My Ogre Husband - Lyonne Riley

 

 

 

 

 

I received an advanced copy of this book from the author. 

After her failed trial marriage to a shadow demon (totally not her fault, he was an asshole) Maddie is scared to open her heart to anyone else, she can’t bear the hurt again. With some convincing from her best friend she decides to give dating one more try and meets up with Egorr. With the chemistry between them it’s not long before they tumble into a trial marriage of their own where sparks fly and perineums tear. 

After she moves in with him, the rest of the story is basically bedtime shenanigans. With the aforementioned perineum incident, they have to find different ways to have some spicy fun regardless of how much Maddie wants Egorr to fuck her six ways to Sunday. 

While this book is monster romance, I feel it is less a romance and more just plain monster lust. 

In preparation for this arc, I read the first book in the series (My Minotaur Husband) and I must say the differences between them are night and day. While an actual relationship between the first book’s characters grows, it feels like they do belong together. They compliment each other and Celeste (the female main character) actually wants to contribute to their lives. In “My Ogre Husband” all that really seems to be between our couple is the need to get it on. Maddie doesn’t really bring anything to the relationship, only lifting the metaphorical finger in bed, whereas Egorr is making sure she gets everything she needs physically and emotionally. Luckily he’s strong so can carry all that weight. 

The spice is prevalent but I can’t say it did anything for me. Lines like “You really turn me on”,”You turn me on too” just don’t quite elicit any kind of positive response in me. It’s all a little bit too simplified, too basic, maybe too literal. It is however, in my opinion, quantity over quality. 

I did enjoy the overall premise of the series. A world where humans are in the minority and kept in preserves, away from monsters that could love them or kill them, depending on their mood. It has a lot of opportunities for fun times, as proved in the first book. 

While I could take or leave Maddie, Egorr is a sweetheart. Big and beefy, geeky and gorgeous. He has a quiet charm that is absolutely appealing, there is nothing threatening about him whatsoever. All sweetness and sunshine. Though the first book in the series is set after this one, it was a lot of fun to see him pop up in that story too. 

As a standalone I wouldn’t normally bother with this one, it just didn’t tick many of my boxes, but as a companion to the first book it works. It shows that relationships come in many shapes and sizes, like our monsters and humans, and if it’s good for the couple, then it is worthwhile.

 

"My Ogre Husband" comes out on the 23rd May 2025.