4.3 (1,923 ratings)

The Nightmare's Kiss: a Monster Romance (Monster Research Facility Book 1)

Name: The Nightmare's Kiss: a Monster Romance (Monster Research Facility Book 1)
Rating: 4.3 (1923 reviews)
Author: Skyla Gray
ISBN: B0CG556QBL

by Skyla Gray

demons

About this book

How can a living nightmare bring such sweet dreams?

Mara Vance never thought her “useless” psychology degree would lead to studying an actual monster. Subject X-13, aka “The Nightmare,” is armed with sharp teeth, claws, and a constantly shifting form… yet Mara finds the huge shadow creature as intriguing as he is terrifying.

But as Mara studies him, she soon realizes that the Nightmare is far more intelligent than her shady superiors say he is. And every night, she indulges in twisted fantasies about the same monster. What happens in her dreams stays in her dreams - right?

Everyone says he’s nothing more than a monster. But when dream and reality collide, Mara must decide how much she’s willing to trust him - and herself. Will she risk setting him free, or will she lose him forever?

The Nightmare's Kiss is a slow burn, suspenseful novel about a shadow monster and a human, featuring both romantic and horror themes. It has a HEA and can be read as a standalone, though later books in the Monster Research Facility series follow different couples in the same world.

Publication Date: May 25, 2026
ASIN: B0CG556QBL

Reader Reviews

Rescue the Monster

April 1, 2025

Mara has returned to her hometown, where thy think she will pick up her relationship with her ex, Ethan. Mara has no desire to rekindle their relationship, but Ethan does work at a facility that Mara is interested in. Ethan works at the “facility”, a place shrouded in mystery and security. Curious about the facility, Mara does some research and manages to get a job inside the mysterious place. Her job is to study a mysterious subject made of some sort of dark matter. Before long, she realizes...

Very interesting

January 15, 2026

Enjoyed this story. Two complex characters, slowly discovering each other as they fight for freedom from the oppression brought on from being \" other \". Mara is still recovering from a gaslighting boyfriend and the Nightmare has been in captivity for decades because he is someone's definition of a monster. Somewhat gory response to reform, but overall, hopeful. )

this was everything

June 11, 2025

“𝔇𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔪𝔰,” ℑ 𝔴𝔥𝔦𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔯, “𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔭𝔬𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔣𝔲𝔩 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔫 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔨.” uhhh, monster research facility? kinky, scary, nightmare? sign me up, i’m sold! this book was so much fun, it was scary, funny, sweet and raw. for such a short book, the pacing and execution were perfect. also, the feminine rage in this was delicious! dismantling the patriarchy one monster romance at a time. i loved the mental health rep and trauma healing mara experienced, and i’m so happy she got...

this was everything

June 11, 2025

](https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_rvw_avp?ie=UTF8&nodeId=G8UYX7LALQC8V9KA) “𝔇𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔪𝔰,” ℑ 𝔴𝔥𝔦𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔯, “𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔭𝔬𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔣𝔲𝔩 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔫 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔨.” uhhh, monster research facility? kinky, scary, nightmare? sign me up, i’m sold! this book was so much fun, it was scary, funny, sweet and raw. for such a short book, the pacing and execution were perfect. also, the feminine rage in this was delicious! dismantling the patriarchy one monster...

Nightmares and Frustration

May 24, 2024

I give it 3.5 stars. Beware! There be spoilers ahead! I liked the Nightmare but did not like Mara. Here is my rant about her. She was naive and foolish. How did not listening to the stimuli give her an unbiased and accurate assessment to the subjects reaction? It doesn't. Become she don't know what it's reacting to. She did not test if her dreams were real when her subject's moniker was \"Nightmare\". Hint hint. She believed that a military operation would let a monsterous test subject go if...