Gone with the Monster is the third book in Lila DuBois’ Monsters in Hollywood series. I admit to not being a fan of this particular series but wanted to try and make it through the three, currently published books. However, I could not get past the first few chapters of Gone with the Monster. This one will likely remain on the DNF shelf.
Kidnapping and bondage are no way to win a girl. Well, actually…
Runako has good reason to distrust humans. His sister’s murder taught him it’s safer to keep his Monster form under wraps. Now comes word that a woman is making a movie that will supposedly “help” his people. He’s not sure about that, but one thing is sure…Margo is too beautiful to be ignored.
Presented with the opportunity to use his people’s Captive Caves—a secluded mountain fortress designed to hold hapless, tasty humans prisoner—Runako knows exactly whom he wants to star in his ultimate fantasy.
Margo knows exactly what she wants and how to get it. At least where her career is concerned. Runako is just the kind of bad boy with whom she’d like to heat up her nights. In a land of skinny blondes, though, a hottie like him would never notice her lush, Latin curves.
No one is more surprised when she finds out his version of “wooing” includes kidnapping. Forced to stand before him in chains, her paper-thin confidence is burning up fast in the heat of his desire. And when it turns out she can identify his sister’s murderers, they both must decide where their loyalties lie…
In the spirit of honesty, that first line of the back cover blurb is pretty much why I could not finish Gone with the Monster. Runako is the big bad of the four monsters previously introduced in the first two books. In fact, in Lights, Camera…Monsters, he hurts and almost kills the heroine. He has a hatred of the human race because one human killed his sister. Thus, he’s never tried to learn about humans, unlike the other three (2 of which are now mated to humans). Runako is a big brute and for some reason thinks kidnapping the object of his affection, Margo, is the way to win her heart or at least an acceptable avenue into her pants. I just couldn’t get past that, nor could I really be OK with the fact that Margo, our heroine was half on board and half repulsed by the plan. I know this is an erotic romance, that there will be lots of consensual sex. However (and no, I couldn’t get far enough to find out, as I was too disturbed by the events in the first few chapters…which aren’t explicit or vulgar, they just felt too off, too wrong), I wasn’t sure there wouldn’t be something happening that Margo was truly objecting to and then acquiesced to just because she was attracted to Runako and had wanted to sleep with him prior to being carried off to some cave. Too much “me man/monster, you silly female” for me.
I know this will have a HEA if I could get past all of this, but right now, I just can’t. So, if you’re going to read it and finish it, I’d be more than willing to hear your thoughts and if it’s worth picking it back up and giving it a second chance.
Read Order:
Lights, Camera…Monsters
My Fair Monster
Gone with the Monster
Also reviewed by: Literary Nymph’s Reviews Only, Sweet Vernal Zyphyr