Finally, an erotic thriller about sexy were-cheese

The romantasy publishing industry has recently been embroiled in controversy. The issue at hand is a debate over intellectual property rights, with one author accusing another (and their agent, who formerly represented the first author) of plagiarism, and the defendants claiming that, well, it's not really plagiarism if you're writing in a genre that's inherently formulaic and trope-y.

It's thanks to that controversy—and the New Yorker's coverage of it—that I learned about a recent romantasy book which is not at all derivative: Why Cheese?, a 350-page erotic were-cheese thriller by author Ellen Mint.

Yes, you read that right: were-cheese. Sexy men who have been magically cursed to transform into even sexier cheeses. Not even the great Chuck Tingle could come up with something this cheesy and steamy.

Here is the official blurb:

Rock hard men in the sheets, delectable cheese in the streets.

Violette Reely walks into her great uncle's abandoned cheese shop then promptly runs back out. You would too if you discovered a secret basement hiding beneath a trapdoor. One second, there's nothing down there but some cheese wheels in an old chest, the next four naked men are chasing her out the door.

Refusing to give up the million-dollar property to her wild imagination, Violette returns the next day. Despite the place being ransacked, she's certain she made up those mysterious men who vanished inside a locked store. Then, as the sun sets, cheeses lying on piles of discarded clothing roll across the floor until they poof into the four men from last night.

Men who transform into cheese.

What the hell?

Stoic and domineering, Roq's the de facto leader keeping everyone in line. Everyone that is but Cam, the charming playboy whose smooth lines melt the hardest rinds. Cheddy is a tall hunk of joy, as easy to like as his namesake. And last, but never forgotten, is Brie. Soft-spoken, with an artistic soul, he's the sweet wallflower waiting for the right person to scoop him up.

These strange cheese-shifters need Violette's help. Someone must protect them when they're trapped as cheese by day. But, after centuries of being screwed over by their caretakers, they're wary. No one is slower to trust than Roq who expects betrayal at every corner. Even if Violette agrees to help them sell off their secret cheese stash and find a new place, he cuts her down at every turn keeping her at arm's length. He's hiding a secret that could destroy everything he's fought for across the world.

But Violette has one of her own. If these cheese-men ever find out, it'll curdle her heart.

Can the hardest of cheeses find it in himself to let his heart melt or will these cheese-shifters find themselves chewed up and spat out by life? Will Violette sell off the shop and make off with millions or risk the possibility of cheddar days for these cheesy men?

There is a sample chapter that's free to read on the book's Amazon page, and I have to say—Mint does not disappoint. She has found a remarkably impressive way to carve out a unique niche of creativity and excitement within a genre designed for formulaic repetition. This may not be some fancy stinky cheese, no, but it's definitely the literary equivalent of, say, the Cabot private stock collection.

Why Cheese? is not Mint's only culinary creation, either. Who could forget the future classic Pride & Pancakes? Or, if you're looking for some male-on-male action with 30-50 feral hogs, Hog Wild will get your bacon sizzling, if you get my drift.

Why Cheese? [Ellen Mint]