Friends with the Monsters

That monsters could be so interesting. What I wouldn’t give to have three all to myself. Awesome and unique ideas put in an intriguing and thoughtful manner. I wanna tell all the secrets, but you need to discover them on your own.

I really loved the characters in this story. They were so unique and I enjoyed the way they interacted with each other. The story was well written. Definitely worth reading!

Albany Walker is a brand new author to me. I had never heard of her before, and when I saw this incredible cover, I was all for giving this book a try. I have a love hate relationship with paranormal romance. Well...maybe it’s more that I’m super picky when it comes to reading most paranormal. I am a HUGE fan of RH &Paranormal combined, and I had seen a recommendation of this book in a RH author/reader group on Facebook, and I knew it wouldn’t hurt. So combined with that rec, and the awesome cover, I dove right into the story. &OH MAN. I am SO THANKFUL that I gave this story a try. The story line was SO unique and so interesting. I loved Damiana and her baddie’s. &Then with the addition of her love interests, Grim, Calix, and Gunnar....I was addicted SO quickly!Damianna is a 30 year old woman, who lives alone in a rather large house, where she has been isolated for a very large chunk of her life. She is very different from your average human, and is only able to receive sustenance by feeding off the sins of those around her.Because of her not being sure as to what exactly she is, she doesn’t leave home often, and when she does, it is normally to “feed”, or have a hookup with someone at the bar she frequents. Her only friends are the monster’s that visit her at her home. &These monsters aren’t delusions, they are actual monster’s that she refers to as her “baddies”. She plays cards, shares hot chocolate, and just enjoys being herself around these friends of hers.Until one night she stumbles upon a man(Gunnar)in her house, who was bleeding, and in need of some serious tending to.From the moment that Dami met Gunnar, something about him and the fact that she knew he was also she type of supernatural being, gave her the confidence and strength she needed to try and seek out some answers as to who she is, and why she can only feed off the sins of humans.&Because I don’t want to spoil anything in this absolutely unique and extremely intriguing read, all I can say is that Albany then continues to spin this awesome story, with the perfect amount of twists and turns, a strong and sexually confident heroine, swoony, laughter filled, steamy goodness, that you won’t be able to put it down until you hit that 100% mark!So, if this cover & blurb caught your eye, and you are considering giving it a chance, I say, stop considering right this moment, and just DO! You can absolutely thank me later 😉😘♥️BTW, I wanted to make it known that this story has a HFN (Happy For Now) ending. So, while the ending definitely leaves an opening for the author to possibly continue with the story in the future, you won’t end the story feeling like you are missing something, or feeling like you NEED to know what happens next. So, there is no cliffhanger, but the ending definitely does leave the story and these characters the possibility of furthering their story in the future(Which I REALLY hope this author does, because I would be ALL over that continuation!)&Like I said earlier, stop considering, and just do.This will be a book that I will always recommend to any of my paranormal/RH loving friends!I can’t wait to explore some more of this author’s other published works! ♥️♥️♥️

I am enthralled with this world, just the thoughts of being able to know some of the things that go bump in the night has me giddy.

I love the three MMC. They are a hoot and a half and damn sexy, too! The FMC kind of got on my nerves. I enjoyed how blunt she was but it was repetitive how often the reader was reminded that she didn't "need anyone". I also think the story was too long. It felt a bit tough to get through but it really picked up around 70% in. Also, it's a sloooooooooow burn. I'm interested to see how part 2 is.

*****Spoilers*****The second half is where it's at when it comes to this one. As great as the back half is is too, it couldn't overcome the need for much more world building and information that's missing. For the entire book, we don't even know what the main character Damiana is because she doesn't know, only thinks she's a soul eater. Which leaves tons of questions about her upbringing that are either not disclosed or glossed over in such a way as to have me wondering if there's some greater reveal to come later. Since the book ends without the expected revelation, I'm demoting it stars for the lack. We only get a little information about Damiana's family since she lives in a house by herself with her friends she calls monsters. Brownies, hellhounds, and other creatures have been her companions for 31 years of her life, a life that is bereft of other meaningful relationships. The creatures who visit her in the dark of night are the only thing she knows in terms of social calls but Damiana likes and cares for them all the same.Damiana uses a local club as her hunting grounds since her sustenance is souls and sins. Even though she eats a couple of times in the book, I'm still unsure about how often she needs to and it seems that with the exception of hot chocolate, gets sick when she eats regular food. Once she meets Gunnar, the first of her mates, Damiana has a spark of excitement in her life and runs with it. She meets Calix the next night at the club, and finally gets to see Grim face to face after years of him coming to feed her without removing his cloak. Now she's met the three men, they initially expect her to choose one of them and send the others on their way. Damiana wants them all or none with none being more like not really going to happen. In the end the guys share and understand that she can love them all. The transition on these attitudes is so quick as to have been non-existent. Even with how fast the sentiment changes, Grim was a knockout when it came to sex with Damiana, especially since we learn she's his first and only. Very intense and scorching hot that was. By the end, all four are settling in which is not that believable in such a short time.I liked the book but there are just so many questions left that aren't fully explained. What does it mean to be a guardian? What does it mean to be a mate? Why does Damiana have three mates? Damiana's parents are still alive but still provide her with money but for how long and how much? What is the protocol for supernatural beings, who governs them, what are the rules in their society? At one point Damiana fears getting a speeding ticket but why? What are the extent of Damiana's powers and those of her three mates? Damiana attracts dark creatures for her powers but what benefit do they get from it?

Dami is quite the character, lonely but not alone.Friends with the Monsters is the first book of this set and an interesting introduction to Dami’s world. She adjusted to a different style of living than most would see as normal. She’s lived this way for years with no issues until small things start changing. Suddenly she finds she has a stalker, a mysterious lion wondering her boundaries and Death is at her door. The mystery begins…Enter at your own risk. There are monsters lurking and it’s dark inside. Definitely recommended for intrigue.

This book is so well written. It has such a different point of view and plot line. It’s truly unique. I loved the FMC, her story, her struggles. She makes you fall for the monsters of tales you’ve heard all your life. And shows a different side to them. Watching her grow into herself and accept sides of herself she wouldn’t have dared to, except with the guys. Watching her accept love and companionship... it was extraordinary.

This is a great book with unique characters and a different perspective. It was well written with hot moments! The story can continue, but it doesn't end in a strong cliffhang. I really recommend this!

Gente, enfim um livro que envolvesse o mundo “místico” e cenas “ok” de sexo, mas infelizmente o livro não tem fim! Não tem um ponto final! Eu gostei muito, mas não tem como ter “...” no final e dizer que é um standalone....

Enjoyed the book. The writing style really pulled me in and is an easy read. I Like the characters and I can't wait to see how the relationships grow in the next book.

My best guess is this was a shelved short story involving the "guy" who had fed her "hunger" since she was a child and the consequences of this, which then got picked up later and reworked into its current form. This is my guess because those parts of the story actually make some amount of sense, and the part of the romance that feels right and sensible with the plot elements.Our main character doesn't really know what she is (no one tells her, or us)But somehow a lot of deus ex machina (explained twice, like explaining it twice is going to help?) gets us into the reverse harem setup...which is used once as a plot device, then dropped.The boys are...1 which makes lots of sense, and two that seem really really random.The only depth our main heroine has is that she creeped out her parents as a kid and feels really scarred and resentful of them as an "abandoned" 30 year old, living off some trust fund in a house in the woods.Is this really someone's escapist fantasy? Sleeping all day, waiting around all night to be entertained, and doing nothing with your life while burning through your parents' money?The plot makes very little sense, even if we ignore the awkwardly tacked on reverse harem elements.Imagine you live in a small town, on its outskirts, and go to its club like once a month. Now you go multiple times a week and make demands (direct and indirect) on its owner. Somehow, this turns no heads.The heroine picks up new superpowers as the plot needs it.Someone dies and comes back to life Angry man is Angry and destroys furniture and is just generally bad at the job he is supposed to be doing, which he somehow takes orders on from our heroine, who is an underachieving shut-in.The last of the reverse harem scenes feels like "whoopsie, reaching the end of the book, gotta throw this in somewhere".2 stars because i managed to kind of read it (skimming was involved), and some of the base elements of the story were new ideas, which I think is worth something.