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A review by yaoipaddle
Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Interesting culture-shock alien romance that is dragged down by colonialist vibes but pulled up by a lovable male lead and interesting side-characters.
I went in pretty blind to the plot and have only read this first book at the time of my review. I also listened to the audiobook which I HIGHLY!!! recommend.
To fully enjoy this book I do have to suspend some of my more critical thoughts and just enjoy it as a niche romance book.
Be warned that this book is apparently one of the darkest in the series with content warnings for sexual assault and rape at the beginning. The humans are abducted by evil aliens to be sold off but then crash land on the icy planet. I have been told that the remaining books in the series are far more fluffy and do not contain such dark content. For the remainder of the book, the "barbarians" that will actually be the romantic leads matched with the humans throughout the series do have proper respect and consent. I am very against dubcon in romance and I feel comfortable enough with how the relationships were handled in this book to continue reading the series.
The only other thing that annoys me about the book is how very............. colonialist it is. The way the main lead speaks about the "barbarians" is pretty yucky in how casually she dismisses them and their culture. I hope the author gets a better handle on this later on in the series, but the POV from Georgie chapters can be pretty cringey and hard to enjoy at times. Vektal's (the male lead) POV is pretty good and I really like his inner thoughts and actions. I am hoping the other female leads are more respectful and understanding.
The most fun about the book is learning about the planet and its creatures. I am also intrigued to learn more about the culture and sa-khui (the "barbarian" aliens). To me the culture shock between the humans and their new planet is interesting enough to keep me reading. It also helped keep the quick-love of Georgie and Vektal more interesting and have different stakes. (Does she want to go home? How will she be a good leader to the other humans? Will she even have a choice?)
If you are disgusted by pregnancy or a chance of pregnancy being mentioned then I would avoid this book. This mostly applies to people reading this strictly as a romance book. I enjoyed the book for a mix of the sci-fi elements and cultural exchange. The sex scenes are written well enough though a little repetitive with word choice in some scenes. This could be something that improves as the series goes on, but I kinda skipped through them anyways.
I went in pretty blind to the plot and have only read this first book at the time of my review. I also listened to the audiobook which I HIGHLY!!! recommend.
To fully enjoy this book I do have to suspend some of my more critical thoughts and just enjoy it as a niche romance book.
Be warned that this book is apparently one of the darkest in the series with content warnings for sexual assault and rape at the beginning. The humans are abducted by evil aliens to be sold off but then crash land on the icy planet. I have been told that the remaining books in the series are far more fluffy and do not contain such dark content. For the remainder of the book, the "barbarians" that will actually be the romantic leads matched with the humans throughout the series do have proper respect and consent. I am very against dubcon in romance and I feel comfortable enough with how the relationships were handled in this book to continue reading the series.
The only other thing that annoys me about the book is how very............. colonialist it is. The way the main lead speaks about the "barbarians" is pretty yucky in how casually she dismisses them and their culture. I hope the author gets a better handle on this later on in the series, but the POV from Georgie chapters can be pretty cringey and hard to enjoy at times. Vektal's (the male lead) POV is pretty good and I really like his inner thoughts and actions. I am hoping the other female leads are more respectful and understanding.
The most fun about the book is learning about the planet and its creatures. I am also intrigued to learn more about the culture and sa-khui (the "barbarian" aliens). To me the culture shock between the humans and their new planet is interesting enough to keep me reading. It also helped keep the quick-love of Georgie and Vektal more interesting and have different stakes. (Does she want to go home? How will she be a good leader to the other humans? Will she even have a choice?)
If you are disgusted by pregnancy or a chance of pregnancy being mentioned then I would avoid this book. This mostly applies to people reading this strictly as a romance book. I enjoyed the book for a mix of the sci-fi elements and cultural exchange. The sex scenes are written well enough though a little repetitive with word choice in some scenes. This could be something that improves as the series goes on, but I kinda skipped through them anyways.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, and Rape
Moderate: Violence and Blood