I received a copy of both Choosing Theo and Freeing Luka (by Victoria Aveline) in a monthly Renegade Romance box. I had already read the first one. So, you can find the review of Choosing Theo over here.

Luka has spent his life researching fertility in the hopes of discovering a cure for the Clecanians’ low birth rates. After years of working tirelessly with little progress, he becomes enraged when he uncovers a sinister plot to abduct compatible species from their home planets. But before he can tell anyone what he’s discovered, he’s captured, drugged, and thrown in a cell.

It’s just Alice’s luck that when she finally begins to get her life on track, she’s kidnapped by reptilian creatures and forced into a cell with a fierce incoherent alien for some kind of breeding experiment.

Even though they aren’t able to communicate, Alice and Luka find solace in each other’s company. As the days drag on, it becomes harder to keep her heart locked away, until she can’t help but wonder what a life with Luka might look like outside their dark prison. When an opportunity to free herself, Luka, and the other human prisoners presents itself, Alice takes it.

Once free, can Alice and Luka’s tenuous relationship survive on this planet? Will the evil men that held them prisoner ever see justice? And can they play a part in the rescue of the other women being held captive around this strange new world? Alice knows only one thing for certain—her life will never be the same again.

Honestly, I found this milquetoast and was bored with it. There was so very much that could have been done with the plotline that the author set up, and Aveline chose to do almost nothing. So little that I’m almost irrationally angry about it. Alice is abducted and thrown in with an alien who does not speak her language. We see an encounter or two, and then weeks pass. Then they escape and don’t see each other for a while, then they… go on a few earth-like, unexciting dates, and the end. I mean, it was as dull as dishwater. Yes, Luka is sweet in the way he wants to be loved, and Alice, who has historically been a doormat, finds her spine in space. But this was a disappointment, I’m afraid. Because most of that seems to happen off-page and then we’re told about it. Meh, what a waste of a gorgeous, if inaccurate, cover.

Other Reviews:

Bianca’s Book Review: “Freeing Luka” by Victoria Aveline