I Married a Lizardman

Prime Mating Agency #1

by Regine Abel

Scaly, grumpy, but oh so cuddly...

As a third daughter on the farming colony of Meterion, Susan’s future prospects aren’t too promising. A pretty face, top-notch skills, and hard work mean nothing if your dowry doesn’t include fertile lands. With her twenty-fifth birthday approaching, and no suitors even remotely sniffing in her general direction, Susan will be forced to leave the family lands to work as an indentured servant in the capital city. Her only way out is to settle for an arranged marriage through the PMA – the Prime Mating Agency. She just never expected to be paired to a grumpy, massive lizardman, and above all not to grow so fond of his scales and quirky ways.

With everything going on, the last thing Olix needs is a mate, especially a squishy, scaleless, off-worlder with strange ways, and an obsession with farming. He is a Hunter, not a dirt digger. The Seer must have been mistaken when she insisted that, for the sake of the people, he take a mate from the stars. How can such a tiny thing be their salvation? And yet, his Susan’s softness is disturbingly addictive while hiding a surprising resilience.

With his ancestral lands on the line and the future of the clans threatened, could this wisp of a woman turn their fate around?

Genres: Romance, Aliens, Science Fiction, Monster Romance, Fantasy, Monsters, Marriage Of Convenience

228 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 21, 2021

About the author

USA Today bestselling author Regine Abel is a fantasy, paranormal, and sci-fi junkie. Anything with a bit of magic, a touch of the unusual, and a lot of romance will have her jumping for joy. She loves writing hot alien warriors meeting no-nonsense, kick-ass heroines. Her novels are steamy, action-packed, and with the twists and turns you never saw coming.

​Before devoting herself as a full-time writer, Regine had surrendered to her other passions: music and video games! After a decade working as a Sound Engineer in movie dubbing and live concerts, Regine became a professional Game Designer and Creative Director, a career that has led her from her home in Canada to the US and various countries in Europe and Asia.

Reviews

[Peter Topside · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, I really am not a big fan of sci-fi or romance books. I saw the cover here and was anticipating a light-hearted romp, that skated between the two genres, similar to a Carlton Mellick story. What I got was something that I wasn't prepared for...you guessed it...graphic and abundant scale-on-skin action!!! The author did a fine job making you feel engaged in all of the extremely detailed love scenes. I questioned how a virgin would adapt to certain odd circumstances so quickly and aggressively, but that didn't take away from anything, as it's just my opinion. At times, you also wonder how you're getting into a scene between a lady and a lizard. But it was well done, so who am I to judge? Unfortunately, I felt like parts of the story were extremely abbreviated, mainly the ending, while the love scenes were overly so. I'm not sure if that's leaving room for a potential sequel, or start to a series, but there are ample loose ends and material to continue the story here. Each chapter also alternates between first-person narratives by Olix (Lizard) and Susan (Lady), which took me a bit to get the hang of. All in all, it was an easy read, a fun concept and fans of either romance and/or sci-fi should have fun with it.

[Matilda · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars 🦎

This cover just has me dying. Like it’s got me thinking “who in their right mind would read this?” when in reality that ill-minded person is me 😚✌🏻

This novella follows…a human girl who’s name I currently need to look up…ah yes Susan . All due respect to all the Susan’s out there …but Susan just gives me white, middle-aged mom vibes. It’s definitely not the name I would name my FMC, but ig the heroine is supposed to be considered average. Like actually, she’s described that way

A common farm girl of average beauty, without wealth, minimal education, and not particularly refined or wordly didn’t exactly figure at the top of the list of their males looking for a partner.

Anyway, Susan is a farmer from the planet of Meterion. Since she’s a 3rd daughter, she’s not entitled to any property, she’s tired of living without any prospects so what better way to free yourself than getting married 🥳 very Victorian era

Susan decides to find her soulmate through some kind of ‘mating agency’ and surprise, surprise she gets a lizardman named Olix as her true mate. She decides to accept the marriage arrangement because she’s told that the planet Olix is from is suffering through hard times and she, with her white savior complex, believes she can save the day 💀

Now, Olix is pretty funny, but other than that he has no personality besides being a lizardman, sorry. Some of the things he thinks/says about Susan being human had my ass howling of laughter because he’s so clueless.

I had seen humans before, but never paid them too much attention. Now, I would be mated to a scaleless female with a skin the color of honey, and head fur the color of turning leaves. How was I even supposed to get aroused by that?

→Just that last line made me laugh so hard because really, how ARE they supposed to get it up for each other?…but hey, it’s a novella about aliens sooo

However, her soft outward appearance reminded me of the skin of a plucked bird. How in the world I would lay with this female was beyond me.

→PLUCKED BIRD 😂💀 why does it make sense

I know exactly what you guys are thinking…cause I thought about it too…where his dick at? Well, it’s retractable and it kinda just extends (??) when he gets arosed. I sorta imagine in my mind it shoots out like a sling shot

That sound, the scent of her musk, and the tart taste of her essence on my taste buds had my stem extruding with a will of its own.

Susan has to teach Olix about things like kissing, virginity, periods, and porn. Oh my god, when Susan was explaining to him that sex might hurt for her the first time because she’s a virgin and her hymen is intact

“Why has no male breached your ‘high man’ yet?” I asked, unable to hide the suspicion in my voice. “You are a mature female of mating age, right?”

→NOT ‘HIGH MAN’ HAHAHAHA 😂✋🏻

Olix and Susan’s relationship is really cute because of his cluelessness. Like he refused to have sex with her during her period (rightfully so), but also refused to even after it ended because he was scared of hurting her. So, Susan decided to hit him where it hurt, by acting ‘hurt’ 🥲

As soon as I heard him approaching our bedroom, I held a tablet in one hand while watching some porn at maximum volume, and started masturbating, my legs spread facing the door. When he asked me what I was doing, I very seriously answered that since my husband had lost all desire for me, I had no choice but to take care of myself. That night, I got thoroughly fucked by my man who was offended I would dare think he no longer wanted me.

→As she should, queen 👑



Super fun book, didn’t care much for the whole saving his species part…I was more here for the interspecies smut 🤪

[bratzargenta · Rating 5 out of 5]

no me juzguen, no se atrevan a juzgarme

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ⭐️ Say it with me, “We listen and we don’t judge.” lol

"We are partners for better or for worse. I am your safe haven as you are mine."

WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ alien romance
✨ she's a human farmer in need of a husband
✨ he's a lizard-looking alien and chief of his tribe
✨ arranged marriage / mail order bride
✨ friends to lovers
✨ loss of virginity
✨ 3/5 🌶️
✨ cinnamon roll MMC
✨ healthy communication
✨ low angst
✨ HEA

My Thoughts:

I've known about this series for a while, and what turned me off from reading it were the creature-looking MMCs on the covers. I thought there was no way I was going to get on board with a lizardman, but Regine Abel converted me. 🙈

Olix. Raw, next question. But really, I am 100% on board with this lizard-looking alien man. Not only is he tall AF and comes with washboard abs, but he's an absolute cinnamon roll and a quick study. 😉 The way he's committed to Susan and instantly makes her the center of his world had my ovaries exploding. I love him!

Susan is a gem that should be protected at all costs. Good thing she has Olix to do that. 🫶 She is so smart, passionate, determined, and kind. She handles her sudden marriage to Olix with grace and easily adjusts to her life on a completely new planet. I enjoyed following her journey and definitely consider her a strong FMC.

Olix and Susan had the sweetest relationship. They both are so kind and respectful towards each other even though they started their marriage as complete strangers. I admired how they openly communicated, and because of this, their relationship had no real drama.

While the spice wasn't unexpected, my level of enjoyment was. This isn't going to be something I explain to you. You'll just have to trust me and read the story to find out.

The side plot added another layer to the story, and while it was wrapped up quickly and without too much fuss, I was glad it wasn't overly-dramatized. The book isn't very long and is truly a romance, so there wasn't a need to extend any other side plots, and I appreciate that the author didn't drag it out.

I picked this book up to relax my brain and escape, and it 100% did that for me. I honestly didn't expect to like it so much, and I cannot wait to jump into book 2. This series is free to read on KU, so be sure to add it to your TBR!

[Gavin Hetherington · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found myself single (again) for Valentine's week, so I read five steamy romances to fill the void of true love 😭 Check out my spoiler-free reading vlog, which includes Wild Wild Wildlife: https://youtu.be/DKpXYjO_IRE

[Riley · Rating 3 out of 5]

the romance was way sweeter than i expected and i enjoyed it but I didn't really care for the plot, it was kinda boring

[Rain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Susan (25) is born on a matriarchal planet where the firstborn daughter inherits the family lands from her mother. Susan is a third daughter. She is an avid gardener/farmer, yet without the ability to own any land, she has no real hope for a future. She goes to the prime mating agency in the hopes that she could find success on another planet.

Olix is a hunter on a planet where prey/food is disappearing rapidly. It was foreseen that Olix would bond with a foreign mate, who would bring prosperity to the land and the people. He is not necessarily overjoyed with the prospect.

I would be mated to a scaleless female with a skin the color of honey, and head fur the color of turning leaves. How was I even supposed to get aroused by that?

This story was so much fun! From the cover, I was expecting some serious silliness, but it’s not cheesy in the least. The characters were well flushed out, the plot engaging, and the romance was shockingly genuine and sexy!

“We are two strangers united by fate, and who have committed to be each other’s support and most loyal partner, for better or for worse. You have much to learn about me and humans in general, just like I have much to learn about you and the Andturian people. We can do that together.”

These two characters were not afraid to openly engage an honest conversation, they didn’t avoid or sidestep hard discussions. How refreshing!!

A generation has passed since the Andturian have overthrown the invasive alien race that enslaved them previously, but there are deep generational scars left on the land and the people. They refuse to farm because of this past trauma but it is their only hope for survival.

The only complaint I have with this story, is Susan was the savior of everything. I understand that’s what the prophecy had stated, but after each time she came up with a perfect plan or solution, it felt a bit overdone. (Foreigner helps indigenous vibe) Granted, had she not come along, the Andturian would have been forced to sell their ancestry lands or die off.

The story reminded me slightly of some of my favorites sci-fi romances. With the same kind of rich character development and species/cultural differences between an alien man and a human woman:

The Last Hour of Gann
Radiance
Ensnared
Taken to Sasor

End with a satisfying, epilogue, and a HEA. Loved the additional art at the end of the story!

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was excited to try this one out but...it was boring?? The heroine is matched with the hero (who is a lizardman) and has to move to his planet and become part of his society. The heroine is from a farming community and would love to bring her knowledge to his people, who have not farmed since they escaped enslavement where they were forced to farm against their will. I really wanted to enjoy this romance, but it was kind of set to the side as the heroine was trying to get their community to farm. I completely didn't care about that and found the story just slow. The heroine had to learn the custom of the hero's people and they fell for each other pretty quickly. But I think the romance was just too sweet for me and the rest of the plot just fell more flat than not.

[Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm struggling a bit with how to rate this. Despite the bizarre cover, this is a surprisingly sweet romance involving an arranged marriage between a human woman and a lizard-like alien man. Their relationship is pretty charming. However, I'm kind of uncomfortable with the setup and plot.

An intergalactic agency is matching people from more developed civilizations to marry people from less developed civilizations in order to help them develop. The lizard people have a past of having been enslaved and brutally forced to work the land, leaving them with a distaste for the idea of farming despite their fertile land and near starvation as the herds they hunt disappear. Enter Susan, the passionate farmer, here to be the white savior of these indigenous people by changing their minds about modern farming and helping them lawyer up against evil corporate colonizing forces. *sigh*

I think there's something to be said for the argument that sometimes sci-fi romance is just finding a way around the problematic nature of "native" romances with white heroines and "noble savage" indigenous heroes. Swap human indigenous for alien indigenous, but offer a similar story. That's certainly what seems to be happening here. And to be fair, I don't think all sci-fi romance does this. Especially not in such overt ways. But in this case, it really kept pulling me out of what was otherwise a sweet (and spicy) romance. I'm going to have to give some thought to this, but I do think it's something worth considering.

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Come for the scary cover, stay for the scary subtext.
I’d like to start by acknowledging my friends on here who enjoyed this as a light read, I can see on some level that this was a cute alien read and had a feel good element to it. I laughed at moments and overall found both characters to be endearing and sweet. So your enjoyment of this and ability to lose yourself in the light side of this book is awesome and I don’t begrudge you that.
The story itself is a fairly simple, low angst one. Not horrifying in the least. These two rub along well after their arranged marriage and are cute together. But two specific things didn’t sit well with me in this book, and pulled me out of it to cringe and feel decidedly uncomfortable with the narrative. I’m going to outline those two things further below, but just as a caveat, this review is a critique of the book from my perspective. It is not a critique of anyone else’s enjoyment of the book or anyone else not seeing in it what I saw. I am stating my opinion and not fact and not from a place of authority on the issues, just my own busy critical brain.

That being said here are the two things that I would have liked dealt with differently in the book.

1. The virginity/hymen breaking part. I felt that this was a badly done part of the book. I think excessive time was spent explaining what I believe is incorrect (or at least incomplete) information on barrier virginity. The heroine explains what a hymen is to her alien mate and tells him to expect blood. (This is typical of romance in general and not my issue) my issue specifically was this quote:

“ We have this thin veil of flesh inside. It’s like a seal that says no one has ever penetrated us before.”

A. The hymen is not a seal, the hymen presents itself very differently for every woman but never is it a complete seal over the vagina.
B. 60% of women do not have any hymenal tissue when they have sex the first time. So what should a man do if he finds no seal? Does this mean she’s been penetrated? Does it even matter? This is a harmful narrative that I see time and again in romance and it just pushes purity culture and adds value to a piece of skin that a woman may or may not have.

The book continues to (in a silly way) discuss how honoured Olix is by her blood, wearing it around to show everyone. Yes maybe this is funny. But it made me uncomfortable and feel icky and it was so predominant in the book that I screamed at my tablet a few times.


2. The outsider who saved a planet vibe… maybe I like my alien books to be about a human learning from the aliens to survive in their harsh worlds. That is certainly what I am used to reading. This book was all about how an outsider comes in to an underdeveloped planet and teaches them how to use their land. Now yes, their situation was dire, they were on the brink of starvation, but the author made these choices and set it up this way so the heroine could swoop in with her superior knowledge and save them from themselves. The term for this is white saviourism.
Let me include a definition and then point out how I think this book ticked the boxes.

“The term white savior is a sarcastic or critical description of a white person who is depicted as liberating, rescuing or uplifting non-white people; it is critical in the sense that it describes a pattern in which third world peoples are denied agency and are seen as passive recipients of white benevolence”

So the federation arranges this match between Susan and Olix so that Susan can bring her farming skills to a hunting culture. The author set up that culture as failing and as resistant (with good reason) to modernization. Susan comes in as a person from a more developed planet to teach, demonstrate and ‘lift up’ these lizard folks and ultimately saves them. She even grows human crops on the land, not native plants to the area, so even their food needs to be improved upon.
In my opinion this book would have been less problematic if Susan had come in to farm and the lizard people had taught her about their land. And TOGETHER they had found ways to improve crop yields etc. having Susan do this single handedly (though eventually bringing in more educated humans) while winning the lizards slowly over to her side was white saviourism.

And finally this quote straight from the heroine in the epilogue:

“And you wondered how the heck such a fragile little thing was going to save your people,”

So this story is a basic allegory where the lizard race is put in place of an indigenous people. Changing the planet is a simple way to tell this ‘white saviour meets Indian Brave and saves his people’ story when the original trope is no longer palatable to readers.

So the love story within this problematic bit of farming was cute. The writing was simplistic and nothing was really too deep here. But I did get distracted and ripped out of the story on a few occasions because of the above.
To all who enjoyed this book as a straightforward light hearted read, good for you. Honestly sometimes I wish my brain would turn off and I wouldn’t have to dissect everything to death, but alas, I am me.

[Rae (semi-hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why have I not read this sooner?
Well, I know why, but I’ll get to that at the end

This. Was. So. Good. I wasn’t expecting it and was so pleased. The writing was amazing, the relationships (romantic and friendships) were so heartfelt and natural, the dialogue was great, the story itself was interesting, and the characters were those I could read about and never get tired of- every single one of them!

This wasn’t solely relationship driven, the plot is a pretty hefty portion. I really enjoyed that because with some romances the inner monologues get tiresome due to the repetitiveness- it’s always about the love interest. I always wondered if they had any sort of hobbies or life outside of their love/lust for their partner, but that was not the case for this! Susan, the FMC, was smart. She was kind. Respectful. Determined. Honestly, I wished I was more like Susan. She also felt like the most realistic character I’ve read about. She had her own insecurities, but she never put herself or others down. Her innovations and creative mind was everything- I loved how much she cared about the Andturians and did everything she could to help them.

Olix was a wonderful MMC. He was kind, he was strong, he was smart and respectful. I actually want to know an Olix irl because damn 😭 he’d be an awesome friend.

Their relationship felt 100% authentic. When Susan and Olix finally said I love you I knew they really meant it. This wasn’t love at first sight, it wasn’t instalust. This was a relationship built on mutual respect and communication. You saw their love grow over time, you didn’t even need to hear them say it to each other. Every action they did proved it.

I will absolutely check out Regine Abel’s other books, including the rest of this series, because this was a breath of fresh air. There was hardly any problematic themes, there was no misogyny or racism. So in a way, it felt utopic. It wasn’t without hardships, but I never felt those undertones that some books do have.

There was very little angst or drama, which I thought might make it boring, but I realized how nice that actually was. It didn’t mean it lacked depth or intrigue. Many rely on angst to convey emotions, but this one uses healthy communication, respect, and honor through actions of the mundane, so to speak. The ending was a natural progression of the story. It wasn’t rushed or abrupt. It did make me feel all warm and toasty inside due to how perfect it was.

Now, I really don’t like the cover. There, I said it. I feel bad for putting this book off for so long, but I couldn’t get past that. I wish there would be a revamping of the cover. Less is more. Or just let our imagination conjure up what we think Olix looks like. Please don’t let the cover discourage you from what’s inside. I promise you’ll like it.

[Niki {Still a Widow but reading more} · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to go back and up my rating, after seeing others I rated 4 star, I knew this deserved 5!!

I freaking loved this!!

I have so many things to say, I don't know where to start! How about with the cover. I liked that it was realistic and definitely looked like a lizard, instead of a cheesy photoshopped green man with fake scales. Look at that alien lizard face, am I right?! How's the h gonna fall in love with that?

This was a mate-matching, mail-order bride sorta of trope. I loved that is wasn't insta-love. It was so realistic with all the awkward bits left in. There was serious cultural shock and differences going both ways. Along with some cringe worthy moments.

But...I loved the realness. I loved the characters, Olix and Susan. They both were in terrible positions with their backs against the wall. The both decided to jump in feet first, with open minds, hoping for a bright future. Olix and Susan's openness and earnestness in wanting to do the best they could for each other and to make their relationship work, was sweet and romantic.

Don't be fooled though, this definitely picks up in the steam dept. As they grow more comfortable and allow themselves to be vulnerable with each other, Olix definitely feels free to try things with his mate that he found on the internet about human mating rituals LOL!!

This was sweet and romantic with wonderful world building! I could close my eyes and picture everything. I was easy to read and just sucked me right in. Olix and Susan were wonderful and so down to earth or I should have said down to Xecania!

[Paige · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars.

Ummm the literal setup of this book is that an agency arranges marriages between “more advanced” cultures and “primitive planets” to help the natives “develop”?? And this human woman goes to an alien planet, where her husband’s people were formerly enslaved and forced to farm under horrific conditions, and tries to convince them to start farming??? And keeps talking about how they have to “catch up” to the “modern world” if they want to survive?? And it literally says in the last chapter that this human woman saved all the natives?

That’s some white savior shit right there.

Steam: 4/5🔥

CW: colonialism, past slavery

[Chelsea (chelseadolling reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't really care for the romance in this but surprisingly did love the plot????? Very unusual for me when it comes to sci-fi romance lol so I'm def intrigued enough to read more in the series and see how I feel about future installments!

[Ꮗ€♫◗☿ ❤️ ilikebooksbest.com ❤️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly good!



The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💚🖤💙💜
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📘
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏🌎
Character development: ☹️🙃☺️😀
Narrator(s): 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Solo Narration

The heroine: Susan - she is the third daughter of a farmer and nearing her twenty fifth birthday. Which meant that the first daughter inherited their family land and the second daughter was back-up. A third daughter was just another mouth to feed. So she entered the Prime Mating Agency, since she wasn’t particularly beautiful, with average schooling and no wealth to speak of, she wouldn’t be able to find a mate with the better agencies.

The Hero: Olix - he is an Anturian male (lizard man) and a hunter located on Zaconia, he is the leader of his clan and owned the most fertile lands on his planet. Within his species, he was considered a prime specimen of a man, but he needed a mate and his people have been facing famine, because their people were hunters, since offworlders with great wealth have been overtaking much of the planet and hunting the game to near extinction.

The Story: The PMA (Prime Mating Agency) represented planets still considered primitive and the species weren’t considered stunningly attractive either. Though they did pair together species that were physically compatible and able to produce offspring together. Susan was a bit leery when she found out that her match was a lizard like humanoid species. But she really had no choice but to agree to the match and she was excited to hear about the fact that he had fertile lands because she longed to farm the land but due to her position as third daughter, wasn’t able to do that at home.

This book was told in dual points of view via solo narration and was narrated by Daryl Mayfield. He has a pretty good female voice and a deep male voice so he does a great job making solo narration sound more like dual narration. I didn’t like the exact description of the lizard man so I took some artistic freedoms in my picture, but that is my interpretation and I like how it turned out.

The story was a bit different than many of the alien romance stories I have read before and I bought the audiobook on sale, so thought it was worth trying out. I really enjoyed the narrator, so that helped. I love that you can listen to samples of the narration and have learned to do that before spending any money on audiobooks. Especially since a bad narrator can ruin the experience and a good one can make the story even better than it would have otherwise been.

I liked the fact that Olix was as wary of Susan as she was of him. At first he couldn’t imaging going to bed with her, which was kind of funny especially when he had to kiss her at the wedding. He can’t figure out why they would do that. The book was quite steamy and didn’t bother me at all, unlike a few other books I had read where the Heroes were humanoid but more animalistic than is normal in alien romance. I also thought Olix’s naivety when it came to human females was charming and cute. This book was better than I expected and I hope to read the rest of the series. I hope the audiobooks go on sale at some point as well.

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[Roz · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 ⭐️
3 🌶


Before starting my review, I do want to mention that this book is listed under “Colonization Science Fiction.” Before reading, I had no idea this category even existed. Ice Planet Barbarians is also on that list, but I don’t think this book is similar to IPB.

I’ve recently read a couple of monster romance novels on my kindle, so my kindle recommendations have slightly changed. I’ve seen more monster romance on my home page.

While scrolling, I came across the most horrifying cover I have ever seen. It’s giving my photoshop skills when I was in middle school. After sending screenshots of the book cover to my friends, because I can’t be the only one that had to see that, I let curiosity get the best of me… I decided to check it out. AS A JOKE! In my defense, if it weren’t on kindle unlimited, I wouldn’t have bought it.

The novel starts with Susan, the human woman, at the Prime Mating Agency because she’s nearing her 25th birthday. If she doesn’t get a match soon, her chances of finding a mate will not be great. She’s told that they found a match for her, an Andturian Hunter, leader of his clan that owns great farmlands. Since Susan is a farmer, she could convince them to start farming on their lands because they’re at risk of starvation. He said that she could be their “guiding light.”

At this part, everything made sense. It’s mentioned that they are hunters, not farmers, so what they’re trying to do makes sense—sending a human woman to help them farm/ teach them because they might not know how to. However, red flag, because they made it seem like this white woman, was going to be their savior. Also, out of all the names, her name had to be Susan?! That’s so normal and random.

We are then introduced to Olix and get his POV. This chapter, in my opinion, was the funniest part of the book. I mean, HE COMPARED HER TO A PLUCKED BIRD.

"Her features did nothing for me. She had tiny brown eyes framing a narrow nose that looked like someone had pinched it then tried to pull it out of her face before giving up. [.] however, her soft outward appearance reminded me of the skin of a plucked bird. How in the world would I lay with this female was beyond me."

This poor woman, this might be her only shot at a mate, and he’s thinking this.😭

They get married twice, then there’s a bit of spice. I don't know what to say; the whole thing was meh. Not to mention that he wore her virgin blood around after, IN PUBLIC??!. Nooo, she should’ve stopped that asap.

Here’s where I start not liking this novel.

She’s talking to her mother-in-law, Yamir, about farming. Susan is telling her that hunting is a risk while farming is a guarantee. But then, Yamir gets mad and says, “once before, off-worlders nearly destroyed our people by turning us into dirt diggers. You will not enslave us again.”

Now, everything starts to make sense. At this point, I’m thinking if this bitch somehow gets them to start farming again or doesn’t drop this topic, I will fight . Especially since they’re clearly uncomfortable even talking about it. She’s continuously triggering them at this point every time she mentions farming…

The agency had to have known that they were enslaved and forced to farm… yet still thought it was okay to send this human woman to try and change their minds about farming. Excuse me?! What the fuck.

I started skimming after that because I wanted to know what happens, but I was done by that point. I was so irritated at the entire book.

In the end, Susan started farming, made money, and came up with the idea of hiring human women farmers to farm for them. As you can probably see, the ending basically revolves around this white woman being the savior of this entire species. “Oh wow, she saved them from starvation.” immediately, no. I’m not okay with this message. fuck this.

TW: mention of slavery / being enslaved and forced to work (past), colonialism

[Mar, Queen of Darkness · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this, but I could not get past the whole 'white saviorism' trope.

The plot was basically "Human from developed planet goes to 'save' the ignorant tribal people." It gave me a bad taste.

Worse, she "saved" them by being insensitive (in my opinion) to their trauma by doing something that triggered them right in front of their faces, even after they repeatedly asked her not to. It just felt icky.

I would have preferred if they saved themselves and she just helped them along the way or something. Or maybe I'm overthinking this?

[Soft Nectarine ~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Girl ran out of options & had to marry a SPACE GECKO with a retractable D ✨🦎💚 top-tier alien romance about a human girl that uses her brain to save his people!

Susan is just a regular girl with exceptional farming skills. She desperately wants to get off her planet & signs up for a PRIME MATING agency matching individuals with aliens from more….primitive planets 🪐 She ends up finding her perfect match in a lizard man whose people had prophesied her arrival.

New world. New adventure. New traditions.

I absolutely adored this UNLIKELY couple! While freaked out about each other’s appearance they were both incredibly open-minded and accommodating. It was so funny reading about them discovering their differences & the quiet exploration of their passions ✨

🦎 she has been prophesied to save his people

🦎 when he watches human porn to better understand how to please her

🦎 found family!

🦎 he knows NOTHING about humans ~ she has to explain kissing, foreplay & periods

I was honestly a little scared on the cover but this story was IMPECCABLE! Not only did I love the adorable couple & their open communication but the plot was really well thought out. The story touched on many familiar themes of colonialism, capitalist exploitation & eco-tourism.

4.5⭐️ only because I really disliked how they kept using the word ’EXTRUDE’ for his stem

arranged marriage
monster romance
virgin fmc
alternative anatomy
found family
small alien town
HEA

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was honestly one of the sweetest marriage of convenience stories I've read in a while. I really loved how both of them worked to understand each other and make a life together, and I enjoyed the world building of the setting established. I am looking forward to diving in deeper to this author's backlist!

[Garden Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 estrellas en realidad.

Increíble novela de ciencia ficción erótico-romántica.

La trama se centra en Susan que, en un desesperado intento por evitar su deprimente destino, decide aceptar un matrimonio arreglado, por la agencia "Prime", con un hombre lagarto en un planeta distante. Es entonces dónde comienza todo el asunto, ambas culturas son prácticamente opuestas y por supuesto a primera vista hay cero atracción de ambas partes. Aún así, acorde a los datos recabados por la agencia, ambos son el compañero perfecto para el otro. Algo que irán descubriendo poco a poco a medida que se conocen.

Para empezar la trama me pareció muy buena y original pues a pesar de la fuerte carga erótico-romántica también incluye corporaciones malignas, desarrollo sustentable y todo el rollo de la importancia de preservar la cultura autóctona y el medio ambiente. Sin contar que además aquí no encontramos la típica relación tóxica del guapo "bad boy" posesivo tan común de las novelas erótico-románticas actuales, por lo que la lectura se sintió como un soplo de aire fresco. La relación de ambos se va construyendo de manera algo más pausada y realista al común de este tipo de historias, destacando las virtudes de ambos qué son lo que va haciendo que surga el amor. En pocas palabras, son solo dos seres dando lo mejor de sí para hacer que su relación, aparentemente imposible, termine por funcionar.

La historia a ratos es tierna y te saca más de una sonrisa. Hay momentos cómicos, otros más dramáticos... aún así, y a pesar de que disfrute un montón de ésta novela, también hubo unas pocas cosas que sentí le restaron puntos.

La primera es más personal, pero las escenas eróticas se me hicieron algo "freak". Un hombre lagarto y una humana... ¡claramente no es lo mío! Entiendo que a alguien pueda parecerle disfrutable más no fue mi caso.

Segundo, a ratos se siente todo demasiado perfecto. Y sí, la novela terminó dejándome una gran sonrisa, pero cuando todo siempre termina saliendo excesivamente bien te deja esa ligera sensación de poco realismo. Algo que por lo general no es muy bueno en una novela.

Tercero, el final fue algo apresurado, como si a la autora se le hubiera venido el plazo de entrega encima o se hubiera cansado de desarrollar la trama colocando varios saltos de tiempo en las últimas seis páginas para llegar pronto a su final... y no me malinterpreten, la novela tiene un buen final, solo que con poco desarrollo y explicación de las cosas.

Y por último, la traducción al español es HO-RRI-BLE... En lo personal me vi forzado a terminar leyendo la novela en inglés porque es cómo si hubieran tirado la novela a "Google Traductor" sin siquiera darle una posterior revisión para luego engancharla a "Amazon" como "spanish version". Hay montones de frases mal hechas, horriblemente explicadas o que derechamente no se entienden. Cosa que por supuesto no ocurre en su versión en inglés ¡Realmente del asco!

Aún así, pese a estas pequeñas cosas, recomiendo a mil ésta novela, sobre todo a su principal público objetivo qué son las lectoras de romántico. Es de esas novelas que te dejan un buen subidón de energía positiva por su bienintensionada trama. En lo personal, y pese a que no soy fan de este tipo de historias, me ha parecido una maravilla.

¡Muy recomendada!

[Ira · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars ⭐️

I picked this book because that cover and title! Hah! 😂
Lucky me, the storyline is much better than I expected ❤️.

The blurb is telling what this story all about quite nicely.
I love this H/h 😍, it was good to see how they can communicate their differences and try to understand from their partner POV too.

The heroine is a farmer and she was a very good one too.
And for a girl who couldn’t even keep an IKEA’s bamboo tree alive, like me?
What she does is a miracle to me! 😳😂🤣
Oh, that’s the extra half star point coming from 😘😍😂

❤️❤️❤️

[NMmomof4 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars

Overall Opinion: I just had to read this! I love books where one of the characters have to adapt to a new world and this was just that. I just felt like it was fluff. Minimal conflict, they connect sexually instantly, and it was wrapped up too easily and felt even rushed in the end. Silver lining was that it was a silly premise and I didn’t go into this with huge expectations so I wasn’t disappointed!

Brief Summary of the Storyline: This is Susan and Olix’s story. Susan is a third daughter on a planet that favors first and second daughters and she gets with an agency for an arranged marriage to a primitive species on their own planet. Olix is the leader of his people and the seer tells him he must marry an other-worlder to save his people and he gets paired up with Susan. They get along well but have some major differences in not only their physical makeup but their cultures and values that they have to work through. There is some mild outsider drama and some sexy times…and they get a HEA ending.

Point Of View (POV): This alternated between Susan and Olix’s POV.

Overall Pace of Story: Good, until the rushed ending. I never skimmed.

Instalove: No, they take a while to develop stronger feelings.

H (Hero) rating: 3 stars. Olix. He was alright. I never really felt that we got deep into his character.

h (heroine) rating: 3 stars. Susan. She was alright too. I don’t feel like I got really into her character either.

Sadness level: Low, no tissues needed

Push/Pull: No

Heat level: Good. They have some good tension, chemistry, and scenes -- but not so much it takes away from the story.

Descriptive sex: Yes

OW (Other Woman)/OM (Other Man) drama: No

Sex scene with OW or OM: No

Cheating: No

Separation: No

Possible Triggers: Yes The h was a virgin (on page)

Closure: This ends in an alright place but it felt really rushed. I would call this a HEA ending they’re still married and she just had a baby.

Safety: This one should be Safe for most safety gang readers

- Does Not have cheating
- Does Not have a descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
- Does Not have the h or H pushing away
- Does Not have a separation between the h and H
- Does Not have abuse
- Does have a HEA ending

[Saranyca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Qué miras sigue bajando, el libro es bueno no me juzgues

[Shruti (Hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! The writing is reasonably good, loved the FMC, her courage, peaceable nature and her ingenuity. The MMC could have used a little more personality and tolerance for the FMC's unfamiliarity of the new customs she's coming into contact with for the first time. Loved how clueless he was though, it was humourous and hot. The mutual respect and care they have for each other and the good writing reminded me faintly of Grace Draven's Radiance (though that work is absolutely top notch). Looking forward to reading the next many books.

I will say that I wish the titles and the cover artworks were better for these books. I think they do a bit (a lot) of disservice to the good writing within.

[Lyn❤Loves❤Listening to Real Voices Only!!!!❤️🎧📚 Addict ON HIATUS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audio - 5 Stars
Story - 3.5 Stars

[Izzie (semi-hiatus) McFussy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️This was like ice cream. No matter whether it’s your favorite flavor (jamocha) or not (vanilla), it’s sweet, easy going down, and quickly gobbled up.

Erm, perhaps cotton candy might be a better comparison?

It was what it was—a silly, steamy, angst-lite, marriage of convenience which was worth losing a night’s sleep over.

But, I do have some McFussies:
💪A Mary Sue heroine.
🔃 A circular solution for the Andturian tribe that seemed like overkill and at odds with their culture.

[Izzah ꒰紅葉を期待 ಇ Duchess of Cabria꒱ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and wholesome

No original review, so I'll just say: Don't be deterred by the cover ♡

and...

If he's not displaying your virgin blood on the heel of his knife, does he even love you?
╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭

જ⁀➴ Shoutout to Gloria and Paige for their bravery ( ˶ˆᗜˆ˵ )

[mica · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5⭐️ -ish?


hermanas yo les juro que quería que me FASCINE.. pero... para mi fue bastante meh, es de estos casos que el libro en sí no es malo ni está mal escrito etc, simplemente no funcionó para mi, igual después más adelante voy a tratar de leer los otros libros de la saga

[✧ FLINN ✧ (Semi-Hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Really cute

[❀ Rose ❀]

Don’t ask lmao