This book was a delightful and engaging read that kept me hooked from start to finish. I genuinely appreciated the well-crafted story and the depth of the characters. While monster romances typically aren't my go-to genre, this one struck a perfect balance and felt refreshing rather than overwhelming.

The female main character, Aspeth, stood out to me with her remarkable independence and straightforward nature, which made her relatable and compelling. However, I found it somewhat frustrating that the narrative often reiterated that she wasn't considered a traditional beauty; it felt repetitive and somewhat undermined her strong personality.

On the other hand, the main male character, Hawk, added a wonderful dynamic to the story. He was a thoughtful and good-hearted character who, while a bit grumpy at times, never crossed the line into possessiveness. Instead, he consistently treated Aspeth with kindness and respect, which made their interactions feel genuine and heartfelt. Overall, the chemistry between the two was quite touching, making this a memorable read.

i received this book as an ARC from Netgalley

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I DEVOURED this book. Ruby Dixon is one of my favorite authors and Aspeth and Hawk might become one of my new favorite couples that she has written.

I found myself relating with Aspeth immensely, from her take charge attitude, to her plus size, to her being blind without her spectacles. The relationship felt real and well paced and I found myself telling myself “just one more chapter” until the book was finished!

I cannot wait to read more in this universe and see more of Aspeth and Hawk in the series to come!

This was way cuter than I expected! It also had a lot more plot! Aspeth and Hawk were so cute together and I loved the group of 5! Looking forward to reading the next one.

It has happened, I've been inducted into the minotaur romance genre and I'm unlikely to go back. This was a super fun and light read that was exactly what I needed during a supremely stressful time. I also really appreciate how Ruby doesn't try to make kissing a thing when anatomically it would be a bit of a stretch. There's still romance, there's still equivalent gestures of affection, but she doesn't try to make me believe that a bull's head would be able to French kiss a human. She also doesn't make it seem like a bull would care about French kissing and is simply hampered by the fact that his human partner's face is different than that of a cow. I know I'm banging on about this, but I like when an author with non-human characters goes the extra mile to think about the culture of a group that doesn't have the same features as a human and how that would affect courting/sexual practices. It can seem small in the big picture (and I can overlook it when it is forgotten), but I just really appreciated that in this book. Perhaps I've been reading too many alien/mythology romances lately that this is a big takeaway for me...But can you really have too many of those? Probably not. Regardless, read this book. It is fun, it is funny, and you get sucked into the characters and the world from the start.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5/5


💜 Marriage of Convenience
💙 Grumpy x Sunshine
💜Forced Proximity
💙Monster Minotaur x Human
💜Found Family
💙Teacher x Student
💜 Knotting
💙Duet Narration Audiobook
💜Dual POV
💙 "My Wife"

CW:
▪️Alcoholism
▪️Sexism
▪️Misogyny
▪️Claustrophobia
▪️Parental Neglect
▪️Grave Robbing
▪️Cave-ins

Spice level 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Review :

Bull Moon Rising surprised me with how much it balanced action, world building, and romance. Aspeth is a sharp yet naive trying to carve her own path in a world that wants to box her in, and Hawk well, he’s not just a chaperone, he’s a mountain of muscle with a gooey soft heart. Their marriage of convenience is where the book shines equal parts awkward, tense, and undeniably steamy.

That said, the pacing dragged in places, and I found myself wishing the emotional side of their bond had been explored as deeply as the adventure and spice. Still, Ruby’s writing makes it easy to keep turning the pages, and I throughly enjoyed this madness.

“Don’t hawks hunt sparrows?”
“They devour them.”

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for giving me early access to this book! All opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book. It didn’t have any of the trauma that Ice Planet Barbarian starts out with, which was my biggest gripe about that series. This series instead snags your attention with a vivid new world, a couple that feels reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast, and just enough spicy content while still leaving plenty for the plot. Just a fantastic, fun read! 4.5⭐️

Thank you, Netgalley, the author, and Berkley Publishing for the gifted e-book! ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read this book if you like: Minotaur mmc, human fmc, marriage of convenience, spicy

Minotaur and human woman in a marriage of convenience and sooooo smutty? Wow. This was very interesting. It held my attention the whole time. I recommend it!

Ruby Dixon’s books are always so much fun! I didn’t know I’d enjoy a Minotaur/monster romance so much but this was a blast from start to finish. The world building was rich and the romance spicy, as you’d expect from Ruby!

Ruby Dixon is AMAZING! After reading Ice Planet, I will read anything Ruby writes. Bull Moon Rising forced proximity, sizzling tension, and a quest. Everything I love. Highly recommend if you loved Ice Planet and want more of Ruby’s writing

DNF @ 25%… I wanted to see if I would like something like this and now I know I do not. I could see the interest in this, the story seems intriguing enough but… hard pass.

I love books with smarty pants spinsters and the men/creatures who love them for it. This was such a satisfying book with a full story, rich side characters (very excited for Gwenna's book coming up), it was everything I wanted it to be.

I love, LOVE Ruby Dixon’s books - she totally made me fall in love with romance from sci fi genre. This book had everything I love it her style ! The story line was like always unique and full of angst. I love that in pair with emotions this book also is delivering scorching chemistry and one of the best fate - mate couple . I adored it with all my heart. Must read alert

4⭐️

This was such a fun adventure! This was my 2nd Ruby Dixon (first being Ice Planet Barbarians obviously). I liked how there was more world building; loved getting to know the different characters and setting up for more books. It’s set in a vaguely Victorian meets Wild West town with societies and betrayal and mentors. Think light academia but with a marriage of convenience and some public and not so public fornication. Oh and Minotaurs and reptilian veins. What a fun time!

I think this might be my favorite Ruby Dixon book that I’ve read. I immensely enjoyed Hawk and Aspeths’ grumpy/sunshine marriage of convenience. It would have been nice to have had a little bit more of the rut at then end, but overall great spice. I really enjoyed the artifact hunting and training portion of the plot. I was much more invested in the shenanigans than I was anticipating. This was such a fun read!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing this ARC.

The good stuff first: the world is cool as hell. Magical artifacts! Ancient ruins! Guild politics! Aspeth is a fantastically stubborn heroine. And the spice? It be spicy enough to melt your Kindle case. But fair warning: don't go in expecting a slow-burn, candlelit courtship. Their connection heats up faster than a teapot, and some readers side-eyed the whole biologically-driven situation. It's less sweet nothings and more primal instincts which is 100% a taste thing. So if your taste is a ripped Minotaur boyfriend... I mean, I would recommend the Milking Farm one before this one honestly because somehow it was still sweet (I know, sue me), but this was still pretty fun.

BULL MOON RISING by Ruby Dixon is an absolute treat! It's sweet-and-spicy romance wrapped in an intricate fantasy world of magic objects, feudal society, and the hard, dangerous work that goes on (literally) under the scenes. The marriage-of-convenience / ABO relationship is perfection while the day-to-day character development keeps me turning pages. I give this five out of five minotaurs!

This was different than the other Ruby Dixon books I’ve read. A lot more focus on the non-romantic part of the plot. More of a romantic fantasy rather than a fantasy romance. More emphasis on the fantasy. But don’t worry, there was still some great spice. The concept of the school was intriguing, finding artifacts. And I am excited that this will be a series. Minotaur men are great! I also enjoyed the FMC. The romance between them wasn’t quite as live wire chemistry as her other books, but there were still some fun moments between them.
Overall I had a great time. It’s exciting to see Ruby Dixon writing a new series and in a slightly different genre. I can’t wait to read more!

I loved this book! It is a fun ride and loved Aspeth. Ruby is an auto-buy author for me! The spice was spicing and the aesthetic feels were just right with the guild and the archeology. Definitely should reach this one!

I love the world building in this book and the characters are complicated even though it’s a spacey type of romance. It’s funny and heartfelt at the same time and I could not put it down. This is what mine would love.

This was fun and a solid romp from Ruby Dixon. I liked Aspeth's characterization and understood her motivations even when she went a little far. Definitely set up some more fun stories in this world, so I'm excited!