Tag: Victoria Aveline

Categories
Romance Science Fiction

Read Resisting Maxu

Read Resisting Maxu (Clecanian, #6)

Being kidnapped by aliens and whisked away to another planet isn’t always a bad thing…

Meg isn’t like the other alien abduction survivors. She doesn’t missmuch of anything from her former life—least of all her deadbeat husband. Her Clecanian rescuers gave her a fresh start, and she plans to enjoy it. Being recognized as a mate is not on her agenda. Too bad a grumpy, possessive, and all-kinds-of-sexy alien has other plans for her…

Maxu never expected to find his fated mate. But he recognized Meg at first sight. Sadly, she’s not as pleased with the match as he is. She’s guarded in a way he doesn’t entirely understand and pushes him away at every turn.

Meg can run, but she soon realizes there’s nowhere to hide—not from a hunter like Maxu. But that doesn’t mean she’ll give in easily. If he wants a happily ever after with her, he’ll have to fight for it.

That ending! The politics picked up in this one which I think was a good choice. It opens up some more exciting plotlines for the next few books.

Meg had the intensity to match Maxu, though I don’t feel they addressed the issue of her lack of choice. They had some funny confrontations.

The opening premise seemed sus — would this society really lock up someone who just recognized their mate?

Maxu came off pretty selfish and self-centered in a lot of his choices, especially the things he stole.

It was fun to take a tour of the other cities and explore so many different cultures. It seems weird that their cultures and genetics would remain quite so distinct — makes me suspect they need more intermingling of genes and cultures to help resolve their reproductive problems.

I appreciated having a lesbian couple as a subplot, though I would have liked them to have had more screen time/ banter together, or maybe more nudging of both individuals by their friends.

Categories
Romance Science Fiction

Read Releasing Maladek

Read Claimed Among the Stars

From the anthology Claimed Among the Stars. Good night, 5700 pages for $3!? I might pay that for a single story 😳 Mostly authors I don’t recognize but hopefully will find some new ones I like.

No listing for it but I think it’s a novella.

Follows a character from the previous book, Using Fejo, who was kind of a bad guy but redeems himself, and there’s also more background to his choices.

Enjoyed this. Hero was a little aggro to start but calmed down once he got over his shock. Heroine maybe forgave him a little too quickly for tieing her up and gagging her, even if it was to keep her safe. Liked the climax scene, shit really hits the fan but the heroine is very brave and proactive (even if the hero’s physical feats strain credulity). Steamy 🔥

I kind of imagined a purple Hellboy, with the sawed off horn thing 😂

Categories
Romance Science Fiction

Read Using Fejo

Read Using Fejo (Clecanian, #5) by Victoria Aveline

Vanessa doesn’t have the luxury of building a happily ever after on a new planet like her fellow alien abduction survivors. She must get back to Earth. Her family needs her, and she can’t afford to let them down again. So, she’ll find a way to break Clecanian law and get home—even if she has to marry (and betray) a sexy space pirate to do it.

Fejo can’t believe his luck when Vanessa, a gorgeous human with a sharp tongue, chooses him as her husband. He doesn’t know what he did to win her favor, but he’s determined to do everything in his power to make her happy. If only he could figure out why his alien bride is so reluctant to accept the kindness—and pleasure—he’s so eager to offer.

Vanessa’s plan was simple. Until she started falling for her ridiculously charming husband. Now, she has to figure out how to get home without breaking Fejo’s heart—or her own. Easy, right?

Didn’t like this as well as the previous books in the series, which is disappointing because the hero seemed fun and intriguing. The heroine changed her mind too quickly when he got his marks. The ending took a weird turn — I think the author realized she’d written herself too much plot and the epilogue became where she could do a lot of summarizing to wrap up the loose ends that would have taken too long to tell completely. I would have liked to see the hero get a little more time at the end to cement his better self-value. There’s also no clear setup of who the next couple is — probably Daisy?

Categories
Romance Science Fiction

Re-read Freeing Luka

Read Freeing Luka (Clecanian #2)

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.

I feel like there’s a mismatch between the first half of the book and the second half. The hero is drugged in the first half, so you don’t expect him to act himself, but also he seems like a totally different person that she wouldn’t necessarily like anymore? I guess that’s played up by how he acts unintentionally like a dick due to some cultural misunderstandings at the midpoint of the book.

Always love a scientist main character, especially an ecologist. (His reasons for studying ecology seem a little contrived but sure, I’ll go with it.)

It’s weird that in a society where so few men are able to find a partner, there aren’t more bi or gay men? (Any?)

Categories
Romance Science Fiction

Read The Clecanian Series

Read Victoria Aveline: My Books

CHOOSING THEO
Being kidnapped by aliens is only the start of Jade’s problems. Thankfully, her rescuers, an alien race known as the Clecanians, are willing to protect her, but she has to stay on their planet for one year and respect the rules of their culture—including choosing a husband.

Over the weekend I went on a reading binge and read all four Clecanian series books that are out now. I ordered a new Kindle that includes a few months of Kindle Unlimited so I’m trying to read a bunch on there while I have it so I can cancel it before I have to pay again 😎

Choosing Theo

Not what I’d expected but I mostly enjoyed it. I kept picturing John Wick, with different tragic backstory. I didn’t like a few more violent aspects of the ending.

I’m not into alien abduction stories, but this one worked since the hero wasn’t involved in the abduction aspect.

Freeing Luka

I liked the first part but banged my head against the wall for the misunderstanding at the middle. Luka’s personality was different than I had anticipated.

Saving Verakko

Love Lily’s outdoor skills and her dynamic with Verakko. Their misunderstanding was a little frustrating but I liked the resolution.

Tempting Auzed

I liked this, though I thought the heroine’s motivation needed to be a little stronger — some actual reminiscing about her brother would have helped versus offhand references. The other city described here was really interesting and magical sounding.