jurnee_reads's reviews
311 reviews

So! The best part of this book was the world building! I can’t stress that enough. While the romance was cute and the sex was decent, it’s the action and world building that really sells this book for me. This is specifically why I don’t believe that it can be as fully enjoyed if you haven’t read the Ice Planet Barbarians series. Sure, Ruby made this book and series in a way so it can be read on its own without IPB, but it just wouldn’t be the same without it! What I enjoyed most was the little call backs to things that were mentioned earlier on the IPB series, like the four armed aliens and the island. It shows so much forethought about this alien world that I can’t help but appreciate every time I stumbled across something that I recognized. I constantly wanted more information, more about the tribes and more about how they’re connected to the tribe across the ocean, everything. That’s what kept me reading, well that and how they were going to deal with the danger (trying not to spoil).

Read this book! It’s great! But please please read the Ice Planet Barbarians series first. To see an easy to follow reading order list, the IPB universe wiki has a graphic that’s pretty easy to find on the front page under images.

Thanks Ruby for another great one, now I’m off to see Veronica’s story! ❤️

Just so sweet! Seeing each couple get highlighted was wonderful! My favorite was probably Vektal and Georgie even though they got the shortest and least exciting part, mostly because I loved Vektal seeing his daughters again. A fatherly man is just so heartwarming.

They’re cute, it’s nice, I liked it. Not much to say because this one just… flew by for me. The sex was hot for the most part. Ashtar was interesting. Though while I like myself a possessive guy, I also didn’t like how he didn’t consider the fact that he was taking away Veronica’s freedom when he stole her… especially considering his background.

Veronica’s character ended up being different than what I imagined.. which didn’t sit right with me. Like at the beginning I thought she’d be soft spoken and shy, very gentle, but she ended up really bold with Ashtar. Bold isn’t bad, it can be great, but we see mostly bold characters in this series and I was sort of looking forward to the idea of a soft spoken lady who kind of tames the wild and overly confident and cocky dragon. She was gentle with him in a lot of ways though, which I appreciated, so it wasn’t a hard one to get through. Like I wasn’t constantly angry at the pair or anything. And Veronica really blossomed with her healing abilities, just learning how that worked was like reading poetry so I enjoyed it a lot. Thankfully it wasn’t just glossed over like I feared it would be.

I did laugh a lot, especially at the beginning, because Ashtar is a riot. My favorite scene was when Vektal was trying to explain to the new guys how resonance works and was getting so frustrated with them asking really dumb questions and being completely serious about it, like when one of the clones asked what they should do if a female falls on their dick lol And of course Ash thought this was a perfectly good question! The entire scene had me rolling.

Decent read, but not a favorite. I am looking forward to more though.

Loved it all, Willa and Gren are great, but I gotta say my favorite line of the entire book… “Shhh. Be a kitten.”

As someone with anxiety, I relate a lot to Ariana. Was this written perfectly? No. But I appreciate the representation a lot.

Not as sexy as the other books, but I mean… the lady is pregnant, so it makes sense. It’s very sweet though and I appreciate the growth that the characters go through. Vordis is really the star of this for me. I appreciate his relationship with his brother and how that’s touched on instead of just ignored or barely glossed over. I like family dynamics in stories so it was a welcome change to the other books. Angie didn’t really need growth… she needed time. She needed to have her baby and she needed to figure out what she wanted and when to go after it, that’s all. She also had to learn how to communicate a little better, but I think she gets that by the end.

All and all, cute story. The romance was sort of lack luster in comparison to the individual character growth, but I liked it none the less.

One of my favorites! The sex scenes were spicy as hell and I really appreciate that! Dixon writes great smut, but sometimes it’s a little vanilla for my taste. There is only so many times I can read about big dicks and spurs and great cunnilingus before it gets a little repetitive. The dirty talk and slight power play in this one really lends to the spice. J’shel really works for that roll though because he’s so gentle and kind and considerate, he’s instantly trustworthy and makes you feel safe which is what is needed in a “dom” in a power dynamic. Really wish we’d seen a little butt slapping though lol it was suggested and I expected it but saw none. Maybe in another book?

As for the characters and romance, there is more to talk about there. J’shel is honestly great, but he isn’t perfect. He is endlessly patient until he finally snaps, but that snap always feels warranted. His issues with guilt needed to be dealt with sooner and that’s sort of where I see his faults… one can only blame themselves so much, he also was sort of taking the decisions out of N’dek’s hands due to his guilt, so when he finally lets go it was a great thing to see.

Hannah is a more complicated character and while I noticed a lot of people didn’t like her, I actually really really did. I’m a writer myself, not published or anything but I do it for fun, and so I really sympathized with her pain. Writing, and really any art form, isn’t like other work… it’s so personal. You pour everything you have into your work and it feels like a part of yourself, so while the idea that she was going to be famous being her reasoning for being so upset seems selfish and self centered, I don’t think that was entirely it. The work and time she put into her work, the heart and passion, it was all finally going to be rewarded and people all around the world would see it. That’s a big deal for a writer! Sharing your work with others is like connecting to them, it’s a very intimate thing. Having that all ripped away for a world you don’t like nor understand and on top of everything else you’re being set up by some alien parasite to want to fuck a stranger? I’d probably respond a lot like Hannah.

Denial is real. But for Hannah… it wasn’t really denial… it was a stubborn refusal to let one more thing out of her control after her entire life had been ripped from her. I mean we understand the khui is a good thing and she’ll be happy in the end, but imagine someone telling you that you have to fuck that stranger over there but not to worry because you’ll end up liking it so much that you’ll want to have his babies??? Anyone in their right mind would freak! Hannah deserves more sympathy because honestly she responded how any sane person would… Readers of this series are just blinded by their love of the big blue dongs to remember that.

The romance is just right for me. They had to work to get to it and I adored that. J’shel works for Hannah and vise versa. They play off of each other well with his patience and her attitude, it’s a good mix. He’s able to make her calm down and she makes him act more selfishly when needed. They bother learn from each other and gain something. That’s what a relationship should be, learning and growing together and enjoying the ride as you go.

And finally… I want to know who ends up with N’dek. I can’t wait to read his story! I’m also grateful that resonance didn’t fix his mental issues and he had to put in the work to start healing mentally.

It’s great! Josie and Haeden are one of my favorite couples, could be my absolute favorite if I’m honest, so reading more about them is always wonderful. Maddie and Hassen are cute too, they added a nice contrast because their personalities and relationship dynamic are pretty different from Josie and Haeden.

These men love their ladies and that’s what we love to see. So cute! Always love!

This was a great read! N’dek’s disability was handled really really well and I was happy to see how his and Devi’s relationship blossomed. Devi is a great character, I liked all of her nerdy habits, too cute.

All in all, great story, very sweet. Didn’t handled a lot of too serious topics except N’dek’s disability but even that was a pretty small part of the story. This isn’t one for the drama, this is one for just the sweet relationship.

My rating really is for the world that was set up in this first book, I appreciate the world building as it really makes me want to read more about it. The main characters are alright, they’re not especially exciting or interesting but they work fine as an opening couple. The spice is… good-ish. I prefer a different style of smut writing but this wasn’t bad or anything, just not as exciting as others I’ve read.

I have to admit, I’m a sucker for aliens and destined mates.