Monster by Joely Skye is a homoerotic paranormal. As the story begins, we first meet Joshua Mackay who is on a monster hunt. He was hired by the agency to find and subdue Kiran Brunner, who has the ability to mentally bend men to his wishes, called a minder. Joshua has been tracking him at the park, so he decided to meet him in a very inconspicuous place to catch him off guard. His strategy worked perfectly. But once the agency representative arrived, Josh was unsure as to who the monster was, and who the victim was. Josh followed them and found Kir tied up in a very horrendous and sexual way. Unable to understand the purpose of that kind of treatment and in spite of his reservations, Josh did something that may not be his usual behavior. Was Kir controlling him or was Josh acting on his own instincts?

After they are on the run, Kir and Josh get to know each other and find that they have more in common than they would ever think. They begin to look at each other as individuals, not just labels. This is something many people need to do. In this society people tend to label each other and don’t look any closer. Josh and Kir becomes closer and they spend one glorious and sensual night together before the world catches up with them. The story doesn’t come to an end; it just leaves questions about both of our main characters. Will they find a way back to each other? Does Josh want to be with Kir? Will Kir find a way to help Josh find the truth about him and their time together?

Ms. Skye created a new and fascinating world. As the book started, I had the feeling that in spite of everything that the agency said, Kir was a very naive and child-like character. I felt that even though he had the ability to bend men’s minds, he only did it to save his or someone else’s life. He looked at any kindness shown to him as a miracle; I thought that was so sad for someone who was so young. Josh found Kir a mystery. Kir was totally different than the information Josh was given about him from the agency. I thought that it was beautiful that Josh was able to keep an open mind to see Kir for what he truly was. I for one will be waiting for the next installment of the Minder’s series.

Reviewed by: Teresa