I know almost nothing about wrestling (and have little desire to watch) and still found this book incredibly captivating and enjoyable. The characters were well developed and their struggles and emotions were easily relatable, as were their respective groups of friends. I’m hoping for more books in this universe! Would definitely recommend to someone looking for an enemies-to-lovers type of read, with the monsters as a plus (and definitely not a reason to shy away from the book for those who are drawn more to realistic fiction).

This is an amazingly enjoyable story. If you are a fan of wrestling and sapphic romance, this is for you. I have been requesting wrestling romance books for ages; it a genre that has been overlooked. But no more! I thoroughly enjoyed narration of the matches, as well as the commercial breaks that added a touch of humor. I will definitely be recommending this and reading the author's other works.

Living up to your kick-butt image as an elite monster wrestler is hard when you (maybe) want to kiss your hated rival. A fun enemies-to-lovers lesbian romantasy.

To the whole world, Athena Rainstorm is the most hated villain in Elite Monster Wrestling. Away from the boos and jeers that slice deep, she’s just Iris, a sensitive harpy who’s only ever wanted one thing: to spread her wings and win an elusive championship title.

Her fiercest rival is Lena, the perfect minotaur who has it all. With her toned, muscular physique and devastating looks, “Helen Stronghorn” wins fights, fans, and adulation with the greatest of ease.

Their hatred for each other in and out of the ring is legend. But when the wrestlers are forced to spend time together prepping for the biggest event of the year, their masks begin to crack. They glimpse each other’s realities: the pressure of perfection crushing Lena and the childhood dream always just out of Iris’s reach.

Will their newfound understanding ruin their infamous rivalry in the ring? Because they still hate each other, right? Or…do they?

As a professional wrestling enthusiast, I welcome any opportunity to read about it. This story seamlessly blends monster romance with professional wrestling and touch of union rights to create an entirely enjoyable experience. It captures the rivals-to-lovers trope without necessitating understanding of the wrestling world—there is a glossary to any terminology. For me it was to imagine which wrestlers served as inspiration for the characters: I ultimately settled on Charlotte Flair and the legendary Chyna. All in all, if you are seeking an escape for an hour or two, this book provides an excellent means to do so.

This was a fun read. There’s an entire genre of people who need to have this haha. I don’t know too much about the wrestling industry but from what I’ve seen this is pretty spot on.

Everything about Iris and Lena is so damn hot. Especially when you picture them in your head as Rhea Ripley Megan the stallion (I know she’s not a wrestler but she dresses like one, okay?!)

Thank you netgally for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I looooved this book! A sapphic rivals to lovers in the wrestling scene. I don’t know much about wrestling but the book explained perfectly how everything worked so I understood everything. Iris and Lena started off hating each other but were forced together because they needed to work with each other. They slowly realized they actually liked each other and had good and honest conversations.

I loved iris and Lena as a couple and the spicy scenes were really good! I appreciated that the author put exactly where the spicy scenes were in the beginning of the book. Also really liked the explaining of the wrestling terms and the character appendix.

All in all I would really recommend this book if you’re looking for a sapphic monster romance!

Elaine ATE and left no crumbs.

First of all, the enemies to lovers dynamic was so good! So many EtL is watered down now, but this felt really real! I loved watching them work through their feelings for each other. The side characters, oh my gosh, so good; we love good secondary characters. I want to be friends with all of them. I adored the moment when Lena and her father finally talked to each other. Oh and the painting party that Iris planned melted my heart. Also, I love how accessible you made the sport for someone who knows nothing about wrestling. It was magical. 🥹

*im horrible at coherent reviews, so here are my initial thoughts word vomited for you all*

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for being given an e-arc in exhange for my honest review of this book.

I am a huge fan of monster romance but i know nothing about wrestling so going into this I was a little nervous as I’m also not the biggest fan of sports romances.
The explanation and trigger warnings at the beginning of the book was very helpful, I’m not the best at remembering names or species so it was helpful I was able to look back at.

Full of enemies-to-lovers, angst and want the best part had to be the commerical breaks they were brilliant.

Praise to the author it was well written and the characters and most importantly their relationship was well developed and didn’t feel rushed for the story to end in time.
I’ll defiantly be interested in more from this author or this world.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advance copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book is a perfect crossover of my niche interests in monster romance, Sapphics, and pro wrestling. Lena and Iris are fantasic and have wonderful as both lovers and opponents. I wish the back half of the book was more developed in their relationship and the dynamics of the other wrestlers.
Truly my only complaint is I think the book should have been a bit longer to build and develop the relationships.

Unique debut romance with monsters who wrestle and commercial breaks! (3.5 stars)
High praise to author Elaine J Daniels for the unconventional elements of this book: different kinds of 'monsters' who wrestle in a professional league, chapters that are commercial breaks from the action and drama, characters with multiple names and nicknames they go by, and at least one bold place for the mains to get it on, to name a few.
There is a content warning at the beginning of the book letting readers know which chapters contain steamy/explicit scenes in case they want to skip them; I read the entire book and suggest you don't skip anything unless that kind of content is an issue for you. A character appendix is also included but it only covers the names, species and roles the wrestlers play in and out of matches; those characters each have multiple names (given first and last names, a stage name, and a nickname in the ring) so mark that page to refer back to when you need it. I had to use it a few times while reading since the names used depend on where the character is and who's interacting with or referring to them in the story. There are a couple of human characters but the bulk of the cast are monsters of differing types. The story is set in the monster realm and information about the human realm is limited and not always accurate; the monster realm also lacks mobile phones so there's no texting between characters.
Chapters are told primarily from the POV's of main characters Iris and Lena, and are tagged accordingly; other chapters are either from the POV of a match commentator or are commercial breaks, the latter of which are reminiscent in places of classic North American TV ads from long ago and a great source of comic relief. There is humor elsewhere in the book along with a bit of angst and drama to break up the action in the match ring. I frequently forgot the characters were monsters until there's a mention of a tail, wings, or horns; ironically the monsters here are more 'human' (in the best sense of the word) than the actual human characters. There is a bit of terminology relating to wrestling moves that comes up but nothing too deep in the weeds so if you know nothing about wrestling it's easy to look up the words online for clarification or just gloss over them.
I read thru the book fairly quickly. It's an easy read with predictable moments in the plot and different kinds of grand gestures to provide feel good moments for the reader and story characters alike. I did question why some characters didn't get more time on the page (Lucy the Cerberus for one) and if some minor details relating to other secondary characters were brought up and then seemingly forgotten in order to wrap up the story in a particular way. The mains and their friends were presumably in their thirties yet their behavior often read as more juvenile so this may be a more appealing read for adults in the younger end of the age scale although older adults may enjoy the commercial breaks for the echoes of nostalgia; also the audience chants for one of the wrestlers were weird and a bit creepy to my ears. For a debut novel it shows promise given the creativity and imagination of the author displayed on the page so I'd be interested to see and read her future stories to see where it takes readers and to also note the growth and development in the writing.

This an amazingly fun story. If you are a fan wrestling and sapphic romance, this is for you..
I really enjoyed the narration of the matches too, as well as the commercial breaks for a bit of hilarity.
Will absolutely be reccomwnding this and reading the authors other works.

I love romantasy! Especially monster romantasy.
In this case, it challenged my imagination by imagining how a Harpy could love a Minotaur while reading this book.
I loved it!
It's definitely a fun enemies-to-lovers lesbian romance.
Full of prejudice, false impressions and misunderstandings at the beginning and then a tentative approach that turns into a hot and sizzling inferno!
These two feuding EMW wrestlers can't be in the same room without being hostile towards each other and now have to train together to put on a mega show.
Not only that, they are forced to spend time together in private to get their refinement out of the way and at least be civilized with each other.
Who could have guessed what they really think of each other and how they feel.
Of course, a lot of it revolves around wrestling, but in my opinion it is not overarching and the story is concentrated on Iris and Lena.
The explanation at the beginning of the book was very helpful. I'm not a wrestling expert, but I liked it now and then. I would have liked to watch these two ;)
Thanks so much to the Author and Ylva Publishing for this ARC! This is my honest opinion and review.