[Emily’s Review]: Berries and Greed by Lily Mayne

Greid
I may hate everyone, but you can only take being alone for so long. Sooner or later, you get desperate enough to visit a human cult that worships your species as greater beings in the hope of finding a new roommate to fill the lonely void. We’ve all been there… right?

I swear I was only looking for a roommate. Just someone to watch TV and eat dinner with. Nothing… romantic. No way. But when I see all these humans gazing at me with open adoration and blatant lust and other things that make me wildly uncomfortable, I realise what a terrible mistake this is.

Until I spot the one human woman in the group who is definitely not pleased to see me. In fact, she’s scowling at me. She looks really, really annoyed.

I’m kind of into it.

Beryl
I’m not a true follower of The Order of the Greater Beings. I don’t worship the demiurgus—the monstrous species that lives alongside humans. I definitely do not want to become a demiurgus mate.

So when one shows up at the cult’s compound—the first in the entire twenty-five years I’ve been flying under the radar here—I want to make sure he knows that I think he’s a total creep for taking advantage of worryingly adoring humans this way.

Until I realise… I don’t think that’s why he’s here. He’s kind of awkward. And anxious. And wildly out of his depth. And when he offers me the chance to finally escape the cult—to go out into the real world for the first time, to create a life for myself—all for the low, low cost of an easy, platonic friendship… I take it.

Now I’m navigating the outside world, and I’m roommates with a big, awkward demiurgus called Greid who lives in his pyjamas, watches a ridiculous amount of TV and is high most of the time. He’s also the sweetest guy I’ve ever met, and he’s funny and generous and easy to talk to.

But I’ve spent my entire life making sure I didn’t get sucked in to the cult’s fervent worship of the demiurgus—there’s no way I’m going to fall in love with him.

Right?

I received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Berries and Greed is a MF monster/human romcom and is the first in the series Deep Earth Dating, which features a range of diverse pairings and is for an adult audience only. A full list of CWs can be found at the front of the book, but include explicit content, a non-human love interest (with non-human anatomy), an MC initially involved in a cult, recreational use of a fictional drug, and mentions of childhood neglect.

LISTEN TO ME.
MONSTER ROMANCE NOVELS ARE NICHE, THEY ARE SEXY, AND THEY ARE NOT FOR EVERYBODY.

There will be NO judging allowed in this space.
We don’t kink shame here.
We are not speciest.
We definitely do not care if you have a double peen or a tail, or tentacles.
Cock Pocket or not, we love all the monsters exactly how they are written.

Monster romance is a vast universe that I don’t think many people have dipped their claws into.

C.M. Nacosta, Ruby Dixon, Clio Evans, Eryn Hawke, D.N. Bryn, Poppy Rhys, Victoria Aveline and Vera Valentine are all some of my favorites.

The authors I just listed are wonderful in their own rights….
But we are here to talk about Her Majesty, Lily Mayne.

Lily Mayne; this woman is a wrecking machine! She will take your heart right out of your chest, roll it up tight in a ball and then run it over with a bulldozer. Then she hands it off to one of the monsters in her novels and they manage to smooth out all the dents and dings and place it ever so gently back inside of your ribcage.

What I mean to say is that she is a master at her art. You feel me?

Lily Mayne has written my favorite monster novels ever.
MAYBE EVEN MY FAVORITE NOVELS PERIOD!
I can’t decide, don’t make me.

Her Monstrous Series features M/M and monster/human pairings. It also includes everything from cock pockets to tail play. But right along side of all the kinky, sexy monster “doin it” is some of the sweetest, most heart felt, and loving relationships that I’ve ever read. Not only that, the Monstrous Series is seriously hilarious. Don’t get me started on Moth, I’ll never stop.

Every time Lily writes a character or a world for her readers to explore, they are complex and interesting and fully fleshed out. It is just effortless to be dropped right into the world she created. She also actively updates her websites with fun shorts of all her characters so readers can see what all our favorite monster pairings are up to once their books have been published. They are legitimately some of my favorite parts of the series.
Just mad props, mkay?
Moral of the story: READ THE MONSTROUS SERIES BY LILY MAYNE
START HERE: MONSTROUS SERIES LINK

House keeping done!
Nuff said about those monsters and all of their humans!
We are here to talk about THIS MONSTER and HIS human.

Greid is a monster who is sexy but literally doesn’t know it. His social anxiety is so terrible that he has basically become a hermit who only leaves the house out of complete necessity. He is lonely though, and he just wants someone to watch television and maybe get high with sometimes. He super loves take out and he wears a Snuggie most of the day. He’s a lazy little angel and he also just happens to enjoy being told what to do in bed. Which is… *chef’s kiss*

I think that Greid might be the absolute sweetest “monster” that Lily has ever written.
I would actually die for him if he asked me.
BUT HE NEVER WOULD BECAUSE HE IS SO GOSH DERN SWEET!

Beryl is a sassy as heck ginger who was raised in a cult and has some slight control issues, but (see above) that is not a problem. She has an ailment called Vaginismus but she doesn’t let that stop her at all. She is a strong, confident, fulfilled adult, who enjoys her body as much as anyone else does. It was wonderful representation! While I’ve never experienced that particular diagnosis, I am positive her story will hit home for certain readers.
Beryl takes Greid up on his offer of being a roommate only (which, like, we all know is very silly). It’s a win win, she gets out of the cult, and he gets a new pal. But they are just drawn to each other. Truly they become such a great duo and their relationship grows so organically.
It was sweet to read and i LOVED IT!

The banter between these two characters is wonderful. The dual point of view really hammers home the pining and angst of falling in love. Also, living inside of Greid’s head is a super hilarious place to be. He is so awkward but in the best way.

This is a friends to lovers novel in the kindest, sweetest, most ooey gooey, lovely way.
I don’t want to give too much about the plot away, but its a great story about finding your place, overcoming your fears, trusting the people that love you and being comfortable in your own skin.

I think something else to mention is that this book is sexy. Like five alarm, call the fire department sexy.
AND consent is hugely emphasized. SO huge. In the hugest way!

Any time a couple has relations, consent is important!
Especially in a BDSM setting, consent and constant communication is key. I loved being able to watch that dynamic grow in a healthy and smart way. Everything was researched, talked about beforehand, confirmed and consented to while sober and everyone had a safe word.
Lily Mayne did an excellent job representing that aspect of a relationship and I think people that participate in those activities will greatly appreciate the care she took while writing.

Basically Lily has struck gold with me, again.
I can not wait for the next book in this series!
Apparently it is already written and is on deck for publication.
I can not recommend her novels highly enough.
She is a fantastic author who writes incredible characters that live in vivid worlds who lead complex lives and make for extremely satisfying reads.

Emily

Emily is a coffee loving, cat snuggling, hairstylist and book-a-holic.
Having always been a voracious reader and devouring books at a breakneck speed, joining the bookish and blogging community seemed like a natural next step. She loves giving recommendations to friends and family and then very gently (and not forcefully at all) asking for their opinions after they complete each chapter.
Her reviews tend to be goofy, a little sweary, on the more impassioned side and maybe sometimes a little self deprecating.
Emily typically enjoys reading almost every genre, including (but not limited to) monster romance, literary fiction, rom-com, contemporary, LGBTQ+, low/urban fantasy, paranormal, dystopian, sci-fi, gothic romance or basically any book that will make her cry.