A review by theladysparks
Choosing Theo by Victoria Aveline

4.5

 

When Jade is abducted by aliens, she realizes that the ordeal is just beginning. Fortunately, her rescuers, the Clecanians, are willing to offer her protection. However, to stay on their planet and respect their cultural norms, she must choose a husband to stay with for three months. Jade is initially resistant but decides to go along with the plan until she can figure out how to return to Earth.

Theo, a solitary mercenary with a scarred past, is taken aback when Jade picks him as her husband. After years of being overlooked, he never expected to be chosen. Theo suspects that Jade is a spy because of her choosing him over everyone else, and is determined to expose her true intentions by any means necessary.

Jade and Theo are forced to spend time together, and their attraction grows stronger with each passing day. However, they both know that love cannot be a part of their arrangement, especially since Jade remains determined to return home.

“My life before, as I knew it, ended when I met you. Have a care for my life now.”

I'll be honest besties, I tried to read this last year and had to put it down because it did not hook me. I tried both the e-book and the audiobook and something just wasn't clicking. But so many of my friends who share similar tastes as me rave about this book and this series so I wanted to give it another go and I am so glad that I did. So I'm going to start my review off by saying, please give this book up until their first actual interaction between each other before you make any decisions on this book because it really shines from there on out. Like, I couldn't put it down and devoured it as soon as I got to that point.

The way that Jade handled being abducted and then dropped on an alien planet was better than I ever would have managed. She comes out swinging (literally) and stays with that determination throughout the entirety of the book, even when things start to look pretty bleak. I also just want to say I wish people had told me she was plus-size because I would have picked this up again much sooner if I had known that! I love body-diverse characters in books!

Theo was a wonderfully broody mmc. I'm a sucker for characters like him so it's honestly no surprise that I enjoyed myself when it came to him as a whole. The chasing (iykyk) aspect of their whole scenario was A++++++ in my book. If you like a protective/possessive love interest, Theo is right up your alley.

I think where this book really shines is when Jade and Theo come together, which is why I say hold off on judgment until that point. Their chemistry is off the chart, even when they're stand-offish with each other. The banter is fantastic and I just think their relationship really makes this book for me.

I think this book has set up the rest of the series to be really interesting and I'm excited to continue on to see what happens!

- a good intro to alien romance
- humanoid aliens
- an alien dog
- he's a mercenary
- fated mates
- bodyguard romance vibes
- grumpy x sunshine
- plus size fmc
- broody mmc
- arranged marriage
- no third act breakup