Bull Moon Rising by Ruby Dixon

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. View Spoiler » 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. « Hide Spoiler

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!