Tag Archives: romantic sci-fi

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Book Review of Alien Captive, by Lee Savino & Golden Angel

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I picked up a copy of Lee Savino and Golden Angel’s Alien Captive from Amazon, I think on a free day.

Who knew reading sexy alien abduction stories could get a girl into trouble?

Or that an e-reader could also be the gateway to another galaxy? I definitely didn’t… but here I am anyway, mated to the Tsenturion High Commander just like the unwilling human heroines in my favorite sci-fi romances.

The Commander demands obedience. He intends to claim me, train me, and turn me into his perfect little pleasure trophy.

He doesn’t believe in love. I don’t believe in giving in without a fight.

There’s no amount of discipline or ecstasy that could break me to his will… I hope.

Alien Captive is a hot alien abduction romance, starring one feisty human and the Tsenturion Warrior strong enough to master her.

Utterly ridiculous, but not taking itself too seriously either. Meta enough to make it interesting, as Dawn is well aware that her predicament is predicated on her favorite fictional erotic books (which are just like this one), but that fantasies aren’t necessarily what one wants in reality.

Unfortunately, the book lacks in connection. Several of the important conversations that need to be had either aren’t had or are had with the wrong person. Essentially, Dawn and Gavrill may speak to others, but when together they’re entirely inside their own heads. They don’t have conversations, they just fuck. I couldn’t feel their love grow in the slightest. Further, all that sex got boring. It’s not just that there’s so much of it (I would expect that in an erotic novel). It’s that it’s all basically the same and eventually it felt redundant. Lastly, Dawn’s ‘misunderstanding’ felt forced and artificial. It’s been done better a thousand times before.

The writing is pretty sound though. And I feel like the authors tried to grapple with the fact that the ‘brides’ will be enslaved, even if that word isn’t ever used The reader is supposed to understand they love their situations. I never could quite make the leap, personally. I also thought some of the BDSM tropes felt shoehorned into the plot, honestly.

All in all, not great. But not a horrible version of what it is either.

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Review of Tiny and Fierce, by Margo Bond Collins & Eli Constant

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I Picked up a copy of  Tiny and Fierce, by Margo Bond Collins and Eli Constant through Booksprout.

Description from Goodreads:

In a galaxy where humans are considered the least of all races, she’ll build a crew that adores her strength and style.

When Tommelise took over her family’s deep-space salvage company, she never expected to stumble through a wormhole into a whole other galaxy full of strange alien races ruled by a cruel empress.

She learns she’s not the first human to wind up there—but all the others were captured and sold as slaves. She’ll have to fight to stay alive.

She thought all she wanted was to find a way home. But then she fell in love—three times over—and learned that together, her men would fight three times as fiercely.

Now, to keep her loves alive, she’ll have to free an entire system.

Review:

Utterly and completely bonkers, but kinda sweet too. I appreciate that, of the three men in the harem, only one is truly humanoid. The others, walk up-right (most of the time) but have alien anatomies that make for interesting reading and one eye-opening sex scene (the only one in the book and it’s mild). The plot is pretty ludicrous and things happy pretty helter-skelter. (I mean Lise manages to trip and fall through TWO uncharted wormholes in occupied space, for example!) But it’s still enjoyable all the same.

I didn’t like that the women the crew rescued were continuously referred to as the “slave women,” “slave stock,” “slaves,” etc. Emphasizing their status as former slaves over that of autonomous women. There was only one group of women. “The women” would have sufficed and made them feel like actual individuals and less like commodities, serving the theme of the book better I think.

All in all, however, I thought it a pretty piece of fluff and don’t consider the time I spent reading it wasted.

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Book Review of Peacemaker, by E.M. Hamill

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I received a copy of E.M. Hamill‘s Peacemaker through Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:

Third-gender operative Dalí Tamareia thought their life as an ambassador ended when they joined a galactic intelligence agency. When they’re yanked out of the field and tapped to negotiate the surrender of deadly bio-engineered warriors who crashed into hostile territory, Dalí is thrust headfirst back into the tumultuous world of galactic diplomacy.

Dalí has faced Shontavians before, but not like these. The stranded mercenaries are highly intelligent and have an agenda of their own. Dalí can’t afford to be distracted from the negotiations by their own demons or the presence of a charming diplomat with a mysterious past.

As a brewing civil war threatens to derail the entire mission, Dali must use all their skills to bring this dangerous situation to a peaceful end—but the Shontavians may not be the biggest monsters at the table. Someone is determined to see Dalí and their team dead before they discover the brutal truth hidden in the wreckage.

Review:

It took me a little while to get into this book. I think mostly because it’s been a while since I read the first one and I didn’t remember a lot. But by the time the plot really got rolling, I’d mostly caught up. I enjoyed quite a lot about it. Dali is a likable character. The universe is an interesting one, and the plot kept me engaged (even if very little of it was a surprise). The one thing I didn’t see coming, the twist at the end, didn’t feel believable, however. I can think of several ways it might play out and become more believable though. So, I look forward to the continuation to see what happens.