The Maid's Secret by Anita Zara

I got THE MAID'S SECRET during one of those Stuff Your Kindle events and while it's not what I normally read, I actually enjoyed it. This is an erotic novella about a young woman named Artemisia working as a maid for a wealthy woman living in Voltaire Manor: her name is Viola and she has a butler named Florian. Both are incredibly attractive and they're also fucking, so when Artemisia isn't tending to her mistress, she's obsessing over her fellow residents and watching them like a panicky bisexual voyeur, which was very entertaining.

I haven't read a lot of tentacle romance and usually it's not pleasant for me, but Anita Zara did a good job making it believably sexy. Still not my kink, but she made it work on-page. I feel like selling the mechanics of monster romance is probably one of the hardest parts. There's also a bit of a mystery atmosphere to the book, although I don't think I would actually call it a gothic, even though the author is branding it that way. There's not really enough atmosphere or suspense to really give it that haunting, creepy gothic vibe.

Speaking of branding, I am VERY confused on the "dark academia vibes" the author included in the summary, because this was not that at all. And I only bring it up because the dark academia girlies can be ruthless about upholding their aesthetic. This does not take place at a university or school, there are no studies, and none of the characters are professiorial. The most academic thing any of the characters does is sneak an extended look at a work of Japanese tentacle erotica. I have to figure that when the author says "dark academia vibes," she actually means that the book has a British uppercrust Victoriana aesthetic, which is true, but perhaps less snappy for marketing purposes.

If you're a monster romance fan and enjoy a short story that offers distinct vibes up along with the sex, you'll like THE MAID'S SECRET. It delivered on the sapphic pining, has surprisingly sensual monster sex, includes voyeurism and polyamory (two tropes I don't think I've seen in monsterotica yet), and has a fun and interesting take on aquatic monsters. I'd check out more from this author. Her Carmilla retelling looks excellent.

3 out of 5 stars