Title: FMC who bites back + monsters who stay monstrous — recs? 🐍
Just finished An Inheritance of Monsters by Cate Corvin, and here's my issue – the mood was perfect, but absolutely nothing else about this book worked for me.
The positive:
The dark, gothic, eerie atmosphere? Yes, please! More books should have settings like this!
The problem:
The FMC had no spine. She lacked any agency and never asserted herself in any way.
The aliens were depicted as truly scary at first, but once the romantic relationship became part of the story, all of it turned to mush. Scary cover art, cutesy content.
No tension in the love interest dynamic – no push and pull, nothing on the line.
The ending did not make any sense.
What I'm looking for now:
The FMC who stands her ground – who asserts herself, thinks on her feet, and has opinions that influence what happens.
Aliens who retain their non-human qualities – scales, tentacles, claws, strange anatomy – and don't pass for humans with a couple of alien traits.
Darker dynamics – dubcon situations where the FMC loses something by complying, tension in getting to the point of romance. I want to feel the tension, not bypass it.
Big differences in size ("it won't fit!") – a huge plus in this case.
Preferably standalone or a short series, but not against a longer one either.
Give me your darkest and weirdest monster recommendations. 🦑