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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
Two stars only because it was a better book than the first one in this series. But I have to be honest ... these aliens are just gross. At the two-thirds mark I'm done with it and have no desire to see how this plays out.
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Tough subject matter that the author managed to make humorous and emotional. Laughed more than expected. Bit predictable
This was quite the departure from the 1st book. Most of the humor is stripped away and added is a large dose of pain and angst. And that's okay, if you're looking for a book that examines the healing power of love.
Personally, I found it too heavy to be emotionally fulfilling. YMMV.
SPOILERS:
The most compelling aspect of their relationship was that they were definitely soulmates, having awareness of each other their entire lives, across galaxies. Very heartwarming.
I also liked that they explored 4 characters' struggles with a pregnancy resulting from rape and what that would mean to him/her. 4 very different points of view.
I do need to mention that, IMO, the author misportrayed the other human females' reactions and actions toward Callie, who was brutally raped in front of them all. Many of the women gossiped about her and the extended rape experience openly in front of the victim. They also said unkind things about her personally. I call BS. Each woman's experience at the auction was different, but had the potential to be the exact same as Callie's. I can't see their unkind reactions actually happening. But then again, maybe I have too much faith in humans.
Personally, I found it too heavy to be emotionally fulfilling. YMMV.
SPOILERS:
The most compelling aspect of their relationship was that they were definitely soulmates, having awareness of each other their entire lives, across galaxies. Very heartwarming.
I also liked that they explored 4 characters' struggles with a pregnancy resulting from rape and what that would mean to him/her. 4 very different points of view.
I do need to mention that, IMO, the author misportrayed the other human females' reactions and actions toward Callie, who was brutally raped in front of them all. Many of the women gossiped about her and the extended rape experience openly in front of the victim. They also said unkind things about her personally. I call BS. Each woman's experience at the auction was different, but had the potential to be the exact same as Callie's. I can't see their unkind reactions actually happening. But then again, maybe I have too much faith in humans.
This book took place at the same time as the previous book in this series, but it skipped a lot of the previous book's timeline and really started where the previous book was about 3/4 finished. It then took the story arc further. The same characters from the previous book were in this one, but like most paranormal or romance series the focus was on a new "couple".
In this book there were elements that were different between the hero and heroine than in the previous one.
In this book our hero is the older and bigger/badder brother of the hero in the previous book. He has rescued what turns out to be the woman he has been literally dreaming of his whole life from gang-rape. We don't read about the actual rape, and we don't get much in the way of flashbacks, and the aliens that raped her were not humanoid so there isn't too much of a trigger (imho).
The heroine is very jumpy, and deals with depression and flashbacks of her attack. However, she too has been dreaming of this alien hero throughout her life. It turns out that the music she has heard in her head her entire life - which was the catalyst to her dancing career- was her alien hero "talking" to her in his dreams.
This book spends time with the hero and heroine struggling to help the heroine work through the trauma she suffered at the hands (claws?) of her attackers and also further develops the story-line of life on an alien planet where the humans are being held in "captivity" with their new alien mates to be studied (most humanly) by another alien species.
There are the same secondary characters in the previous book, and its pretty obvious that the series is going to focus on them in the next books.
Note - this book contains multiple chapters of a new book further down the series at the end which make it a bit longer than it should read in the page count. Also, this author does like her spaces between paragraphs, which also bumps up the page count. However, the story is well fleshed out, there is character development and growth, and like the previous book the sex is not a major part of the book. It is character and story driven, and not set up with various scenes only providing a scaffold to raunchy alien sex. So...if you're looking for that, you will be disappointed.
In this book there were elements that were different between the hero and heroine than in the previous one.
In this book our hero is the older and bigger/badder brother of the hero in the previous book. He has rescued what turns out to be the woman he has been literally dreaming of his whole life from gang-rape. We don't read about the actual rape, and we don't get much in the way of flashbacks, and the aliens that raped her were not humanoid so there isn't too much of a trigger (imho).
The heroine is very jumpy, and deals with depression and flashbacks of her attack. However, she too has been dreaming of this alien hero throughout her life. It turns out that the music she has heard in her head her entire life - which was the catalyst to her dancing career- was her alien hero "talking" to her in his dreams.
This book spends time with the hero and heroine struggling to help the heroine work through the trauma she suffered at the hands (claws?) of her attackers and also further develops the story-line of life on an alien planet where the humans are being held in "captivity" with their new alien mates to be studied (most humanly) by another alien species.
There are the same secondary characters in the previous book, and its pretty obvious that the series is going to focus on them in the next books.
Note - this book contains multiple chapters of a new book further down the series at the end which make it a bit longer than it should read in the page count. Also, this author does like her spaces between paragraphs, which also bumps up the page count. However, the story is well fleshed out, there is character development and growth, and like the previous book the sex is not a major part of the book. It is character and story driven, and not set up with various scenes only providing a scaffold to raunchy alien sex. So...if you're looking for that, you will be disappointed.
dark
emotional
slow-paced
2.5 suffers from the same issues as the last, gets boring and feels way too long.
4 stars - I really did love this book! FMC SA is pretty brutal but they don’t really describe it. It’s just in small bits and pieces through flashbacks. MMC is incredible - everyone is scared AF of him and FMC is really strong, competent, and just really struggling through her trauma. It’s really beautiful how they show their relationship and how sweet and gentle MMC is to FMC. It's really sweet. But star taken off as it is definitely too descriptive, "lots of telling vs. showing" which I think is Amanda Milo's writing. I also would have to re-read paragraphs on the same page because it would suddenly shift to something else. Needs a good editing and this book would be great. Overall great caretaking vibes.
This was such a powerful read and showed the complexity of healing from trauma and how supportive the MMC was in reminding her of her own agency, strength, and ability to overcome. He didn’t try to save her but rather supported her to be able to save herself. (he did save her a bit though)
This was such a powerful read and showed the complexity of healing from trauma and how supportive the MMC was in reminding her of her own agency, strength, and ability to overcome. He didn’t try to save her but rather supported her to be able to save herself. (he did save her a bit though)
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Kidnapping, Car accident, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail
