What do you think?
Rate this book
Claimings #1
Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts
Liam loves his life as a linguist and trader on the Rownt homeworld, but he has ignored his heart and sexual needs for years. He won't risk letting anyone come too close because he won't risk letting anyone see his deeply submissive nature. For him, submission comes with pain. Life burned that lesson into his soul from a young age. This fear keeps him from noticing that the Rownt trader Ondry cares for him.
Ondry may not understand humans, but he recognizes a wounded soul, and his need to protect Liam is quickly outpacing his common sense. They may have laws, culture, and incompatible genitalia in their way, but Ondry knows that he can find a way to overcome all that if he can just overcome the ghosts of Liam's past. Only then can he take possession of a man he has grown to love.
Ondry may not understand humans, but he recognizes a wounded soul, and his need to protect Liam is quickly outpacing his common sense. They may have laws, culture, and incompatible genitalia in their way, but Ondry knows that he can find a way to overcome all that if he can just overcome the ghosts of Liam's past. Only then can he take possession of a man he has grown to love.
198 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 29, 2013
163 people are currently reading
3521 people want to read
About the author
Lyn Gala
47 books1,166 followersLynsey "Lyn" Gala started writing in the back of her science notebook in third grade and hasn’t stopped since. Westerns starring men with shady pasts gave way to science fiction with questionable protagonists which eventually gave in to any story with a morally ambiguous character. Even the purest heroes have pain and loss and darkness in their hearts, and that’s where she likes to find her stories. Her characters seek to better themselves and find the happy ending (or happier anyway), but it’s writing the struggle that inspires her muse. When she isn’t writing, Lyn Gala teaches in New Mexico.
She first cut her teeth on fanfic: gen, slash, het, and femslash. She prefers to focus on plot: mysteries and monsters and disasters, oh my, but sex can and does happen. Some of her stories focus on power exchange, bondage or bdsm. In her worlds, tops and bottoms are all mature, consenting adults. In fact, stories where they aren't squick her badly, so don't expect to find abuse stories in her journal.
She first cut her teeth on fanfic: gen, slash, het, and femslash. She prefers to focus on plot: mysteries and monsters and disasters, oh my, but sex can and does happen. Some of her stories focus on power exchange, bondage or bdsm. In her worlds, tops and bottoms are all mature, consenting adults. In fact, stories where they aren't squick her badly, so don't expect to find abuse stories in her journal.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 755 reviews
January 12, 2023
My inner linguist went gaga over this book!
The setting is Prarownt, a planet that's one of earth's trading partners. Liam, a human, is a linguist and trader who, we slowly learn, has an abusive past and now lives on the earth's military base on Prarownt. Liam doesn't seek power. He's happy to learn and serve. His favorite trader, Ondry, is a Rownt male, topping seven feet, purple, with a two-foot cock, and long tail.
That sure sounds like the stuff of fetishism, no?
But don't read this book for kinks and tentacle sex, because you'll be sorely disappointed.
Categorizing Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts as fetish/kink degrades this book, makes it the stuff of weird porn fantasies. (No one freak on me. I am not knocking fetishes and porn!) It's just that this book is MORE: brilliant, well written, with a tight plot and an amazing love story at its center.
But it's not a traditional love story. The word "love" isn't mentioned. Ondry and Liam don't even have sex, not in the human sense, which doesn't mean this book lacks sensuality or tenderness. Oh, no, it has both in spades.
The amount of linguistic and anthropological research Gala put into this story is astounding. In 100 pages, she built an entire world full of customs and traditions, wrote a dystopian future for humans, and shattered all my expectations about the sci-fi genre.
The Rownt are a matriarchal society; they do business, not relationships. Older women, "grandmothers," rule the planet. Men are forced to give up their seed by being held down by women and "pumped" for their genetic material. Don't call it "rape," though, because that's a human concept, and there's fallibility is pushing subjective cultural perspectives onto other beings.
The Rownt world is staggeringly complex. The culture, mannerisms, and verbal and nonverbal communication are unlike anything humans understand. I admit it: I judged. After all, if you violently hold someone down and force them to give up their seed, how can that NOT be rape?
Liam struggles with fully understanding this world. He becomes Ondry's "palteia," chained to serve Ondry. Ondry explains that the word "palteia" means "follower," but Liam realizes it means more than that. Being a palteia is a great honor; it takes courage to submit to another. It's a need Ondry sees in Liam. He courts Liam for years, teaching him, shaping him. When a new base commander abuses his power and humiliates Liam, Ondry asks the grandmothers if he can keep Liam. Ondry doesn't enslave Liam. He claims him. He fights for him. He saves him.
Sexual need is a foreign concept for the Rownt (sex is about passing on the seed only), but intimacy is not, and Ondry trusts Liam enough to be vulnerable. He allows Liam to caress his pleasure spots (which have nothing to do with genitalia) and seeks to bring Liam sexual release, as pleasing Liam pleases him. Sex here isn't about fucking or sucking, but it is about caressing and learning and giving up expectations of what it means to fulfill somebody.
At heart, this is a D/s book unlike any other; it's about the falseness of our (limited, human, xenophobic) perceptions; the tenderness of fully submitting to another who cherishes your submission and sees it as strength, not weakness; the hope of being held captive, when all you ever wanted was to be needed.
This book pretty much rocked my world.
The setting is Prarownt, a planet that's one of earth's trading partners. Liam, a human, is a linguist and trader who, we slowly learn, has an abusive past and now lives on the earth's military base on Prarownt. Liam doesn't seek power. He's happy to learn and serve. His favorite trader, Ondry, is a Rownt male, topping seven feet, purple, with a two-foot cock, and long tail.
That sure sounds like the stuff of fetishism, no?
But don't read this book for kinks and tentacle sex, because you'll be sorely disappointed.
Categorizing Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts as fetish/kink degrades this book, makes it the stuff of weird porn fantasies. (No one freak on me. I am not knocking fetishes and porn!) It's just that this book is MORE: brilliant, well written, with a tight plot and an amazing love story at its center.
But it's not a traditional love story. The word "love" isn't mentioned. Ondry and Liam don't even have sex, not in the human sense, which doesn't mean this book lacks sensuality or tenderness. Oh, no, it has both in spades.
The amount of linguistic and anthropological research Gala put into this story is astounding. In 100 pages, she built an entire world full of customs and traditions, wrote a dystopian future for humans, and shattered all my expectations about the sci-fi genre.
The Rownt are a matriarchal society; they do business, not relationships. Older women, "grandmothers," rule the planet. Men are forced to give up their seed by being held down by women and "pumped" for their genetic material. Don't call it "rape," though, because that's a human concept, and there's fallibility is pushing subjective cultural perspectives onto other beings.
The Rownt world is staggeringly complex. The culture, mannerisms, and verbal and nonverbal communication are unlike anything humans understand. I admit it: I judged. After all, if you violently hold someone down and force them to give up their seed, how can that NOT be rape?
Liam struggles with fully understanding this world. He becomes Ondry's "palteia," chained to serve Ondry. Ondry explains that the word "palteia" means "follower," but Liam realizes it means more than that. Being a palteia is a great honor; it takes courage to submit to another. It's a need Ondry sees in Liam. He courts Liam for years, teaching him, shaping him. When a new base commander abuses his power and humiliates Liam, Ondry asks the grandmothers if he can keep Liam. Ondry doesn't enslave Liam. He claims him. He fights for him. He saves him.
Sexual need is a foreign concept for the Rownt (sex is about passing on the seed only), but intimacy is not, and Ondry trusts Liam enough to be vulnerable. He allows Liam to caress his pleasure spots (which have nothing to do with genitalia) and seeks to bring Liam sexual release, as pleasing Liam pleases him. Sex here isn't about fucking or sucking, but it is about caressing and learning and giving up expectations of what it means to fulfill somebody.
At heart, this is a D/s book unlike any other; it's about the falseness of our (limited, human, xenophobic) perceptions; the tenderness of fully submitting to another who cherishes your submission and sees it as strength, not weakness; the hope of being held captive, when all you ever wanted was to be needed.
This book pretty much rocked my world.
February 2, 2014
Imaginative, with a clever thematic symmetry to it, and compelling leads.
Oh, man did this thing hurt to leave. It just ended too soon. Just. Too. Soon. Fascinating alien species, and a world I'm agog to read more of.
Marvelous world-building. Really, nicely-done.
That cover, though...
*extended silence during which one may safely presume volumes are being spoken, cuttingly*
Okay, fuck this, I can't stay silent: that cover is an abomination. Especially when the story's got so much work put into it.
It's the spiny fins on the tail. Considering what happens in the... and then the 7-foot tall Alien represented by an average human torso... but then with a kind of half-assed purple spray-tan applied inconsistently over it like...
...With a belly button?
Because they come out of eggs with umbilical cords?
...fuggeddaboudit.
Story's good, at least. Real good.
Oh, man did this thing hurt to leave. It just ended too soon. Just. Too. Soon. Fascinating alien species, and a world I'm agog to read more of.
Marvelous world-building. Really, nicely-done.
That cover, though...
*extended silence during which one may safely presume volumes are being spoken, cuttingly*
Okay, fuck this, I can't stay silent: that cover is an abomination. Especially when the story's got so much work put into it.
It's the spiny fins on the tail. Considering what happens in the... and then the 7-foot tall Alien represented by an average human torso... but then with a kind of half-assed purple spray-tan applied inconsistently over it like...
...With a belly button?
Because they come out of eggs with umbilical cords?
...fuggeddaboudit.
Story's good, at least. Real good.
November 10, 2019
Reread: 1st Nov 2019
I loved reading this book but man, listening this is even better. 😍 I know I’m seriously biased when it comes to this series because both Lyn Gala and John Solo are my favorites 😁 but this is just an epic, flawless love story. 💜
COULDN’t GET IT ENOUGH! This will forever be on my all time favorites list and I think I will relisten these audios at least once a year. 😊🥰
Original review: Edited version
To say the least, this book is different. 😁 but let me assure you, this is different and unique in the best possible way. 😉
Liam is a damaged soldier who’s now serving as a linguist and a trader on an alien planet called Prarowont. And Ondry is a 7 feet tall alien who had been courting Liam for over 5 years (and hilariously, poor Liam was totally oblivious and he just thought Ondry was exceptionally friendly towards him because of his poor trading skills 🤣). And when Ondry found out a new commander from Earth has come and the guy had been mean and nasty towards Liam, he decided to handle things on his term. He has waited long enough for Liam and he won’t let anyone taking advantage of sweet, precious Liam. It’s time to make his claim once and for all. 😁 He’s the chilta (Dom) of palteia (Sub) Liam and no one could possibly takes better care of Liam than him. Now he only needs to convince Liam that he can trust him and let go if his fears and insecurities.
And my friends, things get very VERY interesting from this point on. 😉 However, this is more about subtle and beautiful relationship between a Dom and a Sub. Don’t get me wrong, you still get hot sex scenes but just not what you would normally hope from humans and aliens doing it. I won’t tell much details here since I don’t want to spoil the exciting surprises. 😛 And you know what, the other important thing I love in this book is the fact that a thousand years old Grandmas rule this planet. I mean it’s really refreshing to see a world where males are not the dominant rulers for a change. I’m all about matriarchal societies. 😊 It’s beautiful and heartwarming to see Liam who had a terrible, broken past was willing to overcome his fears and willingly submit himself to Ondry, the best Dom who knows when to stop and when to push. 🥰 This is the first book in the beautiful journey of these two lovers and I can’t wait to read more books in this series. And my god, as I said, I loved reading this series first time around but listening the phenomenal performance of John Solo was a whole new experience. 😱💜 I LOVED every single second listening to this story. Simply stunning! 😍
My favorite excerpts from the story
“Listen, child. I do not know your customs, but if Ondry tried to trade you away, I would strip the skin from his penis so he might never father children. I would brand him so that everyone would know he dishonored his oath as chilta. I say this as a grandmother of the tribe in the holy place of the tribe. Every grandmother will carry out my words.”
“I would never give you up. If I were killed, I would ask my family to always protect you, but I would never leave you, short of death. We do not trade in people. Ever.”
“As your chilta, I set the rules and decide what jobs will get done between us. I send you where I need you to go, and chain you to a wall if I even suspect you will not follow my order. I will demand truth from you and force such truth if you have trouble sharing. Most importantly, I will expect you to put my needs ahead of even your own, in trades and in this house. Without exception. But if you are palteia, none of that bothers you. However, I will also protect you, guard you jealously, and made sure everyone in this village knows that they are the offspring of thin-shelled eggs because they couldn’t see the truth under their noses. I plan to be quite obnoxious about it.”
The audio version of this book also includes the short stories from the prelude book. So I’ll include the review here too.
Original Review: Edited Version
Such beautiful short stories.
In this collection of short stories, we are able to learn how Ondry first had his sight on Liam and how they interacted with each other in the early days. It really was love at first sight! *swoon* 🥰 It’s so refreshing and exhilarating to see so many POVs here. I especially loved seeing things from Ondry’s eyes. It definitely was an eye opener. You really need to read this collection of short stories if you loved Claiming series by Lyn Gala. And I’m so grateful that Lyn put a glossary of Rownt expressions as well as reading, saying and paletia phrases at the end of the book. It definitely helps a lot to understand better about the importance of insults and how Rownt society runs. Loved it to the moon and back! 💚😉
Favorite excerpt from the short stories
“To have a creature adore you completely, to trust you more than they trusted themselves—it was a sacred gift from the gods.” 🥰
5 I’ll bound you to my nest, my heart and to my very existence stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Audio rating
Story - 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narration - 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Performance - 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Overall - 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I loved reading this book but man, listening this is even better. 😍 I know I’m seriously biased when it comes to this series because both Lyn Gala and John Solo are my favorites 😁 but this is just an epic, flawless love story. 💜
COULDN’t GET IT ENOUGH! This will forever be on my all time favorites list and I think I will relisten these audios at least once a year. 😊🥰
Original review: Edited version
To say the least, this book is different. 😁 but let me assure you, this is different and unique in the best possible way. 😉
Liam is a damaged soldier who’s now serving as a linguist and a trader on an alien planet called Prarowont. And Ondry is a 7 feet tall alien who had been courting Liam for over 5 years (and hilariously, poor Liam was totally oblivious and he just thought Ondry was exceptionally friendly towards him because of his poor trading skills 🤣). And when Ondry found out a new commander from Earth has come and the guy had been mean and nasty towards Liam, he decided to handle things on his term. He has waited long enough for Liam and he won’t let anyone taking advantage of sweet, precious Liam. It’s time to make his claim once and for all. 😁 He’s the chilta (Dom) of palteia (Sub) Liam and no one could possibly takes better care of Liam than him. Now he only needs to convince Liam that he can trust him and let go if his fears and insecurities.
And my friends, things get very VERY interesting from this point on. 😉 However, this is more about subtle and beautiful relationship between a Dom and a Sub. Don’t get me wrong, you still get hot sex scenes but just not what you would normally hope from humans and aliens doing it. I won’t tell much details here since I don’t want to spoil the exciting surprises. 😛 And you know what, the other important thing I love in this book is the fact that a thousand years old Grandmas rule this planet. I mean it’s really refreshing to see a world where males are not the dominant rulers for a change. I’m all about matriarchal societies. 😊 It’s beautiful and heartwarming to see Liam who had a terrible, broken past was willing to overcome his fears and willingly submit himself to Ondry, the best Dom who knows when to stop and when to push. 🥰 This is the first book in the beautiful journey of these two lovers and I can’t wait to read more books in this series. And my god, as I said, I loved reading this series first time around but listening the phenomenal performance of John Solo was a whole new experience. 😱💜 I LOVED every single second listening to this story. Simply stunning! 😍
My favorite excerpts from the story
“Listen, child. I do not know your customs, but if Ondry tried to trade you away, I would strip the skin from his penis so he might never father children. I would brand him so that everyone would know he dishonored his oath as chilta. I say this as a grandmother of the tribe in the holy place of the tribe. Every grandmother will carry out my words.”
“I would never give you up. If I were killed, I would ask my family to always protect you, but I would never leave you, short of death. We do not trade in people. Ever.”
“As your chilta, I set the rules and decide what jobs will get done between us. I send you where I need you to go, and chain you to a wall if I even suspect you will not follow my order. I will demand truth from you and force such truth if you have trouble sharing. Most importantly, I will expect you to put my needs ahead of even your own, in trades and in this house. Without exception. But if you are palteia, none of that bothers you. However, I will also protect you, guard you jealously, and made sure everyone in this village knows that they are the offspring of thin-shelled eggs because they couldn’t see the truth under their noses. I plan to be quite obnoxious about it.”
The audio version of this book also includes the short stories from the prelude book. So I’ll include the review here too.
Original Review: Edited Version
Such beautiful short stories.
In this collection of short stories, we are able to learn how Ondry first had his sight on Liam and how they interacted with each other in the early days. It really was love at first sight! *swoon* 🥰 It’s so refreshing and exhilarating to see so many POVs here. I especially loved seeing things from Ondry’s eyes. It definitely was an eye opener. You really need to read this collection of short stories if you loved Claiming series by Lyn Gala. And I’m so grateful that Lyn put a glossary of Rownt expressions as well as reading, saying and paletia phrases at the end of the book. It definitely helps a lot to understand better about the importance of insults and how Rownt society runs. Loved it to the moon and back! 💚😉
Favorite excerpt from the short stories
“To have a creature adore you completely, to trust you more than they trusted themselves—it was a sacred gift from the gods.” 🥰
5 I’ll bound you to my nest, my heart and to my very existence stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Audio rating
Story - 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narration - 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Performance - 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Overall - 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
July 5, 2015
More fascinating than I had expected! Not that I had a list of expectations, but as soon as I read that Claimings, Tails and other Alien Artifacts involved aliens with tails, my mind sort of went into a frenzy and fed me "Oh no! Not smutty tail action... and..tentacles? Oh please, not suction cups and slime!" red alerts.
I shouldn’t have worried. Although there’s more than enough to enjoy if funky appendages going dark places are your kink, please don’t let that tail on the cover put you off! The aliens in this book, Rownts, don’t have the bodies of purple painted stockphoto models. More importantly, they don’t have spiky, finned tails. This is not torture porn.
Quite the opposite actually! It's a gently flowing angst-free story, with an exotic touch to spice things up. Exotic comes in the form of an unconsciously dirty dub con talking alien, who develops an interest in a human male: Liam. As a linguist on the Rownt homeworld, Liam’s able to read and translate the expressions on the Rownt’s reptile-ish faces and is one of the few who understands the finer nuances of the alien language. This makes him an excellent trader. Unfortunately, Liam’s talent doesn’t protect him from his new asshole commanding officer, who plans on making his life hell. Something his favorite Rownt trader, Ondry, doesn’t fail to notice...
And then Liam suddenly wakes up groggy and finds himself chained to Ondry’s bed, a nest.
To Liam, palteia at first is just another word for screwed. For me, it was the beginning of a compelling take on D/s dynamics through the eyes of an alien race. Since the Rownt and the human race are sexually not compatible (these aliens don’t do sex for pleasure, which is pretty damn good news for Liam, but you’ll figure out the 'why' yourself), it’s intriguing to discover how things play out between Liam and Ondry. The cultural and social differences between their races are enormous. Even a talented linguist can’t completely bridge that gap. For instance, when Liam is manhandled and bound by his alien, the sexual subtext is completely lost on Ondry, but not on Liam... Which leads to amusing – and pretty exciting – situations.
Dissed by an alien. Gotta love that, ha!
Anyway, although I loved the focus on the racial differences and the fact that these aliens are and remain truly alien throughout the story, I wish there was a little more to the characters. Liam in particular never really came alive for me. If he had borrowed only an inch of personality from Dark Space’s Brady Garrett, I would’ve been happy! It’s possible that due to this 'distance' I felt, Liam’s sudden 'feelings' came as a bit of a surprise. This being a novella, you may be left wanting more and wondering about things that were only lightly touched on. I wouldn’t mind a sequel at some point.
But hey, time to admit that you want to find out if (and how) a human male and a reptile-ish, sexually incompatible alien with a tail can be a match made in space!
I shouldn’t have worried. Although there’s more than enough to enjoy if funky appendages going dark places are your kink, please don’t let that tail on the cover put you off! The aliens in this book, Rownts, don’t have the bodies of purple painted stockphoto models. More importantly, they don’t have spiky, finned tails. This is not torture porn.
Quite the opposite actually! It's a gently flowing angst-free story, with an exotic touch to spice things up. Exotic comes in the form of an unconsciously dirty dub con talking alien, who develops an interest in a human male: Liam. As a linguist on the Rownt homeworld, Liam’s able to read and translate the expressions on the Rownt’s reptile-ish faces and is one of the few who understands the finer nuances of the alien language. This makes him an excellent trader. Unfortunately, Liam’s talent doesn’t protect him from his new asshole commanding officer, who plans on making his life hell. Something his favorite Rownt trader, Ondry, doesn’t fail to notice...
And then Liam suddenly wakes up groggy and finds himself chained to Ondry’s bed, a nest.
"I have to call base."
"You are not theirs anymore." (...)
"They gave me to you? For how long?” Liam asked. There had be a way to fix all this.
"You are palteia," Ondry said that as if it explained everything. For a Rownt, it probably would.
"So you keep saying . The problem is that I don’t understand that. I’ve never seen the word. I don’t know any stories with palteia. How long am I supposed to stay here?"
"A palteia is always a palteia." Ondry started to pale.
"Oh fuck. Forever. You plan to keep me forever." Pressing his eyes closed, Liam let his head fall back against the wall with a thunk.
To Liam, palteia at first is just another word for screwed. For me, it was the beginning of a compelling take on D/s dynamics through the eyes of an alien race. Since the Rownt and the human race are sexually not compatible (these aliens don’t do sex for pleasure, which is pretty damn good news for Liam, but you’ll figure out the 'why' yourself), it’s intriguing to discover how things play out between Liam and Ondry. The cultural and social differences between their races are enormous. Even a talented linguist can’t completely bridge that gap. For instance, when Liam is manhandled and bound by his alien, the sexual subtext is completely lost on Ondry, but not on Liam... Which leads to amusing – and pretty exciting – situations.
"It’s an erection," Liam explained once he caught his breath again. This was beyond embarrassing, and still he was hard.
"Really? This is long enough to reach the female reproductive tract?" Ondry’s eyes were wide with disbelief or maybe just curiosity.
Dissed by an alien. Gotta love that, ha!
Anyway, although I loved the focus on the racial differences and the fact that these aliens are and remain truly alien throughout the story, I wish there was a little more to the characters. Liam in particular never really came alive for me. If he had borrowed only an inch of personality from Dark Space’s Brady Garrett, I would’ve been happy! It’s possible that due to this 'distance' I felt, Liam’s sudden 'feelings' came as a bit of a surprise. This being a novella, you may be left wanting more and wondering about things that were only lightly touched on. I wouldn’t mind a sequel at some point.
But hey, time to admit that you want to find out if (and how) a human male and a reptile-ish, sexually incompatible alien with a tail can be a match made in space!
July 31, 2024
This. Was. Excellent.
Ignore the cover, the aliens in this book look like giant 7-15 foot bipedal turtles, not purple human men.
It was like finding out that dinosaur-turtle men were alive and living like the Amish.
This is a science fiction story with intensely individual characters and beautiful world building.
Military linguist
Language barrier
Verbal/nonverbal communication
Matriarchal alien society
Extreme culture differences
Emotionally intelligent romance
Hurt/comfort
Tail sex
“How does nonreproductive copulation work?”
Liam has lived a rough life. He is quite happy being a linguist on a planet with slow moving, deeply intelligent, giant aliens called the Rownt.
Ondry is over 7 feet tall, sharply clever and has obtained a high level trader status. He finds himself intrigued by the human, who despite making numerous mistakes in languages and trading, continues to learn.
The tag of D/s doesn’t feel appropriate for this series. I was hoping it would not be BDSM heavy, and was surprised to find it really had nothing to do with the human equivalent of a submissive. It’s difficult to explain.
Palteia are so very rare and valued.
This story is the healing of a deeply wounded human man who has been physically and sexually abused by multiple people his entire life. Yes, he is also a submissive, but that is not the core of the story.
Liam wasn’t sure that translated, so he added his own English version. “He’s a little overprotective. When he threatens a blood feud if you hurt me, he means it. He will attack if he thinks he has cause, and he’s not a big fan of humans right now, which is a problem because he’s our largest trading partner.”
No actual sex between the main characters because the alien reproductive organ is along the spine, and is the size of an adult human leg.
Although, much less violent than R. Lee Smith books, this story is similar in terms of unique aliens and rich culture.
*Just a note, I had a tough time with the audiobook narrator, thankful the library had the ebook version.
Other gay sci-fi romances I've enjoyed:
Dark Space
Chaos Station
Bone Rider
Allure of Oartheca
To See the Sun
Mercury's Orbit
Ignore the cover, the aliens in this book look like giant 7-15 foot bipedal turtles, not purple human men.
It was like finding out that dinosaur-turtle men were alive and living like the Amish.
This is a science fiction story with intensely individual characters and beautiful world building.
Military linguist
Language barrier
Verbal/nonverbal communication
Matriarchal alien society
Extreme culture differences
Emotionally intelligent romance
Hurt/comfort
Tail sex
“How does nonreproductive copulation work?”
Liam has lived a rough life. He is quite happy being a linguist on a planet with slow moving, deeply intelligent, giant aliens called the Rownt.
Ondry is over 7 feet tall, sharply clever and has obtained a high level trader status. He finds himself intrigued by the human, who despite making numerous mistakes in languages and trading, continues to learn.
The tag of D/s doesn’t feel appropriate for this series. I was hoping it would not be BDSM heavy, and was surprised to find it really had nothing to do with the human equivalent of a submissive. It’s difficult to explain.
Palteia are so very rare and valued.
This story is the healing of a deeply wounded human man who has been physically and sexually abused by multiple people his entire life. Yes, he is also a submissive, but that is not the core of the story.
Liam wasn’t sure that translated, so he added his own English version. “He’s a little overprotective. When he threatens a blood feud if you hurt me, he means it. He will attack if he thinks he has cause, and he’s not a big fan of humans right now, which is a problem because he’s our largest trading partner.”
No actual sex between the main characters because the alien reproductive organ is along the spine, and is the size of an adult human leg.
Although, much less violent than R. Lee Smith books, this story is similar in terms of unique aliens and rich culture.
*Just a note, I had a tough time with the audiobook narrator, thankful the library had the ebook version.
Other gay sci-fi romances I've enjoyed:
Dark Space
Chaos Station
Bone Rider
Allure of Oartheca
To See the Sun
Mercury's Orbit
January 13, 2016
Tail + Sex... we got some TAIL-SEX, baby!
Oh boy, if that above statement makes you uncomfortable, walk away, because the tail is strong with this one.
This is like a mix between a BDSM book about TPE (total power exchange), a yaoi, and a sci-fi book about alien cultures and costumes. What is ISN'T is PWP. There is soooo much plot here. My inner geek was having a field day at the discussions of words and their origins, social rules in Rownt society, and the whole concept of a palteia. It is a fascinating book, and sci-fi nerds and kinky m/M lovers will both adore this.
I'll admit, I sort of wish there was a nanite-equivalent (The Last Pure Human reference, anyone??) so Ondry's 3-foot appendage could get in on the action, but I'll settle for what we got in the story.
Fun, fascinating, and kinky, I just HAVE to move right on to book 2!
Oh boy, if that above statement makes you uncomfortable, walk away, because the tail is strong with this one.
This is like a mix between a BDSM book about TPE (total power exchange), a yaoi, and a sci-fi book about alien cultures and costumes. What is ISN'T is PWP. There is soooo much plot here. My inner geek was having a field day at the discussions of words and their origins, social rules in Rownt society, and the whole concept of a palteia. It is a fascinating book, and sci-fi nerds and kinky m/M lovers will both adore this.
I'll admit, I sort of wish there was a nanite-equivalent (The Last Pure Human reference, anyone??) so Ondry's 3-foot appendage could get in on the action, but I'll settle for what we got in the story.
Fun, fascinating, and kinky, I just HAVE to move right on to book 2!
February 2, 2013
I wasn't sure what to expect when I went into this, but I was really impressed.
The world-building here was phenomenal. The aliens were so wonderfully alien -- not just humans with a few tiny differences. They were anatomically different to the point of incompatibility, but they were also culturally different. Different rules, different nuances, and a language that didn't always translate into the scope of human ideas.
Liam is a human linguist and a trader on behalf of his military superiors, on Ondry's planet. Trade is not just about buying and selling to Ondry's species. It's about social status and pride and standing and a whole lot of other things that Liam still struggles with, even after doing this for years.
Liam likes Ondry, but, when he winds up as Ondry's palteia (waking up chained to a bed) he has no idea what to expect since the word doesn't translate and when Ondry tries to explain they hit a wall of cultural misunderstandings. And Liam's got some of his own issues to deal with before he can understand what Ondry is trying to tell him.
While this book relied a little on the "Humans are evil and aliens are wise and noble savages" (yeah, I'm looking at you, Avatar) it more than made up for this with all the intricate word building. Both MCs struggle to understand and to be understood. You wake up chained to someone's bed and it's not sexual? Well, that's Liam's issue to get over, or is it? Because Ondry might not be compatible when it comes to sexual organs and the places they will go, but he's willing to experiment to make Liam happy. And he has a tail... :)
This was a great book. You should read it.
The world-building here was phenomenal. The aliens were so wonderfully alien -- not just humans with a few tiny differences. They were anatomically different to the point of incompatibility, but they were also culturally different. Different rules, different nuances, and a language that didn't always translate into the scope of human ideas.
Liam is a human linguist and a trader on behalf of his military superiors, on Ondry's planet. Trade is not just about buying and selling to Ondry's species. It's about social status and pride and standing and a whole lot of other things that Liam still struggles with, even after doing this for years.
Liam likes Ondry, but, when he winds up as Ondry's palteia (waking up chained to a bed) he has no idea what to expect since the word doesn't translate and when Ondry tries to explain they hit a wall of cultural misunderstandings. And Liam's got some of his own issues to deal with before he can understand what Ondry is trying to tell him.
While this book relied a little on the "Humans are evil and aliens are wise and noble savages" (yeah, I'm looking at you, Avatar) it more than made up for this with all the intricate word building. Both MCs struggle to understand and to be understood. You wake up chained to someone's bed and it's not sexual? Well, that's Liam's issue to get over, or is it? Because Ondry might not be compatible when it comes to sexual organs and the places they will go, but he's willing to experiment to make Liam happy. And he has a tail... :)
This was a great book. You should read it.
July 19, 2023
Audiobook - 4 stars
Story - 4.25 stars
It has been a minute since I was even able to read/listen to a book in day. This one captured me from the word go.
Liam made this book amazing and heartbreaking. I want to wrap him in a warm blanket.
I loved the worldbuilding.
The writing is very engaging, the story telling wonderful and nothing like what I have read before.
I ended up enjoying this one alot.
The sex!!! Lawd! that was different.
Story - 4.25 stars
It has been a minute since I was even able to read/listen to a book in day. This one captured me from the word go.
Liam made this book amazing and heartbreaking. I want to wrap him in a warm blanket.
I loved the worldbuilding.
The writing is very engaging, the story telling wonderful and nothing like what I have read before.
I ended up enjoying this one alot.
The sex!!! Lawd! that was different.
February 12, 2020
Third reread and I still think this book is perfect.
There was nothing I didn't like about the story. A totally perfect power exchange. Just perfect.
There was nothing I didn't like about the story. A totally perfect power exchange. Just perfect.
February 6, 2017
I'm not going to mince words here nor am I going to be wordy.
To the following:
This book.
Liam in all his beauty as a palteia.
Ondry as the perfect chilta for Liam's poor damaged soul.
The tail sex.
The intimacy.
The science.
The world building.
This quote:
The leash.
The cuffs.
Everything they symbolize.
Lyn Gala.
I'm super pissed at myself for having not read this sooner, but now crazy stoked to read the next one.
To the following:
This book.
Liam in all his beauty as a palteia.
Ondry as the perfect chilta for Liam's poor damaged soul.
The tail sex.
The intimacy.
The science.
The world building.
This quote:
"Palteia are so very rare and valued, and they were looking in the eyes and not seeing the beauty in front of them. I like making others jealous. So I can promise to always teach you, Liam."
The leash.
The cuffs.
Everything they symbolize.
Lyn Gala.
I'm super pissed at myself for having not read this sooner, but now crazy stoked to read the next one.
September 15, 2014
Update 5/15/14 after 257th reread. (That's a rough estimate.)
I cannot remember how many times I've read this book. Conservative estimations lead me to say 4? Maybe? 5? I don't know, but needless to say, though I'll say it nonetheless, I LOVE. This book.
I read it the first time because of the title--it's fantastic--and the author--she's fantastic. I read it a second time after I'd read a series of unpromising but extremely popular shifter novels and I needed to clean my brain. I reread it again when my rabbity brain was threatening to overload and I needed something soothing, something to put me in a sub- (should I say it? Oh what the hell, it's not like my mother's going read this & even if she did, she would only say a little submission might be good for me) -missive state. And I'm reading it again today, because the Geek Squad has taken over my laptop, leaving me with the perfect excuse to ignore work & spend some more quality time with my Kindle.
And if the Geek Squad "Agent" should ask me what I'm reading I'll say, "Um, like, there's a military base on this planet and, um...purple aliens," because I'm intelligent like that. But really I'll be thinking, "Tail sex! TAIL. SEX."
'Cause tail sex is fantastic, too.
Some minorish spoilers below. SO DON'T LOOK. I MEAN IT. Sheesh!
P.S. For those of you not generally interested in BDSM: I read somewhere that Lyn Gala was tired of seeing unrealistic portrayals of BDSM relationships in books (actually I think it's in the forward), so she wrote this as example of what she feels like it should be. It's not a leather & whips kind of book though. Nobody calls each other "master" or "boy" or anything like that. It's more about the main character, Liam, accepting the fact that he likes being the more "submissive" partner and that doesn't make him less of a man or human. The scifi angle makes it really interesting as well.
P.P.S. It was also pointed out to me recently that there is the use of a leash in this book. Some might view that as "puppy play." I really do not enjoy puppy play, so when this was pointed out to me I was really surprised that I hadn't noticed it. It didn't ruin the book at all; instead it seemed very natural given the alien culture. But I can see how some wouldn't like it for that reason. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
September 13, 2023
Re-read September 2023
I still really love this series.
--------------------------------------------
I just loooooove this series. So much to feel.
I especially loved Liam. He was such a sweet soul. I wanted to hug him and never let him go. I was so happy he had Ondry to care for him.
Liam is a human sergeant stationed on the planet of the Rownt. He is responsible for the trading business the military handles there.
He attracts the attention of Ondry, a Rownt trader. When Liam is asked to attend a ceremony there, he cannot refuse. When he suddenly wakes up from this ceremony, he is in the home of Ondry and his ankle is chained to a wall. Ondry explains that Liam is his now. He is Ondry’s palteia, his submissive. Palteia are greatly respected by the Rownts and any Rownt would be lucky to have one.
Liam feels his submissive side emerge more and more with the dominant yet loving way Ondry treats him. But there is the fact that Rownt and humans are not sexually compatible… So Liam is getting a bit desperate physically while his heart is slowly falling in love with Ondry...
This master/submissive relationship was so incredibly tender. I loved it. I loved how Ondry took care of Liam, how he cherished him. This is most definitely a romance, despite the differences in species. Ondry showed his love for Liam in everything he did. And Ondry loved to pleasure Liam in any way he could (hint: he has a very bendable tail). The sex scenes were surprisingly hot and very sweet and loving.
This was a very captivating sci-fi hurt/comfort story and I can't wait to read more about Liam and Ondry.
I still really love this series.
--------------------------------------------
I just loooooove this series. So much to feel.
I especially loved Liam. He was such a sweet soul. I wanted to hug him and never let him go. I was so happy he had Ondry to care for him.
Liam is a human sergeant stationed on the planet of the Rownt. He is responsible for the trading business the military handles there.
He attracts the attention of Ondry, a Rownt trader. When Liam is asked to attend a ceremony there, he cannot refuse. When he suddenly wakes up from this ceremony, he is in the home of Ondry and his ankle is chained to a wall. Ondry explains that Liam is his now. He is Ondry’s palteia, his submissive. Palteia are greatly respected by the Rownts and any Rownt would be lucky to have one.
Liam feels his submissive side emerge more and more with the dominant yet loving way Ondry treats him. But there is the fact that Rownt and humans are not sexually compatible… So Liam is getting a bit desperate physically while his heart is slowly falling in love with Ondry...
This master/submissive relationship was so incredibly tender. I loved it. I loved how Ondry took care of Liam, how he cherished him. This is most definitely a romance, despite the differences in species. Ondry showed his love for Liam in everything he did. And Ondry loved to pleasure Liam in any way he could (hint: he has a very bendable tail). The sex scenes were surprisingly hot and very sweet and loving.
This was a very captivating sci-fi hurt/comfort story and I can't wait to read more about Liam and Ondry.
September 10, 2016
A Hearts On Fire Review
Lyn Gala?
Sci-Fi?
D/s?
Tentaclesex? (Yes there is atentaclesex tailsex scene)
Oh you know this is going to be a great story! I expected a story between an human linguist, Liam and a Rownt alien, Ondry, Adding in some hot sex with maybe a tentacle of two.
Based on the blurb and the author's note, my expectations for this story were surpassed into subspace. The author did a wonderful job with creating an excellent Dom. Thinking back on some BDSM horror stories I've read in the recent past, Ondry, the story's Dom had a lot of the qualities I love reading in a character. He was attentive, dominant without coming across as a jerk with power.
For this novella, the range of emotions portrayed was spot on. Poor Liam, I wanted to hug him for all the strife he has been through. It made him such a deliciously flawed character (my favorite!) Liam has ignored his submissive side for many years after being abused and neglected and the care that Ondry shows while not fulling understanding the human concept of rape and prostitution, it was a great aspect of the story.
Imagining a society where that type of pain doesn't happen does feel like a fantasy world. I love the Rownt and their...alien ways. The matriarchal society with grandmothers being in charge? I adored it. It's great reading MM where the women are not made to be bitches.
The length? It is satisfying with enough back story.
Would I read more from this author? Hell yes. This is my second Lyn Gala book of the year and it most certainly will not be my last. She writes such quality characters that leave you reflecting on them for hours on end.
The plot? Damaged, submissive ex-rent boy finds a Dom man enough (or this case, alien) to handle him. It's just with a futuristic twist. Lyn Gala breathed a unique breath of life into this tried and true plot. What I also enjoyed that this story was not just about sex, certain aspects make it physically impossible for a Rownt and human to have sex. (Read on to see how these two get past it. You might be pleasantly stimulated.)
This is a definite FOUR & A HALF STAR read. Lyn Gala, I've got my reader's eye on you. I love your style.
Lyn Gala?
Sci-Fi?
D/s?
Tentaclesex? (Yes there is a
Oh you know this is going to be a great story! I expected a story between an human linguist, Liam and a Rownt alien, Ondry, Adding in some hot sex with maybe a tentacle of two.
Based on the blurb and the author's note, my expectations for this story were surpassed into subspace. The author did a wonderful job with creating an excellent Dom. Thinking back on some BDSM horror stories I've read in the recent past, Ondry, the story's Dom had a lot of the qualities I love reading in a character. He was attentive, dominant without coming across as a jerk with power.
For this novella, the range of emotions portrayed was spot on. Poor Liam, I wanted to hug him for all the strife he has been through. It made him such a deliciously flawed character (my favorite!) Liam has ignored his submissive side for many years after being abused and neglected and the care that Ondry shows while not fulling understanding the human concept of rape and prostitution, it was a great aspect of the story.
Imagining a society where that type of pain doesn't happen does feel like a fantasy world. I love the Rownt and their...alien ways. The matriarchal society with grandmothers being in charge? I adored it. It's great reading MM where the women are not made to be bitches.
The length? It is satisfying with enough back story.
Would I read more from this author? Hell yes. This is my second Lyn Gala book of the year and it most certainly will not be my last. She writes such quality characters that leave you reflecting on them for hours on end.
The plot? Damaged, submissive ex-rent boy finds a Dom man enough (or this case, alien) to handle him. It's just with a futuristic twist. Lyn Gala breathed a unique breath of life into this tried and true plot. What I also enjoyed that this story was not just about sex, certain aspects make it physically impossible for a Rownt and human to have sex. (Read on to see how these two get past it. You might be pleasantly stimulated.)
This is a definite FOUR & A HALF STAR read. Lyn Gala, I've got my reader's eye on you. I love your style.
February 5, 2021
⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱*Not For Me*⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱
Ummm.... I am entirely lost on how I feel about this book. On one hand, I love alien and human romance, on the other hand, this was just... weird. While this world did seem interesting, it was a lot of new information that took a lot of concentration to understand and keep up with. Yet, we didn't really go into depth of the world. This bothered me, but I do understand it as it is a short novel. But what bothered me the most was that there was no true power here. Usually, there's one character who is very powerful, but here it was just another species that was, yes stronger and bigger - and smarter, but other than that, nothing more.
Then there was the fact that I couldn't for the life of me connect with the main character Liam Munson (in his 30s) of Earth, a linguist and trader. He just didn't have much personality. And I didn't find Ka-Ondry (over 200?) of the line of Chal, primary trader for the Tura Coalition of Mines, first graduate of the Brarownt Academy and holder of certificates of excellence from four grandmothers, attractive at all.
Of course, I have to mention the sex, that didn't even feel like sex as Ondry didn't do anything sexual other than get raped when a grandmother wants his sperm. I just didn't like that. I'm also not that into BDSM, specially chains and humiliation. Overall, it was a strange read and I'm not sure I liked it, nor the characters. It just lacked depth, and I just couldn't stand Liam's explanations of things. On top of that, the two characters lacked chemistry and nothing happened in the book. There was nothing romanic about the book so I won't tag it as "romance".
Quick basic facts:
Genre: - (Adult) Paranormal
Series: - Series, Book One.
Love triangle? -
Cheating? -
HEA? -
Favorite character? - No one.
Would I read more by this author/or of series? - Already have.
Would I recommend this book/series? - Not really. But into chains? Yes.
Will I read this again in the future? - No.
Rating - 2 stars.
August 3, 2016
CRASH! There goes a set of assumptions, broken into tiny little pieces.
So, I ogled this cover and was so excited about the prospect of depraved alien sex that honestly, I don't think I deserve such a lovely romance. I'd have teared up if I wasn't hugging the pillow as I finished it.
Ondry is the quintessential, gentle giant. Sure he's reptilian, a ruthless trader, and practically emotionless--or is he? That opening scene with Liam and he conducting business definitely clued me in that Ondry was going to be a surprise. And Liam, the sweet, gentle linguist who tries so hard. He deserves better.
Love the setting and the social structure, and especially, I love how Liam and Ondry traversed the cultural minefield of potential miscommunication. Both, I and Liam were pleased when Ondry finally got a better understanding of the implications of their species' biological differences.
Gonna just be a pile of goo for awhile.
Favorite passage:
So, I ogled this cover and was so excited about the prospect of depraved alien sex that honestly, I don't think I deserve such a lovely romance. I'd have teared up if I wasn't hugging the pillow as I finished it.
Ondry is the quintessential, gentle giant. Sure he's reptilian, a ruthless trader, and practically emotionless--or is he? That opening scene with Liam and he conducting business definitely clued me in that Ondry was going to be a surprise. And Liam, the sweet, gentle linguist who tries so hard. He deserves better.
Love the setting and the social structure, and especially, I love how Liam and Ondry traversed the cultural minefield of potential miscommunication. Both, I and Liam were pleased when Ondry finally got a better understanding of the implications of their species' biological differences.
Gonna just be a pile of goo for awhile.
Favorite passage:
Ondry paled even more. “You have my status, Liam. I have hurt you if you did not understand that. You are my equal.”
July 27, 2016
This was an amazing gift!
And a fun one!
A not that Secret Santa gave me this, thank you Helle!!!
And thanks to Sofia for giving me this wonderful nest!!!
Now I'll wait till Ondry comes to me, I'm waiting
It was a wonderful surprise!
There were weird things...
And heart-melting things...
And cute things...
And more cute things...
Maybe I'm out of my mind but I want MORE tailed aliens!
PS: There are some short stories set before book #2. You can skip them but they are interesting to read ;) .
November 11, 2019
Audio – 4.5 Stars
Story – 4.25 Stars
I am so glad this series is finally on audio!
Loved it!! High praise to the author, Lyn Gala, for making this feel like a true sci fi experience. She doesn’t cut corners by having a translator implanted in the human. There is a true sense of alien culture and language barrier that must be learned. That said, I want more description of the physical world. I’m assuming that will come as I continue the series. Looking forward to it!
Story – 4.25 Stars
I am so glad this series is finally on audio!
Loved it!! High praise to the author, Lyn Gala, for making this feel like a true sci fi experience. She doesn’t cut corners by having a translator implanted in the human. There is a true sense of alien culture and language barrier that must be learned. That said, I want more description of the physical world. I’m assuming that will come as I continue the series. Looking forward to it!
November 30, 2018
I had my doubts regarding this book and thanks to the stupid cover that almost has nothing to do with the amazing story inside, I had assumed this is a suitable read for times that I feel like reading something kinky and erotic. IT. IS. NOT! Thank you my dear friend, Sheziss, for correcting my assumption and motivating me to start this wonderful story.
Let’s see. Where to begin? I have read several books that fall into the category of Bdsm and depending on my mood, I have either enjoyed them or I have wondered at the sanity of the characters. After reading this story, I came to think that it’s quite possible that all this time, I had failed to comprehend the true nature of this kind of relationship. There are so many wrong impressions, I think many people get it wrong. This book made me rethink my understanding of this relationship. It also made me wonder if humankind simply isn’t advanced enough to understand the true nature and true value of this relationship and therefore ends up mixing it with sexual deviancy and damaged mentality and fails to benefit from it. It took me this beautiful story and an alien race to see the potential, the beauty and the possibilities. I enjoyed this version of D/S so much that I have come to actually prefer the terms “Chilta” and “Palteia” to "Dominant" and "Submissive". Chilta and Paletia simply make more sense to me!
In this story, we have Liam, a curious human trader and a talented linguist. Then we have Ondry, a kind sharp-minded witty trader from an alien species called Rownt. By human terms, Liam is a submissive and due to painful past issues, he tries to hide his true nature. Both Liam and Ondry are different than the usual portrait of Subs and Doms . Liam isn’t a needy young boy unable to stand on his own feet. He is strong, intelligent, talented and simply a beautiful soul. He just happens to have a submissive nature with no desire for leadership. He enjoys serving others and putting their needs over his own. Does that sound mentally damaged or broken? No, it sounds selfless and frankly, too good to be true in human societies and many fail to believe it. I am so used to being selfish and think of my own success that it took me a long time to see this truth in the nature of a submissive individual. Like every human being, Liam has his own needs and he is not broken or weak. I definitely enjoyed reading about this alien world from his eyes and perspective.
Ondry is a brilliant trader that comes from a society that have a deep respect for Liam’s nature and see it as a sacred gift to treasure and value, not something to belittle and abuse. Once again, isn’t that beautiful? I think Ondry as a Dom, serves Liam just as much, only in a different way. He is an excellent Dom who values his Sub above everything else and respects him. He proves that a worthy and qualified Dom is supposed to be patient, gentle but firm and protective. He attends to Liam just as much as Liam serves him. Their relationship isn’t unhealthy, perverted or cruel. It’s about love and respect and they both benefit from it.
The world building is simply amazing. Such attention to details! The author hasn’t invented a few names and hasn’t added a few body parts to create something new! She has created an entire alien world with unique alien customs, traditions, rules, body language and social manners. Let’s just say that the Trekkie in me fell in love! The Rownt and the human species are similar enough to contact each other but they are also so different that they misunderstand, miscommunicate and create dangerous situations. They are not even sexually compatible and this makes the story even more beautiful and touching. There are many cultural and social differences between their two species and I love the fact that they remain alien to each other throughout the story. Both main characters have to learn to correctly interact with each other and show their love and care. I really love how the story focuses on these differences and alien customs of Rownt society. It’s really interesting how Trading influences and controls their whole society, from their personal lives and goals to their social status and standing. Did I mention that I have a thing for matriarchic societies? And Rownt society is one of the most well-written and brilliant matriarchic societies I have ever read about it. I have to shut up and stop gushing about it but everything from their biology to the structure of their society and how their reproduction system works, fascinates me. This is REALLY a science fiction and quite amount of thought and research has gone to it! You have to read for yourself and discover this alien world. I don’t want to spoil the fun!
This is a beautiful love story between an alien and a human. There is very little angst and the story is filled with tenderness, sensuality and love. It teaches the true meaning of loving a person and how with love, we can overcome many obstacles because we are simply willing to sacrifice our own pleasure and benefit for the person we love. The story kept me interested and while I wanted more, the length was satisfactory. Thank goodness for book 2!
Don’t forget the short stories that accompany the first book. The beginning of the story and the parts that Liam doesn’t remember anything from is seen in a whole new light and also explains certain actions that Liam misunderstood or failed to observe.
Let’s see. Where to begin? I have read several books that fall into the category of Bdsm and depending on my mood, I have either enjoyed them or I have wondered at the sanity of the characters. After reading this story, I came to think that it’s quite possible that all this time, I had failed to comprehend the true nature of this kind of relationship. There are so many wrong impressions, I think many people get it wrong. This book made me rethink my understanding of this relationship. It also made me wonder if humankind simply isn’t advanced enough to understand the true nature and true value of this relationship and therefore ends up mixing it with sexual deviancy and damaged mentality and fails to benefit from it. It took me this beautiful story and an alien race to see the potential, the beauty and the possibilities. I enjoyed this version of D/S so much that I have come to actually prefer the terms “Chilta” and “Palteia” to "Dominant" and "Submissive". Chilta and Paletia simply make more sense to me!
In this story, we have Liam, a curious human trader and a talented linguist. Then we have Ondry, a kind sharp-minded witty trader from an alien species called Rownt. By human terms, Liam is a submissive and due to painful past issues, he tries to hide his true nature. Both Liam and Ondry are different than the usual portrait of Subs and Doms . Liam isn’t a needy young boy unable to stand on his own feet. He is strong, intelligent, talented and simply a beautiful soul. He just happens to have a submissive nature with no desire for leadership. He enjoys serving others and putting their needs over his own. Does that sound mentally damaged or broken? No, it sounds selfless and frankly, too good to be true in human societies and many fail to believe it. I am so used to being selfish and think of my own success that it took me a long time to see this truth in the nature of a submissive individual. Like every human being, Liam has his own needs and he is not broken or weak. I definitely enjoyed reading about this alien world from his eyes and perspective.
Ondry is a brilliant trader that comes from a society that have a deep respect for Liam’s nature and see it as a sacred gift to treasure and value, not something to belittle and abuse. Once again, isn’t that beautiful? I think Ondry as a Dom, serves Liam just as much, only in a different way. He is an excellent Dom who values his Sub above everything else and respects him. He proves that a worthy and qualified Dom is supposed to be patient, gentle but firm and protective. He attends to Liam just as much as Liam serves him. Their relationship isn’t unhealthy, perverted or cruel. It’s about love and respect and they both benefit from it.
The world building is simply amazing. Such attention to details! The author hasn’t invented a few names and hasn’t added a few body parts to create something new! She has created an entire alien world with unique alien customs, traditions, rules, body language and social manners. Let’s just say that the Trekkie in me fell in love! The Rownt and the human species are similar enough to contact each other but they are also so different that they misunderstand, miscommunicate and create dangerous situations. They are not even sexually compatible and this makes the story even more beautiful and touching. There are many cultural and social differences between their two species and I love the fact that they remain alien to each other throughout the story. Both main characters have to learn to correctly interact with each other and show their love and care. I really love how the story focuses on these differences and alien customs of Rownt society. It’s really interesting how Trading influences and controls their whole society, from their personal lives and goals to their social status and standing. Did I mention that I have a thing for matriarchic societies? And Rownt society is one of the most well-written and brilliant matriarchic societies I have ever read about it. I have to shut up and stop gushing about it but everything from their biology to the structure of their society and how their reproduction system works, fascinates me. This is REALLY a science fiction and quite amount of thought and research has gone to it! You have to read for yourself and discover this alien world. I don’t want to spoil the fun!
This is a beautiful love story between an alien and a human. There is very little angst and the story is filled with tenderness, sensuality and love. It teaches the true meaning of loving a person and how with love, we can overcome many obstacles because we are simply willing to sacrifice our own pleasure and benefit for the person we love. The story kept me interested and while I wanted more, the length was satisfactory. Thank goodness for book 2!
Don’t forget the short stories that accompany the first book. The beginning of the story and the parts that Liam doesn’t remember anything from is seen in a whole new light and also explains certain actions that Liam misunderstood or failed to observe.
March 1, 2014
Written February 27, 2014
3.8 Stars - for a sub's dream life in a brilliantly colored alien world - a tale with a tail
I had seen word and genre epithet about Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts as: "tailsex", "pet-slave", "aliens", "BDSM", etc and was a bit nervous before I started to read.
But so very unnecessary and stupid, of me. This is just super cute and a totally pink shimmering beautiful sci-fi story.
~**~**~**~**~**~**~
This M/M sci-fi is most easily described as a cute & cozy story about being tenderly cared for by a caring big strong alien. This turns out to be another way to describe a Dom & sub relationship, where everything is about the submissive partners pleasure, safety and a sense of being pampered.
As a grand sub or pet-slave dream; to get and give back by doing his Master sincerely proud that he, his owner, can give.
For me was this sci-fi tale wonderfully dreamy and constantly amazing tenderly told. Loved it!
~**~**~**~**~**~**~
Liam is a language-interested (30 something) human on a space station in Janstjanay on the planet Prarownt.
Our other main character is Ondry, a huge purplish-plum-colored (200 something) rownt. A good looking tall, manly, alpha alien with a long strong tail...slick - of course.
For a species as a rownt adult male is it a honor and a big privilege to get an own palteia, but they are hard to find. Who doesn't want to be an proud chilta? ~ But then there is that nice polite human Ondry is doing trade business with... Maybe he could fit?
I don't want to reveal anything about their story. It will be twists and turns in this book that is both funny and partly unexpected. Have no preconceptions, you will still be surprised (in a good way) and giggle occasionally.
Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts is almost like the world the other way around and these Rownt's aliens are so simple and sweet in their view of things.
~**~**~**~**~**~**~
Want to read something light, without hassle, and more or less anxiety-free? With nice aliens, new ideas about both sex and a master and slave relationship. Tempting? - Start with this 100-page, quick-read, novella. There is nothing to fear ...no abuse and no nasty kinky events either. [And the tailsex? Yes, actually it was mostly a very practical, asked and desired, solution.] ~ Just big hearts, tenderness, sweet spirit and a path to a different happiness.
Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts will be a future book among my favorite cutie romances. - Again, I am happy and content with an excellent good choice of a book to read this week.
I LIKE - cuddly, cute and charming inviting to more alien meetings
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Big Thanks to my friend S (or the hard long... SheReadsALot) who recommended this lovely tale ...with a tail.
3.8 Stars - for a sub's dream life in a brilliantly colored alien world - a tale with a tail
I had seen word and genre epithet about Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts as: "tailsex", "pet-slave", "aliens", "BDSM", etc and was a bit nervous before I started to read.
But so very unnecessary and stupid, of me. This is just super cute and a totally pink shimmering beautiful sci-fi story.
~**~**~**~**~**~**~
This M/M sci-fi is most easily described as a cute & cozy story about being tenderly cared for by a caring big strong alien. This turns out to be another way to describe a Dom & sub relationship, where everything is about the submissive partners pleasure, safety and a sense of being pampered.
As a grand sub or pet-slave dream; to get and give back by doing his Master sincerely proud that he, his owner, can give.
“Ondry? You have finally found someone to grab your tail.”
For me was this sci-fi tale wonderfully dreamy and constantly amazing tenderly told. Loved it!
~**~**~**~**~**~**~
Liam is a language-interested (30 something) human on a space station in Janstjanay on the planet Prarownt.
Our other main character is Ondry, a huge purplish-plum-colored (200 something) rownt. A good looking tall, manly, alpha alien with a long strong tail...slick - of course.
For a species as a rownt adult male is it a honor and a big privilege to get an own palteia, but they are hard to find. Who doesn't want to be an proud chilta? ~ But then there is that nice polite human Ondry is doing trade business with... Maybe he could fit?
“And in the morning, I would like to steal your control from you and force you to admit that even your body knows that it is mine, and it will react to me even over your preferences.”
I don't want to reveal anything about their story. It will be twists and turns in this book that is both funny and partly unexpected. Have no preconceptions, you will still be surprised (in a good way) and giggle occasionally.
“This is so much more enjoyable than sex,” Ondry said, his words still slurring. “I could let you do this all night.”
Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts is almost like the world the other way around and these Rownt's aliens are so simple and sweet in their view of things.
~**~**~**~**~**~**~
Want to read something light, without hassle, and more or less anxiety-free? With nice aliens, new ideas about both sex and a master and slave relationship. Tempting? - Start with this 100-page, quick-read, novella. There is nothing to fear ...no abuse and no nasty kinky events either. [And the tailsex? Yes, actually it was mostly a very practical, asked and desired, solution.] ~ Just big hearts, tenderness, sweet spirit and a path to a different happiness.
“Palteia are born palteia.”
Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts will be a future book among my favorite cutie romances. - Again, I am happy and content with an excellent good choice of a book to read this week.
I LIKE - cuddly, cute and charming inviting to more alien meetings
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Big Thanks to my friend S (or the hard long... SheReadsALot) who recommended this lovely tale ...with a tail.
July 22, 2021
woohoo tail-sex! 🤣
i honestly don’t really know how i feel about this book. i did enjoy reading it for the most part. the world building aspect of this was pretty great and the aliens in this felt like ACTUAL aliens. the differences between them and the humans were truly never ending and captivating to read about. this just really lacked a deeper connection between the two mcs for me tbh.
i couldn’t really connect with the main character liam. ondry was a pretty sweet alien, but he also lacked depth overall for me to really like him. their D/s dynamic was interesting, but more so just fascinating rather than hot. 🤣 their species are completely sexually incompatible, so it was interesting to see just how exactly their little D/s dynamic will work.
giving this 2.5 starts rounded up, for keeping my attention and the very creative alien world.
i MIGHT give the second book a shot, but i’m not sure yet.🤔
i honestly don’t really know how i feel about this book. i did enjoy reading it for the most part. the world building aspect of this was pretty great and the aliens in this felt like ACTUAL aliens. the differences between them and the humans were truly never ending and captivating to read about. this just really lacked a deeper connection between the two mcs for me tbh.
i couldn’t really connect with the main character liam. ondry was a pretty sweet alien, but he also lacked depth overall for me to really like him. their D/s dynamic was interesting, but more so just fascinating rather than hot. 🤣 their species are completely sexually incompatible, so it was interesting to see just how exactly their little D/s dynamic will work.
giving this 2.5 starts rounded up, for keeping my attention and the very creative alien world.
i MIGHT give the second book a shot, but i’m not sure yet.🤔
November 21, 2013
5 shiny stars for the pleasant surprise and the wisdom it bestowed on me. Although the story was somewhat unusual, it was both unique and most original. I find the ideas and concept utilize in this story to explore the D/S dynamics in a BDSM relationship to be very thought provoking and insightful too. I felt enlightened.
For once we get to see that being a sub does not mean losing respect and self worth. And being a good dom does not require a heavy-handed approach. Instead patience, attentiveness and gentle firmness is the key to unlock a sub's trust and earn his loyalty and love in return. Under such guidance from the dom we get to see the sub relax into true servitude. I love this aspect of the book. Watching Liam's gradual and steady surrender under Ondry loving care was a wonderful journey. We get to see how blissful it was for Liam to finally be able to abandon his worries over societal demands, letting go of his inhibition and learning to trust again then reveling in the care and protection of his worthy dominant partner. He felt freer now than he ever had when he was hiding his true nature in self-preservation to avoid getting hurt again.
I might have a bit of submissiveness in me because I really don't mind having someone like Ondry to master over me. At least, I can be sure that my submission would not be taken for granted or ridiculed instead my effort would be properly cherished and rewarded. It really wouldn't be bad to be held within such protective strong arms even if said arms might manhandle me a little bit *excited*. Occasional mild bondage and spanking wouldn't hurt either..... that is if it was done in a sexy kinky way. Ooohh, did I say how much I love Liam in his baby reins? And the way Ondry would wrestle him into one, turns me on big time.
I can also leash you and chain you to the wall until you remember I am your chilta.” The threat made Liam smile. There was something to be said for having someone like you so much they chained you to a wall. For someone else, that would be abuse, but Liam had indulged in guilty fantasies of submitting to some strong male for so long it felt more like security.The sex was perfect! Highly sensual and erotic so unlike all those frenzied lovemaking we constantly read about. I am so glad that...
Ondry gently squeezed Liam’s neck. “You are not a chore I must discharge, palteia of mine. I love seeing you so lost in pleasure that you can think of nothing else. I love knowing that my presence causes you such a physical reaction, and I love falling asleep curled around your warmth with your fingers stroking me. And in the morning, I would like to steal your control from you and force you to admit that even your body knows that it is mine, and it will react to me even over your preferences.”
Ondry started to rub the head of Liam’s cock. “I control this,” Ondry said with a smugness Liam normally saw when Ondry won a particularly profitable trade. The idea of Ondry claiming such a personal ownership over him made Liam feel trapped and blissfully happy.
I highly recommend this book to every M/M BDSM readers out there. And please don't let that odd cover deters you. The aliens in this book does not have such deathly looking tail with fins nor do they looked anything like depicted on the cover. Just to dispel any more potential fears and as encouragement, I must disclose that there are NO tentacles sex here. Therefore, non tent-sex lovers are safe to venture into this story.
February 4, 2013
4.5
This was a fantastic sci-fi M/M story. Liam is a military linguist and trader on the Rownt homeworld and Ondry is a seven foot tall, tailed, lilac colored trader and they've been interacting and trading for the five years that Liam has been on his planet.
There's a new human commander planet-side and this starts a chain reaction of events that forever change Liam and Ondry's relationship.
There is a bit of D/s conversation but that never plays out physically within the story. This is pure sci-fi. Ondry is an alien living on an alien world and this story immerses you in that in such a complete way. I felt a lot like Liam as he tried to understand alien thought patterns and new phrases and words. I've read a lot of sci-fi and have seldom felt the aliens were any different from humans. This one? Amazing world-building here. The Rownt homeworld and people are richly characterized, unique and terribly fascinating.
I felt for Liam as he struggled to find understanding in his new reality but I loved how Ondry struggled in his own ways to understand his alien human and how he tried to help Liam to, if not, redefine himself...then rediscover himself.
This was lush and alien and a great read for any sci-fi M/M lover. There's great chemistry between the MC's but it's romance light in a way that there's no sex until the last quarter of the book but it's definitely relationship heavy throughout. This story is an alien/human puzzle and I loved reading how the men tried to piece it all together. Recommended.
This was a fantastic sci-fi M/M story. Liam is a military linguist and trader on the Rownt homeworld and Ondry is a seven foot tall, tailed, lilac colored trader and they've been interacting and trading for the five years that Liam has been on his planet.
There's a new human commander planet-side and this starts a chain reaction of events that forever change Liam and Ondry's relationship.
There is a bit of D/s conversation but that never plays out physically within the story. This is pure sci-fi. Ondry is an alien living on an alien world and this story immerses you in that in such a complete way. I felt a lot like Liam as he tried to understand alien thought patterns and new phrases and words. I've read a lot of sci-fi and have seldom felt the aliens were any different from humans. This one? Amazing world-building here. The Rownt homeworld and people are richly characterized, unique and terribly fascinating.
I felt for Liam as he struggled to find understanding in his new reality but I loved how Ondry struggled in his own ways to understand his alien human and how he tried to help Liam to, if not, redefine himself...then rediscover himself.
This was lush and alien and a great read for any sci-fi M/M lover. There's great chemistry between the MC's but it's romance light in a way that there's no sex until the last quarter of the book but it's definitely relationship heavy throughout. This story is an alien/human puzzle and I loved reading how the men tried to piece it all together. Recommended.
December 17, 2024
edit 12/17/24: wow i really covered all the highlights in my first review….no notes, knew i was perfect😌 hahaha no really, how did i have the exact same experience reading this the second time….even teared up at the same place again🤣
original 4/15/24: Ondry hummed in Liam’s ear. “You smell delightful.” In Rownt, that version of “delightful” was a powerful word—a word that suggested desire strong enough to inspire injudicious trading.
Liam smiled. “My body would rather trade with you than it would with me,” he answered. Tilting his head to the side, he watched as Ondry smiled.
“As is right with my palteia.” Ondry tugged Liam close and tucked him under his arm.
inspiring injudicious trading should not be the cutest thing i’ve ever heard🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 ondry, the man that you are!!!!!
mf really listened to liam explain how he used to be a whore and was like damn ! you must be the bombest trader in the land! ondry said oh you were a whore??? all i’m hearing is that you have one of a kind trading skills and no one else can compete🤣🤣🤣 yes i did tear up at this….mind ur business😭
i loved all the bonus stories for giving me ondry/the rownt pov of the first meeting between liam and ondry & the whole challenge for a palteia incident. they’re “bonus” stories, but don’t skip them bc they fill in a few gaps with info missing from the regular story!
original 4/15/24: Ondry hummed in Liam’s ear. “You smell delightful.” In Rownt, that version of “delightful” was a powerful word—a word that suggested desire strong enough to inspire injudicious trading.
Liam smiled. “My body would rather trade with you than it would with me,” he answered. Tilting his head to the side, he watched as Ondry smiled.
“As is right with my palteia.” Ondry tugged Liam close and tucked him under his arm.
inspiring injudicious trading should not be the cutest thing i’ve ever heard🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 ondry, the man that you are!!!!!
mf really listened to liam explain how he used to be a whore and was like damn ! you must be the bombest trader in the land! ondry said oh you were a whore??? all i’m hearing is that you have one of a kind trading skills and no one else can compete🤣🤣🤣 yes i did tear up at this….mind ur business😭
i loved all the bonus stories for giving me ondry/the rownt pov of the first meeting between liam and ondry & the whole challenge for a palteia incident. they’re “bonus” stories, but don’t skip them bc they fill in a few gaps with info missing from the regular story!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 6, 2022
****4 awwww stars****
This was such a great read! I loved it! And actually not what I expected, and I mean that in a good way. The title was a bit scary.. I mean Claimings, tails and Other Alien Artifacts? That puts all kinds of thoughts in your head, doesn't it? (Specially if you haven't read anything like this before, like me.) But when I read about the two MC doing actual trading it shines a new and innocent light on it. It was a sweet and fascinating story.
Liam is a human man, and he was a sweetheart. All he wanted was to have somebody special.
Ondry is the alien male, who is a trader and have been negotiating trades with Liam for a long time. He takes an interest in Liam and this story was about the relationship between Liam and Ondry and how they learned each other's ways. Ondry had to be told about human nature/custom, because it was alien to him (see how I turned that word around?;)). Liam was just as much an alien to Ondry, as Ondry was to Liam.
And don't be scared of the tail, alright. It was actually (not a total plot spoiler. If you're anxious about the tail or hesitant to read the book because of it, you can click it and it may convince you to try the book :))
I would have liked to learn more about Liam and Ondry, though. The story kinda ended when it could have taken off, but it was a nice ending.
Please visit planet Prarownt.
I wanted to read this book...because Rosa, really said so in her review... ;) You can read hers here.
But this was a BR with Alvin. Thanks for the ride, Alvin! :)
This was such a great read! I loved it! And actually not what I expected, and I mean that in a good way. The title was a bit scary.. I mean Claimings, tails and Other Alien Artifacts? That puts all kinds of thoughts in your head, doesn't it? (Specially if you haven't read anything like this before, like me.) But when I read about the two MC doing actual trading it shines a new and innocent light on it. It was a sweet and fascinating story.
Liam is a human man, and he was a sweetheart. All he wanted was to have somebody special.
Ondry is the alien male, who is a trader and have been negotiating trades with Liam for a long time. He takes an interest in Liam and this story was about the relationship between Liam and Ondry and how they learned each other's ways. Ondry had to be told about human nature/custom, because it was alien to him (see how I turned that word around?;)). Liam was just as much an alien to Ondry, as Ondry was to Liam.
And don't be scared of the tail, alright. It was actually (not a total plot spoiler. If you're anxious about the tail or hesitant to read the book because of it, you can click it and it may convince you to try the book :))
I would have liked to learn more about Liam and Ondry, though. The story kinda ended when it could have taken off, but it was a nice ending.
Please visit planet Prarownt.
I wanted to read this book...because Rosa, really said so in her review... ;) You can read hers here.
But this was a BR with Alvin. Thanks for the ride, Alvin! :)
March 14, 2014
Great little tale. I wish it was longer, but that’s really my greediness. I loved the world and the characters, and wouldn’t mind more. But unlike so many other novellas, the story works perfectly in the space it has. In fact, it packs an extraordinary amount into 100 pages.
I generally find alien abduction stories to be paradoxes of the unpleasant kind: it’s such a great premise, but the books disappoint more often than they satisfy, relying on a short list of overly familiar tropes. (more than half seem to be tales of the mean-ol’-caveman turned teddy bear). My least favorite device are slapstick-style scenes where our unfortunate earthling is humiliated because he or she doesn’t know the language or customs, or else is forced to eat some disgusting food to avoid insulting the hosts (Remember the roast snake and eye-ball soup in the second Indiana Jones movie? Not Spielberg’s finest moment.)
Gala tackles the clichés head-on in a really clever, sophisticated way by making her hero, Liam, a linguist and “xenologist.” Liam and his captor, Ondry spend much of the plot literally debating the meaning of words, for example “rape” in our culture, or “palteia” in theirs, in an effort to make sense of the cultural differences so they can forge a relationship. It actually makes the story far more plausible and thought-provoking, along with avoiding the offensiveness of inviting the reader to laugh at foreigners or aliens for being different.
In a preface, Gala also lets the reader know that she wrote the story to explore her version of an ideal dominant, an idea I really liked. It’s not so much that I agreed with everything, but I enjoyed taking part in the debate (at least passively)--comparing my ideas to hers. I suppose most of us do this anyway, but in stating that outright as her goal, she pushed me to think through my ideas more carefully.
As I hinted, my only gripe was that I wanted more. I dearly hope Gala returns to Rownt with more stories of “palteias” or even just more on Ondry and Liam.
I generally find alien abduction stories to be paradoxes of the unpleasant kind: it’s such a great premise, but the books disappoint more often than they satisfy, relying on a short list of overly familiar tropes. (more than half seem to be tales of the mean-ol’-caveman turned teddy bear). My least favorite device are slapstick-style scenes where our unfortunate earthling is humiliated because he or she doesn’t know the language or customs, or else is forced to eat some disgusting food to avoid insulting the hosts (Remember the roast snake and eye-ball soup in the second Indiana Jones movie? Not Spielberg’s finest moment.)
Gala tackles the clichés head-on in a really clever, sophisticated way by making her hero, Liam, a linguist and “xenologist.” Liam and his captor, Ondry spend much of the plot literally debating the meaning of words, for example “rape” in our culture, or “palteia” in theirs, in an effort to make sense of the cultural differences so they can forge a relationship. It actually makes the story far more plausible and thought-provoking, along with avoiding the offensiveness of inviting the reader to laugh at foreigners or aliens for being different.
In a preface, Gala also lets the reader know that she wrote the story to explore her version of an ideal dominant, an idea I really liked. It’s not so much that I agreed with everything, but I enjoyed taking part in the debate (at least passively)--comparing my ideas to hers. I suppose most of us do this anyway, but in stating that outright as her goal, she pushed me to think through my ideas more carefully.
As I hinted, my only gripe was that I wanted more. I dearly hope Gala returns to Rownt with more stories of “palteias” or even just more on Ondry and Liam.
July 19, 2025
4,25 stars.
An impressive book. Do not expect alien smut and do not take the cover models as reflections of the MCs.
The story itself is only about 150 pages long and told in single pov (Liam), third person past tense.
There are additional chapters (nearly 80 pages) that are mostly told from Ondry's pov and show Ondry's perspective of some early events. These additional chapters included in the current ebook-version are listed on GR as a separate book "Prelude to Claimings, Tails and Other Alien Artifacts" so you don't need to buy that one separately.
Liam is a soldier stationed on planet Prarownt inhabitated by the Rownt. He is a linguist learning to be a trader in order to trade goods with the Rownt and to learn new information about them. He slowly improves his skills comunicating in the Rownt language, mainly because a Rownt trader, Ondry, helps him and befriends him.
We slowly learn about Liam's past (be aware of the TWs) and his predicament on the alien planet.
The world building, including the Rownt culture, language, matriarchy was impressive.
The Rownt are not aliens similar to humans only purple and bigger, but they are so very different in mannerisms and social situations AND their faces resemble more a turtle's face than a human face. I won't even start on their not existing sexual compatibility with humans.
I did not expect the tenderness and emotional intimacy between Liam and Ondry, or start of a sexual relationship of some sorts between them. All of that was awesome, though.
I especially enjoyed the discussions between Liam and Ondry, mainly Ondry trying to understand the meaning of certain terms and certain human behaviours.
An impressive book. Do not expect alien smut and do not take the cover models as reflections of the MCs.
The story itself is only about 150 pages long and told in single pov (Liam), third person past tense.
There are additional chapters (nearly 80 pages) that are mostly told from Ondry's pov and show Ondry's perspective of some early events. These additional chapters included in the current ebook-version are listed on GR as a separate book "Prelude to Claimings, Tails and Other Alien Artifacts" so you don't need to buy that one separately.
Liam is a soldier stationed on planet Prarownt inhabitated by the Rownt. He is a linguist learning to be a trader in order to trade goods with the Rownt and to learn new information about them. He slowly improves his skills comunicating in the Rownt language, mainly because a Rownt trader, Ondry, helps him and befriends him.
We slowly learn about Liam's past (be aware of the TWs) and his predicament on the alien planet.
The world building, including the Rownt culture, language, matriarchy was impressive.
The Rownt are not aliens similar to humans only purple and bigger, but they are so very different in mannerisms and social situations AND their faces resemble more a turtle's face than a human face. I won't even start on their not existing sexual compatibility with humans.
I did not expect the tenderness and emotional intimacy between Liam and Ondry, or start of a sexual relationship of some sorts between them. All of that was awesome, though.
I especially enjoyed the discussions between Liam and Ondry, mainly Ondry trying to understand the meaning of certain terms and certain human behaviours.
November 27, 2013
This is something remarkable in M/M Sci Fi with a human-alien romantic pair. It actually makes sense to me, and feels plausible, not contrived. These aliens are wonderfully alien, and yet the love story works.
I like Sci Fi, and don't mind sometimes suspending disbelief. But unless you subscribe to the Star Trek version of aliens as humanoids with some makeup, there is no real reason why sex with a human should have any appeal for an alien, or vice versa. What are the odds that evolution would create, on disparate worlds, two species who are sexually compatible in any way? Unless one is stunningly pleomorphic (ie. a scientific version of a shapeshifter) or the author can in some other way make this coincidence work, I often have to treat this type of story like a fantasy.
Here, Lyn Gala creates two beings who come together, not because they fit together sexually just as two humans would, but because on a variety of levels they meet each other's needs and feel pleasure in each other's company. There is a low-key BDSM aspect (but this author tends more toward Dom/sub and bondage themes, and not a lot of pain.) I really enjoyed this story of a man who hasn't been properly valued by the people around him for all of his life, suddenly finding a place and a home in the eyes of an alien. There is very little sex here, and a lot of story and worldbuilding that I really enjoyed. Recommended for Sci Fi fans.
I like Sci Fi, and don't mind sometimes suspending disbelief. But unless you subscribe to the Star Trek version of aliens as humanoids with some makeup, there is no real reason why sex with a human should have any appeal for an alien, or vice versa. What are the odds that evolution would create, on disparate worlds, two species who are sexually compatible in any way? Unless one is stunningly pleomorphic (ie. a scientific version of a shapeshifter) or the author can in some other way make this coincidence work, I often have to treat this type of story like a fantasy.
Here, Lyn Gala creates two beings who come together, not because they fit together sexually just as two humans would, but because on a variety of levels they meet each other's needs and feel pleasure in each other's company. There is a low-key BDSM aspect (but this author tends more toward Dom/sub and bondage themes, and not a lot of pain.) I really enjoyed this story of a man who hasn't been properly valued by the people around him for all of his life, suddenly finding a place and a home in the eyes of an alien. There is very little sex here, and a lot of story and worldbuilding that I really enjoyed. Recommended for Sci Fi fans.
August 26, 2016
Holy shit. This is a perfect total power exchange without the sado or the masochism. All about safety, comfort, care and trust. I was not expecting any of that from a Alien/Human romance. With so many books out there trying to bank on the 50 Shitastic Shades of Twatbag phenomena, I've grown bored with the BDSM themes that have been so prevalent in erotica the last few years. But I surprisingly really LOVED this story. And to top it all off there's super hot alien tail sex. Yes. TAIL SEX. Did I mention it was hot? Cuz it really was. *frantically fans herself*
Everybody wants to feel safe and belong to someone else, to be able to take care of and make someone happy. But it's about trusting someone to respect that need and not abuse it. That's where people or in this case humans fall short. There was something simplictically beautiful about witnessing Liam submit to Ondry and seeing Ondry cherish him for his submission. I want my own Ondry....tail and all.
Everybody wants to feel safe and belong to someone else, to be able to take care of and make someone happy. But it's about trusting someone to respect that need and not abuse it. That's where people or in this case humans fall short. There was something simplictically beautiful about witnessing Liam submit to Ondry and seeing Ondry cherish him for his submission. I want my own Ondry....tail and all.
July 25, 2015
Ok, that was WAY more than what I expected. I'm thinking, capture, slave, forced tail sex, D/s shenanigans, etc. What I got was a cultural anthropologygasm and a completely unique perspective on a D/s relationship.
First, I thought the world building, and actually I should say, culture building, was fascinating and extremely well done. The Rownt culture was very interesting and reading the exchanges between Liam and Ondry was fun. Once Liam was "transferred" over to Ondry the really gripping stuff started happening. There was SO much Liam didn't understand, even when he thought he was an expert in Rownt culture and linguistics. Liam struggled A LOT with his new role in Ondry's world but what I really liked and what was really unique was how important it was to Ondry that Liam understand and be happy. I could really see how treasured Liam was, it just took Liam an undertsandably long time to get it.
I was really curious to see how the author would handle the fact that Ondry and Liam were never going to be able to have sex in any kind of traditional way and that Ondry (and his culture) didn't see sex as a pleasurable exchange. How the HELL was THAT going to work? This is where the truly unique aspect of the D/s came in. All Ondry really wanted was for Liam to be happy and he was completely intrigued with Liam's reaction to stimulation. Ondry got off (not literally) on how much influence he had over Liam's body and how Liam's body reacted to him.
Ultimately this non traditional love story was built on trust and respect, something Liam had never received before. Reading about his past was painfully sad and it made sense why he felt the way he did about trust. The only thing I would have liked more of, was the "courting" that Ondry was doing in the first years that Liam was a trader. Those would have been some fun exchanges to read.
Another great UM read that gave me more than I expected, I love when that happens.
First, I thought the world building, and actually I should say, culture building, was fascinating and extremely well done. The Rownt culture was very interesting and reading the exchanges between Liam and Ondry was fun. Once Liam was "transferred" over to Ondry the really gripping stuff started happening. There was SO much Liam didn't understand, even when he thought he was an expert in Rownt culture and linguistics. Liam struggled A LOT with his new role in Ondry's world but what I really liked and what was really unique was how important it was to Ondry that Liam understand and be happy. I could really see how treasured Liam was, it just took Liam an undertsandably long time to get it.
I was really curious to see how the author would handle the fact that Ondry and Liam were never going to be able to have sex in any kind of traditional way and that Ondry (and his culture) didn't see sex as a pleasurable exchange. How the HELL was THAT going to work? This is where the truly unique aspect of the D/s came in. All Ondry really wanted was for Liam to be happy and he was completely intrigued with Liam's reaction to stimulation. Ondry got off (not literally) on how much influence he had over Liam's body and how Liam's body reacted to him.
Ultimately this non traditional love story was built on trust and respect, something Liam had never received before. Reading about his past was painfully sad and it made sense why he felt the way he did about trust. The only thing I would have liked more of, was the "courting" that Ondry was doing in the first years that Liam was a trader. Those would have been some fun exchanges to read.
Another great UM read that gave me more than I expected, I love when that happens.
January 24, 2020
I’m thrilled that Lyn Gala’s extraordinary Claimings series is being offered in audio! Brought to life by the wonderfully expressive John Solo, the first novel, Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts, sets the stage for this stunning series. And I’m just giving you fair warning: Plan on committing to all four audiobooks because once you let Ondry and Liam into your heart you’ll never get enough!
A linguistics specialist in Earth’s military, Liam has held the position of trader on the planet Prarownt for five years. While he’s a decent trader, Liam’s true value lies in his ability to collect details of the culture, customs, and language of the Rownt, the native beings of the planet. Most of what he learns is through his relationship with Ondry, the Rownt’s finest trader, and the two have cultivated a tentative friendship.
Identified by his need to please and serve others, Liam is recognized as a Palteia by the Rownt. Viewed as precious and held in the highest esteem, Patleia are to be protected and cherished for the treasures they are. When a military change of command threatens Liam’s position on Prarownt, Ondry steps in to claim Liam as his own Palteia.
After years of abuse and being repeatedly exploited, it breaks my heart to see Liam’s relief at Ondry’s care. As he begins to understand the level of respect and honor a Palteia commands, his walls come down and he becomes a different person. There’s a compelling dynamic between Ondry and Liam right from the start, and once Ondry claims Liam, the added dimensions of their D/s connection is irresistible.
As a huge science fiction fan, I have to gush a bit about Lyn Gala’s skill at building this incredible world. She explores the Rownt’s society, culture, and customs and includes imaginative details about their physical characteristics and the intricacies of their language. It’s all seamlessly incorporated over the course of this series, so by the end of the fourth Claimings novel I think I know every aspect of this world as well as I do my own.
It takes a special narrator to bring this extraordinary collection to life, and I’m so glad the honor goes to John Solo. Between the tongue twisting Rownt language, the wide array of unusual characters, and the subtle nuances of all the relationships, Mr. Solo’s interpretation lives up to everything I could have hoped for.
As Lyn Gala mentions in her author’s note, Ondry is modeled on her ideal of the perfect dom. Gaining his enjoyment by watching his Palteia lost in pleasure, Ondry’s exploration of Liam’s body and his responses is extremely erotic. Throughout the series, as their intimacy grows, the connection between Liam and Ondry is incredibly moving. Fans of romance and science fiction, I highly recommend this wonderful love story, especially now that the Claimings series is available in audiobook!
A linguistics specialist in Earth’s military, Liam has held the position of trader on the planet Prarownt for five years. While he’s a decent trader, Liam’s true value lies in his ability to collect details of the culture, customs, and language of the Rownt, the native beings of the planet. Most of what he learns is through his relationship with Ondry, the Rownt’s finest trader, and the two have cultivated a tentative friendship.
Identified by his need to please and serve others, Liam is recognized as a Palteia by the Rownt. Viewed as precious and held in the highest esteem, Patleia are to be protected and cherished for the treasures they are. When a military change of command threatens Liam’s position on Prarownt, Ondry steps in to claim Liam as his own Palteia.
After years of abuse and being repeatedly exploited, it breaks my heart to see Liam’s relief at Ondry’s care. As he begins to understand the level of respect and honor a Palteia commands, his walls come down and he becomes a different person. There’s a compelling dynamic between Ondry and Liam right from the start, and once Ondry claims Liam, the added dimensions of their D/s connection is irresistible.
As a huge science fiction fan, I have to gush a bit about Lyn Gala’s skill at building this incredible world. She explores the Rownt’s society, culture, and customs and includes imaginative details about their physical characteristics and the intricacies of their language. It’s all seamlessly incorporated over the course of this series, so by the end of the fourth Claimings novel I think I know every aspect of this world as well as I do my own.
It takes a special narrator to bring this extraordinary collection to life, and I’m so glad the honor goes to John Solo. Between the tongue twisting Rownt language, the wide array of unusual characters, and the subtle nuances of all the relationships, Mr. Solo’s interpretation lives up to everything I could have hoped for.
As Lyn Gala mentions in her author’s note, Ondry is modeled on her ideal of the perfect dom. Gaining his enjoyment by watching his Palteia lost in pleasure, Ondry’s exploration of Liam’s body and his responses is extremely erotic. Throughout the series, as their intimacy grows, the connection between Liam and Ondry is incredibly moving. Fans of romance and science fiction, I highly recommend this wonderful love story, especially now that the Claimings series is available in audiobook!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 755 reviews