Okay, cover your ears. Are you ready? You sure? Okay, here we go! *SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE* In case you can’t tell, I am ec-sta-tic to be on the ARC team for Brianne Gillen’s delightful new romance novella, Sea Creatures Prefer Redheads. If you’re a fan of classic monster flicks, romcoms, and tales from the Golden Age of Hollywood, Gillen is your author and this is your book.
It’s 1947, and Opal Prince is a talented makeup artist at Neptune Pictures. She’s particularly known for and proud of her monster designs, her latest being a terrifying sea creature played by up-and-coming actor Adrian Waterson. Except to her, the sea creature isn’t so terrifying… she’s actually a little in love with her creation. And with the man in the suit. Of course, she would never admit that out loud. But Adrian has secrets of his own… that sea creature Opal designed? It’s uncannily close to his real self. Which might scare others away, but with Opal… it just might be okay. And more than a little kinky.
While monster romances aren’t my usual genre, I knew that if Gillen was doing one? Set in her Old Hollywood Phoenix Pictures universe? I would love it. And my trust was not misplaced because from the first page, I was enthralled. Opal and Adrian are such charming, lovable characters, and their pragmatic approach to everything grounded the book’s rather fantastic premise, so you’re just left thinking, “Oh, of course, that’s how you deal with your true love having gills.” I was alternately hooting with laughter and fanning myself throughout the whole thing, and this is definitely going in my pick-me-up reads pile.
In addition to the fun characters and plot, there are plenty of allusions to classic cinema — both creature flicks and screwball comedies — and twists on a certain popular fairy tale that’s also about a secret sea creature falling in love with a human. So, if you like those things, and you if like competent heroines (we at Book It With Becca definitely have a competency kink) and cinnamon roll heroes, Sea Creatures Prefer Redheads should be on your list. Plus, it’s perfect October reading, so what are you waiting for? Mark your calendar for that October 13 release date!
Many thanks to author Brianne Gillen for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and gushing are entirely mine.
—b
Book It With Becca 