Morning Glory Milking Farm and a Blue Ribbon Romance

You can’t visit Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower, and similarly, IMHO, you can’t read monster romance without reading Morning Glory Milking Farm. It’s a cornerstone of the genre. The concept is both unique and compelling—a pharmaceutical company that uses minotaur… ahem… ‘extract’ in their little blue pills and offers a ‘personal touch’ during the ‘extraction’ process—and Nascosta knocks it out of the park with her worldbuilding, character development, and countless smoldering smexy scenes. The companion novel, A Blue Ribbon Romance, told from minotaur Rourke’s POV, adds a fascinating (and emotional) dimension to the story.

Note: I’ve attempted to keep this review spoiler-free, but I do talk about both Violet and Rourke’s character arcs (I don’t think it really counts as a spoiler though, I mean, it would be surprising if they didn’t grow throughout the story. But if you want to avoid minor potential spoilers then skip those sections). I did need to squee about a few things, so those are hidden below the ‘Author Stalking’ in a section called ‘Spoiler-y Discussion.’ So avoid that until after you’ve read A Blue Ribbon Romance.

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Book 1: Morning Glory Milking Farm (Violet’s Story)

🥭🥭🥭🥭
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
(you can find my rating and spice system here)

POV & Tense: Single POV, first person, past tense
Genre: Monster Romance, Erotic Romance
Tropes/Themes: Fluffy billionaire romance, Age gap, High heat / low angst, Slow burn, An abundance of sexual tension, Authority kink, Employee/Customer relationship, On-the-job training at a ‘Milking Farm’ with a personal touch, Glory hole
Location: Cambric Creek (a fictional interspecies community) and surrounding area

Synopsis:

Violet is a millennial with typical problems: she’s finished grad school with the usual student loan debt, the cost of living is sky-high, and she’s overqualified for most entry-level jobs. What’s a girl to do? On the verge of bankruptcy, she discovers a job opening at Morning Glory Farm. The pay and benefits seem too good to be true. The catch? Her job is literally administering handjobs to minotaurs. But it’s not sex work; it’s clinical. Until one particular minotaur keeps requesting her services…

Seeing him like this, standing over her—broad-chested and thick with muscle, every inch of him covered in his silky-coarse hide, his bulging thighs giving way to hocks and hooves, his thin tail a sinuous whip behind him—felt positively primal.

My Review:

I have so many feelings about Morning Glory Milking Farm. This was a reread for me (read again in eager anticipation for A Blue Ribbon Romance). I first heard about MGMF via Twitter and my first thoughts were: Minotaurs? Handjobs? GIMME! I’m one of those people who really enjoys learning the day-to-day aspects of different jobs, so naturally, I found the details from labeling to double-checking the preferences in client files fascinating—everything necessary to ensure a plentiful and speedy collection. In fact, I got so into the process that after learning what could go wrong, I felt anxious every time Violet serviced Rourke, worrying that she might not hook up the machine in time—here comes the flood!

Worldbuilding

Although I’ve declared this a five-chili read (and it is—if you took away the milking farm and the minotaur handjobs, there goes the story) there is a great deal of worldbuilding, which adds to the ambiance. I adore Cambric Creek (and kinda want to live there myself). The idea of a multi-species community, living in peaceful harmony, with businesses catered to all species sounds like a little slice of heaven, so I can understand Violet’s draw to the area. Nascosta has created a delightful world in which to set her books (which is a brilliant marketing move). She’s got many more standalones, all linked by their setting of Cambric Creek. I really enjoyed this introduction to the community through Violet’s human eyes.

Another aspect of worldbuilding she’s done exceptionally well is the psychology of the milking farm clients. You’ve got your Clockwatchers, who just want to get in and out and get paid, your Earners, who can tell you down to the ounce what they’ve deposited, and then there are the Good Little Cows. For them, it’s all about kink and roleplay. I love the variety of clients that Violet encounters.

Strong Character Arc

I love books with strong character arcs, and Violet’s growth is tremendous. At the start, she’s hesitant, constantly second-guessing herself, and worried she’ll have to suck it up and move back in with her parents. I would go so far as to call this a coming-of-age book because even though that theme is associated with the YA genre, we come of age many times throughout our lives. In Violet’s case, the coming of age is in determining how she wants her life to look versus what her parents think she should be doing. I loved seeing my gal V become more assertive, grasp the bull by the horns (heh heh), and go after the life she wants.

It was all she could do to not climb the steps and flip him on the milking table and crawl aboard his broad body, straddling his hips and showing him just how personal her touch could be.

Fluffy Billionaire Romance with Hella Smexytimes

I would being doing this book a big disservice if I didn’t wax poetic about Violet’s romance with the older man, minotaur Rourke. He was one of the Clockwatchers, but one encounter with Violet changes all that. She becomes taken with him—his ahem, generous appendage, and his confident demeanor—and he can’t help but find her intriguing as well. While this is a slow burn romance, you’re never shortchanged in the heat department. Things get spicy early on owing to the nature of the job, which spills over into Violet’s fantasies. This is something that impressed me early on about Nascosta’s writing. It’s challenging to write similar smutty scenes (countless handjobs and erotic fantasies) and keep them varied and interesting, and yet she’s managed that very well indeed and deserves a great big round of applause. And then things heat up further (quite a way through the book), and you may need to fan yourself during those moments.

Okay, I don’t know that he’s really a billionaire (I’m still calling this a billionaire romance), but he’s a successful businessman, and what I really like about the scenario is that while Rourke is in a position of power—he’s older, more established, and has a much better-paying job than Violet—he never abuses his power. He asserts that Violet is the one in charge. He wants to make sure she’s comfortable, and therefore she sets the pace of their relationship. This is so refreshing.

Morning Glory Milking Farm by CM Nascosta

 

Book 2: A Blue Ribbon Romance (Rourke’s POV)

🥭🥭🥭🥭🥭
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
POV & Tense: Single POV, first person, past tense
Genre: Monster Romance, Erotic Romance
Tropes/Themes: Fluffy billionaire romance, Age gap, High heat/low angst, Slow burn, Employee/Customer relationship, Pining, Approaching Middle Age, Starting Over Post-Divorce, so much self-doubt, Not a typical ‘milking’ (he loves her personal touch), Glory hole
Location: Cambric Creek (a fictional interspecies community)

Synopsis:

Minotaur Rourke may be a successful business owner, not afraid to strong-arm his suppliers to ensure his clients get what they need, but he’s not as confident with matters of the heart. Experiencing post-divorce nerves, afraid to put himself out there, and unsure of what he really wants, he goes on a series of unfulfilling blind dates and hookups (at the urging of his well-meaning best friend). But nothing clicks. Not until he comes across a human at the milking farm—one whose perfect, tiny hands evoke all kinds of feelings from the stoic bull.

My Review:

I couldn’t wait for A Blue Ribbon Romance to come out and started reading as soon as my preorder arrived. Lemme tell you, it’s so well done. It starts before MGMF begins, with the opening of Morning Glory Farm, and I loved getting this backstory. Seeing things from, as Nascosta has described it, “the other side of the milking table” is fascinating. I’m one of those people who wants to know everything, and this book fulfills my nosy nature. Rourke was so relatable (I just wanted to wrap him up in a blanket and feed him ice cream and tell him everything will be okay), and I thoroughly enjoyed his whingeing.

He wondered how heavy the milk bottles were in her hands, wondered if she thought of him coming for her every time she made a trip down the dairy aisle at the grocery store.

Worldbuilding

While I found Cambric Creek intriguing from Violet’s human outsider POV, seeing the town through Rourke, as both a monster and a resident of the town, was fascinating. I love that we get to spend more time with his elf neighbor Lurielle, and I’m living for Rourke’s rivalry with Khash, Lurielle’s orc boyfriend. I enjoyed learning about minotaur culture, including the Minoan Society, and what happens when minotaurs and humans procreate. And the ‘Pants vs No Pants’ debate between Cambric Creek residents—hilarious!

Rourke’s Character Arc

I adored Rourke’s transformation throughout this, from gruff businessman to someone who takes chances and goes after who and what he wants—be still my beating heart. I had such empathy for him. Going through a divorce is rough and can take a beating on one’s self-esteem. So, of course, Rourke did what came naturally—he threw himself into work. And he likely would have remained that way had Violet not appeared in his life. She’s the catalyst who launches him out of his comfort zone, and before long, he’s saying and doing things he never would have done before. But our guy is filled with self-doubt, and as such, he’s very good at talking himself out of things (to the point of gaslighting himself), so the road isn’t smooth—especially when he treats everything, even his emotions, like a business deal.

Once his Friday milking became just another entry on his weekly calendar, it no longer mattered what the technicians were like. He was focused on leaving. Then Violet had appeared, making every tech before her seem amateur, capturing his heart alongside a flood of his semen every week.

Like Attracts Like

Another thing I loved about A Blue Ribbon Romance is that by getting to know Rourke, we get a better understanding of Violet and Rourke’s attraction. Specifically, how similar they both are. Violet is a perfectionist who gives 115% to every task, and Rourke is exactly the same. I also love how Violet’s self-doubt is equally matched by Rourke’s. And that they both fantasize about the other… absolute “chef’s kiss.”

I’m not giving anything away, but the ending is fantastic!

A Blue Ribbon Romance by CM Nascosta

 

Final Thoughts:

I love the Morning Glory Milking Farm and A Blue Ribbon Romance duet. MGMF sets the tone and gives us the story from our female main character’s POV, but BRR gives us another angle that deepens everything. The two books complement one another beautifully. There’s a little overlap (as there should be), but there’s so much new information brought to the table in BRR that it kept me riveted throughout. While I enjoyed BRR on its own, it’s best to read MGMF first to get the lay of the land.

And an our age, it doesn’t take five years to fall in love. It can happen in a weekend, as long as you see the real person and not just what you want her to be. After that, you just gotta fuck her so good she don’t ever want to leave.

Author Stalking (but not in a creepy way):
C.M. Nascosta is the author of high heat fluffy monster romance. You’ll want to check out her incredible backlist.
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More CM Nascosta Reviews:

• Girls Weekend (Lurielle & Kash and Silva & Tate’s story)
• Hollow (A Sleepy Hollow Retelling, two stories, one modern and one historical)
• Two for Tea: Welcome to Azathé (Harper and Azathé’s story, plus witchy Cambric Creek)
• Shadows & Light (Jude and Lux’s story (werewolf who doesn’t shift x Shadow Daddy)
• A Holly Jolly Mess (A collection of Christmas stories where Cambric Creek’s side characters get the spotlight)

Spoiler-y Discussion

K. I have a few things I want to squeal about, and they’re kinda spoiler-y, so here we go….

Scroll down…

Down further….

Number One: OMG! Rourke could smell her arousal! He’s a monster, so he should be able to. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this. But now I’m cackling thinking about Violet, feeling so ashamed for getting off on handling one particular client, thinking he could never be into her, and all this time he could smell that she’s hot for him (of course, he explains it away, but that’s another matter…).

Number Two: Their coffee shop meet-cute was no accident!!! I love that he started going to the Black Sheep Beanery multiple times a day, hoping he might run into his favorite female.

Number Three: OMG! Even after their post-coffee confessions, he doesn’t understand why Violet was initially upset about Lurielle. Men. I shake my head (lovingly).

Number Four: Ejacumints!!! This made my day.