Washed Up [With a Kraken]

Trapped with a Monster #2

by L.E. Eldridge

Culinary student Quinn is excited to finally move up in her culinary career when she lands an internship of a lifetime on Coastal Cruises. It's the opportunity of a lifetime, and an adventure that will take her across the sea.

The only downside? It means spending the summer with her lazy rival, who's only there because his father is a famous chef. And he isn't afraid to play dirty...

...even if that means throwing her overboard.

Jorah isn’t like other krakens. While most prefer silence and independence, Jorah thrives on a hidden island, bustling with other paranormals. Yet, something is still missing from their life---until the ocean guides them to a human. Drawn to her determination and charm, Jorah has no intention of letting go.

Quinn wants to leave, but Jorah insists that she owes them a life debt...but that's no foundation for a relationship. Will they work through their differences and find a way to be together?

Or has this relationship--and Quinn's career--been washed up from the start?

Washed Up (With a Kraken) is a novella featuring a plus-size FMC and a sassy enby Kraken. This novella delivers a fast-burn romance, plenty of tentacles, and an HEA. While this is the second book in the Trapped with a Monster series, it can be read as a standalone.

Genres: Monster Romance, Romance, Fantasy, Novella, Monsters, Paranormal, LGBT

136 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 18, 2023

About the author

Lexie is a paranormal romance author and avid reader from Upstate New York. She runs an editing and PA company Morally Gray Author Services and lives with her husband, dog Layla, and cat Swiper. When she's not reading (which is rarely) you can find her playing video games or looking for amazing indie bookstores and vintage shops. Lexie writes campy books full of smut with simp-y monsters looking for love.

Reviews

[Whitney Atkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book had potential but WHY WE GOIN' SO FUCKIN' FAST

if you've ever wanted to fuck squidward before, you would eat this up!!

i would never have read this book if it weren't for the (gorgeous) fat girl on the cover because tentacles are one of my icks in monster romances. if this book slowed the fuck down it might receive a higher rating from me, but the human main character was just sooooo accepting of a sea critter showing up at her door and even though they (non-binary love interest!) stole her away and she literally disappeared from the world, she was content to never going back without a goodbye? lots of plot holes and the main character blindly accepting her captivity (*ahhem* stockholm syndrome).

however i was expecting the writing of this to be cringe and it actually was pretty normal! so it gained back some stars for not being a completely unbearable read. i would skip this one though unless you want something SUPER fast. even though it's about a girl who can't swim falling in love with a sea monster.

[Анастасія ꒰⁠⑅⁠ᵕ⁠༚⁠ᵕ⁠꒱⁠˖⁠♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

На початку дратував Брендон, прям дуже сильно, від кінцівки зраділа.

[Stillbelieveinnightmares · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was surprisingly wholesome with jorah being offensively cute for a kraken 🥹

[Netgyrl (Laura) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars - quick erotic monster romance with likable MCs. Larger body and non-binary rep. Also tentacles.

Not my normal fare but picked it up for free during the Stuff Your Kindle event a couple days ago.

[Eleanor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Washed Up With a Kraken is a sweet and steamy novella following Quinn, a culinary student interning on a cruise ship, and Jorah, a reserved and charming Kraken who rescues Quinn when she falls overboard. While similar to most smutty monster novellas, I loved how Quinn and Jorah got to know each other and become friends before diving into a physical/romantic relationship. Despite being fated mates and feeling an instant connection, Jorah was so patient with Quinn and willing to follow her lead. While I did enjoy their romance, I struggled to understand Quinn and how willingly she gave up her dreams and life to be with Jorah.

[suonnahbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m delulu for a kraken 👀🤪

[Kazen · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Cute idea but the relationship is thin, with sex taking the place of emotional intimacy. We get hints that these intimate non-sex moments are happening off page but it would be much more effective to have them as part of the story.

The front matter credits an editor but this work definitely needed at least one more round as there's random switches between first and third person, typos, and most egregiously misgendering of the MC with they/them pronouns. Eep.

Content notes are listed at the front, notable for: mentions of the heroine being in foster care, murder attempt, mentions of off-page death

[Alisha 🦋💗 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ummmmmm? 2.5 rounded down lmao I had a good time but I could have lived without reading this

[•° Sour & Whimsy °• · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed

This book was, for the most part, very well written, but I would have wanted to see more of what happened on the boat after Quinn was shoved off. Did someone notice she had gone missing? Was there a search party sent out? I also did not expect that she would so quickly give up her life's dream to live with her partner. I would have thought Quinn and Jorah could move together so she could work at the cruise ship.
To quote a part of another person's review who's many points I agreed with: "The front matter credits an editor but this work definitely needed at least one more round as there's random switches between first and third person, typos, and most egregiously misgendering of the MC with they/them pronouns." If the author really wanted to have a non-binary character/a character who uses they/them pronouns, why all of the misgendering?
I really wanted to thoroughly enjoy this because of the plus-sized fmc representation and that it's written by an indie author, and I really do like to support indie authors. Along with this, there is the fact that it was of the monster-romance/cryptid genre, and that's one of my favorite genres. Despite these, I just couldn't love this book.

[briebriereads · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you were ever wondering, what a sweet little love story between a human and a Kraken looks like, this is it.

[･ﾟ✧♘Bella♘✧･ﾟ · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a "pick the worst book you can find on amazon" a friend gave to me, you know very well who you are. And what a profoundly disturbing experience this was, the best part was the first sentence, after which it was all downhill. This book actually made me disassociate from reading and reflect on my feelings I had been avoiding.

[Yvonne Olson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concept was cute, but I feel like it could have been fleshed out and edited quite a bit.

It was nice to have a clear gender for both characters from their meeting, but it was also stilted, and then there was a lot of misgendering throughout the novella.

This would have been a really nice story if it was longer and the relationship was given more growth.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

That was, such a let down. It felt way more like a first draft than a finished book and the fact that even the author uses the wrong pronounces at multiple points just made that feeling stronger.
Sad because i was actually kinda excited when i read the summary, it just couldve been way better.

[Rebecca Friedlander · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listen it was cute, predictable, a little problematic, but fine but the main thing I keep thinking about is - EVERYONE on that cruise and in her life thinks she’s dead and she just never corrects them?? She was like “yeah it’s fine that I just devastated a lot of people by dying but I have this mystical island now so whatever”???? Also the love interest really wasn’t charming at all?? Like cool your entire personality is lying to her and buying things for her.

[BookishKB · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a sweet Monster Romance! I loved how devoted Jorah was with Quinn!
Quinn was desperately in need of someone to care about her.
While this was pretty much Insta love, it was done adorably!

The only thing I disliked about the book was the nickname Jorah had for Quinn. “Mi Senorita” it gave me the ick and it was so overused 🤦🏽‍♀️

[Poppy || Monster Lover · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars
This was not my fave book tbh, just dragged. It had potential with the whole rescue/kidnapping thing, just didn’t follow through.

Spice: 3/5

Triggers: drowning, attempted murder, kidnapping, foster care

[Reid Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was so lovely! I loved the non binary rep! And the sexy scenes were 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨

[Eve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and sweet! I liked both of our main characters and their dynamic. I would have loved to learn more about this world but given how short this was, I understand why it didn’t go into much depth. Nonetheless, I had a nice time reading this.

[Rachel Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

literary masterpiece not so much, perfect palate cleanser... yes 🤣

[Eva_812 · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5 stars. It was a fun little read, but nothing special, not a lot of character development and a bit too much spice for me. It also could really have done with an editor to fix some of the he/she/they mix ups, the inconsistencies and the few switches from third to first perspective (and back).

[SnooRegrets · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[April (whataprilreads) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.9✨

Ever since reading the Deal with a Demon series I have been CRAVING paranormal smutty romance. Give me all the non-human love interests with wings, tentacles, horns, whatever I don’t care.

The problem is… this had all the potential and was not at all potenched. I think it had all the makings of a good ass time but it felt really stilted. Like??? Quinn goes missing from the human world and we don’t get any updates on that until the very end? And it’s not really explained away so it kept creeping up in the back of my mind. She was just gunna go along with this kidnapping?

The spice was pretty good but I won’t lie, but it kind of snuck up on me though. I was reading and kind of forgot this was going to be smutty and then BOOM, sex everywhere all the time. Not a really a complaint just a lil whiplash.

I was just really really hoping I’d be kicking my feet and giggling with this one but I didn’t end up doing either 😢 at the end of the day, the writing just didn’t do it for me like I hoped it would. I didn’t hate this, but it’s not a new fave either.

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[Ra! ʕ •̀ ω •́ ʔ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've had this on my tbr for a while and I've finally gotten around to it on my novella binge!

Thoughts
This is a cute and steamy monster romance between and plus sized chef thrown overboard and the nobinary kraken who saves her. I liked how Jorah made Quinn feel special. Novellas tend to lack the time to make romance really work and explain exactly why two people are in love but I understood why they felt so strongly for each other and how they fit. I liked how the world-building was just enough so the world makes sense but not too much over explaining irrelevant stuff. I crave for some more conflict or stakes but everything seemed to work out perfectly without much angst or even rumination. Which is fine but didn't pull on my heart strings. I also think I'm not much of a tentacle enjoyer (sorry).

Tropes:
— Nbi / F
— Fated Mates
— Human x Kraken

Horn Level: 3/5🌶️
Format: Ebook

The Rating
I give this book a 3/5🌟 rating. A quick fluffy read!

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[Chloë · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightfully fun little read - perfect for the summer!

Low angst little romp that was sweet, fluffy, and all things cute. Both the MCs were lovely and I appreciated the plus size and non binary rep. While it’s fated mates/insta love-y, I found there was enough time spent cementing their friendship first before delving into the monster smut.

Only complaint is that it wrapped up a bit too quickly for my liking. I felt the ending was rushed (and came with some increasingly obvious spelling/grammar issues), and could have used a few more chapters to solidify their HEA, especially with some detail on how Quinn’s old “regular” life wrapped up.

[Chiara Pieri · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5, rounded up in stars bc the cover art got me good.

“Absurd and too fast”, from page 113 here kind of sums it up. So close to being something so fun and delivering in the promise of the cute AF cover.

I’m nothing if not a willing audience, prepared to suspend my disbelief, but this book was really telling not showing, and the breakneck speed at which the story unfolded (and the speed at which the FMC got very chill with a lot of very wild shit) really didn’t hit for me. Like any respectable lady, I do love a tentacle moment, but I need a lil more betwixt and between.

[Katie O’Reilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a sweet, no-angst monster romance with NB rep and tentacles.

It was so no-angst that all the tension pretty much stalled in the second half. I still liked it, though. A like but not love.

Also, I was waiting the whole time for Jorah to avenge and drown the guy who tried to murder Quinn but SADLY THAT DID NOT HAPPEN.

[Christopher J · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books continue to be a mixture of sweet and spicy. In this story, we have Quinn who after accomplishing her goal of landing a dream cooking job on a cruise ship after graduation, gets pushed overboard by her nemesis. Luckily she is saved by the enby Kraken named Jorah, who believes her to be their fated mate. I am really enjoying this novellas by Eldridge.

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Angela Ferebee · Rating 5 out of 5]

4🌶

[Ember · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
For what it was I had a good time. Don’t go in taking it too serious it’s very much a mindless read.