Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Freeing Luka

be reduced to an animal-like state due to being so drugged out on LUST drugs (that let the Insurgents or PRICs take semen samples wth). So this wasn't the captivity I was expecting to read. Luka instantly recognizes Alice as his mate too. Alice manages to escape (a little too easily, but its a novella), and help free ~5 or so other human women too, and they're instantly found by Izzo, Luka's brother, who is instantly attracted to Daisy.

Turns out Luka was an undercover researcher to try to infiltrate the Insurgents. From book 1 these are the guys trying to find a compatible alien to breed with to save their species. They discover their operation is a lot bigger than they thought. After the women are taken to live in the Pearl Temple, a group assembles with the Queen Metli, Rhaego, Verreko (a hacker serpent like Clenanian who seems to have persuasive voice powers), Theo and Jade, another human Lucy (who's a big flirt), Asivva (represents the Intergalactic federation), Vila? (a female Clenanian), and maybe some others.

The group discusses the implications that with Alice mating with Luka, its clear humans may mark the return of mating, which will cause a gold rush to get humans from Earth. They discuss long-term how to approach that (trading tech, showing off their hot guys, etc.) but more immediate concerns are around freeing the other Insurgent captives, especially because as humans have been shown to be so compatible they are starting to murder the non-human captives.

Luka and Alice have a tenuous relationship at first as the mating bond causes him to be ridiculous, which makes her think he's not interested, but they bond over their love of research and animals. They also have a lot of sexual attraction.

The book ends with them freeing the humans being held in another lair, a fight happens and Verrecko gets taken by a flying Clenanian, but they prevail and that's pretty much it.

Mainly though I really didn't like Alice. She is everything I hate in a FMC; overly emotional and irrational, cries nonstop, has a history of "bad choices in men," thinks she knows best when CLEARLY she doesn't.

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katiekeske's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

I did not enjoy this book. Well, I did enjoy the first part while they were in captivity, but the scene where they finally see each other again at the meeting with the Queen infuriated me and ruined it for me. I hate when love interests don't communicate with each other. When the drama is all due to them not explaining what they are thinking or feeling, I just can't stand it.

I have read plenty of alien romances where cultural misunderstandings happen, and they can be humorous or overcome after the couple explains things to each other. I feel like these two never actually talk to each other about the misunderstandings between each other. The reader gets to see each character's thoughts and the reasoning behind different actions, but I wanted them to actually sit and explain it to each other.

I was looking forward to reading Luka's book because I love a smart, sweet hero. I like that he's a scientist, and the scenes with Alice at the nature reserve were nice. However, I don't like how these males become @ssholes once they have a mate. Just because he can smell his mate's arousal, doesn't mean he can just ignore whatever words are coming out of her mouth. I found it hypocritical when at one point this is explained about one of the classes the males take at husbandry school -"The males had also learned the importance of consent and how to harness your sexual energy and control that when no willing females were available." AND YET, there are scenes where she's telling him not to touch her and he says it physically hurts him not to. The vibes in this book just irk me. I don't like it. I like a strong, protective hero, but I want them to listen to the heroine, too. Words are important, not just the reactions a person's body has.

I liked Alice in the beginning, but then, especially after that meeting scene I mentioned, it all went down hill. The whole first part of the book it seemed like she was really into Luka and I was looking forward to them getting to know each other and getting to be together. Then it gets ruined and she waffles in her feelings.

I get what the author was trying to go for, but I just did not like it. I have read other books where the love interests meet in a prison or in captivity and then they fall in love while they're trying to escape, and I wished this book was more like those. I think I would have liked this book more if they had been in captivity for longer rather than having to deal with all the weird getting to know you stuff that takes place for the rest of the book.

I have also decided I just do not like the Clecanian culture. I was not super impressed with it when I read the first book, but after reading this one, I don't think I can read anymore of these books. It is supposed to be a matriarchal society, which I would normally be a fan of, but somehow the ways of this one are so toxic to me.

There is one side character that I really like named Rhaego because he seems so sweet and really wants a mate. Though, I worry that if a book is written about him it'll ruin his cinnamon roll essence to me.

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