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samagader35's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Slavery, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Trafficking, Violence, and Sexual content
Minor: Rape and Pregnancy
erinreadstoomuch's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As a proud IPB lover- this was up to standard! I know this was a “hot” booktok book for a minute but I think it has staying power and I will be reading the rest 😈
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Kidnapping
Minor: Pregnancy
zimmerlemon's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
5.0
Ok tbh for a fun summer smutty read that was a freaking slay. I loved the characters and it was so endearing lol and who wouldn’t want a big house full of soft couches and a funny dog and a hunky protective alien man? Scrumptious. Just ignore the cover if you need to bc that was delish and I wanna reread immediately.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual assault
raindrops333's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Sexual content, Violence, and Classism
gracescross's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Kidnapping, Trafficking, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Violence, Sexual harassment, Infertility, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Medical content
neighbor_reads's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
2.5
Check your trigger warnings. I don't mind a check-your-brain-at-the-door book, but this was a bit much. Almost to the point of parody, but then includes a decent amount of heavy stuff. Not for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Confinement, and Kidnapping
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Torture, and Pregnancy
jsant's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Racy SciFi romance, NSFW.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Kidnapping and Confinement
amylynn44's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Sexual content, and Kidnapping
Minor: Racism, Violence, and Animal cruelty
calicohearts's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Trafficking, Kidnapping, Infertility, and Sexual content
Minor: Rape
anxious_librarian's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
I was expecting a bit more from this if I’m being honest. The reviews got me ready for something new and exciting, but this was so solidly middle of the road I have to wonder if I was reading a different book than everyone else.
The plot is something that’s been done before - abducting human women from Earth to try to fix their species’ fertility problems - but the way their society works was different. Men outnumber the women 20 to 1, so they’ve adapted to a matriarchal society and customs that ensure women are protected.
Yes, this does mean that a lot of the women’s value comes from their ability to give birth. However, their society is very accepting of queer relationships. Not what I was expecting but it was more than welcome! Any gender or preference is welcome but men who wish for children can opt to participate in a marriage which gives them 3 months to show the woman that chooses him that they’d be a good provider to any children.
It’s a little wonky but in the end it works. Jade had some reasonable concerns about choice and consent, which are taken very seriously on their planet, but I couldn’t get over how everyone was getting on her case about not judging their culture before she got to know it. Like, people, you educated her on nothing before tossing her into this. Girl is asking questions. Let her ask questions.
What little smut there was, was good. Some mild primal play for ya there if that’s something you like! No fun alien bits though *sad face* With the exception of some of the women having slightly more exaggerated features and everyone having light body markings, these aliens are more or less human in appearance.
The one interesting thing I noticed here was the story had a lot of similarities to the story of Hades and Persephone. Woman abducted to a strange place, married to a guy for a certain amount of time before she can leave, the guy in question is seen as a loner/darker than his peers and lives separately from them, guy has a funky dog. The FMC also kept getting dressed in green and mentioned growing a garden.
I have no idea if all that was intentional, but once I chose to see it as a sci-fi retelling I enjoyed it much more.
Perhaps my biggest gripe with this book was the writing. It was very basic. Nothing felt like it was written with feeling, all telling and no showing with little description. I wasn’t engaged in what was happening because there weren’t many instances where we got to know what a character was really feeling. I suspect 1st person may have helped with this rather than the 3rd person past tense it was written in.
There were also far too many chapters (38 of them) and they were very inconsistent in length for no reason I could discern. The first 10 chapters could have easily been condensed to 3 which would have made it less jarring when we suddenly get Theo’s POV, although he’s introduced so far into the story it may or may not have helped.
There isn’t much else to say. This story wasn’t great but it wasn’t terrible either. As I said at the start, very middle of the road. I wish we’d gotten more details, character descriptions and so on sprinkled throughout to really bring the world to life.
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐ | Story: ⭐⭐⭐ | Writing: ⭐⭐⭐ | Characters: ⭐⭐⭐
CW: abduction, attempted SA
The plot is something that’s been done before - abducting human women from Earth to try to fix their species’ fertility problems - but the way their society works was different. Men outnumber the women 20 to 1, so they’ve adapted to a matriarchal society and customs that ensure women are protected.
Yes, this does mean that a lot of the women’s value comes from their ability to give birth. However, their society is very accepting of queer relationships. Not what I was expecting but it was more than welcome! Any gender or preference is welcome but men who wish for children can opt to participate in a marriage which gives them 3 months to show the woman that chooses him that they’d be a good provider to any children.
It’s a little wonky but in the end it works. Jade had some reasonable concerns about choice and consent, which are taken very seriously on their planet, but I couldn’t get over how everyone was getting on her case about not judging their culture before she got to know it. Like, people, you educated her on nothing before tossing her into this. Girl is asking questions. Let her ask questions.
What little smut there was, was good. Some mild primal play for ya there if that’s something you like! No fun alien bits though *sad face* With the exception of some of the women having slightly more exaggerated features and everyone having light body markings, these aliens are more or less human in appearance.
The one interesting thing I noticed here was the story had a lot of similarities to the story of Hades and Persephone. Woman abducted to a strange place, married to a guy for a certain amount of time before she can leave, the guy in question is seen as a loner/darker than his peers and lives separately from them, guy has a funky dog. The FMC also kept getting dressed in green and mentioned growing a garden.
I have no idea if all that was intentional, but once I chose to see it as a sci-fi retelling I enjoyed it much more.
Perhaps my biggest gripe with this book was the writing. It was very basic. Nothing felt like it was written with feeling, all telling and no showing with little description. I wasn’t engaged in what was happening because there weren’t many instances where we got to know what a character was really feeling. I suspect 1st person may have helped with this rather than the 3rd person past tense it was written in.
There were also far too many chapters (38 of them) and they were very inconsistent in length for no reason I could discern. The first 10 chapters could have easily been condensed to 3 which would have made it less jarring when we suddenly get Theo’s POV, although he’s introduced so far into the story it may or may not have helped.
There isn’t much else to say. This story wasn’t great but it wasn’t terrible either. As I said at the start, very middle of the road. I wish we’d gotten more details, character descriptions and so on sprinkled throughout to really bring the world to life.
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐ | Story: ⭐⭐⭐ | Writing: ⭐⭐⭐ | Characters: ⭐⭐⭐
CW: abduction, attempted SA
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault and Kidnapping