In the Arms of an Android by Tracy Lauren

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With a little bit of free reign and wanting to try to pick up a lot of paranormal and sci-fi romances throughout the rest of the year (to fill up some bonus prompts for my year end brackets), I decided to finally pick up In the Arms of an Android. This is the first book of Tracy Lauren's Android series. I was able to use this book to cover the Heaving Bosom's Reading Embrace prompt Jimmi Simpson's Robot Adventure, the Fall in Love prompt Photo Cover and Color Me Romantic prompt for Silver (story with travel).

Valens and his friends are out on an exploratory mission after he finds a ping in his scans. Being an android, he is the only one allowed off the ship to explore the new planet and try to find the source of the signal. When he finally finds it, it looks like an old cryo-chamber. When he opens it up, he finds Andrea. She is just starting to wake up. Once he can get her out of the chamber and back to his ship, they learn the truth. Andrea was kidnapped by a crazy billionaire and sent out to make 2nd contact almost 2,000 years ago. She has to struggle to find a new place in this new life and leans on Valens for support. He starts to feel protective over Andrea, especially when fellow androids start realizing he's feeling emotions that have escaped most of the rest of the them.

I've read cyborg romances before, but I think this is my first full android. I wasn't quite sure how "robot" he'd feel going in and thought it was a really done well. I could believe when he was confused by some things, but starting to understand emotions. Now, they are not 100% like we expect from a robot, but also a lot more advanced. There's discussion about how he has a more advanced learning and computing system (even more than the technology he uses) and it grows and adapts as he learns. I thought it was really interesting how it worked so that it felt natural that he was learning to feel emotions and not a "sudden miracle." It also helped that while he wasn't in love beforehand, he did experience some of the more shallower emotions for his friends and himself.

Now, this wasn't quite a full 5-stars for me for a couple of reasons. The biggest was Andrea. It felt like Tracy was torn in how to balance which direction she wanted to take her. At first there was a lot going on with Andrea, as to be expected, with night terrors and being scared around the other alien species and just dealing with her new situation. She definitely like imprinted on Valens, so I wasn't sure how much was actually love and not dependence on him. Now it could be both, but she went from dealing with all these issues to I'm 90% fine. I just wished that either there was more working through those feelings or even a time jump instead of just a flip being switched. I also wanted there to be more to what happens with the other androids. There could've been more pages to really delve into the issues and what the other androids were wanting to learn. It just felt really quick and then was resolved quickly as well.

It was a great start, but I could tell that this was an earlier work of Tracy's. I'm super excited to have finally read one of her sci-fi books and will definitely continue my way through her backlist while I wait for new books. This was great for my first android and I'm excited to see how it'll continue in the series. If you are looking for a sci-fi romance with an android and not necessarily an "alien," this would be a great option; even more so if you're interested in getting into Sci-Fi romance.

Have you read In the Arms of an Android?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: In the Arms of an Android, Tracy Lauren, 4-stars, 0 days, eBook, 184 pages, published in 2019, indie published

Overlord by Anna Hackett

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The prompt for suggestions for the June Smart Women Read Romance exclusive patreon review was Alien. Anna Hackett's Overlord was the winner! This is the first book in her Galactic Kings series. I was able to use this to cover the new to you series prompt for Summer of Swoon and the superpower prompt for the Ripped Bodice Summer Bingo!

Mal and her scientist friend are testing new wormhole technology. Instead of heading to Saturn, they end up on the other side of the universe and crash land on Zhalto. Poppy and Mal get separated and Mal gets rescued by the Overlord of the planet, Rhain. He is struggling with fighting against his dictator and power hungry father trying to take over his and his two half-brother's planets. Assuming that Mal is a spy sent in, he captures her for interrogation. Mal continuously escapes to try to save Poppy. Eventually Rhain figures out she's from Earth and decides to help her save Poppy, who's been captured by one of his father's warlord that's invading the planet.

This was a good starter book for a new series. There was quite a bit of set up here, but I do wish that there was a little more emphasis on Mal and Rhain's relationship. I felt like it was missing some of the romantic elements. A lot of tropes or plot points just weren't quite explored or pushed as much as they could be, but I know that Anna can do it. There were quite a few things that were nit-picky for me in this book, but overall I enjoyed my reading experience and loved seeing a new series start. It's been a bit since I've read Anna Hackett, but I think she is a great starter author if you are interested in trying alien romance but don't want to go full alien just yet.

Let's get back to Overlord. Overall I think this was a fun, fairly low angst, action packed adventure. I do wish we got a little more insight into the culture on this world, a better feel of what it is that Rhain does to rule over the planet and more information about the energy that can be controlled. I thought it was really interesting that there are different ways that energy can be used and it differs from person to person. I also thought it was odd that Mal not only was able to use the energy as well, but more so that it happened so quickly. She was only there a few days, maybe a week and seemed to just magically be able to use it in pretty powerful ways. She also wasn't making the smartest decisions (i.e: running into the barren wasteland that's filled with modified creatures without food, water, or a basic knowledge of the planet). I just was left feeling a bit wanting for Mal and Rhain, but still enjoyed my read. It just was an easy and fun read and I tried to just go along for the ride.

It was fun to get back to Anna Hackett. I am excited to read the next book in the series. I haven't read her in a while so it's fun to go back to an author that helped solidify my enjoyment of Sci-Fi romance. Like I mentioned above, if you are nervous about reading Sci-Fi and/or alien romance and want more humanoid characters that don't feel too alien, definitely give Anna Hackett a try. My favorite series by her is Eon Warriors and the first book is a lot of fun. This series would also be a good option since it's a newer release.

Have you read Overlord?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Overlord, Anna Hackett, 4-stars, 0 days, eBook, 262 pages, published in 2021, indie published

Kraev by Sonia Nova

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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

Using Fejo by Victoria Aveline

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The second book I read for the Romance Takeover Readathon was Using Fejo by Victoria Aveline. This is her newest release and the 5th book in the Clecanian series. This covered the prompts new release and 5-star prediction. I also used this to cover the prompt new release for the first board of Winter's Kiss and HB author for the Heaving Bosom's 2022 Reading Embrace.

Fejo is a traveler and a Cleclanian from the planet Huvuita. He's been under the thumb of Klinara and has been doing some smuggling and more gray area services for her. Since he has become a citizen of Tremanta, he's been working as a double agent to help the Queen of Tremanta build a case against Klinara. When the human Vanessa chooses Fejo in the marriage trials, he is beyond ecstatic to finally have a wife. Vanessa however is planning on using Fejo and his clearance to leave the planet to find a way back to Earth and her sick sister. When they start to get close and feelings develop, Fejo and Vanessa struggle to open up to each other and still be able to get everything they both want.

I absolutely loved Fejo and Vanessa. This felt a little bit on the angstier side, but I loved how I kept expecting something to be drawn out or be the 3rd act conflict, but she kept resolving the issues between Fejo and Vanessa. I absolutely loved it, even more so since the real 3rd act conflict was external. Ugh, Fejo was so sweet and tried to hard to get Vanessa to like him. He was so tired of getting used by those around him and just wanted someone to want him and want to be with him. It really gutted me and my heart really went out to Fejo. I loved that he had his space pirate captain alpha vibes at times, but then was also such a freaking cinnamon roll towards Vanessa.

There were a couple times where I struggled with Vanessa, but once she started opening up to Fejo about why she was depressed, guilty and had to get home was also heart-wrenching in it's own way. I just loved so much about this book. I also enjoyed seeing more of Victoria's expanded universe. While a lot of time was spent on the ship, it was still really cool to learn about the different ports and other worlds out there. We've been pretty much exploring Trementa and the other cities on the planet they women all ended up, and it was really interesting to learn not only about other places, but some other races of aliens. 

I love Victoria Aveline's books and can't wait for more. We get a little scene with Rhaego and I really want to see his book. I'm also intrigued because I feel like we might get Julie (Vanessa's sister) in a book in the future as well. They also ended up rescuing 12 more women, so there's hopefully a lot more couples in our future. If you enjoy Sci-Fi romance, please check out Victoria Aveline. She has one of my favorite Sci-Fi series ever.

Have you read Using Fejo?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Using Fejo, Victoria Aveline, 5-stars, 1 day, eBook, 312 pages, published in 2022, indie published

Wicked Captor by Zoey Draven

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Going through my Bang in the Night Bingo prompts, I needed to find a book with Wicked in the title. I searched what was on my kindle and surprising only had a few options. One was Wicked Captor by Zoey Draven. Since the Smutathon was also going on at the same time and had an alien prompt, this was a perfect choice. Wicked Captor is the first in Zoey's Warrior of Rozun duology. This is actually a spin-off of her Warriors of Luxiria series (of which I read a couple years ago, but now see there was one more book published last year I have to get to). This also cover the red or purple on cover prompt for the Smutathon. For Bang in the Night Bingo it can also cover the prompt into the woods. Lastly, I used this for the prompt chef or baker main character for the second board of Fall in Love.

Devix is one of the warriors that we learned about in the original series that has been exiled. Now he works as a mercenary in the Quadrants. He has one last job before he's able to get out of the business and settle on Rozun. His last job is transporting his boss's newest slave, Cara. Cara is human that's been abducted and was originally at the Pit (where most of the heroines were found in the previous series). When Devix picks Cara up from her current owner, they are both surprised to find out they are fated mates.

Before we get too into the book, it's weird what I remembered about the previous series while reading this. I ran through the blurbs of the books from the previous series, but they didn't really help jog my memory. The first time Devix spoke, he said "tev" which is yes in his language. I remembered that very specifically, which was odd. I also picked up other parts of the first book, specifically when they do the fated mate ceremonies in the holy places on Luxiria. I also remembered his brother, which is the best friend and right-hand man to the ruler of the Luxirians. I couldn't remember if we saw him get exiled in the previous series or if it was just discussed.

But back to this book. It was so fun getting back into Zoey Draven. I've been working on compiling a list of authors to get caught up on and she's one of the top of my sci-fi list. I really enjoyed how things escalated between Devix and Cara. Even though they both felt the pull of the mating, they both just pushed it away and tried to fight the attraction. Once they both stopped fighting it, woo boy can Devix get it. I forgot how steamy Zoey Draven is and I loved it! I feel like you don't have to read Warriors of Luxiria to read this, but it did give some extra world building. Also, even though this is a duology it didn't end on a cliffhanger. I was slightly nervous about it going in, but I love that it didn't end on a cliffhanger. Devix and Cara were so perfect for each other, I know fated mates, but I loved how they both were able to deal with each other's traumas and really help each other heal.

I really enjoyed this and will definitely pick up the 2nd book. I did see that Cara ends up pregnant and they return to Luxiria for help. I also want to mention that this seems to have ran concurrent to some of the original series. Yes Devrix is exiled, but nobody really knows about the compatibility between humans and Luxirians at this point. I can't wait to pick up more Zoey Draven. If you enjoy sci-fi and alien romances, certainly give her a try. She's one of my favorites!

Have you read Wicked Captor?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Wicked Captor, Zoey Draven, 4-stars, 0 days, eBook, 194 pages, published in 2018

Alien Tongues by Chloe Parker

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Needing a little bit of a change of place, I decided to pick up a sci-fi/alien romance. I recently added quite a few to my tbr and decided to go with Alien Tongues by Chloe Parker. This is the first book in her Cosmic Bonds series. Also, I absolutely adore this cover, the colors are just so pretty. I was looking at it on Amazon and thought I might buy the paperback copy, but the cover is completely different so I didn't end up buying it. It has a blonde human girl on it, totally not the same vibe. Update: I applied this to the prompt of new to you author for the 3rd board of Summer of Swoon.

We meet Natalie, a linguist from Earth. Shortly after she was born the Lyrans contacted Earth. Of course we all thought that they were here to attack, but they were actually making contact after finding the golden disc that was put on a satellite. The Lyran culture doesn't really understand or have music or entertainment, so they wanted to contact Earth. While we are primitive in almost every way to them, our brains allow for creativity that the Lyrans don't have. Natalie grew up and became a linguist after loving languages, especially Lyran. She is on Logos to study an artifact that they are unable to translate. She gets attacked one night on the way home and ends up with guardsman Kiran guarding her.

This was such a good book. I really enjoyed the different takes on an alien romance and it was super fun that our heroine was a linguist. I loved the beginning and how it branched from real events that happened and how it evolved from that point. I loved Kiran and Natalie and really enjoyed the tension and eventual steam between them. I also loved their little movie night where they watched Kiss Me, Kate. It really made me want to rewatch it, especially since I've been in the mood for older musicals lately.

There are just a couple things that really brought this down from being a 5-star. First, I wish that there was more explored with the mate bond between them. They both dream about each other and feel the bond, but it isn't really discussed between them or Kiran with other Lyrans. While I understood that their way of ensuring the continuation of their race was completely clinical and actual intimate relations are heavily looked down upon, I wish that there was more done. The other big sticking point for me was how it ended. It didn't feel wrapped up. While there was a little set up for the next book, I didn't feel like we were at a good stopping point for Kiran and Nat. I wish there was more between them after meeting Mai (the heroine of Alien Liaisons). 

Overall I really enjoyed this book, it was just those two things that really left me wanting more. I'm definitely going to be picking up the next book in the series. I did want to mention, at the end of the book it mentions Alien Liaisons will be released in October of 2021. It actually came out earlier in July and the third book, Alien Pleasures, is set to come out in October. I'm definitely intrigued to read more and am happy to find another fun sci-fi series!

Have you read Alien Tongues?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Alien Tongues, Chloe Parker, 4-stars, 0 days, eBook, 261 pages, published in 2021

Tempting Auzed by Victoria Aveline

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Last Friday, July 9th, was the release date for Tempting Auzed! This is the 4th book in Victoria Aveline's Clecanian series. It's one of my favorite alien romance series and I've been hyped to read it since her newsletter announced the release date and cover last month. I was also able to apply this to the Summer of Swoon board 2 prompt books nobody talks about. With alien romance getting a surge lately (thanks to tiktok and the sudden rush on Ruby Dixon's Ice Planet Barbarians), I wish that more people would talk about Victoria Aveline and her unique take on alien romance.

Auzed we met in the first couple books. He's one of the brothers from the heroes in both books. He's also the head guard at the Pearl Temple, the secure area where human women that aren't mated are staying. After Saving Verakko, they've been on the hunt for Alex since getting split from Lily. He finds her, but she has crossed into Sauven territory and killed a creature that was after her, but also considered sacred to the Sauven. They end up getting captured by Sauven rangers and Alex lies and says that her and Auzed are to be mated. There's political power plays between the reagents of Sauven and Queen of Tremanta. There is a lot at stake if their rouse is found out, particularly for Auzed and having broken three laws (crossing the border without approval, killing the creature and lying to the reagents). Things of course escalate between them as they are forced to stay in Sauven for a week. The reagents want to give Sauven residents the chance to scent Alex to see if a true mate is found.

I loved this addition to the series. I loved the enemies to lovers mixed with fake dating. I'm usually not the biggest fan of enemies to lovers, but there was a lot that both characters were going through. I did like how even though Auzed was frustrated with the situation, his main focus was getting them through the week and taking care of Alex the best he could. Focusing on being a guard, he never expected to have a chance to find a wife, let a lone a mate. Alex sometimes was a little too headstrong for me and I do wish that they had the conversation about what exactly was at stake for both of them earlier. The split up at the end also felt a little bit much, but I did love the hints we got about a couple romances moving forward. 

One thing I loved was Alex pushing for Auzed to not follow the Clecanian custom of wives not showing any care or feelings towards their husbands, especially in public. She wanted to hold his hand and do the little touches and felt it was important. She tried acting Clecanian, but I'm happy that it didn't take too long for her to be like, "Hey! I'm human. We don't do it like that." When they got in their argument I loved the point he made to Alex that there's a reason that couples don't act like that. Now he has to move on (he thought she was going back to Earth at this point) knowing what it felt like to have someone be affectionate with him and will never know it again.

If you are into alien romance or interested in starting alien romance I feel like this series is a good one to start out with. It has the normal tropes but the world is so fleshed out and really transportitive. I also like how the fated mates aspect is dealt with in this series. The mate mark takes a while to show, but I would like to see one book in the series where they get mated before really knowing each other and going from there. I'm really excited for what Victoria has planned and can't wait for the next book. Also, can we just take a minute to appreciate the covers? They are so gorgeous. I saw a couple months ago that you could get paperback copies and I had to get them. The covers are even more gorgeous in person and I even love the backs to them, especially Saving Verakko. I can't wait to get this one in paperback as well!

Have you read Tempting Auzed?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Tempting Auzed, Victoria Aveline, 5-stars, 0 days, eBook, ?? pages, published in 2021

Aubin by Annabelle Rex

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Before getting to some book club books over the weekend, I wanted something shorter to read after work Thursday and Friday. I decided to go back to my novella/short book default of Sci-Fi Romance! After bingeing Annabelle Rex's Intergalactic Soulmates series during the Kindle Clear Out Readathon earlier this year, I was excited to see she had written more in the same universe! The 5th book is Aubin. I ended up reading this in one sitting. I also applied this read to the pink on the cover prompt for the Summer of Swoon!

Before I go too much into the book, I want to chat about the author's note at the end. In the previous book, things were wrapped up pretty well and this series was originally only planned to have the 4 books. Annabelle noted that she kept thinking about after the events of those books and once the DNA match program has been accepted and Earth more integrated with the rest of the universe. That's were this series continues. It is set in the same universe, but won't deal directly with the previous characters. She also has a note about this books premise, which is a unique take on the alien fated mates trope that I really liked.

We meet Sophie, our heroine, commiserating with her friends. Her long time boyfriend of 6 years has taken the match test and would like Sophie to take it as well. They were both solo vloggers about travelling, but once they started dating merged their channels. Anthony has in his mind the perfect plan. They both take the test and prove that they are perfect for each other, further cementing their plans. He takes it first, before telling Sophie and doesn't get a match. He then pushes her to do it. This puts Sophie in such a terrible position whichever way she chooses. She ends up taking the test and they find out that she has a match, an alien named Aubin.

I really enjoyed the look at the match test and how it could affect those currently in a relationship. Of course, since it's a romance, we do get insight into how they really weren't as perfect of a match and Anthony was continuously expecting Sophie to be the only one to compromise and fit his plans. She is heartbroken and then feels guilty to Aubin that she can't be excited and in the same mindset as him upon matching. This then becomes an extraterrestrial epistolary romance, which was super fun. It'll take Aubin about six weeks to get to Earth and they take that time to send video and text messages to each other. I love how as Aubin gets closer they both are starting to really fall for each other and get impatient to have in person conversations. When Aubin arrives, their first meeting is so beautiful and I absolutely loved it. It had me grinning.

Another thing I want to mention is Sophie being able to find herself again before immediately jumping into a relationship with Aubin. It felt really well done and realistic the way that she was able to be pushed by herself and her friends to reset. She also gets back into her original style of travel vlogging and will be doing so throughout the universe now! This just really hit me and was so well done. I'm excited that Annabelle decided to continue the series, but branching out from her original group of characters. I'll definitely read more of the series and excited there's at least 3 more books out or planned. I also saw that there is a novella that's free from her newsletter that's connected to book 2, Cael, and is about the match of his sister. I'm really happy to jump back into Anabelle Rex's writing and will keep an eye out for future releases!

Have you read Aubin?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Aubin, Annabelle Rex, 5-stars, 0 days, eBook, 162 pages, published in 2020

The Alien's Ransom by Ella Maven

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After finishing my reread of the Hathaways by Lisa Kleypas, I wanted something a little shorter that I could get through fairly quickly during the week. I did have a book club book I wanted to start as well, but it was another historical romance. I wanted a little bit of a breather before jumping into that, so I looked through my Alien Romances since I've been in the mood for those lately. I decided to try a new author and series that's a newer release. I finally settled on The Alien's Ransom by Ella Maven. This is book one in her Drixonian Warrior series. Now, it's kind of toted as an alien mc (motorcycle club) romance, but I didn't really get any mc vibes outside of the fact they drive hover motorcycles.

Like a lot of the alien romances out there, there is the normal tropes. Human women are abducted for breeding/experimentation purposes and found by "good aliens" that end up being compatible genetically. The Drix race has also lost all of their females from a virus that devastated their planet. Now even with a lot of those tropes being fairly common, this book definitely felt new and unique in some ways. 

This specific Drix clan is meeting with the aliens that abducted the humans to deliver to the Uldani. Daz, our hero is the leader of this clan and leading the delivery. Upon arrival however, they are very surprised that the delivery is not only humans, but human females. Now as I mentioned before, their race has lost all of the women of the race from a virus. Their culture was mainly a matriarchy and the motto was "She is all." They are very protective of females of any race and immediately change their plans. They are doing this task in return of Daz's captured brother. Frankie ends up getting hurt by one of the bad aliens and Daz feels echoes of the pain. This is the start of them realizing they are mates.

What I enjoyed that's different is how alien these guys actually are. I've complained a little in books I've read previously this year where the aliens aren't alien enough for me. Here it is not the case. Although, sometimes the way their tongues were described really bothered me. I get that they're longer, but sometimes Frankie mentioned him curling it around things and it just really turned me off. Other times it was just a little longer. I liked that these golden tattoos almost appear around their wrists that match and are unique to each couple.  Another interesting mating thing is that it's recognized when the female gets hurt and the bonding completes when the creature that hurts her is killed. I'm not sure how it will work in future books if the creature isn't killed by a mate, or if it's killed by something else. Or even if the women doesn't get hurt, can they still bond?

That's one reason that it was a 4-star read, I was left with a lot of questions. While a lot of things were explained, I feel like there were issues that I would've like to see addressed more. It's one thing if I had those thoughts myself, but Frankie asks those exact questions but they never get answered. I'm interested to see how the overarching plot goes and will most likely continue reading the series. I'd really like to get to Daz's brother's book, which is the 2nd one. Not sure when I'll get to it though. I definitely enjoyed reading it. There was great action and was decently paced. Another thing that really bothered me was the author almost forcing the motorcycle club thing on us. Frankie mentions it throughout, but it really didn't feel like it to me. I wish the author would've just not focused on trying to convince us it was that trope. It just felt forced and kept making me think that Frankie didn't actually know what a motorcycle club was. Like I said though, overall I enjoyed the read.

Have you read The Alien's Ransom?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Alien's Ransom, Ella Maven, 4-stars, 1 day, eBook, 266 pages, published in 2020

Glacier by Miranda Bridges & Kyra Snow

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Wanting some more fun after reading Saving Verakko, I decided to check out some other alien romances! Going through what I had on my kindle I realized I still have to start Miranda Bridges new series Eternal Mates. She co-wrote it with Kyra Snow and the first book is Glacier. I had previously read and really enjoyed Miranda's other series House of Kaimar and Hearts of Stone.

Oh I really struggled on how to rate this book. If I were to be a little more strict, it would probably be more of a 2.5-star rating, but I rounded up to 3-stars. So Earth has been through a fire apocalypse and now there a few different alien species coming to Earth for mostly nefarious reasons. Xelias our hero is here looking for compatible females for their race. When they find their mate their true powers "unlock" allowing them access to their "true potential." It was definitely an interesting take on the fated mates trope with aliens that I haven't read before. Part of what rubbed me wrong was our heroine Hazel. She was overly stubborn, especially when they first meet and she's stealing food from his ship. I understand her being stubborn and why they didn't go for her just submitting to the aliens. However, it seemed sometimes that there was too much disparity between how Hazel was acting outwardly both alone with Xelias, around others and her inner monologue. Sometimes it felt like she was just being stupid, not stubborn. She just really rubbed me the wrong way. 

Now in Miranda Bridges other series I've read, they were pretty steamy. This one, while it felt the same number of scenes, it felt written differently. And not good differently. It just felt more juvenile and cliched. I'm not sure if that's the influence of the second author or just a one off for this book. I was still overall intrigued by the uniqueness of the plot and will most likely try at least the next book in the series. If you are looking for a good alien romance though, definitely check out the other series I have linked above. The Hearts of Stone is a spin-off of the House of Kaimar and the aliens are more gargoyle and elf-type species respectively.

Have you read Glacier?

Bookishly Yours, 

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Glacier, Miranda Bridges & Krya Snow, 3-stars, 1 day, eBook, 167 pages, published in 2020

Saving Verakko by Victoria Aveline

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Before jumping into some book club books, I wanted to read something quick that wasn't historical. After debating a few different books and sub-genres, I realized I hadn't read the third book in Victoria Aveline's Clecanian series, Saving Verakko. The first two books came out in 2020 and I read both pretty soon after their release and absolutely loved them!

On the planet that these girls are kidnapped and brought to is unique in the way that mates are chosen. I've read other alien romances where the women are dying out kind of trope, but the way that this advanced and civilized planet has dealt with that is such a unique idea. So the male partner in a couple actually goes to husbandry school. They learn how to pleasure and keep a wife happy and healthy. They learn how to do the finances, cook, clean, sexual health and even massage. Once a man has reached a point to choose a marriage, they are chosen for a selection. This is kind of a line-up then one-on-one interview for a woman to choose a husband. Now since there are such little women, they have complete rights in choosing. Marriages are also treated as a contract where they are together for at least 3 months and then the woman can decide if she'd like to try to have children with her chosen partner. This means that husbands can be chosen multiple times. It's also a big form of punishment to no longer be allowed to be chosen. 

Another aspect in this world is that there are mates and markings that will show on the beings of this planet (of which there are a few different kinds). It has been a long time since a true mating has happened (the last couple being the parents of the heroes in the first two books). Another little thing to note is that it's believed that humans and the beings of this planet all descended from the same species, so that allows for the romance between everyone. I know I went a little in depth in the set up, but since it's laid out pretty well in the first book but I didn't have my blog at that point, I wanted to give a little primer on the series. Also good to note, is that human women are being captured (which goes against almost all laws of this planet) and are being genetically experimented with since they are found to be compatible. The people doing this are traitors and we seem their secret bases being hunted down and human women rescued throughout the series. 

Now to what's actually going on in this book. We meet Lily whose one of the two ladies that decided to rough it in the wild than wait for whatever "aliens" were coming when their secret base was found. Surprising Lily has been kind-of forced to live wild by her parents growing up, so despite being a city girl at heart she knows how to forage and make water and start a fire and just survive. Verakko is a being that lives in a separate area than the first two heroes, but feels like an outsider since he's very techy and nerdy. He wants to live in the city with all the fun technological advancements. Verakko is actually being kidnapped by a traitor and escapes into the forest, coming across Lily when she's been separated from the other girl Alex. I really enjoyed getting back into this world. I did get a little frustrated with Lily near the end. She was so understanding, practical and logical about a lot of their choices in the forest. When they finally reached his city though it felt like she almost suddenly had to create drama because it needed to be there. I did understand her almost dying and that was needed to make Verakko's mate marks finally show (outside of just his eyes), but I didn't like that she wanted him to hid them. It just felt like extra unnecessary drama. It was already super crazy them surviving in the forest and just getting to civilization. 

We do get hints about what happened to Alex after her and Lily were separated, but I'm not sure if she's the next book or not. I can't wait for Victoria Aveline to write more. I also absolutely love the covers and have to have these in paperback. From what I can tell the Choosing Theo was her debut novel and I'm super intrigued for whatever she writes next! If you're interested in sci-fi or alien romance and haven't tried this series, I highly recommend it. The first is probably my favorite, but I've loved them all so far!

Have you read Saving Verakko?

Bookishly Yours, 

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Saving Verakko, Victoria Aveline, 4-stars, 1 day, eBook, 336 pages, published in 2021

Tarkken by Annabelle Rex

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The fifth book I read for the Kindle Clear Out Readathon was Tarkken by Annabelle Rex. This is the fourth and I think last book in her Intergalactic Soulmates. I've seen other covers, but the series lists I've seen only lists four. Plus the epilogue makes me think that this was the last book planned. Once again this doubled up on prompts already covered on my bingo board.

This book focuses on the computer whiz Marta (who we met in Cael and is Asha's best friend) and Tarkken (who is Cael's head of security and also his tech man). I was really hoping after reading Cael that Tarkken and Marta would be paired since they both had kind of similar roles. Tarkken also makes fun of humans and their pets, especially cats and I could see the set up since Marta has a kitty named Mouse. 

Marta's backstory was little more angsty than I was expecting, with her father constantly getting arrested and basically abandoning her without actually realizing how his actions were affecting her and their relationship. Tarkken's race is an empathic race, and to function properly must connect emotionally with others. While surface probing can help when it's large groups of people, what's really needed for his health is a deep emotional connection. Being that his home planet everyone is pretty much open emotionally all the time, he's almost neuro-diverse in that he's okay with reading others but can't stand to be read himself.  Throughout all the books, Tarkken was my favorite hero. Tarkken and Marta end up hunting the leader of the anti-alien hate group and at a club end up kissing to cover up them being in a restricted area. Quickly after, they can't stay away from each other. Marta and Tarkken are my favorite couple of the series, and if it wasn't for her father and the overarching plot, this would've been my favorite book of the series.

A big reason it didn't get 5-stars was the epilogue. It's a year or so later and there is a global government now and Earth is finally coming together. There's a bill passed that aliens are now considered "people" and are subject to laws and all the benefits of being "human." Like adoption and those that attack them being able to be persecuted. Not only was it a little long, but we meet this random other match and learn about them a little. Plus we spend a lot of time with the other three couples, including a surprise marriage for Cael and Asha. I just wanted more HEA for Marta and Tarkken. I also didn't like that their plan was to separate from everyone else and go on their own adventures. Wouldn't Cael still need his head of security to the other places he visits? I don't know, the epilogue just ruined my enjoyment and I almost wish I didn't read it. Although, it was cute that Tarkken created a little cubby for Mouse so Marta didn't have to give her up and even got a special permit to take her with them. 

Overall I enjoyed this quick little novella series and it was nice to read some alien romances that didn't have the women being kidnapped and tortured before being rescued by their heroes. I'll definitely read more from Annabelle Rex. It'd be nice to get more alien with my alien romance though. But like I've said, these were quick fun reads that was a perfect in between my planned historicals. Oh, and I didn't mention, but this also doubled for the short story or novella prompt. 

Have you read Tarkken?

Bookishly Yours, 

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Tarkken, Annabelle Rex, 4-stars, 0 days, eBook, 152 pages, published in 2020

Garrant by Annabelle Rex

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The fourth book I read for the Kindle Clear Out Readathon was book three in Annabelle Rex's Intergalactic Soulmates series, Garrant. This doubled up for prompts that were already taken on my bingo board.

So Garrant is different from the first two in that we aren't focusing as much as the overarching plot. Between Cael and Garrant (the books), Asha and Cael have put together an intergalactic games. Basically it's the Olympics, but broadcast through the universe and will feature both the human and intergalactic competitions. It's meant to be a show of good will for everyone and to help with Earth's integration. So I would classify this as a alien, fated mates, sports romance. 

Garrant is a hyperdisk athlete, which is described as a mix of basketball and football (I'm assuming the soccer football since this is mainly set in England). From the descriptions it seems more like hockey, but with a frisbee sized puck that's thrown between players. Also they wear propulsion shoes, so they're all above an anti-gravity field and kind of flying. Garrant is friends with Cael's sister, so when the group gets together for the opening ceremony, he meets Asha's sister Nell. They immediately are attracted to each other and sneak away for a quickie during the after ceremony cocktail party. 

Nell's 5 year-old son Mikey was such a sweetheart throughout this book and I loved how drawn to Garrant he was. They had such a great relationship. We also deal with Nell's ex coming back now that she's related to the new princess. He plays it off that he's interested in knowing his son and getting back with Nell, but it's really because she's become "someone." Another storyline is that Garrant is injured and this will be his last big competition before retirement. He is dealing with what comes next for him after he retires, especially since he doesn't have a match/family to spend time with. I loved the connection that Garrant and Nell shared and I loved that this was separate from all the political goings on in the other three books. If I look at the books as a whole, this would be my favorite. Once again though, I wanted more alien from him. He is covered with tattoos that are important moments in his life, but that was really the main difference. His race has this fun almost pathway-type ability that comes from meditation. Garrant hasn't mastered it though since he can't seem to sit still long enough to form that connection, but in a frank conversation with Mikey he finally achieves it. While that is alien, it's more of a meta-physical/mental power. Even though this was my favorite of the series, it didn't have that extra oomph that made it a 5-star for me. However, I did immediately jump into the fourth book Tarkken. 

Have you read Garrant?

Bookishly Yours, 

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Garrant, Annabelle Rex, 4-stars, 0 days, eBook, 136 pages, published in 2020

Cael by Annabelle Rex

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The third book I read for the Kindle Clear Out Readathon was Annabelle Rex's Cael. This is the second book in her Intergalactic Soulmates series and focuses on Prince Cael. I used this for the novella or short book prompt on my bingo board.

Our heroine Asha is mechanic and also takes on small jobs for money. She is paying back loan sharks for alien technology eye replacement for her nephew Mikey. She only has three months left, but he decides instead that she's going to take the DNA Match in exchange for the remaining debt. If she is matched, she's supposed to steal a translator and bring it back. There is a big tea party even happening (the books are set in Britain) and there's an anti-alien hate group that causes riots and ruins the event. Asha ends up saving Cael and they get separated from his bodyguards and everybody else. Asha was such a strong character, but I did think that she was a little too against the match the further we got in the story. I feel like she should've softened to Cael a little sooner and slowly so that it didn't seem like a complete 180.

I did enjoy Cael, but I did wish that he was a bit more alien. I do understand and that he was the easiest to appear human since he was the dignitary and it helped so humans wouldn't be quite as afraid, but I wanted more alien. Overall I enjoyed this quick fated mates-esque novella and am intrigued to see how the overarching plot with the hate group wraps up. I did immediately jump to the third book, Garrant, so there's that. I know this review is a little shorter, but it was cute and fine and a good break from all the historical romance I've been reading. Just not much else to say about this one.

Have you read Cael?

Bookishly Yours, 

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Cael, Annabelle Rex, 0 days, eBook, 141 pages, published in 2020

Randar by Annabelle Rex

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The second book I read for the Kindle Clear Out Readathon was Randar by Annabelle Rex. This is the first book in her Intergalactic Soulmates series. This both works for the novella or short book prompt, as well as the new author prompt. I chose for it to be on new author on my bingo board.

So after reading a lot of historical romance lately, I wanted a little bit of change before jumping into one of my other planned books for the readathon. However, most are full length and also historical. I just kind of scrolled through my kindle for a bit looking for someone I hadn't tired yet, and settled on Randar.

In this world, aliens have come to Earth and are working to integrate humans into the intergalactic community. They've brought fun new technology, including the DNA match test. This is a test that provides you a Match (once they're in the system) to kind of your fated mate. It is super successful and gave this short series a fated mates feel. Randar is a body guard to the Prince Cael (who is the hero of book 2) and ends up matched with Angela. Her friend drunkenly signs up her up after a bad date and she gets matched. As aliens are still fairly new, there aren't too many humans signing up for the program and there is a lot of picketing and protests against aliens. 

There is a lot of commentary in these books, and usually more than I care to read about so blatantly, but I did still enjoy these books. What's fun about these is that despite them being matched, it's made clear that both parties have to work on the relationship and still do the work to really have a successful relationship. Angela and Randar's first meeting is rough as each are making assumptions based on their experiences and not the fact that they are with a different species. Angela deals with a lot of abandonment and body issues, but I loved that Randar was very communicative once they broke through that barrier. I didn't like the congressman type villain that was causing Angela's insecurities to rise again, it just felt unnecessary. I did love that she overcame them and didn't lean on Randar to stand up for herself. Even though this was a shorter novella, I enjoyed the overarching plot and was intrigued to read more. I immediately jump into Cael, the second book.

Have you read Randar?

Bookishly Yours, 

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Randa, Annabelle Rex, 4-stars, 0 days, eBook, 110 pages, published in 2020