of completion to the book. Her budding relationship with Father Caulder is both relatable and transformative.

Overall, Poppy is a character that is relatable and is the FMC that can be any girls best friend. I loved every moment of this book and I can’t wait to read the others in Ava Wilde's Romantasy Collection.

Did I just read wholesome tentacle hentai? 🐙

First off the cover is gorgeous 👏🏾 I absolutely adored this fun, witty, sexy, and at times downright serious Monster Romance. I would place this book right alongside one of my favorite series of this genre: Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon because Ava Wilde is a queen at balancing smut with existential crisis.

Things I loved about the book:

Wilde gave us an FMC who is equal parts shameless, funny, and caring. Her dialogue made me laugh out loud

I loved the idea of the dating app MonsterMatch and the FMC’s “super power”

There were so so many fun hybrid creatures I loved the Tintlefae—insect-fae creatures 🧚‍♂️

I hope the author continues this Hearthpetal series with the other Sacred Women because I was sucked into the immense world building that seemed effortless at the 40 page mark it was really a treat. I enjoyed the author’s writing style.

I want to thank NetGalley for the ARC Copy of the book although I read the book a month after it had already come out but the website brought this gem to my attention and the cover did the rest.

The book version of Men in Black… if Agent J and Agent K spent their time trying to hook up with the aliens instead of protecting them from intergalactic evil.

Ava Wilde’s writing is genuinely hilarious, and the sheer creativity on display here is honestly impressive. Sometimes you read something and just think—wow, humans can still surprise me.

This book is wildly entertaining and completely unhinged in places, which makes it a little hard to rate, but it’s absolutely memorable and unlike anything else I’ve read in a while.

It’s outrageous, ridiculous, and very campy—but underneath all the chaos there’s actually a really sweet love story at its core.

And as Ava herself says: yes, I chose to read this with my own eyeballs… and I had a damn good time doing it!

Huge thanks to Victory Editing, NetGalley, and Ava Wilde for the eARC in exchange for an honest review! ❤️

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)