A review by litty_lydi
Barbarian's Hope by Ruby Dixon

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

After nine books of interspecies relationships, we get our first story featuring alien-on-alien contact and it's a second chance romance!

"I thought maybe if you had time to yourself, time to heal, then you would come back to me. And even if you did not come back to me, if you were happy, I could live with that. It is your sadness that tears me apart."


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Asha and Hemalo's journey began seasons ago when their unlikely resonance brought them together. Extroverted and spirited, Asha was uncertain about being mated to the quiet and reserved Hemalo. Their bond was tested when their first child tragically passed shortly after birth, plunging Asha into an all-consuming grief that drove a wedge between her and everyone she loved—including Hemalo.

Now, fate has intervened again: Asha and Hemalo have unexpectedly resonated once more. She must confront her deepest fears, opening her heart to the possibility of healing, another child, and the man she once vowed to call her mate. But the scars of loss run deep, and Asha and Hemalo's past threatens to overshadow any chance of a future together.

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This was a re-read in preparation for the special edition release, and considering last time I read this was last spring where I binged 15 IPB books in the matter of like 2 weeks... I needed this reread to refresh my memory. Up to this point in the series, Asha has always been presented as, quite frankly, a bitch. But getting this story, not only from her and Hemalo's POV, but also the bonus added POV from Claire, really helped "humanize" her, for lack of a better term. She was going through it, and felt like she had no one to lean on (partially her fault, but the prolonged grief and internalized blame definitely played a big factor in her behaviour). Hemalo definitely had some reflecting to do to, mainly in the vein of better communication, or really any communication (typical man).

In typical IPB fashion, it made me laugh, made me emo at times, and of course a little flushed. Getting the switch to an alien pairing was a nice change of pace, and having Claire explain to Asha some of the human tricks for pleasuring an alien actually had me laughing out loud.

Oh! And of course the added bonus chapter featuring Megan and Cashol was a nice little treat.

I do like to believe that there's a timeline where I live on Not-Hoth.

Disclaimer: I received a free digital arc from Berkley Romance via NetGalley.

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you see the problem with rereading one IPB book is I now feel the deep need to reread them all. I forget how much of a comfort read these are :\

full review to come 💙
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