Scan barcode
almoore5's review
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Trafficking, Violence, and Vomit
lanidon's review
2.0
Is this book good?
No.
Am I going to read the next one?
Absolutely yes
I think a large factor that brought this book down is the lack of warning about the graphic sexual assault content. All the women in this book were sex trafficked by aliens (not the blue ice ones) and multiple are assaulted. That is not something I expect or anticipate from a romance. Even though they are "saved" by the end of the book, it's very heavy content that should have been made clear before starting
I will read the next one in hopes that it is a lighter experience. I understand likely all of them will include pregnancy as a significant focus so honestly this series probably will not be for me. I do very much like the world building and the character design of the blue aliens. I enjoy the resiliency of the women. I just think it's lacking in romance development as well as tone. Both of those are key in a book like this and without them it is not a compelling story
No.
Am I going to read the next one?
Absolutely yes
I think a large factor that brought this book down is the lack of warning about the graphic sexual assault content. All the women in this book were sex trafficked by aliens (not the blue ice ones) and multiple are assaulted. That is not something I expect or anticipate from a romance. Even though they are "saved" by the end of the book, it's very heavy content that should have been made clear before starting
I will read the next one in hopes that it is a lighter experience. I understand likely all of them will include pregnancy as a significant focus so honestly this series probably will not be for me. I do very much like the world building and the character design of the blue aliens. I enjoy the resiliency of the women. I just think it's lacking in romance development as well as tone. Both of those are key in a book like this and without them it is not a compelling story
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Trafficking
All the women were kidnapped by aliens to be sex trafficked to another planet, notably NOT the planet nor the aliens in the romance portion of these books. The captors rape multiple women in the first section of the bookkbairbooks's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Well hot damn. I finally gave in to the hype and wooooooooooie! This book was sexy, fun, surprisingly…. Dare I say realistic? I dunno I really enjoyed it and I’m about to start book 2 right away.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Trafficking, and Violence
natverse's review
dark
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Well, I read it. I don't know what to do with this information I have now about this book/series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Confinement, Excrement, Sexual assault, and Slavery
rachratesreads's review
WARNING: This review discusses sexual assault and uses curse words
Holy shit this was bad. When I picked this up, I was expecting a fanfic-esque romp and weird alien anatomy, but that is NOT what I got. About 11 pages in, the main character watches another girl be violently r*ped by their alien captors. This was there for nothing but shock value and really bothered me. It was a “this is what happens when we act out of line” sort of thing, but that didn’t even make sense? If they wanted the captives to be quiet, why do something that would undoubtedly make them scream? I digress, this isn’t about the books shitty logic. This scene wasn’t romanticized, the r*pist got his head bashed in a few pages later, so I was willing to keep reading. Then I got to the introduction of the alien love interest (did I mention this is supposed to be a romance novel?). He finds the protagonist unconscious in the snow, and his first instinct is to carry her to a cave. What does he do next? Strips her naked and performs oral sex WHILE SHE IS STILL UNCONSCIOUS. She wakes up and rather than be terrified by the big, blue alien going down on her, she just decides “yeah, this is fine, it feels good anyways” and goes with it. She was held captive on an alien ship where the main threat was extra-violent r*pe and she’s suddenly okay with this non-con act for no reason? Who am I kidding, this book logic was thrown out the window in the first few pages. Anyways, this (page 39) is where I decided to stop. This was not okay in any context, but ESPECIALLY not okay knowing this book was written in 2015. Really? We’re still romanticizing non-con and dub-con in romance novels? Really? This book gets 1 angry girl out of 1.
Holy shit this was bad. When I picked this up, I was expecting a fanfic-esque romp and weird alien anatomy, but that is NOT what I got. About 11 pages in, the main character watches another girl be violently r*ped by their alien captors. This was there for nothing but shock value and really bothered me. It was a “this is what happens when we act out of line” sort of thing, but that didn’t even make sense? If they wanted the captives to be quiet, why do something that would undoubtedly make them scream? I digress, this isn’t about the books shitty logic. This scene wasn’t romanticized, the r*pist got his head bashed in a few pages later, so I was willing to keep reading. Then I got to the introduction of the alien love interest (did I mention this is supposed to be a romance novel?). He finds the protagonist unconscious in the snow, and his first instinct is to carry her to a cave. What does he do next? Strips her naked and performs oral sex WHILE SHE IS STILL UNCONSCIOUS. She wakes up and rather than be terrified by the big, blue alien going down on her, she just decides “yeah, this is fine, it feels good anyways” and goes with it. She was held captive on an alien ship where the main threat was extra-violent r*pe and she’s suddenly okay with this non-con act for no reason? Who am I kidding, this book logic was thrown out the window in the first few pages. Anyways, this (page 39) is where I decided to stop. This was not okay in any context, but ESPECIALLY not okay knowing this book was written in 2015. Really? We’re still romanticizing non-con and dub-con in romance novels? Really? This book gets 1 angry girl out of 1.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Slavery
Moderate: Violence, Gore, and Slavery
caffeinatedfae's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Rating: 3.5 Caffeinated Stars
Spice Level: 2/3 Steaming Coffees
CW: Rape, Pregnancy, Insta-mate
Okay, where to begin? When Spicy BookTok told me I had to read this book, I was, well, a little hesitant. I've never read an Alien Romance, and I honestly never planned to. I finally caved when I saw the new special edition book offered up on NetGalley. I figured there was nothing to lose, and I jumped in.
Ice Planet Barbarians is one of those books that sucks you in. I enjoyed seeing how the plot played out. The world created was interesting enough, and the story was entertaining. It is your typical fated mates book but with the added spice of Aliens instead of a paranormal creature. The spice level was 2/3 Pumpkin Spice Lattes. There were lots (and I do mean lots) of graphic sex, but nothing too taboo or kinky. If I'm honest, some of the sex scenes were a bit too repetitive but still entertaining.
The plot was interesting, and the world was fascinating, but I kind of wish I would have gotten to know the characters more. Instead, we were thrust into the action, and I was left a bit disappointed when it came to character development. I'm a character-driven reader, so I wanted the characters to be three-dimensional and not so flat. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the characters and loved how strong Georgie was. It was also entertaining to see Georgie from Vektal's perspective.
All in all, I enjoyed it. I'm going to have to continue on in the series. The book was entertaining, and I'm invested in the story.
Spice Level: 2/3 Steaming Coffees
CW: Rape, Pregnancy, Insta-mate
Okay, where to begin? When Spicy BookTok told me I had to read this book, I was, well, a little hesitant. I've never read an Alien Romance, and I honestly never planned to. I finally caved when I saw the new special edition book offered up on NetGalley. I figured there was nothing to lose, and I jumped in.
Ice Planet Barbarians is one of those books that sucks you in. I enjoyed seeing how the plot played out. The world created was interesting enough, and the story was entertaining. It is your typical fated mates book but with the added spice of Aliens instead of a paranormal creature. The spice level was 2/3 Pumpkin Spice Lattes. There were lots (and I do mean lots) of graphic sex, but nothing too taboo or kinky. If I'm honest, some of the sex scenes were a bit too repetitive but still entertaining.
The plot was interesting, and the world was fascinating, but I kind of wish I would have gotten to know the characters more. Instead, we were thrust into the action, and I was left a bit disappointed when it came to character development. I'm a character-driven reader, so I wanted the characters to be three-dimensional and not so flat. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the characters and loved how strong Georgie was. It was also entertaining to see Georgie from Vektal's perspective.
All in all, I enjoyed it. I'm going to have to continue on in the series. The book was entertaining, and I'm invested in the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Slavery
_savannahreads_'s review
dark
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Excrement, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Trafficking, and Violence
meliroo's review
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Trafficking
rachelreadsrelentlessly's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I’m not the right audience for this, but I wanted to give it a shot… ugh. It actually had decent plotting when it tried, but this wasn’t my speed.
I also found the way the MC kept referring to the aliens as barbarians slightly irritating. They’re not, they’re just different to her than humans…
I also found the way the MC kept referring to the aliens as barbarians slightly irritating. They’re not, they’re just different to her than humans…
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Sexual content
Moderate: Confinement
Minor: Misogyny, Slavery, and Trafficking
akaelissa's review
emotional
fast-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping and Slavery
Minor: Rape