Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: Solan
SERIES: Monsters & Mates #1
AUTHOR: Becca Seymour
PUBLISHER: Rainbow Tree Publishing
LENGTH: 252 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 13, 2025
BLURB:
Getting a boner for the monster who saved us shouldn’t make sense in any universe. But here we are.
When a piece of Earth gets ripped into a monstrous new world, I barely have time to panic before I’m fighting for my life—and for Jamie’s. Terrafeara isn’t just dangerous; it’s a nightmare brought to life, where humans like us are hunted, enslaved, or worse.
Then there’s Solan. A beast of a warrior with horns I want to ride, fangs I want to lick, and a body built for war—and for wrecking me. He swears he’ll protect me, but his idea of protection comes with possessive touches, growled promises, and a claim I’m not sure I can resist.
But I don’t have time for this. I have a kid to keep safe. And with monsters, mercenaries, and power-hungry rulers after us, staying alive is hard enough. The only way to survive is to trust Solan, trust the rebels, and trust this connection between us that’s stronger than fear.
Because in a world designed to break us, maybe love is the sharpest weapon of all.
REVIEW:
Physically somewhere, yet mentally adrift, Jack can see a storm on the horizon. Then, within minutes, the world as he knew it had changed. His nephew, Jamie and their horses, were the only familiar things. With their lives on the line, a horned humanoid comes to their rescue – Solan, who learned the English language from Arnie movies.
It takes imagination to create a new world—and this one’s a doozy. It took me a bit to get into it, but that aspect gave me the same confusion that Jack was experiencing, which all added to the connection with the characters. By the end, I was a fan of the characters and their journey and looked forward to book two. This is also a tale where anything could happen because who knows what slice of a world will appear from where.
The story is told in the first person, with 96% from Jack’s viewpoint and an iddy bit from Solan’s. The copy I received for review was not the final one, so I will not comment on any technical issues. Worldbuilding is somewhat of a medley as the world of Terrafeara comprises slices of other worlds from across the universe. Yet, as already mentioned, life is confusing, but only in the early stages while Jack and Jamie come to terms with where they are. Understandably, many questions are asked, and much information is divulged.
This story is a terrific concept with potentially endless scenarios, which makes future reading exciting. Back on earth, Jack was a firefighter from Australia. On Terrafeara, Solan is a hunter/protector who has extra duties. I loved how Jack comes to terms, then owns, the situation he and his nephew Jamie have found themselves in. Oh, and the spice – oh damn, what tendrils can do!! Solan is a bear of a man with a heart just as large.
This book outlines the new world, some (though not all) species within it, and the budding mystery of what happens and why. This story doesn’t get full marks because there is a bonus scene from Sloan’s viewpoint at the end, which, in my view, is superfluous. It is the retelling of an earlier scene, but how it was initially written was so good that it didn’t need expansion.
RATING: 
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