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A review by amanda_p
Heart of the Agraak by S.J. Sanders
4.0
The lengthiest Mate Index book to date, this is also—in my opinion—the strongest one of the batch. Watching Sander's writing abilities and story telling style evolve over the year has been enjoyable to witness. Though still plagued with the editing issues that often accompany indie-published work, they are a minor distraction that do not muddle the meaning of the story or derail the reader. (But seriously, S.J., if you need another proof reader to catch typos, I will happily be your gal.)
Finally, we get a story told from the POV of the Agraak—one of the big villains of the Mate Index universe. We have previously known them as oily toad men with a taste for hyper-aggression and rape. With the exception of an Agraak merchant and her mate we met in a previous story, they have all been nasty pieces of work. But. It turns out that the majority of the Agraak are not the issue, but rather the upper echelons of Agraak society, those most removed from the natural state of their species. In this story we follow Kaede, a male of noble birth who shuns the expectations of his class and goes on a personal mission to help those most in need: the humans in the dreaded breeding facility and the Arobi slaves. When Intergalactic Union forces are taken by surprise during an exercise to free human breeders, a female human soldier needs to be safely taken from the city and stashed in the swamps until rescue can be coordinated. No one is better suited than he is, and of course he accepts the task.
Frankie would do anything to find out what happened to her twin sister Alisha, one of the 100 women the Budo tricked into becoming breeding slaves for the Agraak. Because of the restrictions Earth has placed on single young women, she goes to great lengths to enlist as a man and maintain that ruse. Finally reaching Agraadax, Frankie finds herself in a situation she wasn't fully prepared to navigate. Soon she finds herself on the run in the Agraadax swamp with a male who is the opposite of what she was prepared to expect from the planet's inhabitants.
This is a good solid read all around; it's hard for me to find much to quibble about. We get a heroine who is strong and determined but also vulnerable. We get a hero who is principled, strong, has feelings other than anger or lust, and who doesn't look to solve everything by going into SMASH mode. Because of the length, this one burns a little slower than previous installments, which only adds to the satisfaction of seeing the two get together. There is an insta-attraction element at play, but both are level headed individuals with agendas they have their sights on. All of the characters were pretty well handled, even the super self-absorbed and vapid noble ranks in the dome city. Lots of adventure and a clear plot that is more polished than the earlier installments in the series round this off.
This is one to read—and can be read as a stand-alone without too many problems. It's worth spending an evening or two with.
It took until book 9, but we finally know what became of the other 89 human women from the first Mate Index book, and their story arc officially gets resolved. Sadly, just under 1/3 of them are dead, discarded for being poor breeders or so badly broken by the process that they're no longer functioning incubators. That was hard to read and realize how many have died over the 5 years since they were taken.
The bonus short story at the end is also really sweet. I was heartbroken knowing what happened to Alisha, and she could not have been rewarded with a better mate. Those swamp-dwelling Agraak? Total sweethearts.
Finally, we get a story told from the POV of the Agraak—one of the big villains of the Mate Index universe. We have previously known them as oily toad men with a taste for hyper-aggression and rape. With the exception of an Agraak merchant and her mate we met in a previous story, they have all been nasty pieces of work. But. It turns out that the majority of the Agraak are not the issue, but rather the upper echelons of Agraak society, those most removed from the natural state of their species. In this story we follow Kaede, a male of noble birth who shuns the expectations of his class and goes on a personal mission to help those most in need: the humans in the dreaded breeding facility and the Arobi slaves. When Intergalactic Union forces are taken by surprise during an exercise to free human breeders, a female human soldier needs to be safely taken from the city and stashed in the swamps until rescue can be coordinated. No one is better suited than he is, and of course he accepts the task.
Frankie would do anything to find out what happened to her twin sister Alisha, one of the 100 women the Budo tricked into becoming breeding slaves for the Agraak. Because of the restrictions Earth has placed on single young women, she goes to great lengths to enlist as a man and maintain that ruse. Finally reaching Agraadax, Frankie finds herself in a situation she wasn't fully prepared to navigate. Soon she finds herself on the run in the Agraadax swamp with a male who is the opposite of what she was prepared to expect from the planet's inhabitants.
This is a good solid read all around; it's hard for me to find much to quibble about. We get a heroine who is strong and determined but also vulnerable. We get a hero who is principled, strong, has feelings other than anger or lust, and who doesn't look to solve everything by going into SMASH mode. Because of the length, this one burns a little slower than previous installments, which only adds to the satisfaction of seeing the two get together. There is an insta-attraction element at play, but both are level headed individuals with agendas they have their sights on. All of the characters were pretty well handled, even the super self-absorbed and vapid noble ranks in the dome city. Lots of adventure and a clear plot that is more polished than the earlier installments in the series round this off.
This is one to read—and can be read as a stand-alone without too many problems. It's worth spending an evening or two with.
It took until book 9, but we finally know what became of the other 89 human women from the first Mate Index book, and their story arc officially gets resolved.
The bonus short story at the end is also really sweet. I was heartbroken knowing what happened to Alisha, and she could not have been rewarded with a better mate. Those swamp-dwelling Agraak? Total sweethearts.