Tag Archives: Renegade Romance

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Book Review: Convergence and Resilience, by Etta Pierce

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I received a special combined edition of Convergence and Resilience by Etta Pierce in a Renegade Romance book box.

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Olivia Loxley was a profiler working with the Los Angeles Police Department. Until her specialty in profiling the human mind becomes of unique interest to Commander Atarian, that is. When she wakes up in a cell on an alien spacecraft, the alien responsible for her abduction asks for her help in the largest raid he’s ever overseen: a pleasure cruiser christened the Paramour, which has been siphoning humans into galactic sex trafficking for months.

But in order for his mission to go off without a hitch, Atarian needs to impersonate a connoisseur of human flesh. The real question is, will either of them be able to keep up professional boundaries? Or will they bow to their primal instincts?

my review

Honestly, the premise of this is pretty weak. An alien kidnaps a woman to teach him how to pretend to buy trafficked humans to bust a trafficking ring. The idea is that the victims are human, so she can teach him how. But even a moment of thought makes it obvious that he needs to learn how to be an alien sleaze ball (alien behaviors, alien preferences, alien pricing metrics, etc), not a human one. So, she would be of no use to him. And really, despite Pierce convergence photopretending she is, Olivia provides very little of note or use.

So, accept early on that this story takes a lot of suspension of disbelief. Olivia profiles aliens she’s never seen before as easily as humans, and it belies belief. Just get past it. But beyond that, I enjoyed the story. I liked the characters (Vin especially); the world is interesting, and the writing is easily readable. It’s pretty low spice and wraps up nicely enough to feel complete, even if there are some threads left open for the rest of the books.

Other Reviews:

Red Haired Ash Reads: Etta Perce Books

Review: Convergence – Etta Pierce

 

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Book Review: The Melier, by Poppy Rhys

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I received a copy of Poppy Rhys‘ The Melier in a recent Renegade Romance book box.
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Running for her life…

Lucia hijacks a stolen cargo ship only to find she’s not alone. A giant, beastly alien slave with no memory of his past is now her newest acquisition, and she has no idea what to do with him.

Stuck together for the foreseeable future on the journey back to her home planet, Lucia struggles with the decision to keep him close or risk letting him fall back into enemy hands.

Outrunning the pirates in pursuit, and her own desires, is shaping up to be an impossible task.

my review

Entertaining, but honestly, a structural mess in which the first third doesn’t match the last two-thirds. I was frequently thrown for a loop when characters were suddenly setting off to do this or that with no explanation. Like, ‘Time to get ready for the party,’ and I, the reader, was like, ‘What party?’ The story wanders and feels plotless. At no point did I really feel Rhys had a plan for the story; everything feels random. By the end, I was still unsure if Lucia is meant to have one or two mates, for example.

the melier photoThere is an entirely pointless SA scene. It’s comparatively mild but absolutely extraneous. Leaving it out would have no effect on the outcome of the story. But even the consensual sex is disappointing. None (NONE) of the sex scenes have even a paragraph’s worth of foreplay. Sex is 100% just P-n-V. Boring.

I liked the characters, especially Soren and his brothers, and the family made for interesting side characters. But this was a pretty ‘meh’ read for me.

Other Reviews:

Review: The Melier & The Melier: Homeworld by Poppy Rhys

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Book Review: Lord of Population, by Elizabeth Stephens

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A copy of Elizabeth Stephens‘ Lord of Population came in my most recent Renegade Romance book box.
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She thinks she can steal from me, the little human. Adorable. I can’t decide what will be more fun – the hunt, or what I will do to her when I catch her. And I will catch her. There is nowhere she can run.

Abel was of perfectly sound body and mind when she looted the Other’s corpse. He looked dead. Wait. Did he just smirk up at her? No. Definitely not…

Hiding out in an abandoned townhouse, Abel doesn’t expect to hear that same bloodsucking alien come knocking on her door or that, when trouble finds them, he might stand at her back, rather than stab her through it.

But when he offers to help her cross the ruined world of Population, Abel knows better than to believe him. Because when he looks at her, it’s with a hunger that seems to go beyond the taste of her blood and, when he asks for payment, he requires the one thing she can’t give up.

Her trust.

Run all you like, little human. The sword you carry won’t be enough to stop me from coming for you. You’re mine. Blood. Body. Heart.

my review

Goodreads tells me that “Lord of Population is a relaunched and combined edition of Population and Saltlands.” That it is two books combined into one is not surprising. You feel it as a reader. In fact, it feels like three. Arc one is Abel meeting and falling for Kane. Book two would be Abel and Mikael’s rescue plot. The third is dealing with Elise. (I hope I made those vague enough that those who’ve read it recognize what I mean, and it isn’t spoiled for those who haven’t.) So, yeah, the book is a little clunky in that regard. But at no point was I like, “OMG, when will this end?!”

I had other complaints. The book starts out giving you a rough, tough, alpha bad-ass alien. Then, he pretty quickly turns into a mild-mannered feudal lord, loved by his subjects, one and all. *Whiplash…and disappointment* The plot pretty predictable. I can’t think of a single twist that caught me off-guard, not even the last one. And the editing starts to fall apart toward the end (both copy edits and content edits). For example, we’re told someone is clean-shaven, and then, on the same page, Abel touches the person’s beard.

Complaints or not, however, I generally enjoyed this. I liked the characters. There are a few heavy topics dealt with. While rape in the dystopian world is inferred, it never happens on-page to the main character (so I didn’t have to read it). And I liked the story in general, better than I liked Taken to Voraxia (which I didn’t hate), for sure.

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Other Reviews:

The Tattered Page: Lord of Population