Book Review: Bloom (Monster Love Novellas Book 1) by Desdemona Wren

 
 
Holly is used to the portal that shows up in her family's barn every year, but she's surprised when a nymph suddenly steps through it one day. Holly tries to send Nia back, but Nia is curious about the human world and set on staying until spring, and the more time Holly and Nia spend together, the more their feelings for each other grow.

Book Review: Bloom (Monster Love Novellas Book 1) by Desdemona Wren | reading, books, book reviews, paranormal romance, urban fantasy, lgbt+, transgender, nymphs, f/f
Title: Bloom
Author:
Book Number: Book 1
Pages: 172
My Rating: 3.5 Stars
More Info: Goodreads, Amazon
 

Review:

This was a quick but sweet romance with a really fun, unique take on nymphs—a supernatural creature you don’t find very often in books! I also seem to have stumbled upon the “sweet and fluffy about a lonely MC who lives on a farm/in the middle of nowhere, meets a supernatural creature, and falls in love” genre, and I’m digging it.

Holly, our human main character, was really believable and a character whose struggles with doubt and fear as a new adult (relationships, college) will probably be relatable to a lot of people. And Nia, our nymph love interest, was a sweetheart who was accepting and curious and just wanted to learn about the human world and spend time with Holly.

Speaking of Nia, the nymph aspect was super unique! I feel like I say this in every review anymore, but I really do love uncommon supernatural creatures, and I loved this totally nature-y portrayal of nymphs with bark-like skin and flower mouths and everything. It was a lot of fun.

There was also lots of positivity around the queer rep in the book. Holly was trans, the relationship was F/F, Holly and Nia had a whole discussion or two about gender when Holly was concerned that Nia would be bothered by her being trans (which of course Nia wasn’t), and Holly’s family was also super supportive and accepting.

I did feel, however, that the book was heavy on the messages/lessons. That’s not what I look for when it comes to books, but I try to let it slide because, with the way things in our world have been lately, it’s probably good to have some books like this, and it might be exactly the kind of book someone needs.

As for plot, it was really just the two characters getting to know each other and spending time together. There was one brief sex scene. There was some planting and farm work to be done. I’m not complaining though; despite its bittersweet premise, the author managed to keep the tone light and make this a subdued, stress-free kind of book.

Overall, as I said, this was quick, sweet read about two characters falling in love and leaving an impact on each others’ lives—one of whom just so happened to look kind of like a tree 😉

 

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  1. Mary

    Nymphs are definitely an uncommon creature in books and I would really like to see more of them. The only series I can think of that includes them is Harry Potter but none of them are really fleshed out well-written individual characters. It’s kind of surprising that you don’t see more of them in fantasy but I suppose we’re creatures of habit and tend to utilize supernatural creatures that we’re already familiar with. Thanks for a great review it certainly seemed like an enjoyable read.

  2. Daniela Ark

    oh look how cute the cover of Mongrels looks on your side bar! 🙂 Can’t wait to hear about it!

    I know what you mean about lessons because sometimes it can give you a preaching vibe and I like to reach my own conclusions when I read.

    I love the title of this book. So nymphs huh?? I don’t think I have read about them! Your blog is like my to go place to find anything I want about supernatural creatures and characters! 🙂 I’m glad you found it sweet and fun. I think I need like something like this during my springeddon! “sweet, fluffy and quick” 🙂

    1. Kristen Burns

      I just finished it! Kind of ironic that the best books, the ones I finish quickly, are the ones that get the least amount of time in my sidebar lol.

      Yeah, I mean, I agree with the lessons in this book—everyone should agree with them since they’re just about treating people right and gender not being dependent on the body you’re born with and stuff—it’s just still a little annoying for me to read. I’d rather the messages just come through in the story.

      Yes, a nymph! The nymph was so cool. I’m glad my blog is becoming your go-to for supernatural creatures XD

  3. Greg

    Wait… what are you doing with my personal infooooo??????????

    Kidding

    Monsterlove- I like it. 🙂 And I feel like a barn would be WAY more interesting with a portal in it? Especially if nymphs come through? The college- aged timeframe is nice too, we need more of that (NA doesn’t normally have a lot of supernatural stuff- I don’t think??). Sounds sweet… 🙂

    1. Kristen Burns

      Right? It sounds like I’m doing so much with it, when literally nothing has actually changed. Anyone who doesn’t know about this GDPR is gonna be afraid to ever visit or comment lol.

      A barn would definitely be more interesting with a portal in it. I’m still not really sure what qualifies as NA, tbh, but this seemed like it fit. I think every genre/age range should have more supernatural stuff 😉

  4. Litha Nelle

    I wish I had Kindle Unlimited still so I could read this one, but maybe I’ll get it in June when my finances are more acceptable. I can’t recall reading a book about a nymph, though there are books I’ve read where they’ve been mentioned but not really “featured” as a main character. I am a novella fan so I’ll put this one on my TBR- thanks for the review!
    ~Litha Nelle

  5. Tori @ InToriLex

    It’s hard to find ways to describe things we love differently over and over but I also enjoy unique supernatural creatures, the diverse rep and fantasy elements seem great.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Luckily the only people who know how repetitive are my blog followers. Random people reading this on GR or Amazon won’t be tired of me saying that 😉 But I really do love unique supernatural creatures!

  6. Olivia Roach

    I know there are brief mentions in some Hercules books I have read and I know they pop up at some point in the Percy Jackson series as well. But this is one supernatural creature I know quite a lot about because I could took interest at some point in my childhood and researched them! Loving the cover. It sounds like a short, sweet and fairly enjoyable read 🙂

    1. Kristen Burns

      Oh, how cool that you’re researched them! I’ve researched a lot of creatures but not much about nymphs. This was definitely a sweet read though 🙂

  7. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

    That’s a very niche genre to have stumbled upon, well done you. This does sound like a really cute read, though. And nymphs! That’s a new one, I love how you keep finding books with these different supernatural creatures. I’m not normally one for messagey books either, but it sounds like it has a good message so that’s not a bad thing and for some it could be a good thing.