I read a KRAKEN SHIFTER ROMANCE

Use code RWR50 to get 50% OFF your first Factor box plus 20% off your next month of orders at bit.ly/3zcc63G!
Join this channel to get access to perks:
/ @readswithrachel
SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:
Patreon: / readswithrachel
Commissions: ko-fi.com/read...
Merch: www.bonfire.co...
Wishlist: www.amazon.com...
CONTACT ME:
Business inquiries please email me here: [e-mail]
All other emails go to: [e-mail]
Support Roma children and youth in Ukraine:
chuffed.org/pr...
Support Palestinian children: www.pcrf.net/
Support Democratic Republic of Congo during their humanitarian crisis:
www.doctorswit...
SUPPORT INDIA DURING THEIR COVID CRISIS:
donation links
-www.careindia....
-www.projecthop...
SUPPORT COLOMBIA:
resources and info
-mailchi.mp/cb9...
BLACK LIVES MATTER.
Resources:
-Massive list of places and people to donate to: nymag.com/stra...
-Find a protest or fundraiser near you: / events
Find literature to read
Watch Vee Kativhu's video on recommending books to learn about racism: • 10 books you MUST read...
-Support some Black youtubers by watching Myonna Reads' playlist of Black booktubers: • Black Booktubers
Support my channel
-Patreon: / readswithrachel
-Tip me on Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/read...
-Use my link to get $10 off your first Instacart order: inst.cr/t/VTNr...
Follow me on socials
TIKTOK: / rachelwithreads
INSTAGRAM: / readswithrachel
BLUESKY: bsky.app/profi...

[@ReadswithRachel]

Use code RWR50 to get 50% OFF your first Factor box plus 20% off your next month of orders at bit.ly/3zcc63G!

[@colbyreader]

What an absolutely amazing transition to that ad I love that

[@ReadswithRachel]

@@colbyreaderthank you so much!!

[@BooksToAshes]

I am SOO glad mates don’t exist in real life, I can only imagine how terrifying that would be…

[@AlishaHerbiederbie]

SAME. She can say "no" but who knows what the obsessed cryptid would do after being rejected? I like that Elias did do his best to hold back and avoid her, but stilllll.

[@kamari1877]

@@AlishaHerbiederbie Exactly lol the whole 'mates' concept kinda relies on the dude being honorable enough to not just take what he believes is his... I think we all know how that would go

[@Devil6442]

My entire thing is what happens if you & your mate doesn't meet your sexual orientatio like your a lesbian and a dragon man shows up to say your his mate whats happening there. Also do fem monsters have tendency as masc monster like what are we doing here

[@DeviBuster]

@@Devil6442 exactly, it’s just so underdeveloped lol. These authors just don’t think about the setting beyond “how can I force these two to bang without having to write them getting along and falling in love organically?”

[@xRaiofSunshine]

@@kamari1877For real, not to mention I don’t want to give men an applause for doing the bare minimum of “giving” us the freedom of choice to reject them 🙄 It feels so bio-essentialist too, and I haaaaaate that.

[@galileo_the_star_lion]

ok so i'm aroace and the concept of mates tends to be more *noises of discomfort* for me, but just imagine if there was something like this but with PLATONIC soulmates, like there's just someone chillin out watching teen titans or something, and their best friend just happens to be a horror beyond our comprehension. why can't we have something like that in our lives?

[@seanboggs215]

Cthulhu Netflix 'n chill? I wonder if he has a roku down in Rlyeh.

[@rightsarentpolitical]

That is a beautiful concept, and I love it 💗

[@mglarson5936]

I’m obsessed with this concept we need an aroace author to get on it asap

[@gregoryvn3]

Yes, more monster friendships!

[@gabrielleduplessis7388]

I would love to see more stories about platonic soulmates. The ones you don’t expect to meet, but happens to have many of your same interests and could be a long lasting friend. I personally feel these are underrated. I may write something like this later, but I have a bunch of other stuff that I am trying to write.

[@definitelynotashark1799]

Back in my day, we needed to read bootleg fan translations of, uh, cultured manga to get our tentacle fix 😤 Truly a blursed age to live in.

[@JamiraToast]

Don't remind me of the dark ages 😭

[@definitelynotashark1799]

@@JamiraToast To deny the dark ages is to deny ourselves 👵

[@joyc.e.7511]

​@@definitelynotashark1799this is true😌

[@deusvenenare]

The bar really is low when I hear about a romance book that talks about consent and it gets me excited.

[@beastghostt]

Raise your hand if you didn't grow up fundie and you still didn't know an octopus has 3 hearts

[@DarwinRoger893]

Me!

[@rightsarentpolitical]

I only remember that fun fact because Finding Dory 😆

[@micahguillemette3344]

I didnt know that but i know they have like 8 brains, one for each tentacle(they are smarter than us, they are just not social animals so they live alone lol)

[@oinkersboinkers7188]

I’m pretty sure the theory as to why they haven’t advanced at a rate similar to humans (tool-wise at least) is because octopi(octopuses? I know there’s some debate on pluralization) die fairly soon after reproducing. If they lived long enough to teach their offspring about tools they’ve made, they would make new progress with each generation. (Instead of restarting tool progress every generation) Sorry if this is nonsensical, I’m typing this on my phone at midnight ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@Zee-iv9oe]

@@oinkersboinkers7188 yeah the lifespan hurdle is the reason we haven’t needed to fear our overlords of the depths lol

[@spikethebabydragon7719]

Monster romance used to be a common fanfiction trope, interesting to see it get turned into books

[@moonstone___]

it’s still very popular in fanfic lol

[@lidaw.5145]

i came across sooo many shape of water aus 😂 (most of them vy lovely actually)

[@obi-wan-pierogi]

Don’t have time right now to watch but I’ll leave a octopus fact to feed the algorithm.Certain species of octopus while mating will have the male octopus tear off their “ mating tentacle” and throw it at the female, cause the females of the species are particularly aggressive and may kill them during sex. So they essentially rip it off and say “ here do it yourself,i’m outta here!” Lmao

[@vanillaplanifoliae]

yayy the hectocotylus

[@InksplatOops]

That would make an entirely different vibe if it happened in the book. 😂

[@haggisa]

Awww, poor octopi bois. 🥺

[@michellelies]

I need to start a list of all the romance books that use "Little (whatever)" as the petname.

[@avalyea4979]

also "the bluest eye they've ever seen" lol

[@jackalyn00]

That'd be a full time job I fear.

[@Drankstyj]

@@michellelies what a good little barnacle

[@ironicallynice]

That should come with the trigger warnings imho

[@whispering_spirits]

@@michellelies “i’m wholly yours little mouse” -zade meadows (hated him with every ounce of blood in my body)

[@Jack-so5bp]

The fact that this story would be a perfect guilty pleasure for me but I cannot describe how much I *hate* the little siren petname

[@TheEldritchGod]

As a mult-tentacle horror from beyond the pale, I find the sexualization of my people disturbing.

[@vanillaplanifoliae]

aw i'm sorry :( i wish it were different

[@katierasburn9571]

yeah see if monsters were out and about in the world and they were making porn u know those poor monsters wouldn't be treated well, i mean cam girls are treated bad enough but non-humans? oof

[@MeganTHEEcatlady]

**RE: Intimate scenes (**39:16**)** I’ve made this complaint before and do have other readers on subreddits like r/RomanceBooks or r/FantasyRomance: **it’s not that we dislike intimate scenes but the repetitiveness of intimate scenes exhausts us,** like with the language you mentioned. It feels like authors don’t understand how their characters have a relationship with intimacy. They copypaste what THEY “know” personally, but they don’t take the time to understand their characters on that level and write what the characters would know-which is why praise kink will be constantly reduced to simply “good girl/boy/[nickname]” or every sexually intimate scene involves penetration and a physical release with fluids. Intimacy is a **spectrum**, and it’s so disheartening how many authors forget that. They may give their characters unique quirks and backstories, but for intimacy, they go on such a binary understanding. There’s so many ways to express intimacy, to have an intimate dynamic with another person. And (some) authors forgo getting to know their characters on that level. I dunno. I enjoy intimacy in all its forms, but diverse intimacy gets less accessibility than what we see is the standard ☹ Okay, back to the video!

[@DarwinRoger893]

Exactly! It's all copy pasted from every other romance book. Like can we please get variation? I would love to read a romance where they have a conversation about intimacy and how they treat it based on who they are as a person.

[@DeviBuster]

Also it’s just unrealistic. People don’t just jump into their first time with someone else, or hopefully they don’t, because you can never know intimate things about someone without discussing it. People need to discuss their preferences, what they don’t like, what they can’t stand, where to touch and where not to touch. In these books people just go straight for it without considering what their partner would like and what would make them uncomfortable.

[@katierasburn9571]

they also never take their personalities into consideration tbh, you cannot convince me Nora would be down with his cringy one liners because they're so possessive

[@abowlofsangria3412]

I agree. A lot of times, authors like to use different tropes and microtropes as the "variations" between each couple which really doesn't work well. It really is copy and paste at the end of the day

[@clarkispotamia]

I made the ugliest sound when you said she was eating kalamari and his tentacles were plundering the treasure. I think the euphemisms are even more fun than just saying what is going on

[@birdenthusiast5421]

Listen, I'm not even attracted to men but the moment you went over his interest in marine life conservation and general aquatic nerd shit I was SMITTEN. All I need now is a book about a tentacled femme and I can finally get into romance books

[@jadedoni6447]

"All these dudes' names just jumble in my brain" absolute bars, I want a silly song about reading a bunch of romance novels now.

[@ebony7177]

I'm gonna give the book a tiny bit of grace about Nora calling Elias. In my head I thought, yes calling my friends would be my first thought UNTIL I remembered that this man could ruin them. It's the reason Nora snuck away because she wouldn't be safe trying to break it off like with a normal boyfriend. For me, calling Elias is getting the rich guy to handle the rich guy. Elias has better protection against anything that Daniel would try because of his wealth. Yes, he's a magical creature but still he might have a bit more leeway than my friends who I know would fight for me but I wouldn't want them harmed. I do understand why it feels a bit icky calling Elias instead of my besties but I'm gonna give the book a tiny pass, hoping the author was thinking the same way I just thought.

[@ReadswithRachel]

I wish the book had said it like that! Mentioning that Elias’s wealth could afford her protections that her working class friends couldn’t offer in that situation. That would’ve made more sense.

[@Januaryhuntingdogs11]

the cover looks like an odd Sally Jackson x Poseidon fanfiction and that's all I'm gonna say.

[@DarwinRoger893]

It really does

[@ReadswithRachel]

Ong you’re right

[@chellyfishing]

I haaaate soulmate/mating bonds in fiction but the idea of trying to deconstruct that is actually kind of fascinating.

[@chellyfishing]

Sorry, something else: I liked how you said you become an extension of someone’s property in those situations. I had a similar experience (not a partner, a predatory landlord who drained my bank account while I literally starved) and falling into that trap is so easy if you are vulnerable. It’s something I’m torn between wanting people to talk about more and never wanting to hear or think about again. Not to get too personal or into the weeds, but it really is such an isolating and dehumanizing experience that knowing other people have faced it is important. Anyway thanks as always for diving into the deep waters of the most bananas fiction for our entertainment 🙏 🐙🦑🪼

[@ShortForMertchel]

I tried to read to this book but had to drop out at the point where she asked "am I falling into the same trap" then just dismissed it without bothering to give him any more time to potentially show his a$$. Like all she really has from him up to that point is words, and that's not NEARLY enough. We know he's being honest and sincere bc we're in his head, but *she* isn't. It just made me too scared for her that she would dismiss her doubts like that, that even though I felt fairly certain she would be ok by the end of the book bc I knew how Elias really feels, it still didn't feel comfortable or safe to me how fast they were moving.

[@ReadswithRachel]

That part really frustrated me as well

[@aprilmacg169]

Didn't register the tentacles on the cover and thought "why such a normal cover?" But also my mental picture listening to this review was like octopus face alien in business suit.

[@ATKOtter]

Edward's equipment is actually explained! Before their honeymoon, he went out and drank a *lot* of animal blood. An excessive amount. So he could perform. I regret that I know this.

[@UnicornRoseDust]

Honestlyyyyy monster romances I have read so far are very heavy on consent and safety

[@kamari1877]

Was I supposed to know octopuses have three hearts?? I thought it was enough to know that they're super smart...

[@kay12]

Round of applause for Julie the Stylist because the hair is GIVING

[@kay12]

Also, I did not know octopus have 3 hearts...O.o

[@gaybeluthefrog]

I have an even better question about the mating thing: what if the mate is gay and not attracted to the matee (?)

[@yersiniapestis5237]

I would assume mating rules override sexuality

[@gaybeluthefrog]

@@yersiniapestis5237 jeez I hope not. OR I could imagine the two mated ones just entering a qpr or bonding as besties then

[@yersiniapestis5237]

@@gaybeluthefrog No because that doesn't make any sense

[@nikkydalby7126]

@@yersiniapestis5237well you’re implying rape 🤷🏻‍♀️ so I would much rather have platonic besties than a mate that forces themselves on their gay matee- absolutely disgusting to think about tbh

[@yersiniapestis5237]

@@nikkydalby7126 Where did you get rape from? That's not what I was implying at all.

[@AlishaHerbiederbie]

The visceral reaction I had thinking of cartilaginous suction cups in intimate places ... nope, nope, what, how? Rachel you have once again blessed us.

[@BooksToAshes]

That sounds foul to me honestly 🤢

[@MetastaticMaladies]

I instantly thought of The Deep, from The Boys…

[@AlishaHerbiederbie]

​@BooksToAshes And to make it worse since I find cephalopods cool I know some sucker's are hooked or barbed and can basically take bites. And that they all have no bones only beaks, WHERE DID HIS BEAK GO ARE HIS BONES ACTUALLY ALL BEAK??

[@AlishaHerbiederbie]

​@@MetastaticMaladies that's a whole new reason to get ick shivers lmao

[@moonstone___]

@@AlishaHerbiederbiei’m not sure this is meant to be interpreted one to one with real life cephalopod anatomy lol

[@Marie45610]

It was a few years ago so I don't know how well it holds up, and I haven't reread it in that time, but the only Monster Romance that I've read that didn't make me cringe is Waking the Dragon by Juliette Cross. It's a trilogy, I haven't read the other books in the series but one thing that's interesting about it is that one of the books features a monster lady finding love. Which is something I think the monster romance is leaving out. Why is it always a monster dude finding a human lady to love? Monster ladies deserve love too. 😂

[@aprilmacg169]

I would love to see the way interior design shifts for inter-species(?) monster couples. Vampire & dragon couple in an opulent tomb, match made in heaven. Swamp thing and the Kraken trying to sort a compatible aquatic biome, idk, avoid attracting pestsbl like mosquitos.

[@HazelSageHP]

"So she eats some calamari" - the way I CACKLED Rachel 😂😂

[@ReadswithRachel]

Might be my favorite euphemism ever

[@notinusecomebacklater]

"little [animal nickname]" should be on the bingo card.

[@kilian-one-l]

The funniest way to read this book would be to read all of Elias' lines in Wiggly's voice

[@justokayemilay6029]

For Galifrey!

[@Jess_talks_book]

35:00 He was in Montreal? That's like a 6 hour flight to get back to Seattle. Nora was waiting a long time for Elias to comfort her

[@PetalsAndPlague]

Local Washingtonian. You got Puget Sound right the first time 🎉 AHHHH Whidbey Island, too! It's a real place. I grew up there and fun fact, the little town in Practical Magic that they live in was shot in Coupeville (town on Whidbey) It's so weird to hear about places I know in a review like this. And semi niche places too! I'm positively giddy! Edited to add stuff.

[@sava-smth]

Craken romance: 😃 he's a shapeshifter: 😞

[@ms-abominable]

fr this is monsterfucker-lite

[@isaacbenrubi9613]

RwR: **Releases video** Me: What's crackin on the toob of yoo today?

[@eveellisen]

Not me, a Seattlite, choosing to listen to this on my walk to the aquarium! We just had a huge new expansion open up, so I guess thank you to Elias lol Also thought it was cute that the kraken romance takes place here; the Kraken is the name of our hockey team that tiktok loves to thirst over

[@thatawkwardgirlpep7548]

The world building in such a small novel was so much fun. I cringe at the thought of a sea man touching me anywhere but that was...descriptive lol I do like all the questions the Nora asks. It answers the ones we have and makes sense she would ask the same. Me and you are alike in the way of curiosity lol If these things exist, I need to understand the dynamics behind it lmfao im glad this delivered in that aspect. This video was great to listen to after how serious the other ones were today haha loved this!

[@CrisM779]

Thoughtful conversation on consent and what would a monster boyfriend relationship realistically be in a smutty tentacle book was NOT on my bingo card! 😂

[@SakiaLumei]

Gotta love that the monster romance writers are doing boundaries and consent better than mainstream romantasy. I have a video on what I dont like about fated mates on my writing channel, but not gonna lie... I would love to write a story where a monster (or what else has mates) finds their mate and the mate is married. Poly shenanigans!

[@ffbotha]

There's an older series that does touch on this peripherally. The Tairen Soul series by C. L. Wilson. It doesn't involve the main couple of the series and it's dark fantasy (but not dark romance, from what I remember), so it doesn't go well. I have seen it in other shifter romance novels (though I can't remember any specific titles and I generally skip books with this trope), but it pretty much always involves the FMC already being married and her husband being either a deadbeat or abusive.

[@iFlutterbye]

There’s no seahorse emoji. 😭

[@ReadswithRachel]

🌊 🐴 we will have to settle for this

[@anealpilot6957]

So, kraken are kind of clingy, huh?

[@ReadswithRachel]

Yeah they really wanna suction themselves to you 😂

[@genmiller3598]

38:28 omg i cannot believe rachel doesn't know monster porn already exists. i'm so happy for her i hope she stays not knowing

[@ReadswithRachel]

I’m so scared to ask

[@rachelreadsromance]

If you disliked the smut in this book, part of me is so curious what your take on Opal Rayne's Duskwalker series would be, but I also don't want to torture you. I'm not a big monster romance fan, but recently loved Ravaged by Monsters by Katie May and Ann Denton. Excited to hear you are enjoying Lights Out! That is a surprisingly great dark romance!

[@Stu161]

I'm uncomfortably aware that this story set in Seattle about a Kraken came out a few years after the Seattle Kraken NHL team was founded. Edit: WAIT do we get the uncensored cut on Patreon??

[@mglarson5936]

Today I learned octopuses have 3 hearts! I literally had no idea! Thanks for the fun fact :)

[@yunxiq]

oh god. props to you for reading this because as soon as i heard the words monster romance i already knew what was coming

[@Genderqueeropossum]

Well yeah, the monster was 👉🏻👉🏻

[@laumiia]

I would love to see more Monster Romance! I love seeing people dip their toe in a genre I adore. Also, have you seen “The Shape of Water” (2017)? Very good for those interested in aquatic monsters 👌🏾.

[@crouchingidiot]

Omg that’s my favorite movie lmao

[@michellelies]

In love with all these hour+ long videos. Getting me through my day.

[@ReadswithRachel]

Glad to hear it!

[@draconiskittensweetie9765]

Oh man the whole premise sounds so fun; I think I have to check this series out lol. Your reactions and jokes throughout where so funny, I love the neutral dislike of the tentacle stuff without judgement but with hilarity LOL

[@user-px1mf7uz5m]

OH OH?? we have oviposition??????????????????????????

[@lowlyworm9323]

🥚🥚🥚

[@Marie45610]

Whidbey Island is a real place. My husband lived there for a couple years when he was a kid before they moved to the Central Washington area.

[@alyssseil]

I moved to Seattle from Chicago like a year and a half ago, I didn't like the word Puget so I just called it the sound and every time someone who's from here hears me say it they bite my head off lol

[@kbird6208]

You can also call it the Salish Sea. But there's nothing wrong with "the sound" either.

[@moultingrook8091]

I am SO turned off by dirty talk which is like every freaking sex scene in books these days. “Take it for me [cringe petname]” “you’re already so slick for me” etc etc etc like clearly other people must like it but 🤢 for me personally. Maybe it’s just because I’m on the ace spectrum but I get so bored and skip the sex scenes most of the time. 🦑🦑🦑

[@ReadswithRachel]

This is EXACTLY how I feel

[@avalyea4979]

🐙 my fave is legit an octopus. they are fascinating to no end. second place i think is the killer whale. but anyway, this book sounds kinda fun. i'm with you on all your points that would've made it better. definitely woulda liked to see Nora have more agency

[@LorewithouttheE]

🦈 yeah i wish maybe the LI had just called the MC "dear siren" or something; anything but 'little'. that, to me, feels kinda diminishing of the person it's about??? if that makes sense, like idk, hearing/reading grown-ass characters being called 'little [x]' by their romantic partners is just reaaaally not my cup of tea there's some decent parts there for sure tho! i love the worldbuilding that was mentioned, it sounds pretty interesting 🤔 even if i do feel like my eyes might glaze over reading the intimate scenes lmao

[@emilienocture7215]

I am deeply repulsed by octopi so listening to you explaining the spicy scenes makes me want to scrub my brain with bleach to forget I ever heard those words. Can't stop listening to you though💀

[@PistachioGold]

48:45 fighting for your life 😂😂 Also I love how you talk to your cat in the midst of it all 😂

[@pauieeepau]

I've been a monster enjoyer for a while, and i don't mind monster smut... but only in comic/illustrated form. I don't think i can get into monster romance novels, since I don't like romance novel tropes. But if I can find one that interests me, who knows, maybe I'll try. For now, I'll read my monster comics. Read Mage & Mimic, it's cute and D&D inspired. PS Nice to see how the fated mates trope was approached in this book, but I still can't read that trope lol.

[@reed882]

I put down this video to go buy the book! About halfway done, and just wanted to say thank you for the recommendation!! I'll come back and finish your analysis once I'm done reading. It's very fun and very solid so far. Thanks for making these great videos

[@TessaResikmulyani]

Yes, Whidbey Island is real!

[@4cprocess]

I just started the video, but had to stop to comment on your sponsor for today's video. This may sound dramatic, but Factor has honestly been my lifeline when it comes to food this past year (or two?). I have treatment resistant depression and have been on Disability for about 2.5 years because it got to the point where I could no longer work a job and was hardly a functioning adult and human being. I'm starting to get a wee bit better now after trying a bajillion meds, TMS, and now finally, IV Ketamine, but I still have a hard time making myself eat and shower and such. I literally wouldn't be eating anything if it weren't for Factor. They may be a tad expensive in general compared to, you know, just preparing your own food, but I literally could not do that. I don't think I touched the stove or oven for at least a year, subsisting only on strawberry smoothies, cereal, and buttered toast, before finally getting a microwave and starting to order my meals from Factor. Due to the depression sapping away any willpower, energy, and motivation, popping something in the microwave is sometimes an impossible task, and there have been times where I just can't do it and don't eat that day. But at least I know the option is there: a healthy, well-rounded, fully prepared meal only minutes away from being ready to eat. Plus, their food is fresh and pretty darn good for a 2-minute microwave meal. And each week, you get a plethora of meal options to chose from, which is great because there are some things I just do not like or don't like eating (zucchini, squash, pork, mushrooms). I now definitely have a long list of meals that easily can be my go-tos if they're on the menu, and I'm not terribly worried about trying something new because they have all the ingredients listed out (so if something has blue cheese, I can nope out of there). Anyway, sorry for the novel just about the sponsor lol, but I just wanted to let you know that I can also back up your endorsement. To others reading this (thanks haha), if you have depression that is debilitating and are having trouble willing yourself to make food and eat like me, if you can afford it, I would definitely recommend Factor. While the meals are meant to be eaten fresh, not frozen, I can vouch that they're totally fine after they've been frozen. I have about 10 meals in my freezer right now and just stick them in the fridge a day before I plan to eat them to help thaw them out before sticking them in the microwave. What's also great is that you can skip as many weeks as you want (and change the number of meals), which has been helpful on numerous occasions. Okay, that's it, I'm done haha

[@ReadswithRachel]

I love to hear this! It’s seriously been a lifeline for us as well recently. There’s just too much going on and we are tired and depressed. Factor has kept us fed for days and days now and we are so grateful it’s one less thing to worry about.

[@reed882]

I really enjoyed this book, I thought it was a unique shifter romance book/world. Thank you again for the rec!!

[@ReadswithRachel]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@NotyourAngel162]

Every time I heard one of the movie clips I had to cackle, Rachel I'm trying to clean😂

[@Beerambles]

A WHAT ROMANCE????

[@ReadswithRachel]

🐙🚢 🌊❤️

[@belovedwinter]

My personal favourite monster romance author is Lily Mayne (primarly M/M, post-apocalyptic, modern/romcom and modern/monster under the bed) but I've also loved books by Penny Moss (though PM's books are more fantasy than romance) and Clio Evans is really good as well, definitely tamer than the other two, though. Part of the appeal of monsters (for me) is that they're so different from humans, either physiologically or in the way they think about their partners, or their partners' bodies, which imo is the biggest appeal. When they're a kraken or a creature from another world, I appreciate when beauty standards are WAY different than for a human, especially when their junk is also something the two of them need to decipher.

[@kitty-vicious]

Whoa, hey! I'm super early! ...And a little nervous to press play! 😂

[@MykkiOnTheCusp]

You pronounced the Puget Sound perfectly!

[@smolexfundie6458]

okay, listen. I’m a degenerate. I love monster romance. (trapped in the satyr’s garden is a personal fav) But nothing annoys me more than “shifter” romance. 🤮 😂 you’re telling me…. you wrote a whole ass intriguing monster to simp for, and you’re gonna make it turn into a regular shmegular icky HUMAN for the good parts?!! Disgusting!! COMMIT DAMNIT!! 😂😂 Also, I actually love the mates trope a lot when there is an out! “The orc from the office” is one I liked, they had the option to break off the mate bond. obviously its blatant smut and they end up together, but just having that option made the story much more enjoyable. 😊 I think as a ND person, I also just enjoy the simplicity of the mates trope. You find one person, and they’re your mate for life and they will never leave you or stop loving you. I need that consistency and stability in my life. Obviously, it’s idealized(usually…😵‍💫 unless it’s dark romance ew). In real life, it would probably suck. But thankfully it’s not real life(except i guess in arranged marriages?? scary) But in the context of fantasy, I like it a lot. ❤ Monster romance just makes the suspension of disbelief much easier. I do not enjoy the omegaverse or human form mates. icky

[@Eszoable]

I. AM. HOWLING. All these puns! ahaha I am so glad I can vicariously live through your reviews. If you're seeking another "slippery romance" but more mature slow burn I can recommend 'Surrendering to Scylla' by Wren K Morris.

[@lovenaartjies]

"He tastes like pho" absolutely ENDED ME okay.

[@xRaiofSunshine]

27:00 haha, she’s “kraken” up 😂😂😂

[@emilybrockley7562]

The spiders mate triology anyone ??? Just me. ?😂😂❤

[@jacsickels7597]

😂”don’t shit on my hard work”. 😂 do we have the same stylist, bc that sounds like Ilya (love you, girl!)

[@squirtlelover9772]

Will you be continuing the series?

[@ReadswithRachel]

i think so!

[@shyki2747]

The way the ad before this video had an octopus in it 😭

[@lowlyworm9323]

my favorite sea creature… that’s a tough question! There’s so many good ones! But I have to go with the nudibranch

[@mithridatic333]

i really enjoyed Love Lights by Emily Antoinette! it’s a Christmas themed novella featuring a certain light-attracted cryptid 👀

[@h2o2630]

Homegirl loves calamari 😂

[@ReadswithRachel]

Guilty as charged 😂

[@h2o2630]

@@ReadswithRachelokay just finished the video, and I have to say I really love how careful the author was in the beginning. There was a care there (though I think unfortunately dropped) that I haven’t seen. A nice change of pace. ❤

[@ReadswithRachel]

Totally agree

[@micahguillemette3344]

I literally watched your videos on the Plated Prisoner Series not long ago, still waiting for your review of the last book lol

[@acetrainerbee]

So I watched the first ten or so minutes of this video where you read about their boundaries and then stopped, got the book on KU, and read it in one night xD I almost DNFed because of the little siren thing, though, and my only other major objection is that he didn't fight anyone as a kraken xD like COME ON, THERE WAS A FIGHT??? AND THE DRAGON DID IT??? he gets his own book, I want to see a villain ripped limb from limb by tentacles in this book (or, like, squished in the street by a giant sea monster, whatever, I'm flexible). Anyway ty for reading this so I could find out about it xD

[@MrDoenyon]

were-kraken is a whole new level of biggily "appendices"

[@BulldogsAndBooks]

22:52 the two hearts made me think Doctor Who, too

[@Mondo0909]

To your point at 50:04 I'm sure monster women will just as easily take that spot also

[@taylorjones7174]

I’ll take a Kraken any day! Haha!!! 🤣 🌊 Sounds like fun for sure! 🩵

[@MortMe0430]

That was a masterful buildup to the sponsor.

[@eksarina]

you got puget sound right first time hell yeah thanks for another great video!

[@ReadswithRachel]

Yay, thank you!

[@lgabymoran]

now i need to know if oviposition is a given for all kraken romances or if it warrants a content warning 🤨

[@KnitPurlPrint]

All I Wanted Was Sushi But I Got Abducted by Aliens Instead - by Petra Palerno! I uhhhhh.. like sharks

[@1confusedkitty745]

Artist here! You couldn’t have uploaded at a better time (:

[@johnhutton8927]

Shadowrun Roleplaying game. Magic Returns to the near future world of corporations. Sooo much meta-human porn (not in game but its defintely there). Humans, Elves, Orcs, Trolls o my!

[@cloud8005]

it's always a good day when Rachel uploads

[@claudiaadams8650]

I am also super curious about the anatomy lol

[@21loverose]

Hey and thanks for sharing another wonderful video ☺️

[@ReadswithRachel]

Thanks for watching!

[@izabelastrzakowiec2307]

"Mating tentacle" definitely wasn't a phrase I wanted to read as a first thing after opening You Tube,but sounds like this book isn't as bad as I tought.

[@peggyluwhoreads]

# 1 - you pronounced Puget correctly # 2 - Whidbey Island is a real place; you have to take a ferry there

[@peggyluwhoreads]

New entry on my list of words I don’t want to hear - impaled

[@Sadiehoney]

Her running from her ex on a bus and trying to get back in her feet, instantly thought of the book safe haven by Nicholas sparks I loved it when I read it but I think I was like 16

[@FemboyMisa]

Can we retire the concept of mates now?

[@MortMe0430]

Rachel reading the earlier sex scenes: (as the cat in the car window) Why we going so fast?!

[@soupsayer69]

Rachel I am BEGGING you to read I Married a Lizard Man

[@heyheysheashea12]

Oh cool I never knew octopuses had 3 hearts