Crash

Rose Rising #1

by Thea Masen

Neither of them want to be stranded together after the crash—especially when the heat gets stuck on high. But sweaty and exposed might be just what they need. Ada I’d rather be anywhere but here. In a broken spaceship with my least favorite crew mate—Mr. Perfect Flyboy, Galen Frenzi, star of the Federation. Sure, he’s sinfully hot, but he’s also a cocky jerk who’s always correcting me. So why can’t I stop staring at him? When he exposes his bare chest, the urge to do very naughty things—like lick his pecs—is so thrilling I almost throw myself at him. I need to get out of here, before my desire leads to things I’ll definitely regret. Galen Ada hates me. But it’s for the best. I’ve craved her since the first day we met. If I don’t keep some distance between us, I’ll go wild with need. She’s tantalizing. Hypnotic, even. It’s best I stay away. But that’s not an option while we're trapped together in a tiny spaceship. When the climate control breaks and most of our clothes come off to keep us cool, I know I won't be able to resist her for long.
If you love sizzling heat, hidden attraction, and aliens with interesting anatomy, you'll love this fast-paced, short read.

Forced proximity
Rivals to lovers
Spaceship crash
Popular/reject
He falls first

Genres: Romance, Science Fiction, Science Fiction Romance, Aliens, Novella, Monster Romance, Forced Proximity

157 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 27, 2023

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not going to lie I really enjoyed myself with this one. The frenemies to lovers felt so natural and flowed well. The spice was unique but still so sexy. I really liked the characters and their stories and I look forward to reading more books by this author!

There were areas that could use improvement, like the nicknames, the spice, and some of the flow of parts of the story, but overall, I liked it quite a bit. It was fun, entertaining, a page turner, and a spicy sci fi romance.

I love a quick novella to really help cleanse my palate in-between books and Crash did just that. I loved it.

[RLbooks (in and out) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick read with forced proximity, a sort of rivals to lovers feel, with a lot of steam and not much communication. The h and H crash land on a planet during a mission and give in to the attraction each has had, but avoided, for years. Both want assignments on a spaceship that’s about to leave for a 7 year mission, though they’re not in direct competition for that. Written in first person, dual POV. No ow/om drama (the h does feel jealousy over possible past partners for the H but he tells her how many people he’s been with and it’s much lower than expected) and neither were virgins.

The H is a space pilot and has some interesting anatomy but is otherwise mostly human looking and comes from a race of aliens highly desired for their sexual side. He was likable but too uncertain for me, even when he wanted to pursue her. The h is a human engineer who’s snarky and was frustrating to me because she had such a chip on her shoulder, but she was also forced to maintain a big family secret that colored her social attitudes I thought. It’s all very fast paced and takes place over maybe a week, some on their crashed ship and some on the station they came from. Although there’s some emotional depth and background for both, the ending is HFN and abrupt so left me wanting in the romance.

The last chapter is a different POV of a villain who I believe will be part of the other stories in the series. I’m not personally interested in the next book as there’s an excerpt at the end of this one and starts with that H sleeping with a woman who’s not his h.

[Janni (theladysparks)]

I’ll update my review whenever the book releases!

[Jamie Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, sweet, spicy - perfect get you out of a slump read.
🌌🌌🌌Plot- The plot was fleshed out really well considering this is shorter length , I love that this plot is centered more around the characters, their relationship to each other,and their goals . I appreciate that we get back story to both the mmc and the fmc to get to know them better , especially the glimpse we get of Ada's complex relationship with her father, which really makes you feel for her.

Plus that surprise mystery at the end 😮😮

🚀🚀🚀🚀
'Galen Frenzi might be the brightest up-and-coming flyboy in the Federation, but he’s impossible to work with—

The type of person who makes me irrationally angry every time he opens his perfect mouth. He’s too perfect. Excessively good-looking and one of the sexiest species in the galaxy.'

🚀🚀🚀🚀

🌶🌶🌶Spice - the spice was sweet but hot. My favourite part was probably that Galen is able to multiple O ( back to back) 😏I don't know why but that just totally did it for me .

🚀🚀🚀
He lifts one of my legs and drops my thigh over his shoulder. Then does the same with the other, so I’m suspended off the ground with my legs wrapped around his face. “What are you—“I don’t finish the sentence because he stands up, lifting me with him. I almost topple forward, but his volup catch me and press me firmly back against the wall as his face burrows deep between my legs.
🚀🚀🚀

🌌🌌🌌And the Volup. . . The VOLUP! Gals who love you some tentacle type action will appreciate this little addition to Galens anatomy. I know I did 🥵



All in all I would definitely recommend this for anyone looking for a quick read that's spicy&sweet , and if the below tropes are your jam


Tropes:
Forced proximity
Spaceship crash
Sabotage
Frienemies to lovers
Secrets
He falls first
Good modeling of consent

but be warned you will want to jump right into the next book in the series. I know I did.

I received an arc copy from the author for free. This is my honest review.

[Camilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this short and spicy sci-fi novella. 130ish pages, that had surprising depth and amount of plot for being so short.

Trying a new author can be a bit nerve-wracking, but here it really payed off
Thea Masen writes well, the story pulls you in quickly, the characters are likeable and relatable and the spice is good. I enjoyed how Masen clearly had come up with her own set of lingo for the space station and fictional universe, and although I didn't know exactly what some of the words meant, and they weren't outright explained, I still found that the text flowed seamlessly.

Forced proximity, Rivals to lovers, pining. Top tier tropes that are executed well in this novella.

I liked that this sets up the series, and ends with a little cliff hanger and mystery. A big villain in a series of novellas? Sign me up!

I'd recommend this to anyone who liked short and spicy sci-fi romances. Slight IPB vibes, but also not. This is a very "beginner" friendly sci-fi romance, since Galen (our hero) is fairly human like with only a few extra enhancements.

The second book released at the same time so I'm going to go read that now.

A big thank you to the author for providing me an ARC. I'm voluntarily writing this review.

[Sopha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice little novella

Rating: 3.5/5
Spice: 1/5

It started off promising since for the length, the characters and back stories seemed fleshed out enough.

Always love a good bickering couple with attraction simmering underneath. Until they don’t talk to each and assume things on their own. Or when one wants to talk but the other shuts it down. Sadly, that portion dampened the experience for me.

[Lyrik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rivals / antagonism to love is never my favorite - especially when it's imagined by one side. And I also dislike when "they couldn't possibly want me for real and this is just a tryst" occurs for too long - which is what I felt happened in this case. I wanted more sweet words and declarations of love during the sexy times. I liked the aliens and was intersted in the world. This had a little flavor of Star Trek that worked for me. I would read more, but I'm the mood for something different next.

[Robyn G · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fast paced and oh so good!
Galen and Ada had all the tension and chemistry going for them!
I forgot how much i loved the enemies to lovers dynamic, the push and pull and the secret longing just explodes when their forced to be alone.
This was an amazing introduction to this series and I'm already diving into book two!

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I fell into a hole. this one was fun, but i would have expected a little more “story” being the crash and its consequences. I’ve got to say that I love the writing and I really enjoyed the star trek references tho!

[Honest Mabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

more like 3.75

It’s interesting a little young but not bad. Not as erotic as I hoped. Just enough alien to keep me reading and not as alien as I would have liked.

[Maggie Collier (book.marg) · Rating 5 out of 5]

So glad I started reading Thea's stuff!!!

This is was so so great! I've been in a bit of a reading slump and this was the perfect book to get me out of it. The characters were so cute and I'm significantly intrigued about the second book. Highly recommend!!

[Sheridan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t realise when I first started reading that this was pretty much a straight romance with plot. Regardless It was an easy read with a compelling enough “mystery” that will get me to finish the rest of the series.

Enjoyed the rivals to lovers with forced proximity. Good setting stage for the rest of the series.

[Poppy || Monster Lover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun Trekkie romance

Ada and Galen were an interesting couple — bickering cadets that were trapped together after a crash. Ada was an icy creative rule breaker counterpart to Galen’s rigid thinking rule following ways. The argued more than anything else during their time together, but they had enough sizzling attraction to bring the romance home. I thought the author did well at introducing and having the reader invest in the characters in such a short time. Looking forward to the rest of the series!

Spice: 5/5

Triggers: crash, overheating, risk of freezing, mention of traumatic death of parents, mention of war, toxic parent/child relationship

[Welcome To My Escape]

Let me preface this with this: this is not my genre, and it was actually my first alien romance. With that said, this did not convince me to pick up more of the genre. I do like romance, and I do like science fiction, I just was not a fan of this combination.

I found the plot underdeveloped, the relationship to be nonsensical and unenticing, and the writing to be overdone. It is a novella, so an underdeveloped world is expected, but there were plot holes, and the science/technology just didn’t make sense. There were so many made-up phrases and words dropped into the story that were jarring, especially considering this is a novella so space and depth are limited to begin with. The relationship was very insta-lusty on the one side, and matter of desperation and lack of self-confidence on the other. The FMC confused me because she seems to suck at her job, but she thinks she will be getting this big promotion, and I am like “based on literally what, though?” I found the MMC condescending and a bit predatory, which if marketed right is fine, even fun, but in the trope list this book says “good modeling of consent” which it was not… at all.

I think that was a big part of my lack of enjoyment - the trope list, and therefore, what I expected from this story was not at all what I got. They are not frenemies in any sense of the word, the ship has already crashed by the time the book starts and there is no real urgency or fear brought on due to the crash or being stranded even after the fact, so it is not relevent. A few of the other tropes listed were such minor, unimportant, and even unnecessary aspects of the stories, it is irrelevant to include them in the trope list.

My trope list would go:
- Forced proximity
- He falls first
- Reverse grumpy/sunshine
- Popular/reject
- More spice than plot

I think if you are more clear going into it of what you're getting, it could be more fun.

This review was in exchange for an ARC

[Ketty · Rating 5 out of 5]

- Interesting anatomy
- Forced Proximity
- Hot and cold extremes
- He falls first
-Slightly slow burn
- Multiple O's, from him and her
- I will punch my best friend in the face for you
- Super sweet and super spicy
- Twi'lek type head tentacles but they can do much better things
-Read in a single sitting (basically)

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

Ada and Galen have been cadets together for years, she hates his perfection and her need to bend the rules drives him crazy. One thing they have in common, they are super attracted to each other. So when their ship crashes on an icy planet during a routine mission and the climate controls break causing everything to be unbearably hot, things get interesting.

This is a new author, new to me and new, and I didn't know what to expect going into it, but I am so pleased. I devoured this book. I read it almost in one sitting, if I didn't have to take a kid to their job, it would have been one sitting. It was so good, a great length, and just enough story and spice to be a wonderful balance. The world-building is simple and just enough to lay the groundwork for the rest of the upcoming series.

The relationship between Ada and Galen is strained, they could have been friends but Ada hates his perfectionism and how by-the-book he is. Galen loves her, has since he first met her, but he wanted to be the youngest captain in Federation history and she was a distraction. Not to mention how infuriatingly creative she is. When they are thrust together tensions build, they both want to bang the other, but don't, but do. It's delicious. As the days go by that they are stranded together, things are admitted and things explode into a sexy boom.

It's a great opening to a series, I am excited to keep reading.

[Britt ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

*reviewing this and book 2 together*

Crash & Sneak were both such FUN reads. They’re fast paced, spicy and take place in space…what more could you want?

Crash follows Galen, our alien, and Ada who are frienemies that crash land together and forced to face the rising sexual tension between them. Let me tell you, when they give into that tension it’s HOT. I loved their banter and the little bit of angst that Thea threw in there for her readers.

Sneak follows Holland and Rook who decide to enter into a fake marriage to benefit the both of them 😏 Holland has a secret identity and is on the run and takes refuge on Rook’s ship, The Rose, but not without agreeing to help out Rook in exchange… Rook is an alien with a high sex drive and who better to help him out than his new ✨wife✨

Both of these books have everything you’d want in an alien novella. I had so much fun reading them both and can’t wait to read the rest of the series. I’m eagerly waiting for the story behind Dr. Moore & Zylas 👀

[Héloïse ☾ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't even have a quote to highlight because I couldn't find anything impactful or cute to share with the class.

Okay this is a novella so I was expecting a fast-paced story. But there's a lack of coherence here (and yes I'm talking about coherence and realism for a book with aliens).

The miscommunication between Ada and Galen (I'd already forgotten his name) nearly killed me -and not in a good way. As much as I can handle the frustration if it's well done, here we're talking about a complete change of heart every two sentences with Ada.
And she was off to a good start. A badass, sarcastic human engineer who doesn't take any crap? My kind of woman. But she's more of a weathervane.
And Galen was also off to a good start. At least we knew from the start that he wanted his "sweet cheeks". He should simply have learned to turn his tongue seven times in his mouth instead of learning to use his volup.

From what I can see for the ratings, it's one of the worst books in the series so I'm still hopeful that I'll enjoy the rest of my reading.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crash by Thea Masen is a Forced Proximity SciFi Alien Romance. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and gosh was this a fun, enjoyable read! This was a very fast paced, short read that has forced proximity, spiciness and some good time aliens. I really liked this book, I read it cover to cover and I found myself devouring the chapters. This was very well written and was described very well to the point I was able to easily picture everything I was reading. The characters were addicting, I loved Ada and Galen. They both had such great chemistry and their banter was on point. Also I enjoyed the bit of mystery that was thrown in… this was a fantastic sci-fi romance!

Final review:
4 out of 5 stars

[Rissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐️ BOOK REVIEW
2 🌶 Level (Galen seals the deal for this with me and his back to back O's)

I love a quick yet fulfilling read and that's exactly what this is. This is a perfect "after a book hangover" book or if you're struggling to pick a book on your tbr here ya go!

This was not the best book I have ever read but overall I really enjoyed it. I kept wanting to turn the page and finding out what happens next. I was drawn in and even though there were some things I would have wanted done differently it didn't stop me from being hooked with Galen and Ada. We get a lot of back story for both of our characters which helps you to feel who they are.

Also books that have a surprise ending are always top notch in my opinion so that was a nice bonus for me too.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: Crash
Series: Rose Rising
# in series: 1
Author: Thea Masen
Genre: Sci-Fi Romance
Tropes/Keywords: Aliens, Enemies to Lovers, Forced Proximity, Hate to Love, Work Relations, Secret Identity
Pages: 133
Steam: Open Door
Spice: 🌶🌶🌶/5
Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2/5

Review:

We had some very interesting anatomy in this one that I am still struggling to figure out, but it was definitely fun. I didn't connect with the first half of the story as much as I would have liked to, but once things got *heated* between them I became more invested in the story. I would recommend it for those that enjoy alien romance, and want a fast paced read.

.
.
.
.
.
.
CW/TW: Sabotage. Extreme temperatures. Controlling parent.


**ARC provided by author. All thoughts are my own**

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m reading this series after reading the author’s Dragons of New York series (which I love) and it’s not nearly as good – you can tell this was her first published series. But I don’t hate the series (I’ve read the first 4 so far) and the writing is good – I really think the problem is that the books are too short. The connection between the leads needs to be more developed. A few more chapters would have gone a long way (usually I say the opposite!). Each book is getting better though, and they are quick reads if you just want something fun and sweet to read.

What I need to know is how long these volup’s are though – because when described they seems like maybe chin length but during sexy times they seem to be everywhere so I’m a bit confused…

[Racheal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun and fast-paced novella! Galen and Ada had perfect chemistry! I loved the push and pull factor between them. This story also has some star trek vibes to it that I was totally digging! And the ending? I need to read on to find out who the sabotager is!

My only small complaint is that it felt slightly rushy towards the end. Things could have just been a little better fleshed out with some more detail/slower pacing. But aside from that, I loved the whole concept to the story and can't wait to read the books following this in the series!

[Sky Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forced proximity is the best thing that could have happened to them, because they both can't admit they've wanted each other for 5 years! They are both excellent at their jobs on the ship and when they both crash land it's their combined skills that land them and keep them safe from sabotage and death. And while they wait for rescue things get heated with all the spice and an alien peen that doesn't quit. Multiple rounds ain't stopping this alien and I can't wait to read book two!

[Poetry Drive · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forced proximity trope done right! Enemies to lovers without all the build up and hundreds of pages.

Spicy Star Trek without the campiness. The FMC is smart, resourceful, sarcastic, and tough as nails. MMC is the typical, arrogant pilot who’s had the hots for the FMC since year 1 of Uni.

The overarching story is an interesting one and I cannot wait to binge the rest of the series to find out what happens!

[Dalegendaryreader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read and a great palate cleanser, however, not a lot of world building (which is fine with me). Honestly, I read this for the vibes and I heard this gave off Ice Planet Barbarians vibes and sure it did but at the same time not.

I wished we got more back story or in-depth history with the characters because it felt rushed for me. The bickering stopped maybe just a few chapters and then boom, they hit it off. I do understand that this is a quick, fun novella which delivered the purpose.

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone knows that alien romance is my go to when I’m in a reading slump. They never disappoint me. Crash met my slump needs and then some. I’m always amazed when an author can manage to fit in the appropriate amount of world and character building, while meeting my spicy needs in a book less than 200 pages. Thea has this set up to be a interesting series with sabotage and all.

After finishing Crash, I immediately started the second book, Sneak.

[Allie Maddox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of alien romance thanks to Ruby Dixon and this book did not disappoint. It was quick and cute, a nice easy read to get you out of a slump for sure! But then I got hooked and started devouring the rest of the series and am currently on book 3 :) It's a fast paced rivals/enemies to lovers that is absolutely adorable and spicy!

[Brie Fogle · Rating 5 out of 5]

THANK YOU BOOKTOK. I’ve been needing something new but a quick read & boy did this deliver. It was everything I want in a hot, spicy, & witty read! Do I have questions about the world, people, and what the heck this voyage everyone wants to go on is? Yes. But am I totally satisfied after a couple hours of reading? YES!

Mkay, maybe I can squeeze the next one in before bed now 😏

[Jasmyn Faulk · Rating 5 out of 5]

first book was awesome!

It really was! I loved the not really enemies to unsure lovers thing between the MCs. I enjoyed the bits of back story that helped explain everything enough that it over take the current timeline but also us readers weren’t left confused. Looking forward to reading book 2 like right now!

[Lindsey (30Something_Reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Look, at first I was like "No, it's too silly. I won't be continuing this,' and YET!! I didn't stop reading. In fact, I started to kind of like it.

(It was still pretty silly though. I had to not think to hard about it.)

And how dare this author have that little cliff hanger ending?? I will be reading the second one, thank you.