I did it! I fell into the hype and read Morning Glory Milking Farm by CM Nascosta. I remember seeing this on booktok and thinking wow, this is wild. Can’t believe people read things like this. And then I became people that read things like this. This was surprisingly enjoyable! There’s light plot, quick pacing, and the romance is slow burn.
The plot was pretty light on here. Violet, a human, is broke and wants more from life. She takes up a new job in a town that is mainly non-humanoid and begins to experience everything she’s been missing. However, the job she takes? Well, it’s… interesting. I’ll go into it in greater detail with the review for A Blue Ribbon Romance, but the way it is talked about in this novel makes it sound like it is scientific and something that is akin to a medical procedure (in the world of Cambric Creek, not irl.) But, is it??? Aside from that, it’s fairly easy and nothing gets too deep. Thankfully this was a short read because despite being evenly paced, there were parts that did begin to feel a little dull.
With all of the hype surrounding this, I thought it was going to be a lot more sexual than it really was (or at least how it read before reading A Blue Ribbon Romance, reviewed below.) This turned out to be incredibly slow burn. Violet meets Rourke as a client and there’s an instant connection, for her at least. They keep weekly appointments and chat before they finally decide to stop fighting their attraction and begin dating. He was very sweet, as was their courtship. The spice was interesting but also surprisingly vanilla? Like yes, obvious, size difference and… fluids kink. But it absolutely was nowhere near the spiciest thing I’d ever read, nor the smuttiest. Tame considering the premise.
Reading Morning Glory Milking Farm by CM Nascosta was an experience. It is definitely a monster romance with spice, but compared to others in that same genre, this was very light and introductory. I think this one would be great for people looking to experiment with entering the monster romance genre, or for seasoned readers looking for something a bit sweeter.
A Blue Ribbon Romance by C.M. Nascosta
Narrator: Troy Duran
Series: Cambric Creek #1.5
Published by Meduas Editoriale, Tantor Audio on October 24, 2023
Genres: Monster, Romance
Length: 7h1m
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased
Purchase on: Amazon// Barnes & Noble// BookBub
Add to: Goodreads // StoryGraph
Morning Glory Milking Farm was just another quick tug - machine operated facility, no different from all the rest. Sure, they had big pharma money and special hands-on amenities the other milking joints couldn't boast, but at the end of the day it was the same old story — cash he didn't actually need in the bank, all for doing what he would have done for free anyway. Get in, get out, get on with his day. At least, that's what he thought.
Rourke doesn't know why he's so drawn to a particular milking tech . . . he doesn't know anything about her, after all. Not what she looks like without a mask concealing her face, not even her name. He only knows he can't stay away.
He wasn't looking for love, but it managed to find him in most unlikely of places, and now he's determined to prove that you can teach an old bull new tricks.
Fall in love all over again with Violet & Rourke's romance . . . from the other side of the milking table.
review
As soon as I finished Morning Glory Milking Farm, I looked to see what was next in the series and found this fun little surprise! A Blue Ribbon Romance by CM Nascosta flips the script and tells the tale from Rourke’s point of view. I have to say, I don’t know if it is because I read this as an audiobook or because it actually had more meat to it (haha,) but I enjoyed this a lot more than MGMF. We had more plot and more yearning. Still the same amount of spice, obviously.
With this following Rourke’s POV, the plot is wildly different from MGMF. We get into Minotaur culture, including the problems they face. We also see that the clinic separation that they tried to insist the milking was in the first book isn’t there at all. The minotaurs all know that it’s simply going to a place and getting paid to receive handjobs. It isn’t a clinical medical procedure, like Violet and the technicians like to say. Rourke talks about how other places simply give them the collection tube in a cramped closet. In universe, it is absolutely sex work. And I feel so much better knowing I wasn’t crazy for thinking it in book 1. That said, there was a reason Morning Glory was the way it was and I’d love to continue reading this series to see if big pharma is mentioned again.
Rourke was an interesting POV to follow after Violet’s. We see him trying to fight himself for falling for Violet, while simultaneously desperate for love. He thinks he’s too old and damaged goods, especially after his divorce. For anyone that doesn’t care for OW drama as a trope, this one might toe the line. I didn’t care for Rourke fantasizing about other people during his appointments at the beginning. Like, yeah, he and Violet aren’t together, but still – it irked me. Then, we do get that scene of him visiting another technician when Violet is out of the office. Knowing it is literally a handjob from their POV, and knowing they could easily go to another place where they can, instead, take care of themself, it irked me that he still chose to stay and go through with it. While I loved that Rourke didn’t want Violet to stop doing her work when they began their relationship, I did find it a little weird because again, he definitely sees it and knows it is a sexual act. Is he cool with his friends knowing what her hands feel like? IDK I guess that’s definitely just a me problem. I think maybe if he explained to her how it really was, it might be different but who knows.
Between the two, I definitely think A Blue Ribbon Romance by CM Nascosta had a bit of an edge over Morning Glory Milking Farm. There was more plot and world building. Plus, the romance felt stronger from his point of view than hers. If you’ve read the first book and are on the fence about picking this up since it’s the same storyline but different POV, I think you’ll find it is different enough to make it worth it.