TITLE: ⟫ The Nøkk and the Jock
AUTHOR: ⟫ Leslie McAdam
SERIES: ⟫ Creelin University Book #1
RATING: ⟫ 4/5
BLURB:⟫ You’re formally admitted to Creelin University—known locally as “Creepin U.” The only things wilder than the monster shifters prowling around campus are the spicy male-male love stories unfolding between classes. The Nøkk and the Jock is book one, starring an emo shapeshifter and a sunshine human. Each book is a stand-alone M/M spooky romance, but we hope you enroll in them all.
I’m pumped to be one of the first humans to attend a monster university, but a minor, negligible, insignificant issue arises almost My new roommate wants to drag me to his underground realm and take my soul.
He’s a nøkk who could almost pass for human, except his webbed fingers and entirely black eyes give him away. In my attempt to befriend him, I give him three drops of my blood, a black animal, and a bottle of vodka (I hear it’s a nøkk thing). Which apparently triggers some ancient bonding ritual. My bad.
I must admit I’m into him. Maybe those online tests that say I’m only mostly straight are right. But there are a few I can’t know his real name. He won’t show me his true form. And he’s both an omen and a cause of drowning … which is troubling, since he’s on the water polo team with me.
Still, something about him calls to me, even if it shouldn’t.
The Nøkk
This human is mine.
Stay away from him.
The Nøkk and the Jock is a monster-human bi-awakening M/M romance starring Brandon Fernandez, a golden retriever of a human being, and the prickly, melancholy nøkk. It features puzzling emoji text conversations, a monster who can stop waterfalls in midair, and drunken scareoke (monster karaoke). HEA guaranteed.
REVIEW: ⟫ When I read the blurb for this, I was intrigued. And my interest was well rewarded! This was a very sweet, lovingly written read, with a fascinating premise and very good follow through. Brandon is one of the first humans invited to Creelin University where he will be studying alongside monsters. He plays on the water polo team with a variety of monsters and is looking forward to meeting his new room-mate – the Nøkk. From the very beginning, there is a connection between the two of them and I so enjoyed reading how they overcame their concerns and fears and became a couple.
I thought the idea of how the monsters came about was very, very cool. I really enjoyed the fact that there wasn’t some huge information dump – the reader finds things out organically through circumstances and/or from Brandon’s never-ending questions. The Nøkk and Brandon together were incredibly cute and I so enjoyed the way that their romance progressed. It would have been so easy for it to be a soul-mate trope where free will wasn’t an option, whereas they both made sure the other was following their feelings
I also really enjoyed the water polo aspect of things which I didn’t expect as I’ve never watched it. If you think of this series as a lighter, college version of the Lily Mayne Monstrous series, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. I will definitely be looking out for more in the series.
I received an ARC from GRR.
