A review by theladysparks
Saving Verakko by Victoria Aveline

5.0

 

After Lily escapes alien captivity, she decides not to wait for rescue or risk being captured again. Opting to venture into the forest with another survivor named Alex, together they face the challenges of navigating unfamiliar terrain, a better option than the alternative. However, everything changes when the two women are separated and more so when a huge alien unexpectedly lands in Lily’s camp, causing her to question everything. Despite his rude, grumpy demeanor and oddly appealing charm, trusting him seems unwise. Yet, the thought of leaving him behind stirs unexpected emotions.

Verakko's mission was to rescue the abducted humans and return home to fulfill his duties. However, finding himself in the forest beside the most perplexing woman he has ever encountered was not part of his plan. He decides to assist her in finding Alex, getting them safely to a city, and then part ways. But as suspicions arise that Lily might be his destined mate, the situation becomes more complicated.

With Lily's guarded nature and Verakko's hidden truths and obligations, challenges lie ahead. One thing is certain: achieving their happily ever after will require more than just overcoming the forest's dangers.

“I’d follow you anywhere, mivassi. If your face is the only one I see for the rest of my life, I’ll die a happy male.”

Because of this book, I believe my lucky number is the number three. This third book, an absolute banger. Not misses, all hits. I literally cannot get over this book, these characters, and this entire story.

Lily's character as a whole was so interesting to read about simply because her background isn't one that I've seen written about often within the alien romance genre. Lily's parents homeschooled her and her main source of education was essentially how to live off the land in all sorts of places. They flew literally all over the world just so that they could experience long periods of time living off of the land and that obviously makes Lily more adapt to surviving on her own on an alien planet she's literally been stolen away to. I think her independence was written in a really refreshing way and I loved being able to see how she was working through all sorts of things in her POV.

Verakko is Clecanian numero uno in my book (so far). I FREAKING LOVE THIS MAN. I am feral for him. The way he literally was dropped into Lily's camp was such a funny meet-cute (even if he was injured). I appreciated how he thought out how he did things, especially towards the beginning, taking into consideration that Lily had been abducted by aliens and her only experiences with his kind were all really negative so he opted to sort of ease into things with her. I honestly just love him a lot.

Their chemistry from the very start was magnetic and I loved the endless bouts of banter throughout the book. The fact that there was a bit of reluctance from both of them made that slow burn so wonderful. I loved the conflict for this one and I loved how everything ended up coming to a close. I am so excited to keep reading this series!

- alien romance (more humanoid though)
- surviving alone together in the woods
- miscommunication
- slow burn
- he's soon to be engaged to someone else (not romantically/not cheating)
- a dash of forbidden romance
- he falls first