Book Review: Muscles & Monsters by Ashley Bennett

Muscles & Monsters by Ashley Bennett

Content Warnings:

TW: death of a parent (past, mentioned), death of a grandparent (past, mentioned) broken engagement (MMC and side character, discussed and mentioned throughout) , pressure to have children (mentioned), bullying (past, mentioned), alcohol consumption (side characters), restrictive and unrestrictive diets (mentioned and discussed), dysfunctional family (past, mentioned), nightmare, distorted body image, body shaming (from the MMC’s ex), blood (minor) Readers 18+.

Publishing Date: February 19th, 2026
Publisher: Zaffre
Genres: Adult // Paranormal Romance, Spicy
Quick Thoughts: Pages bursting with close-knit town charm, a steamy and enchanting romance, in the backdrop of feel-good sentiments and afterglow. The cast of characters is what makes this book so beguiling, secondary ones feeling just as easily connected to as main characters.
Rating:

Gifted/PR

I was gifted this book via the Publisher/PR. All views/opinions are my own. I remain entirely impartial.

Literary Trope Guide

Gym owner / Wolven

Human baker

Interspecies romance

Small town charm

about this book
A gym-owning wolven and a headstrong baker discover howl real their connection is in the first book of the beloved Leviathan Fitness series.
After a wedding cake catastrophe on the street, local baker Tegan lands in the most unexpected place—a solid wall of fur and fangs named Atlas. She’s never met anyone like him and finds herself enamored by his wolfish charm. After their sweet encounter, Atlas invites her to his gym anytime she needs his cake-lifting services.
However, Tegan is through with being a damsel in distress. She signs up for a membership with Leviathan Fitness, determined to build her strength…and if she sees the handsome wolven again, it’s a win-win scenario.
Atlas can’t believe his eyes when Tegan walks through the doors of his gym, and nearly goes snout-over-paw to offer her personal training. Shared glances over the barbell and accidental touches at the water fountain set Atlas’s heart racing in a way he swore it couldn’t again.
Primal desires emerge as Atlas and Tegan test just how much their new love can lift. Could Tegan be the unexpected mate of Atlas’s dreams?

My Review

As a fan of similar novels about interspecies paranormal romances (like Bride, Mate and My Roommate Is A Vampire) I was so excited to dip my toes into the monster romance category as well. We meet Tegan, the human local baker in Briar Glenn, a cosy small town that is home to a vast variety of species. Though fulfilled as being the go-to for all your sweet treat needs, Tegan is tired, exhausted from feeling like a woman who needs saving. After running into Atlas, a Wolven, after a wedding cake disaster, a new and followable spark ignites between them. The feeling is utterly mutual, Atlas smitten with her from the moment they meet, though he’s reserved, still suffering the burden of losing a lot of his years to a past relationship that was going nowhere, and only made him want to swear off being hurt again.

After learning Atlas owns Leviathan Fitness, a nearby gym, signing up for a membership seems like a way Tegan can keep the spark alive. Seeing Atlas in his element only makes her relax into their quiet conversations, chance contact and blossoming friendship beneath a fiery passion between them. But Tegan and Atlas are very different people, different species, and the limits of their relationship seem all too prevalent. Atlas is destined to find his mate—it’s engrained in his very DNA—and though it’s entirely possible that they could share that forever-bond, Tegan knows that becoming the mate of a Wolven comes with a whole new territory and rulebook. Still, there seems to be not even a full moon that could stop the desire brimming between them, and when past scars are laid out to heal in the face of something beautiful yet ablaze, it’s clear Tegan and Atlas are heading toward a future brighter than the starry night sky.

I breezed through Muscles & Monsters in two nights, turning pages bursting with close-knit town charm, a steamy and enchanting romance, in the backdrop of feel-good sentiments and afterglow. The cast of characters is what makes this book so beguiling, secondary ones feeling just as easily connected to as main characters. Tegan had this vulnerable side to her that made her completely relatable and down-to-earth, and I think she was one of my favourite things about the entire story, her start-to-finish arc. That being said, Atlas oozed this captivating and quite endearing softness, where he was “supposed” to be this tough and statuesque Wolven who was ripped, but had a vulnerable core that I think was precisely compatible for Tegan. Ashley’s writing made me so relaxed, again down to how this small town felt homey and exuded this togetherness that I adored. I’m hugely looking forward to reading more in the Leviathan Fitness series if this beauty is anything to go by. If you love your spicy romances with a cutely monstrous edge, this needs to be your next read!