Genres:
Fantasy, M/M Romance, Paranormal, Monsters, Shapeshifters, LGBT, Magic
Pages:
162
Published:
May 18, 2023
Grayson Cole is stuck: stuck with writer’s block, stuck with no love life, and stuck in a place he no longer feels is home. In an effort to free himself—and discover the mysterious reason he’s so drawn to his mother’s hometown—Gray travels to Scotland, hoping that the wild, beautiful scenery will relight his lost spark.
Upon arrival at a picturesque Loch-side village, Gray quickly realises that the scenery isn’t the only beautiful thing the Highlands has to offer. Hamish Macleod, the fiery young Scotsman who runs the local museum is refreshingly blunt and as sarcastic as they come, and Gray refuses to ignore their instant chemistry . . . even if the lad is an avid believer in the Loch Ness Monster.
They indulge in a no-strings holiday fling, but a series of increasingly vivid dreams—and some life-changing late night encounters—have Gray questioning everything he thought he knew about Loch Ness and its mythical beastie. He’s forced to admit that Hamish was right about the creature’s existence, but it turns out, the lad is hiding an even bigger secret, and when Gray finds out the truth, he’s in for a wild ride.
In more ways than one.
OCH, NESS! is a standalone MM monster romance with size difference, Scottish dialect, and soulmates. It involves an introverted English writer who embarks on a path of self-discovery and a cheeky, red-headed Scotsman who is much more than what he seems. OCH, NESS! is part of the WET ’N’ WILD series, where each novella follows a different human/water creature pairing and storyline.
✧ Overall Score✧
7/10
Exactly what I thought it would be, and exactly as advertised. I had a great time reading this, and it was a very silly romance. I think it could have used a bit more going on outside of the bedroom stuff though.
✧ Writing Style✧
7/10
Some decent turns of phrase and believable dialogue! Conventions were good and so was the sentence fluency. A bit of the dialogue was a little cringe but ehhh, its a romance.
✧ Plot✧
4/10
Fated Mates always makes me roll my eyes a little bit, but I can’t bitch too much about an encounter with the Loch Ness monster, which was very silly.
✧ Characterization✧
5/10
Neither character really had a chance to develop a personality within the story, which made them wind up being stereotypes, POVMC being a snarky cranky man and the RIMC being a manic pixie dream boy. Still, I didn’t want to dunk either of them in the toilet at the end of it, so we’re doing great for a romance novel!
✧ Spice✧
7/10
This author writes a pretty mean scene! Points off because I cannot stand porn dialogue though, and I skipped over most of it. But it was competently written and didn’t shy away from the Loch Ness Monster’s monsterness.