He’s the biggest jerk in the galaxy.
I can live with being stuck on the far end of space. I can live with having to spend weeks on an abandoned station in an asteroid belt. Sure, I don’t belong, but I’ve got my book and my eight-legged attack cat with me. I should be fine.
I’m not fine.
My alien host, Jerrok, is a jerk. He’s surly and unpleasant. He hasn’t bathed in years. He’s part cyborg – and all those parts seem to be falling to pieces. He’s the one in charge of this remote station, which means we’re forced to interact. It’s an absolutely miserable situation for both of us…
…until I realize that all his anger and bluster is covering the fact that he’s thoughtful and understanding. He’s protective, too, keeping me safe when the bad guys approach. When I get hurt, he’s the one tenderly caring for my wounds.
Jerrok is also intensely, utterly lonely, just like me.
As time passes, I start to wonder…maybe where I belong isn’t a place…but a person.
A bit of a slow start, then I got into it. I didn’t realize how long this was 😂 I think it could have been pared back some, especially the part where they just needed to tell each other what they wanted went on a little long for me.
I liked these two for each other and how having a place she felt safe let Sophie finally move past her trauma. I thought it was cute that they were both total homebodies who would really just have the place to themselves 😂
There was one minor storyline I was worried might become a focus of the climax, but was relieved it did not.
Now that I’m writing sci-fi romance, I knew I’d need to read Ice Planet Barbarians, even though what I’m writing is basically space opera centered on a relationship versus alien mates (a large part of the SFR sub-genre so far).