The Sea Monster's Mate by Delaney Rain

Are you ready for the gushing?  Because there’s definitely going to be gushing.

I LOVED The Sea Monster's Mate!  L. O. V. E. D. 

From the Blurb:

Eric Baird made the decision to abandon modern conveniences and his prejudiced family for a simple island life. He has a small cabin and a lagoon all to himself and, though he's sometimes lonely, he's mostly relieved that he can finally be free.

But one lazy afternoon swim takes a dangerous turn when a cramp has Eric struggling not to drown. Suddenly, someone saves him, and he's ever so grateful...until he sees who it is.

Tyfodorus is a Cecaelia who has a rather human upper body and a definitely squid lower half. As if a mersquid in his lagoon isn't enough to knock the socks off Eric, Ty lets him know they're here to breed. Would Eric be the host to Ty's six eggs? Pretty please?

Eric gets to know Ty and agrees, resulting in some amazing sex and six little highly intelligent, totally adorable hatchlings. As they adjust to living as a family in the lagoon, they also have to understand just how genetically compatible they are, deal with a shipwreck survivor, and make plans for their future together.

Review:

I read it in one sitting.  Ty and Eric are so wonderful, and sweet, and HOT.  Whew, keep the ice water handy.  If you like tentacles, this is definitely the book for you.

It’s relatively short, only 36k words, but there is a lot of heart packed into so few pages.  Ty is part of an alien race that’s stuck here on earth.  They struggle to reproduce because their body temperature is to low for the eggs.  They need a warm blooded host.  Ty manages to save Eric from drowning and the bonding begins.  

It’s insta love, but very well written for so few words.  I usually struggle with stories that are a little bit too easy, “Insta love“ but this one was smooth and believable. I rushed to download the two bonus shorts about two of the side characters when I finished reading.  I highly recommend The Sea Monster's Mate!

Heat: 8/10 (lots of hot tentacle lovin’ but not to the detriment of the storyline)

World building: 7/10 (pretty well developed for such a short story)

Character development: 6/10 (I would have loved to know more about Eric‘s past, but I did not feel cheated overall)

Overall 10/10 (would highly recommend)