It was in early July when one of the weirdest yet most intriguing books fell in the readers’ lap. The novel features a woman who sleeps with a door shifter – when he is in his door form. Yes, you read that right, it is an erotic door romance! Suddenly, everyone’s talking about it, making videos and posts on it and uploading them on social media platforms.
Naturally, the author, Vera Valentine, also got her sweet, deserved spotlight. This limelight also helped the readers discover that Valentine specializes in writing erotic books with the wackiest plotlines!
Vera Valentine, the Self-Proclaimed Chaotic Capybara
Vera Valentine is an American author, having released her first book back in 2021. She claims to be a chaotic capybara, which may seem cryptic but is actually a great way to sum up her playful and unpredictable nature. This whimsical personality of hers shines through the narratives she weaves for the readers, unique stories that are sweet yet surprisingly erotic. And to think she does it while managing ten house-trained pets with her husband!
According to an ask-me-anything she did a few months ago on Reddit, she has a number of sources of inspiration. She acknowledges Sierra Cassidy to have introduced her to Omegaverse, a concept she used in her Squeakverse series. For her obsession with paranormal polyam, she blames (thanks) J.L. Madore, the author of Rise of the Phoenix. On top of it, Kathryn Moon, Clio Evans, and Beatrix Hollow made Valentine gain a liking for writing monsters.
With such a diverse romance portfolio, you’d think Valentine is unapproachable. But that couldn’t be more wrong! Her website is always updated with the latest news, and not just about her books. In fact, Valentine gives romance book recommendations – from the reverse harem to gargoyle romance – as well as a list of sex-toys websites. A complete package, you can say!
Introduction to Valentine’s Literature
Most of the readers have stumbled across this author because of Unhinged – at least 11,000 readers, owing to Goodreads ratings. If you are interested in knowing more about her, there’s no better way than exploring her other novels. Valentine has, along with her own books, also participated in romance anthologies, and co-written books with fellow authors. Let’s explore!
-
Carnal Cryptids Series
Through her Carnal Cryptids series, Valentine portrays a unique idea – monsters, or cryptids, draw power through people believing them. More specifically, people fear them. But monsters have now become a part of the folklore, and most of them are close to fading away.
In the first novel, a romantic triad – with a Mothman, a Jersey Devil and a lake-sea creature – needs a believer to sustain them. And they find a perfect one in Desiderata, a sweet and meek human. While, in the second novel, readers meet Desi’s best friend Jess and her harem of monsters, including a Dover demon.
These books – and a short novella offering a backstory for the second instalment – come together to weave the spiciest of the universe. It has multiple reverse harem scenes, obviously, some interesting monsters’ anatomy, with horror and romance pulsing beneath it all!
-
Squeakverse Series
There is no way you can gauge what this series is about simply through its name! It features shape-shifters who can turn into balloon animals. More importantly, even when they are human, they have balloon phalluses with knots and ejaculate things like funnel cake icing and caramel.
With that background, readers meet Sebastian and Keane, the twisted men who have escaped their captor, an evil witch. The magical symbols that helped them escape are fading, and now they need an artist to draw them as it is. Cue in Poppy, an art student, who agrees to help them… only to plant herself firmly in their relationship.
The second book makes the romance even spicier, adding another hero – Ronnie, a clown – to the erotic mix! On top of being squeaky, this story comes in the Omegaverse category, with heats and ruts, mate bites, and nests. It also touches on heavy topics, including sexual slavery, violence, and abuse, so tread lightly.
-
Hayseed
With Hayseed, Valentine adds a scarecrow to the list of things her female main characters can get it on with! Set in Kern Creek, the protagonist, Maisie, is enjoying a fun evening at the Harvest Festival. But her fun is ruined by her controlling boyfriend, who tries to abuse her while drunk. Scared, she runs for life and ends up in a cornfield.
The dark night makes the place eerie and difficult to navigate, but she soon stumbles across a scarecrow. Corbin the scarecrow has been granted a break from his sentry duties on this fateful equinox. He offers to save her in exchange for having her for the night. She agrees, and it turns out to be the hottest sex, made even wilder with her now ex-boyfriend watching!
This story is weirdly enjoyable, especially if you love monster romance. Elements of sensuality, magic, and empowerment come together in the subtlest way, making it a fun read. It is full of puns (including their names), hot scenes, and a corn on the cob for a penis.
-
Sap and Spile
Now that you know what kind of books Valentine releases, it is really no secret what Sap and Spile will be about! The protagonist is Mila, who has moved to her now-dead estranged husband’s place to take care of his maple syrup business. In trying to keep the business running, she frequents the unfamiliar forests a lot. However, an unfortunate snowstorm has her ending up in the bed of two mated dryads.
What ensues is a sappy – pun intended – wild time featuring tree spirits’ maple syrup release, a spile, and magic fertility rituals. There’s also the use of their sappy release to sweeten their teas, including that of the very human heroine.
For such a short novella, a lot of things happen in the background of this wild tree reverse harem. There’s a magical curse involved, as well as cheating, a car accident, and glimpses of running a maple syrup farm. This short book will definitely surprise you!
Fortunately, this is just a glimpse into the vast cave of her books! Valentine has many other works which you can peruse, including a reverse harem with selkies and sirens. Another series you must check out before anything else is The Holiday Hedonism series, co-written with J.L. Logosz.
Final Words
When it comes to monster romance, there is no one who is as creative as Valentine. Admittedly, many find her works cringey and absurd, reading it just to laugh over it. But you simply can’t deny her unique thought process and her ability to execute those jaw-dropping ideas to perfection. It is probably why readers eagerly pick up her novels and quickly become fans of Valentine and her works!
