NOTE: Spanking and D/s play, violence, quasi-sensual situations
In a dystopic future, the Brotherhood had taken over the cities, and machines produce everything. Ember was one of the roller cheerleader girls of the city's sports team. She thought she was honored to star in "The Chase" in a reality show that lasts an hour. What they didn't tell her was she'd be stripped naked and be hunted by evil men with hunting dogs. But she survived... so far. She even hurt a few with traps. But it's been two days since she had any food or water... Until she stumbled into Hadley... /// Hadley may be the last rancher left alive, but the Brotherhood need some real beef and other real food, so he'd been left to exist in isolation in exchange for provisions. When she came out of the forest, naked, wounded, but determined to fight to the end, he intervened. But when she turned defiant against logical safety rules, he had to discipline her with spankings, for she can't go back to the city... And eventually, Hadley will claim her, and together, they may be able to take down the Brotherhood...
Hmmm... The problem with this future is it makes no sense. it's obviously inspired somewhat by the Hunger Games, where the leaders hold themselves above the law and manipulate everything. But how does such a society really function? Where do the raw materials to feed the machines come from? How about energy? And if you take away the dystopia, what you're left with is a guy grooming an innocent girl to be his sub, and as expected, she will fall for him. Is this dark romance? Not quite. Is it scifi? Sorta. Is it good? Hmmm... Okay, I guess. 3.5/5
Showing posts with label Genre: Science Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Genre: Science Fiction. Show all posts
GRR Reviews Dangerous & Moving by Isadora Brown
In an alternate future not too far from our own... abortion was outlawed and woman caught doing so can be charged with murder, gay marriage is illegal, and those in power are more interested in covering up the truth than to preserve it. Jensen didn't care. He keeps his car pristine, for he is a transporter. He was there for a job... When a young girl climbed into his backseat, and begs him to take her to a hospital... She's bleeding badly. He took her to a hospital, only interested in her safety, when everything changed. Her name is Clara, and she is the president's daughter, who performed an abortion on herself, and he's in trouble because he will be charged with accessory to murder. But he managed to grab her and ran. And they embark on a plan to escape to California, which had seceded from the union. There are many perils on the way, for the FBI is on their trail, and no one can be trusted...
Frankly, the Las Vegas stint turned out to be an extended TSTL moment. It was... dumb, beyond dumb. It's mostly adventure and forced proximity. FBI agents are fumbling idiots doing keystone cops. And the solution to all that was way too easy. I wanted to give this a higher score, but it's 3/5
Category: Contemporary / Science Fiction
Overall Rating: 3/5
NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below.
GRR Reviews Beyond Shame (Beyond series) by Kit Rocha
Beyond Shame is an interesting mix of post-apocalyptic dystopia and erotic romance that sets up a very interesting world that's an odd mix of scifi, MC, and different worlds tropes about self-discovery and redemption, and it was certainly interesting.
Noelle Cunningham wanted to rebel against her prim and proper role as councilman's daughter in a closed post-apoc dystopic society, Eden, that turned against immorality so far, pre-marital sex is illegal. After a conviction for fornification, she was dumped out the gates of Eden, with just the clothes on her back, into the gang-controlled sectors that she only read about. Stalked by low-life, she was barely rescued in time by an unlikely savior... // Jasper "Jas" McCray is a bootlegger and cage fighter for Sector 4's boss Dallas O'Kane. He fought his way up from nothing to be the right-hand man of the boss, and sworn into the gang... all for one and one for all. He did not expect to deal with a sheltered innocent city princess who literally fell into his arms. And Noelle is so snow-white innocent... she's still a virgin, and intensely curious about sex. And soon she and Jas will explore every one of her fantasies, with a little help from O'Kane's band of misfits, including Lex, O'Kane's squeeze, to nurture, and accept her own power of sexuality... and embrace it...
The world-building was virtually seamless. You can read the subtext AND the context simply through the actions of the characters, no info-dump needed. There *are* some info-dumps, but not a lot, and the sex scenes are frequent, that this could be termed erotic romance, but the point is outside of Eden, anything goes, and sex is nothing to be ashamed of, except that society tells you. I don't quite get the reason for such extreme morality, but that's why it's a dystopia. I look forward to reading the future volumes. So why 4/5? It's just a little shy of perfection, as it's a bit too obvious bodyguard story.
Category: Contemporary
Primary Plot: In a dystopic future, a councilman's daughter was dumped out the gates for trying to have sex, and was rescued by gang's top fighter...
Overall Rating: 4/5
NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below.
GRR Reviews Her Empath (Zodiac Cyborgs) by Mina Carter
Her Empath started rather interesting, but by the end, nothing came together to form a coherent plotline. What you end up with is some separate action scenes and love scenes in a sci-fi setting that never coalesced. Add that to bad term usage, and horrible title, and it's basically a word salad scifi romance.
General Lyssa Ryland is half human, half alien, and all hard. She takes no guff from anyone, not even the admiralty. She had risen through the ranks by merit alone. She commands one of the most powerful ships in the navy, with a loyal crew, and is friends with some of the largest mercenary clans in the galaxy. She yields to no one... except maybe one... JJ is one of fleet's open secrets... He's an empath, with the ability to change a person's personality given enough time and access. He had been tasked by the Admiralty to bring General Ryland back in line, for the fleet feared she'll go rogue if she's disciplined in any way. Before going on duty, JJ had a one-night stand on the base... Only to find next day, when he reported onboard, that the woman he bedded the night before was none other than General Ryland herself. But when they went on a mission and was ambushed by killer cyborgs, they kept each other alive. Lyssa knew that JJ is not a normal liaison, and is probably the empath sent by the fleet to subdue her, and JJ knew that Lyssa is not just a woman, but a warrior. Can JJ convince Lyssa that they can be good together, even if he had to leave the fleet?
Sorry, this universe made ZERO sense. If she had this much power, just send in a fleet and take out the whole ship, or assassinate her. The author also failed to understand the word EMPATH. Empath means capable of "empathy", which means empathic, i.e. share emotions. To change someone's mind requires telepathic manipulations, not empathic. Also, would the fleet allow one of their empaths to "resign"? And why would a general, a GROUND commander, command a powerful starship? It was clear the author has NO understanding of the military and randomly mixes terminologies. What's worse, why is the series called "zodiac cyborgs", where there's no mention of the zodiac, nor any cyborg in the story?! The plotline made no sense, and neither did the attraction. The universe made no sense. This novel is just nonsense.
Category: Science Fiction
Primary Plot: Is the new liaison to the starship out to wipe general's mind... or to love her?
Tropes: fling to a thing, enemies to lovers, military
Overall Rating: 1/5
General Lyssa Ryland is half human, half alien, and all hard. She takes no guff from anyone, not even the admiralty. She had risen through the ranks by merit alone. She commands one of the most powerful ships in the navy, with a loyal crew, and is friends with some of the largest mercenary clans in the galaxy. She yields to no one... except maybe one... JJ is one of fleet's open secrets... He's an empath, with the ability to change a person's personality given enough time and access. He had been tasked by the Admiralty to bring General Ryland back in line, for the fleet feared she'll go rogue if she's disciplined in any way. Before going on duty, JJ had a one-night stand on the base... Only to find next day, when he reported onboard, that the woman he bedded the night before was none other than General Ryland herself. But when they went on a mission and was ambushed by killer cyborgs, they kept each other alive. Lyssa knew that JJ is not a normal liaison, and is probably the empath sent by the fleet to subdue her, and JJ knew that Lyssa is not just a woman, but a warrior. Can JJ convince Lyssa that they can be good together, even if he had to leave the fleet?
Sorry, this universe made ZERO sense. If she had this much power, just send in a fleet and take out the whole ship, or assassinate her. The author also failed to understand the word EMPATH. Empath means capable of "empathy", which means empathic, i.e. share emotions. To change someone's mind requires telepathic manipulations, not empathic. Also, would the fleet allow one of their empaths to "resign"? And why would a general, a GROUND commander, command a powerful starship? It was clear the author has NO understanding of the military and randomly mixes terminologies. What's worse, why is the series called "zodiac cyborgs", where there's no mention of the zodiac, nor any cyborg in the story?! The plotline made no sense, and neither did the attraction. The universe made no sense. This novel is just nonsense.
Category: Science Fiction
Primary Plot: Is the new liaison to the starship out to wipe general's mind... or to love her?
Tropes: fling to a thing, enemies to lovers, military
Overall Rating: 1/5
GRR Reviews Imzadi (Star Trek: The Next Generation) by Peter David
Imzadi is half a romance story, and half... which I will not spoil. For it is about something that transcends space and time, into the true bond of Imzadi (roughly translated to fated mates), and how one will do ANYTHING... to change things even if it means turning one's back on former colleagues and betray the very principles one was supposed to uphold...
William T. Riker is a vice admiral on a starbase in the middle of nowhere. He was once a promising officer, with a brilliant future, but when Counselor Troi suddenly died of unexplained causes in the middle of negotiation with the Sindareen, he was broken. He served his time, but never regained his spark. Now decades later, upon death of Lwaxana Troi, he was gifted with one last remaining artifact from Troi... one that lead him down memory lane to how they first met, how he cajoled her into a date, how they had a torrid romance, how he saved her from the jungle... and how they must break things off... only to meet again on the Enterprise-D. Suddenly, he knew what he had to do. And this will lead him to betray the very principles he swore to uphold, and turn his back on friends he had served alongside for years, all in the name of Imzadi.
So to people who say this is a romance... It is! But it's only HALF of the story. For you have to see what did Riker suddenly realize he must do, and how other people would array to stop his betrayal. And let's just say the climax was as tense as any good TNG episode. I wouldn't say the characters are off, as this is early in their careers, Riker was just a young lieutenant, and Troi hadn't even joined Starfleet yet. It's a fun plot to read.
Category: Science Fiction
Primary Plot: Starfleet officer, receiving last bequested item from the mother of the woman he loved, suddenly realized there is something he must do... something that he should have done a LONG TIME ago... to save his Imzadi.
Tropes: star trek fated mate, conspiracy
Overall Rating: 5/5
GRR Reviews From a Distant Star by Karen McQuestion
From a Distant Star is about love and adventure, but it's technically not a romance, at least by the traditional definition. In a way, it's a deft remix of ET, Invasion of Body Snatchers, AND a bit of Bonnie and Clyde, albeit all written as PG-13. But let me recap:
Lucas Walker's got cancer, and he's now mostly in a coma. Everybody wrote him off, even his parents. The only person who refused to give up is his girlfriend Emma. And she went to the resident witch... yes, a witch, for one spell that could turn things around. And by a miracle, Lucas recovered with no explanation. As the family and friend celebrated the miracle, Emma is secretly alarmed... She had applied the spell, but Lucas that's here is... not really Lucas. Lucas doesn't seem to remember all the things they shared, and even his own dog didn't recognize him. Did it have something to do with the object that fell from the sky the night that he recovered? As Lucas and Emma go on a road trip to discover the truth, they found themselves being pursued by multiple factions of enemies, helped by unexpected friends, and a race against time to find hope...
Without spoiling the story completely, let's just say there's third-party involvement, and while there's love, it's not a conventional romance. It is a fun read, and YA-rated. The flip to adventure was a bit abrupt, and the enemy was a bit too good, but always not good enough, and the people who help them are a bit serendipitous. That's why this isn't 5/5.
Category: Science Fiction
Primary Plot: Boy recovered miraculously from cancer; his girlfriend is both relieved and appalled... This isn't really the boy she knew... But how did she know? And what happens now?
Tropes: fish out of water, road trip. conspiracy, disguise
Overall Rating: 4/5
GRR Reviews Star Rogue (Star Series Book 3) by Susan Grant
Star Rogue relied on the assumption that the aliens are just more advanced humans (and "fully compatible" in every way), but the plot was quite nice with some serious tension, without resorting to lame tropes.
In the not too distant future, Earth has contacted friendly aliens, and an Earthling was chosen the heir to an interstellar trade empire. The crown prince's twin sister, Ilana is just an indie film producer on Earth, even though she could call herself a Princess. When an alien prince Che, being forced to marry ASAP for political reasons, decided to hide on Earth for a while, he found himself drawn to Princess Ilana. When Che was recalled and Che's crazy brother Klark escaped from custody, worst fears are realized... What was Klark about to do when he stole a fighter on the way to intercept the ship carrying Princess Ilana?
The plot is standard romantic suspense, but the setting was changed to scifi, and it works. Rather enjoyed this variation.
Category: Science Fiction / Romantic Suspense
Primary Plot: Woman living a plain life on Earth fell for an alien prince; why is the prince's "crazy" brother chasing her down?
Tropes: different worlds, protector, woman in peril, evil relatives, family pressure
Overall Rating: 4/5
GRR Reviews Beauty and the Space Beast: A Space Age by J. M. Page
Beauty and the Space Beast is basically the old Beauty and the Beast tale retold as a scifi tale between a recluse's daughter and a gruff alien "pirate" captain. While trope-ish at times, there are some genuine inventiveness at some of the plot elements. Though I find the ending somewhat improbable.
Mara lived on an asteroid with her father, who kept her origins hidden. But when he fell into a huge debt, Mara offered herself to work off the debt. (It didn't hurt when Torak is scrumptious) Torak the pirate captain had no use for a weak human female, but when one was offered, he couldn't refuse, and got more than he bargained for, as Mara was smart, and saw past his gruff exterior. When Torak's enemies came calling, and Mara's origin was revealed, will they still be able to live with each other? What will each give up to spend time with each other?
Without spoiling the ending, I find the ending highly improbable as the sacrifice would be too much and there should be a lot of people objecting to the choices made. Still, I think this book is a bit above average. Consider this really a 3.5/5 though, instead of 4/5 as shown.
Category: Science Fiction
Primary Plot: Young woman gave up herself to work off the debt her father incurred to alien pirate captain, who fell for her after she saved the ship more than a few times, but she has other secrets...
Tropes: disguise, family secrets, alpha guy, forced proximity, enemies to lovers
Overall Rating: 4/5 (rounded up)
GRR Reviews Rebel Wing (Rebel Wing Trilogy, Book 1) by Tracy Banghart
Rebel Wing is a scifi military fiction with a light dose of romance. It is closer in spirit to Starship Troopers (the novel, NOT the movies!) but also with some intriguing conspiracy in the background that together, worked up to a great tale of working past challenges, maturing from naiveness, and embracing one's destiny. Romance is only a MINOR component of the book, even though it formed the initial premise.
The Dominion of Atalanta is at war, but for Aris, who is just coming of age, her heart was set on Calix, her almost-betrothed, and her flying, for she is possibly the best flyer in all of Atalanta. But for the kids, the war is far away, until Calix was drafted into the military as a mender. Aris was willing to do ANYTHING to be close to him, but females are not permitted in Atalanta military, not even as menders. When someone offered her a chance, she jumped at it, no matter the price, and thus Aris, with a little tech help (holo veil and voice changer) from the off-the-books organization, will become Aristos the flyer, a "ghost" (disguised female) in the Atalanta military, and join the Search and Rescue squad, just for a chance to see Calix again. For Calix, Aris will give up her friends, her family, even her identity. And on the way, Aris will find herself in the middle of a great conspiracy to subvert an ally of Atalanta... and realize her true calling.
The book can be described as part Mulan, part Starship Troopers, and part Iron Eagle. For Aris/Aristos still has to survive the training (which means she had to toughen up, and Calix will be no longer her top priority, for she finally understood WHY he had to go, and how selfish her wishes are, but now that she had tasted combat, nothing will ever be the same again. All the emotions rang true, from confusion to bravery to acceptance to rage to doubt... and the plot was weaved quite well.
For the readers who found the premise, the girl abandoning everything just to be with the guy... simplistic and stupid... this is not really much of a spoiler... She'll grow out of it. Give the book a chance. I think you'll find it is a worthwhile read.
Category: Science Fiction
Primary Plot: Young woman following her man to war, entered secret program to enter military disguised as a man; embroiled in conspiracy
Tropes: disguise, fated mate, coming of age, childhood sweetheart
Overall Rating: 5/5
GRR Reviews C791 (Cyborgs: More Than Machines) by Eve Langlais
C791 is a scifi romance amidst a dystopic world of cyborgs that can almost pass for humans (and have sex, just like humans, even has "enhanced sperm") that staged a rebellion when they were about to be terminated. The worldbuilding is not bad, but technologically speaking makes no sense. Plot-wise it's actually quite good, with good twists and turns.
Joe was a cyborg formerly known as X109GI, and leader of the cyborg revolt when leaders order the cyborgs to be terminated. He was captured and the only person to get a reaction out of him was the new technician, Chloe. When Joe escaped from the prison, Chloe was kidnapped to go along, for Cyborgs makes excellent lovers, even though they can't propagate their species. But Chloe is hiding a deep dark secret even she didn't know about...
The sex somehow just feels... tacked on, and the Cyborgs are just a bit TOO powerful. They barely feel pain, can outthink any human, can wirelessly hack most computers, have endoskeletons and can take a ton of damage, nanites that can hack physical stuff without touching them, as well as perfect physique and almost infinite endurance (in bed). They are super-human in every sense of the word, and the ONLY problem they have is they can't procreate? Really?
I rather enjoy the twist about Chloe, which I will not spoil, but somehow the world just feels... not quite there.
Category: Science Fiction
Primary Plot: New lab assistant was kidnapped by her prisoner cyborg she had fallen for, but she has a secret even she didn't know about...
Tropes: disguise, kidnapping, woman in peril, protector, evil enemies
Overall Rating: 3/5
GRR Reviews Stranded with the Cyborg (Cy-Ops Sci-fi by Cara Bristol
Stranded with the Cyborg relied on some utter stupidity and a terrorist with a WTF agenda to enforce the "forced proximity" to turn enemies into lovers. It's full of tropes, and it could have been much better if it made a bit more sense.
To recap, Brock Mann has an impossible assignment, even though as an operative with Cyber Ops, he specialized in the impossible, with his various cybernetic enhancements. The problem is he was tasked to babysit a diplomat... someone he knew from ten years ago when he was working security... then first-daughter Penelope Isabella Aaron, aka PIA (or Pain in ***). She was so mad at him for his diligence ("interference" to her), she framed him for sexual misconduct (with her), though he was eventually cleared and reassigned. Now she's an ambassador he needed to escort to a summit, but threats have already been issued against her. When the trip took a very bad turn and they crashed on a quarantined planet, he may be her only chance to stay alive...
To explain the problem, I'll have to spoil the story.
SPOILER WARNING
I TOLD YOU SO
Anyway, Brock and Penny were the only passengers on this special charter, which was supposed to have three crew: Captain, Steward, and Engineer. Only the captain greeted them, and when Steward never returned, Captain ordered a take off anyway. Then Captain turned out to be the assassin and only Brock's incredible speed saved the day. All the crew was dead, and Captain took the lifeboat. Brock was able to reprogram the ship so it reached the planet before it self-destructed.
Okay, what sort of elite security guy is Brock if he can't even check the crew manifest? Just a single glance should have told him that this wasn't his regular crew onboard the ship. Also, what's the point of killing the Terran ambassador? The message the terrorist asked the ambassador to read before killing her made no sense. There were also problems of this "lake of acid" that somehow looks just like water (with no smell, and you can skip stones on it) Why the planet was quarantined also wasn't discussed clearly.
Category: Scifi
Primary Plot: Elite cyborg operative had to save an ambassador from assassins and ended up stranded on a quarantined planet
Tropes: woman in peril, protector, evil enemies, forced proximity, conspiracy
Overall Rating: 3/5
GRR Reviews Warrior's Bond by Emma Alisyn
Warrior's Bond has the basic alpha billionaire protecting a woman, except the alpha is now an alien warrior, and the woman had three kids. Once you see past the sci-fi wrapping, there really wasn't much of a plot.
Yadeshi has been on Earth for more than a decade, recruiting Terrans for training to be defensive warriors, technicians, or even baby surrogates if they choose to. Alien warrior Benyon has no family and the closest he saw were three Terran children of a single mother. They have true warrior spirit. But the mom Zoriah did not want her son to be trained as an alien warrior, even if it was the only way to keep her family from being broken up by the bureaucracy. But when Zoriah meets Benyon things change...
The Yadeshi are basically blue handsome hunks and their females are so close to human females except skin tone with same nervous system sex is identical. And Zoriah came to depend on alien warrior Benyon as she doesn't want her family separated due to infractions piled up on her son who was under Benyon's training. She had no struggle other than to accept Benyon's... love. Her problem... he resolved it in about five minutes (he had to backdate an order).
At least this doesn't rely on some stupid alien abduction fantasy or "the alien was so alpha her panties melted" stupidity. So I ended up giving it average score.
Category: Science Fiction
Primary Plot: Terran Mother of Three Considers Accepting Alien Warrior's Attention Despite Her Hatred of War
Tropes: different worlds, single parent, enemies to lovers
Overall Rating: 3/5
Yadeshi has been on Earth for more than a decade, recruiting Terrans for training to be defensive warriors, technicians, or even baby surrogates if they choose to. Alien warrior Benyon has no family and the closest he saw were three Terran children of a single mother. They have true warrior spirit. But the mom Zoriah did not want her son to be trained as an alien warrior, even if it was the only way to keep her family from being broken up by the bureaucracy. But when Zoriah meets Benyon things change...
The Yadeshi are basically blue handsome hunks and their females are so close to human females except skin tone with same nervous system sex is identical. And Zoriah came to depend on alien warrior Benyon as she doesn't want her family separated due to infractions piled up on her son who was under Benyon's training. She had no struggle other than to accept Benyon's... love. Her problem... he resolved it in about five minutes (he had to backdate an order).
At least this doesn't rely on some stupid alien abduction fantasy or "the alien was so alpha her panties melted" stupidity. So I ended up giving it average score.
Category: Science Fiction
Primary Plot: Terran Mother of Three Considers Accepting Alien Warrior's Attention Despite Her Hatred of War
Tropes: different worlds, single parent, enemies to lovers
Overall Rating: 3/5
GRR Reviews Dark Planet Warriors by Anna Carven
Dark Planet Warriors is basically nicely polished alien abduction romance, with the trope that the aliens are so short on females they need to romance human females.
Kordolian General Tarak was hunting Xargek when an unstable wormhole dumped them on the fringe of human space, near the asteroid mining station Fortuna Tau. Tarak just wants to get the ship fixed and resume hunting Xargek, he doesn't care about the inhabitants... though he'd prefer not to inflict any casualties due to the amount of paperwork. He did not plan on finding Abbey, one of the environmental techs, who seem so dedicated to her duty, she's... almost worthy of respect. When Abbey was critically injured by the Xargek, and larvae escaped onto the station, Tarak left behind his forces to deal with the Xargek while he assumed personal responsibility to restore Abbey to full health... Back on Kordolia Prime. It was then Tarak realized he's in the throes of mating fever... and there are no unbonded Kordolian females around... And somehow, he's drawn to Abbey...
As in typical "alien scifi romance", the alpha males are so alpha and badass and human males are so pathetic it's no wonder why human females would fall for them. At least in this book the scifi was somewhat legitimate, the alien culture built decently. But the idea that aliens that correspond so close to humans they are fully functional and capable of servicing human females is a trope that's getting a bit lame.
Category: Science Fiction
Primary Plot: Alien general hunting xeno threats came upon a human station and fell for one brave human environmental tech
Tropes: protector, woman in peril, hut/comfort, kidnapping, mating fever
Overall Rating: 3/5
GRR Reviews Close Encounters of the Sexy Kind by Karen Kelley
Close Encounters of the Sexy Kind is a scifi romance that basically had an alien girl (who's so human...) coming to Earth to enjoy sex. While the concept was corny, the execution was rom-com / sit-com (fish out of water). I'd give it a higher rating if the characters actually make sense.
To recap, Mala from planet Nerak is tired of holograms and not even her fully functional companion unit can distract her enough. She wanted to visit Earth, and meet a real Earthling... and find out if "sheriff" is really as good with pleasuring females as he is in the videos (wait, they beam porn into space?). So she took a ship and took off... and crash-landed on Earth near a small town in Texas... and stumbled into Sheriff Mason McKinley. Mason already heard the news about supposedly UFO crash, and three reporters from a national rag are in town chasing bogus stories. He was checking out the alleged UFO report when he rescued Mala, and Mason does NOT believe in aliens and UFOs. Mala found Mason to be exactly what she had hoped to find... a virile strong man... but sensing the mood, she neglects to mention she's from Nerak... She just needs a few days to explore the planet and the features of one sexy sheriff... As long as the Elders on Nerak don't send someone after her...
While funny, the plot makes no sense.
SPOILER ALERT
YES SPOILERS!
When Mala's companion unit (android) arrived in a 2nd ship, her companion unit ended up romancing a female here on Earth. Why? And since when do three reporters resort to kidnapping the sheriff and Mala trying to get a scoop on the alien story? Why? How the heck did they transport the spaceship away from the original site anyway? Hello? And I'm not even going to get into how Nerak females are PERFECTLY indistinguishable from human females... That no one could tell the difference... Argh. It could have been much better!
Category: Science Fiction / Comedy
Primary Plot: Female alien (who's practically human) landed on earth looking for sex, found adventure and sex with sexy sheriff
Tropes: different worlds, fling to a thing, fish out of water, kidnapping, law enforcement, conspiracy
Overall Rating: 3/5
GRR Reviews Driven by Eve Silver
Driven is a surprisingly adept sci-fi suspense romance that featured a very interesting post-apoc world. The characters are driven due to their own reasons, and they all make sense in their own contexts. The romance was actually only lukewarm due to forced proximity though.
In the post-apoc world Earth after the Great War, the Northern Wastes are as inhospitable as ever. The only ones moving about are the ice truckers moving supplies from the few camps and truck stops that remained, apart from the ice pirate camps and rebel camps. Raina Bowen was waiting at Bob's (Truck Stop) for Wizard, someone who's supposed to get her a special license so she can join the great race to Gladow station for the 50 million in prize money. But Raina was also on the run from the sadistic megalomaniac Duncan Bane that had hunted her for years because she destroyed half of his face when he tried to force her. Wizard arrived as a prisoner, necessitating a rescue by Raina, who then found to her chagrin he did not need rescuing at all, despite how circumstances looked. And indeed, Wizard is full of secrets, and they had to run across the wastes, outrun rival truckers, ice pirates, and the megalomaniac after them. As Raina discovered more of Wizard's secrets, and as Bane closes in on her, she discovered that she has her own secrets that even she did not know... and together with Wizard, they may be able to take down Bane once and for all...
The MMC, Wizard, is basically this world's "Data"... Superstrong, does not understand emotions, except he has some feelings for Raina he could not explain either. And yes, he was "fully functional". Raina's motivation was a mixed bag. She needs the 50 million in prize money to set up a life for her half-sister... Even though she's being hunted by Bane with almost unlimited resources? How does she think she can claim the prize without Bane getting wind of it? And it's clearly rigged contest anyway? As a plan, that was really lousy one. And where did Wizard get that super-nice rig at the beginning, only to blow it up later? Makes no sense.
Still, liked the overall setting well enough to recommend it.
Category: Science Fiction / Romantic Suspense
Primary Plot: In the Northern Wastes, Raina finds danger and passion with Wizard, a trucker with a mysterious past...
Tropes: forced proximity, protector, woman in peril, evil ex
Overall Rating: 4/5
GRR Review Escape From Zulaire: The Sectors SF Rom by Veronica Scott
Escape from Zulaire is a scifi military adventure romance that managed to have excellent plot and characters. Only two minor cases of somewhat supernatural help (but sufficient handwaving and foreshadowing was done it they don't feel out of place) prevented this book from a full 5/5.
Andi Markriss was the trading company's junior rep on the planet and was assigned to attend a wedding with an appropriate gift when suddenly Sector Marine Captain Tom Deverane and his squad drove up with their APC wanting to evacuate her. She refused as it would be insulting to the host, so he had to explain why... All signs indicate a planet-wide rebellion is going to result in some serious ethnic cleansing and only the capital is known to be secure, and since her communications were jammed, she didn't know the developments. However, she still refused to leave, preferring to wait until she dropped off her gift and attend part of the party, and with much teeth-gnashing, Tom reluctantly complied and attended with her... Only to be caught just outside right after the wedding when all hell broke loose, but Andi quickly picked up two surviving royal children and evacuated with the squad over land when their APC was sabotaged. When Tom fell ill, Andi must find a way to save Tom, and everyone else.
This basically is the alien version of Tears of the Sun (the Bruce Willis 2003 movie where SEAL team went into Nigeria to save a doctor and ended up rescuing her refugees as well) albeit with a couple extra elements like supernatural stuff, a monk, and so on thrown in, and of course, a bit of romance and a much happier ending. The characters are pretty nicely portrayed, no insta-lust, just admiration from afar but professional conduct, and only after extensive interaction and saving each other's lives did a relationship and affection develope.
Andi Markriss was the trading company's junior rep on the planet and was assigned to attend a wedding with an appropriate gift when suddenly Sector Marine Captain Tom Deverane and his squad drove up with their APC wanting to evacuate her. She refused as it would be insulting to the host, so he had to explain why... All signs indicate a planet-wide rebellion is going to result in some serious ethnic cleansing and only the capital is known to be secure, and since her communications were jammed, she didn't know the developments. However, she still refused to leave, preferring to wait until she dropped off her gift and attend part of the party, and with much teeth-gnashing, Tom reluctantly complied and attended with her... Only to be caught just outside right after the wedding when all hell broke loose, but Andi quickly picked up two surviving royal children and evacuated with the squad over land when their APC was sabotaged. When Tom fell ill, Andi must find a way to save Tom, and everyone else.
This basically is the alien version of Tears of the Sun (the Bruce Willis 2003 movie where SEAL team went into Nigeria to save a doctor and ended up rescuing her refugees as well) albeit with a couple extra elements like supernatural stuff, a monk, and so on thrown in, and of course, a bit of romance and a much happier ending. The characters are pretty nicely portrayed, no insta-lust, just admiration from afar but professional conduct, and only after extensive interaction and saving each other's lives did a relationship and affection develope.
Category: Science fiction
Primary Plot: Space marine captain must save trade rep from a planet in the middle of bloody rebellion
Tropes: protector, woman in peril, hurt/comfort
Overall Rating: 4/5
GRR Review Jakke (The Azziarin Series Book 1) by Hannah Davenport
Jakke can be roughly described as the kinder-gentler version of alien abduction romance, with pretty flat characters, and the action was pretty slow even in a 150-page short novel.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
Sydney was a survivor on Earth of alien attack. Tureis attacked Earth then Azziarin came to Earth to attack Tureis. Sydney barely survives in the ruins by becoming an expert forager (for six months) alone, but was very lonely. When she found a wounded Azziarin in the ruins, she hid him from the Tureis and got him to her hideout, and nursed him back to health (she was an ER nurse before the invasion). When Azziarin came to rescue their wounded comrade, they grabbed her as well. The wounded guy's brother, Jakke, was the ship commander. And they are going home. When Sydney woke up and got cleaned up, the ship commander, overtaken by "mating fever" due to Sydney's scent, basically grabbed her and bonked her silly (and she liked it). However, he didn't bother explaining that back home, Azzarin mate for life (and Sydney is probably pregnant) and Jakke had several consorts but only one mate (her). Once they go home, Sydney got mad when she realized she's never going back to Earth (not that going back is much fun) and she'll never be accepted there (not with all the consorts, and forever be a freak on alien planet). But she eventually relents and Jakke dispatches his consorts and promise to be faithful only to her. The end.
The alien being super-lovers trope was hard to read as, really, what are the chances that the aliens are 1) humanoid 2) carbon-based 3) have compatible sex appendages 4) satisfy the vampire fetish (yes, Azziarin have fangs, and mating involves biting) 5) Earth woman smell good to them 7) sex with humans are so cool! (first BJ ever!) And there are plenty of OTHER problems with survival as well. 8) As a nurse she's far more useful in a group setting. What's the chance she didn't encounter a SINGLE human survivor in 6 months, and 9) she didn't cut or wash her hair for six months, but a single vigorous wash and she's a changed woman? and 10) She allows herself to be taken an alien who basically tossed her over the shoulder like caveman?
Sorry, but this is basically an alien abduction fantasy that borders into... involuntary sex, then forced into accepting the position as chief consort.
Category: Science fiction
Primary Plot: Alien Abduction Fantasy Including Quasi-Sensual Sex Leading to Pregnancy and Never Going Home -- Eeek!
Tropes: kidnapping, pregnancy, different worlds
Overall Rating: 2/5 (rounded up from 1.5/5)
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
Sydney was a survivor on Earth of alien attack. Tureis attacked Earth then Azziarin came to Earth to attack Tureis. Sydney barely survives in the ruins by becoming an expert forager (for six months) alone, but was very lonely. When she found a wounded Azziarin in the ruins, she hid him from the Tureis and got him to her hideout, and nursed him back to health (she was an ER nurse before the invasion). When Azziarin came to rescue their wounded comrade, they grabbed her as well. The wounded guy's brother, Jakke, was the ship commander. And they are going home. When Sydney woke up and got cleaned up, the ship commander, overtaken by "mating fever" due to Sydney's scent, basically grabbed her and bonked her silly (and she liked it). However, he didn't bother explaining that back home, Azzarin mate for life (and Sydney is probably pregnant) and Jakke had several consorts but only one mate (her). Once they go home, Sydney got mad when she realized she's never going back to Earth (not that going back is much fun) and she'll never be accepted there (not with all the consorts, and forever be a freak on alien planet). But she eventually relents and Jakke dispatches his consorts and promise to be faithful only to her. The end.
The alien being super-lovers trope was hard to read as, really, what are the chances that the aliens are 1) humanoid 2) carbon-based 3) have compatible sex appendages 4) satisfy the vampire fetish (yes, Azziarin have fangs, and mating involves biting) 5) Earth woman smell good to them 7) sex with humans are so cool! (first BJ ever!) And there are plenty of OTHER problems with survival as well. 8) As a nurse she's far more useful in a group setting. What's the chance she didn't encounter a SINGLE human survivor in 6 months, and 9) she didn't cut or wash her hair for six months, but a single vigorous wash and she's a changed woman? and 10) She allows herself to be taken an alien who basically tossed her over the shoulder like caveman?
Sorry, but this is basically an alien abduction fantasy that borders into... involuntary sex, then forced into accepting the position as chief consort.
Category: Science fiction
Primary Plot: Alien Abduction Fantasy Including Quasi-Sensual Sex Leading to Pregnancy and Never Going Home -- Eeek!
Tropes: kidnapping, pregnancy, different worlds
Overall Rating: 2/5 (rounded up from 1.5/5)
GRR Review Star King (Star Series Book 1) by Susan Grant
Star King is an interesting take on "star-crossed lovers" trope, except in this case, it's really between a Terran girl and an alien prince, but there are no stupid tropes about kidnapping or such. Instead, it started with a shared dream during their toughest hours. Almost two decades later, when the alien trade convoy arrived on Earth, the girl, now a woman with two kids, chose to confront the man that haunted her dreams... and embark on an adventure like no other, as they confront a threat that can annihilate the trade empire.
In a way, this is three books in one, as it switches genre from a military adventure (the lead-up to the shared dream), straight adventure (how the woman managed to talk her way onto his ship), to scifi military adventure including a kidnapping and rescue. Romance is mixed in there, as he must know why she had come to him after all these years.
My only problem with this is these aliens are just too... human... anatomically compatible, similar language that there is no problem with cross-learning, even eat comparable foods and drink comparable drinks (including alcohol)... even crime is the same, except these aliens have higher tech levels. Why does every alien romance have to do with hot alien males romancing Terran females? At least this one didn't do stupid tropes.
Category: Scifi
Primary Plot: Woman saw man in her vision years ago on the alien trade convoy and must meet him; ended up on an intersteallar adventure
Overall Rating: 4/5
In a way, this is three books in one, as it switches genre from a military adventure (the lead-up to the shared dream), straight adventure (how the woman managed to talk her way onto his ship), to scifi military adventure including a kidnapping and rescue. Romance is mixed in there, as he must know why she had come to him after all these years.
My only problem with this is these aliens are just too... human... anatomically compatible, similar language that there is no problem with cross-learning, even eat comparable foods and drink comparable drinks (including alcohol)... even crime is the same, except these aliens have higher tech levels. Why does every alien romance have to do with hot alien males romancing Terran females? At least this one didn't do stupid tropes.
Category: Scifi
Primary Plot: Woman saw man in her vision years ago on the alien trade convoy and must meet him; ended up on an intersteallar adventure
Overall Rating: 4/5
GRR Review: Alien Portals by Ruth Anne Scott
Alien Portal can be roughly described as 3/4 scifi and 1/4 romance. And the romance doesn't feel that well integrated, but rather, mostly an afterthought.
So where does romance fit into all this? Well, Galadriel and Vyker fall for each other, of course, never mind the sheer amount of coincidences that must align for that to happen, that Vyker is basically human anatomically and knows how to pleasure a human female despite the enormous power he wielded.
Evaluated as a pure adventure story involving time portals, this is not bad, as the plot points wrap up pretty well by the end. In fact, if you file away all the romance parts, the story will still work, which is why I say the romance feels... tacked-on.
And the bonus content is just crap.
Category: Science Fiction
Primary Plot: Woman fell through a portal and met the last lightkeeper of the universe, who, with some other adventurers, must save all of existence
Overall Rating: 3/5
Galadriel was drawn to this museum exhibit about this precursor civilization like no other, that she spent as much time as she could next to it, then one day she decided to trespass into the area where this wall had been excavated from, and fell through a portal into a different world, and was saved by a humanoid alien called Vyker. Vyker was trying to save the future from the darkness for he is, literally, caretaker of the light, and the last one. And somehow, Vyker and Galadriel, plus a few other adventurers, will have to figure out the puzzle of the portals, to save all of existence.
So where does romance fit into all this? Well, Galadriel and Vyker fall for each other, of course, never mind the sheer amount of coincidences that must align for that to happen, that Vyker is basically human anatomically and knows how to pleasure a human female despite the enormous power he wielded.
Evaluated as a pure adventure story involving time portals, this is not bad, as the plot points wrap up pretty well by the end. In fact, if you file away all the romance parts, the story will still work, which is why I say the romance feels... tacked-on.
And the bonus content is just crap.
Category: Science Fiction
Primary Plot: Woman fell through a portal and met the last lightkeeper of the universe, who, with some other adventurers, must save all of existence
Overall Rating: 3/5
GRR Review: Nadar by Vi Voxley
Nadar by Vi Voxley tried to combine military, romance, and scifi, but the overall plot is a thinly disguised alien abduction fantasy where the alien turned out to be better lovers than humans. While the use of tropes is less obvious, the overall illogical plot still really made no sense.
The plot points are just... weird. Corgans are essentially better humans on a different planet, and apparently their biology was so compatible... uh... sorry, that'd be a spoiler. The war between the TU and Corgans makes little sense, and neither does the final resolution or the grand gesture that lead up to it. The general theme is humans are such dweebs and dicks hot human females have to look for alien male lovers who will fight for and die for them (sigh). And what's the point of sending fighters if you leave them useless on the ground?
Category: military / scifi
Primary Plot: Terran fighter pilot was captured by alien warlord and fell for him, even as they try to stop an all-out war.
Overall Rating: 2/5
Terran Union is trying to expand, and a exploration fleet has moved into Corgan space, and land on a Congan shrine planets, against protest from staff. TU landed a dropship with 4 fighters as escorts, one of the pilot was Mara James. Upon landing, everybody got off and exploring (wait, even the fighter pilots?), and the Corgans, lead by warlord Nadar Brengen, attacked the invaders. During the battle, the landing ship self-destructed, taking out many Corgans, but the rest of TU landing party were captured or killed quickly. Mara was personally captured by Nadar, who took a personal liking to her. Corgans claimed the TU personnel as invaders, the fleet saw it as unprovoked attack, and war between TU and Corgan seem imminent, even as Nadar allowed Mara to return the other prisoners to the TU fleet by offering herself as hostage, and their attraction to each other grew. When all-out war was declared between TU and Corgans, Nadar contemplated an audacious plan to resolve the war once and for all.
The plot points are just... weird. Corgans are essentially better humans on a different planet, and apparently their biology was so compatible... uh... sorry, that'd be a spoiler. The war between the TU and Corgans makes little sense, and neither does the final resolution or the grand gesture that lead up to it. The general theme is humans are such dweebs and dicks hot human females have to look for alien male lovers who will fight for and die for them (sigh). And what's the point of sending fighters if you leave them useless on the ground?
Category: military / scifi
Primary Plot: Terran fighter pilot was captured by alien warlord and fell for him, even as they try to stop an all-out war.
Overall Rating: 2/5
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