This is a parallel story picture book of a young girl and a young monster who are both frightened about sleeping because of fears about each other. Can the little girl and monster come together and see each other as something not scary? The Council of Cuteness makes sure the small town runs smoothly (if eccentrically) and its leader is Elder Kitten, who is helped by lots of other Elders, including Elder Panda and Elder Mouse. Showcasing the importance of kindness, empathy, connection and instinct, Love Monster is full of heart and ‘big life’ learnings for little ones. By watching his adventures as he navigates the challenges involved in being a bit funny looking in a world of cute fluffy things, the young audience at home can also learn to cope with different emotions. I read this one when it first came out, when I was 13-14 and going through my "look at me I'm so edgy and angsty and different from all you other teenagers" phase, which meant that I couldn't resist a book about a couple who torture and murder their 3-year-old child. Apparently, I still can't and therefore have perhaps not grown out of that disturbing teenage phase, because I vaguely remembered this book and wondered what I'd think of it now, as I suspected my ambivalence came from a feeling of being totally horrified by the language/violence/sex, as those were the main things I remembered. Star Trek legend George Takei joins some of the UK’s best actors and voice talent, including Tamsin Greig, Darren Foreman, Sarah Hadland and Javone Prince in the distinguished cast of this warm and charming TV adaptation.

Simply put, a monster romance needs to feature a MONSTER. Something unappealing (on the inside or outside), non-humanoid and not a hot guy with horns. Or a tail. Whatever.The explanations given for why Brendan and Sherilyn ultimately decided to leave their own child to starve to death in a cage were vastly inadequate. Why would they not see the birth of a child as the ultimate culmination of their love or as a possibility for redemption from their pasts? Notwithstanding, why would they hand themselves in to the authorities and face being separated if their love and being together was all that mattered? The sudden twist that they seemed to be telepathically connected was just bizarre. Winifred isn’t scared of the monsters who visit her bedroom. She loves them and thinks they’re cute. But they are annoying — they interrupt her sleeping and are smelly. She tries everything to get rid of them until she stumbles on the perfect solution — kisses! Monsters hate kisses. Funny!! The couple learned NO lessons and got no real comeuppance (other than jail which they didn't give a sh*t about) The premise of a couple so in love that they couldn't love their own child was chilling and compelling. I wanted the author to explore this and explain how it was possible that people who had the capacity to love so deeply could commit the vile crime of killing their own child.

I can see why Monster Love was included on the list – the subject matter is about as disturbing as it gets. It centres on the story of a couple who see their daughter as an inconvenience and consequently imprison and starve her to death; there are also many references to and descriptions of child abuse, including sexual abuse, suffered by other characters. However, while the other books on that list (American Psycho, Crime & Punishment, The End of Alice) are told entirely from the perspective of their 'villains', Monster Love is told through a multitude of voices; the monstrous parents are just two among many. Cyborgs’ Claim is the first book in the Swirl series. Axel, Steel and Gage are outlaw cyborgs and merciless super soldiers. They got this way after cybernetic experiments went wrong and they managed to escape their programmers. They now make their home in a desolate area of space where few enter and nobody ever leaves. They wish to find a mate, but it is difficult as cyborgs are illegal. Then Megan makes her way to them. She has survived abuse at the hands of alien captors before and is hardened by the experience. The Cyborgs desire her, but she’ll need to choose to live with them on the edge of space if it is to work. They might not get the chance though as the original programmers are returning for their weapons.

Publication Order of The Swirl Books

Love Monster and Tiniest Fluffiest have trained together so they can win Three Legged Race Day, but disaster strikes when Elder Kitten puts them into different teams. Rayzor’s One is the first book in the Alien Bounty Hunters series. Rayzor of Twelve was banished from his home world and now works on his own as a bounty hunter. His latest mission sees him needed to extract a target from Earth without killing anyone. He does his job well at first, but then a human woman gets in her way. Rebecca doesn’t understand what is going on when she meets the seven foot tall alien warrior. Soon, he is kissing her and claiming her as his bride. Rebecca is attracted to him, but to be his bride is a whole other story. He has kidnapped her and taken her far from Earth. Rebecca thinks he just expects her to fall for him, but she’s not going to give in so easily. She always seems to have an answer, even if Love Monster needs to do a bit of work interpreting what it means. Exuberant illustrations show a monster creature and a teacher. The creature tries to get the teacher’s attention. When he does, it’s fun and giggles! What Makes a Monster? Discovering the World’s Scariest Creaturesby Jess Keating, illustrations by David DeGrand

I also like the artwork. I don't really know why, but there is something about it that I find pleasing and nice to look at. Sometimes a little insecure without Monster Teddy by his side, he’s always searching for the right thing to do (even when he doesn’t really know what that is yet), and often gets so full of feelings that all his words come out at once. With the help of his friends he learns to follow his heart, and not his slightly over-thinky head, a little bit more each day. Also, because I’m a proud queer person && member of the LGBT community, this blog post roundup has both queer/LGBTQ+ couples as protagonists, as well as straight couples. Most of the romance novels in my guide are more contemporary, and many of them play with AND challenge romance-novel-industry stereotypes. In this post, I’m defining “monsters” as non-human creatures who are self-aware (and probably a good number of them are broody and grumpy).A monster that lived in Cutesville was not so happy. No one who lived there liked Monster. Kids only liked kittens, puppies, and bunnies. Monster was having a bad day and thought no one liked him. When he was ready to go home it started to rain. When he was on his way home to his surprise, he meet another monster. Monster was happy with his new friend. Rachel is a writer of words, drawer of pictures and champion of silver linings. She exhibits widely, writes tirelessly and frequently creates slightly unhinged characters.