The Rycke (Monstrous) Paperback – August 10, 2021

Yet another 5-star rating for Lily Mayne's Monstrous series. It was fun reading and seeing how this book interlocked with the first two books; recognizing when they come across evidence left from characters from previous books. Ghost was such an anxious character, and Aury was absolutely adorable, even when he was in horrifying mega-monster form. The third act "break up" was definitely heart-rending and you can feel Ghost's heartbreak through the pages. And even the last chapter with Aury's inner musings about what he will do in the future was sort of bittersweet.

Where "Soul Eater" was darkly sexy and spine tingling and "Edin" was lighter, and more heartfelt, "The Rycke", Lily Mayne's third installment of her Monstrous Series, is a psychological rollercoaster of emotionally complex and thought provoking prose.Here, within the confines of her Monstrous story world, Mayne once again shifts us back toward the dark and gritty underbelly of the wastes by thrusting us eyeball deep into the politics and day-to-day life of those living within the walled off raider camp first described to us by Hunter in book two. More specifically she focuses on Ghost, a man in his mid-twenties, who along with his best friend Rig, has only ever lived within the confines of the northern camp after being taken in by former leader Cat (who we also briefly met in book two) we he comes across a teenaged Ghost and Rig shortly after they were both tossed out of the coastal cities. Ghost earns his keep within the camp by working as their scout, undertaking frequent and dangerous tracking trips out into the wastes in order to inspect ruins, scavenge for weapons, food, and supplies, and pass messages back and forth between other raiders on behalf of his camp’s leader.This book opens with Ghost on one such trip, a dangerous scouting journey into the depths of the Nebraska military base destroyed by Wyn toward the end of the first book. However this trip gives Ghost far more than he bargained for when during the course of their scavenging they discover a badly beaten and bound monster. A monster who appears meek, badly frightened, and in grave need of medical assistance. However, unbeknownst to them is actually Aury, the last of the highly violent and dangerous Ryckes in existence. A being so truly unknown, so paradoxical in nature, that even the monster himself is unsure what he is capable of when the power housed deep within him is unleashed. And when that very power attracts unwanted entities to the camp, what follows, is a story that will push at the limits of your understanding of how this dystopian world is truly structured and cordoned into realms of power.Unlike any of the other books in this series, this one will push the boundaries of what you think love is, will bend to the point of breaking your understanding of what kindness and loyalty are, and most importantly, will absolutely push against the outer limits of what you consider right and wrong as Aury often lives within a realm so grey you will find yourself questioning why such a being exists in the first place.Once again, Mayne offers a sophisticated, emotionally intelligent story within a beautifully constructed dystopian story world that will keep you riveted from start to finish. The emotional journey she takes Ghost and Aury on together is spellbinding and well worth the read. However, so unusual is this character that a few things will pop out and perhaps distract you away from the baser story being told merely because of the questions they provoke.  For example, if you're anything like me you will spend the first half of this book with one singular anatomical question burning at the forefront of your mind. One that will, at times, stop you dead in your tracks to go, “wait, why/how can he even do that if Rycke’s don’t…” Additionally, some of the other side conversations that occur within this installment cause the series overall to begin to feel a bit lopsided to me, and brings me to the only true criticism I have thus far with this series.While I love the M/M relationships shown, the reality of the larger world being portrayed here by the author is one in which not every single couple would be so. As such the overarching story arc is beginning to feel unbalanced, especially after the introduction of Moth (a character I definitely hope to see more of in future installments) and some of the other female side characters.Additionally, this one does push the believability limit where the distances between states and places are concerned and showcases that perhaps the author needs to put a bit more research into the actual distances of all the different places she’s writing about. Finally, while I absolutely loved this couple; the chemistry between them is equally as scorching and emotionally powerful as the first two couples. The "explanation" of why Aury is built the way he is, and how his kind came to evolve the way they did felt rushed and more like an afterthought rather than a fully fleshed out plot point, which in the end, made that ever present burning question I mentioned earlier fall flat with disappointment.Overall I still loved this story, but perhaps, unlike Wyn and Edin’s books that kept character details strong and fairly believable given the fantastical landscape, this one got stretched a bit thin, swerving a bit too far into fanciful cartoon character territory. Here’s hoping Rig’s book sways in back into the dark and delicious story world I have quickly com

♥ Aury and Ghost ♥Genre: M/M RomanceFormat: E-Book (Kindle Unlimited)Oh sweet sweet Aury ♥♥ In the past two books the Rycke was something of myth. Something terrifying, that no one seemed to understand. Watching Aury grow into his own from a sweet summer blossom to a sweet terrifying flower was so satisfying. I absolutely loved watching the love between Ghost and Aury grow. Aury truly would do anything for Ghost and vice versa. One of my favorite things about Lily's books are the interconnected worlds. I love seeing past couples and future couples and their interactions. I feel like every book I find a new favorite couple.Character Development: 3.5/5Plot: 4/5Writing Style: 4/5Spice Level: 3/5Overall Rating: 5/5Tropes:• Post Apocalyptic• Monsters• Found Mates• HEAPOV: Single POV (First Person POV)KU: YesSeries: Monstrous # 3Pages: 317Publication Date: 08/09/2021♥ Favorite Quote ♥"Then the beastie turned their head to look up at Rig with big, pitch black eyes, and I got my first proper look at their face. Their dark, greenish-black hair was no longer falling over it in unwashed waves. I exhaled a sharp, quiet puff of breath, glad my mask muffled the sound. They were the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen."

Ugh this was SO good. I never want this series to end, I love these characters and the world-building so much. The banter, the steamy scenes, even the post-apocalyptic wasteland setting… it’s just so good.I didn’t like Hunter much in the last book and as much as I loved Edin, it didn’t hit as good as Wyn & Danny’s story did. Aury & Gage/Ghost’s story definitely did. I didn’t cry as much as I did with Soul Eater (lol, I’m such a baby) but The Rycke hit those sweet angsty lows that brought tears to my eyes and those warm fuzzies highs that made me misty. I really enjoyed their dynamic, I loved how they were besotted from the get-go, I especially loved the way that Aury came out of his shell and flourished under Gage’s affections. And Gage grew too, he stood up for himself, was honest with his campmates finally, and I think he made some real progress on his self-worth issues. They didn’t disappear unrealistically but they improved.I really loved all the support they got in this one too. The lone pair thing works for the setting but Lily Mayne’s character work really shone in this book. Lilac was fantastic and I can’t wait to get to his book; Rig was adorable and funny too, I’m excited for his. Cutter & Mary were very dislikable villains and I found myself annoyed/angry with their existence the way you should be when a good bad guy gets under your skin. I liked Moth too, I thought I might find the unrequited love thing weird from what others have said but I thought it was kinda sweet? And I enjoyed that Gage handled it like an adult and didn’t feed into that vainly / unfairly.I can’t wait to read more 🥰

This is a awesome series. I Like the couples I've encountered so far. Aury and Ghost are fantastic together. I can't wait to read how all the couples are intertwined. Keep them coming Lily.

Ok this is my second favourite novel in this entire series (soul Eater and Wyn are tied).The only way you can describe Ghost and Aury is precious.Ghost is just such a good person and Aury is so scared of everything at the beginning and wants so hard to be kind and soft. The fact that he only rages in order to protect Ghost is the ultimate expression of love.These 2 are so just so freaking cute together and the spice scenes are so on point. I love seeing the more daring sides of them come out when it's so at odds with their normal visible personalities.Not sure how it's possible but somehow each subsequent book of this series just gets you more and more obsessed.This is another of this series where I have reread this book multiple times. An absolute comfort read for me.

O Aury é tão bonitinho, e eu fico tão feliz de depois de tanto sofrimento ele ter encontrado o Ghost. Eu amo como o Ghost consegue se tornar mais firme em relação a como as pessoas tratam ele. A evolução dos dois papais de galinhas é linda demais. Eu amo eles, e estou tão animada para os próximos que eles iram aparecer.

L'auteure a vraiment du talent. Elle sait vraiment transcrire de façon crédible le stress, l'angoisse, la colère ou la frustration des personnages. A aucun moment, je me suis dit "pourquoi untel agit comme ça ?". Tout est cohérent : la peur de Ghost, l'attitude de Cutter.J'ai aussi beaucoup aimé Lilac : le fait qu'il a dû se débrouiller seul pendant DES ANNÉES avant de rejoindre le groupe rend sa personnalité intéressante.Je lirai la suite avec plaisir.

Gage is such a softy omg and aury deserves him nonetheless, he's literally like Danny's brother.Such a sweet couple and surely happy with cutter and what he deserved he could be good but naw.How should I say......... This is the only couple who ends together 😭 .Surely read all the books I liked this very much, I love lilac too

okay so i lovee this series, the world building is just fantastic & it all just sucked me in💘i marked this as "fave-always" but i feel like it's an overall statement for the whole series..💫💘✨Ghost (Gage) is a super cute anxiety fluff ball whom i could relate to,, also when he was anxious about being useful.. my heart🤧and my sweet, precious Aury is a total golden retriever,, (& he's still precious even when he becomes a giant golden retriever protecting what's his..)ahh i adore these two🥺🖤💚