Kraev by Sonia Nova

⭐⭐⭐⭐

With finishing my FaRoFeb board, I immediately jumped into trying to finish the 2nd board of Winter's Kiss. One of the prompts I had left was starts with the letter K, so I went hunting through my kindle and bookshelves to see what I already had. I found Kraev by Sonia Nova on my kindle and saw it was the first book in her Warriors of Rae series.

Olivia is training to be a doctor. When she was younger the Suhlik attacked Earth. When the golden lizard-type aliens attacked they used a lot of gas based bombs that have caused long lasting lung degeneration. When Olivia's best friend passes, she vows to become a doctor and help save those that survived the invasion. When the Mahdfel came to save Earth, they only wanted one thing, women. They implemented a DNA testing system that forced unmarried and childless woman of a certain age to see if they were a mate for a warrior. When Olivia's time comes, she is mated and sent to Kraev. Kraev is currently working as warrior pilot on a mining planet and when he receives the notification his mate has been found couldn't be happier. Olivia is immediately teleported to Kraev's location, but arrives in the middle of a Suhlik attack on the planet.

This was such a fun twist on alien romances that I've read. I loved that we got a lot of the normal tropes but with a little bit of a twist. I wasn't really expecting Olivia to land on the planet basically in the middle of a warzone, but liked how it kind of forced her and Kraev to immediately rely on each other to survive the situation and escape. Kraev was such a sweetheart and was so happy to finally find his mate and start a family. He had some dry fruits from his home planet that he's been saving as a special gift for his mate. I just loved how he was all in from the start. Olivia was so focused on her becoming a doctor and her dreams, that she didn't buy into the "propaganda" about the Mahdfel warriors. Even though she wasn't keen on the idea and being immediately teleported away from her family, I loved how Kraev was so open and showed her how she really would be treated. He even mentions that they can call her family (after the fighting ends) and even visit so he can meet them.

Where this didn't quite hit 5-stars for me is due to the romance between them. I liked when they were on their own and trying to get back to the main base and living location and how they didn't push starting anything physical with each other. Once they did get physical though, it felt a little too quick after that point. I understood that the chemical-ness or whatever it is that helps push fated mates together, but the overall plot and story felt quick. I wanted to see a little more of them together with the new dynamic and well, let's be honest... I wanted a little more steamy times too. I mean it's an alien romance!

I will definitely continue to pick up more of this series when it's published and read more of Sonia's works. This is probably my favorite of her's so far and I look forward to what she puts out in the future. If you're looking for a fun warrior alien and fated mate human trope, this is a solid option for sure.

Have you read Kraev?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Kraev, Sonia Nova, 4-stars, 0 days, ebook, 302 pages, published in 2019, indie published