New Release Review: Kaden’s Monster by Barbara Elsborg

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TITLE: Kaden’s Monster

AUTHOR: Barbara Elsborg

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

LENGTH: 381 pags

RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2026

BLURB:

An alien weapon. A human mistake. An impossible bond.

Kaden’s life is stretched thin between journalism, fantasy novels, stand-up comedy and ghostwriting. And an endless series of distractions while his relationship crumbles around him. Something has to change. He has to change. Then, on an assignment at his boyfriend’s biotech lab, Kaden sees something that should be impossible. A small blue blob in a tank trying to escape its pursuers.

The blue blob is a Protector: a living armour system engineered to bond with his other in moments of danger. But he’s chosen to betray his own kind rather than help destroy an innocent world. Now he’s stranded on Earth—wounded, hunted, and unable to fully communicate.

Kaden’s been warned not to touch anything. But he does far more than that. He smuggles the blob out of the lab, names him Joe and sparks a dangerous connection. Joe was never meant to bond with someone like Kaden, but as uncertainty around them grows, including threats tied to the powerful man Kaden ghostwrites for, Kaden becomes the one person Joe cannot abandon.

What begins as a moment of madness becomes friendship, deepens to devotion, and ignites into a love that they might not survive. The universe is stranger, and far more alive, than humanity ever imagined.

Warnings
This book contains two brief episodes of domestic violence. It also has a couple of icky bits…not horror exactly, but close to it.
If you’re expecting or hoping for a full-blooded, loads of technical sci-fi detail, this is not the book for you. Although it is a sci-fi story, it’s very lightly that. Yes, Joe is an alien, not humanoid and quite scary, but the story takes place on Earth and evolves into a very human drama far more than a sci-fi one.

REVIEW:

Oh my freaking goodness, this author has such an amazing imagination, above that, she can put it into words so that we can enjoy it too. This was a more-than-fantastic read!
Kaden Bauer is a journalist, an author, an amateur stand-up comedian, and also a ghostwriter. He’s such a sweetheart but has an awful, abusive boyfriend named Harris, who thinks he’s superior- ugh, he’s so not.
Because Kaden is a journalist and Harris needs him to write a positive review about his work, he took Kaden with him to a biotech lab.
“Don’t touch anything” Harris said several times, patronizingly. Yeah, yeah, Kaden knows, duh.
But oops, before Kaden knows, he took a little blue blob from a container, because he’s convinced the blob wanted out and to be saved.
The blue blob is sentient, can communicate, has feelings, and a conscience. He accepted the name Kaden suggested, so Joe it is. It seems Joe is a protector.
Kaden wants to help Joe with everything he needs, so that he can survive on Earth.
What happened during the process from a tiny blue blob into a human… was downright phenomenal.
I’m not gonna spoil, I so want to, but I can’t. I’ll tell you I love this author’s brain!
A few things I can say: Kaden was temporarily Joe’s host. Joe is very protective of Kaden. Two other ‘blobs’ escaped, they are not as nice as Joe. Harris is still an awful person. Joe is such an extraordinary ‘human’.
I adored this story, it has low-angst, high development, some smexy moments, and sweetness in the romance department. It has unexpected twists and turns, very interesting and entertaining.
In short, it was an amazing story I want to recommend!

RATING:

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

 

 

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