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thewordslinger 's review for:
Ice Planet Barbarians
by Ruby Dixon
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Um. So.
Yeah this is good in the way I imagine cocaine is good.
It's not.
But - and I'm assuming here, about the drugs - it's a whole lot of fun.
Okay so, here's what's ACTUALLY good about this book:
- The lore and world building. Namely: I didn't expect to get quite so much of it. But to learn that Vektal's people aren't native to the planet they're on either, and that there's a sickness that takes over the body unless you accept a ... symbyote? into you - fascinating. I also enjoyed the 'magic' in that the khui chooses one's mate.
- I even sort of enjoyed the way this book began (minus the SA - could have done without that. There's no trigger warnings, so consider this it.) The way it's established that a certain species of alien are abducting women for nefarious purposes with plans to probably sell them off as cattle to god-knows-who - the beginning part is brief, but it's enough to get the picture of what's going on in the world (or worlds?). I'm actually hoping we get to see the 'bad guys' come back over the course of these weird ass little books. I wanna see the women fight for the life they're establishing with the big blue aliens.
- The way the language barrier is handled. I enjoyed the middle section of this book where Vektal and Georgie are struggling to understand each other. I'm glad that we're not just handed a solution immediately (although we do eventually get one) and that they're both forced to play charades to communicate. I was amused.
- And. Okay yeah, the smut is decent too. Even if I ended up laughing more than anything else at the utter absurdity. But hey, if this is your thing - even I have to admit that Dixon is a decent spicy writer.
Basically, if you lusted after Sam Worthington's big blue Avatar body, this will very likely be your jam.
Do I even need to talk about what's bad? Is there a point? We all know if you're deigning to pick these books up your standards are on the floor (Don't worry, ya'll. Mine are too, apparently).
Very quickly:
The insta lust is VERY instant. The fact that boundaries don't seem to be an issue for Georgie, even though she's witnessed true horror (one of the other women gets gang-raped by aliens early on in the book - as I said, there's no TW for this, so...SURPRISE?! 😒) and is in a completely foreign environment, she has NO problem letting a strange horned blue dude go down on her.
There's also a surprise pregnancy trope which EVERYBODY is just...okay with. Even though this whole book takes place over the course of like, 3 days. I don't even know how Georgie knew by that point, but whatever.
Oh. And obviously, that insta-lust becomes I love you by the end of the book. Again. After only 3 or 4 days together.
So, listen. Make whatever you will of this review. I don't know what else to say, other than:
Am I gonna get through all 18 or whatever books in this series? Probably not. Am I gonna pick up book 2 right now? Bet your ass I am. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Yeah this is good in the way I imagine cocaine is good.
It's not.
But - and I'm assuming here, about the drugs - it's a whole lot of fun.
Okay so, here's what's ACTUALLY good about this book:
- The lore and world building. Namely: I didn't expect to get quite so much of it. But to learn that Vektal's people aren't native to the planet they're on either, and that there's a sickness that takes over the body unless you accept a ... symbyote? into you - fascinating. I also enjoyed the 'magic' in that the khui chooses one's mate.
- I even sort of enjoyed the way this book began (minus the SA - could have done without that. There's no trigger warnings, so consider this it.) The way it's established that a certain species of alien are abducting women for nefarious purposes with plans to probably sell them off as cattle to god-knows-who - the beginning part is brief, but it's enough to get the picture of what's going on in the world (or worlds?). I'm actually hoping we get to see the 'bad guys' come back over the course of these weird ass little books. I wanna see the women fight for the life they're establishing with the big blue aliens.
- The way the language barrier is handled. I enjoyed the middle section of this book where Vektal and Georgie are struggling to understand each other. I'm glad that we're not just handed a solution immediately (although we do eventually get one) and that they're both forced to play charades to communicate. I was amused.
- And. Okay yeah, the smut is decent too. Even if I ended up laughing more than anything else at the utter absurdity. But hey, if this is your thing - even I have to admit that Dixon is a decent spicy writer.
Basically, if you lusted after Sam Worthington's big blue Avatar body, this will very likely be your jam.
Do I even need to talk about what's bad? Is there a point? We all know if you're deigning to pick these books up your standards are on the floor (Don't worry, ya'll. Mine are too, apparently).
Very quickly:
The insta lust is VERY instant. The fact that boundaries don't seem to be an issue for Georgie, even though she's witnessed true horror (one of the other women gets gang-raped by aliens early on in the book - as I said, there's no TW for this, so...SURPRISE?! 😒) and is in a completely foreign environment, she has NO problem letting a strange horned blue dude go down on her.
There's also a surprise pregnancy trope which EVERYBODY is just...okay with. Even though this whole book takes place over the course of like, 3 days. I don't even know how Georgie knew by that point, but whatever.
Oh. And obviously, that insta-lust becomes I love you by the end of the book. Again. After only 3 or 4 days together.
So, listen. Make whatever you will of this review. I don't know what else to say, other than:
Am I gonna get through all 18 or whatever books in this series? Probably not. Am I gonna pick up book 2 right now? Bet your ass I am. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Kidnapping
In the beginning of this book, there is an on page scene where a newly abducted woman gets gang-raped repeatedly by her alien captors. It is brief and not overly graphic. But it is definitely worth noting for those who have sensitivities to such things.