The Interstellar Brides series takes place at a time where aliens are real and there are several different planets and species. There is a galactic enemy known as the hive, which is a technological species that invades planets and either kills its inhabitants or transforms their captives into one of them. A coalition was formed between the planets who are at war with the hive. Each member of the coalition is required to supply soldiers and brides to the cause. Soldiers to fight the hive, and brides to repopulate the diminished that have fallen victim to the war. Earth has become a member of the coalition. The Colony Series takes place alongside the interstellar bride series, but focuses solely on the residents of the Colony. The colony houses veterans of war, tainted with Hive technology. They cannot or will not return to their home worlds because of their cyborg hive tech, so they live the remainder of their lives on the colony. Even though brides have been sent to the colony through the interstellar testing system, it hasn’t been enough. Especially for the Atlans and their temperamental beasts. That’s where this spinoff comes in. Through hard work and PR, the human females of the colony have inspired a network to create a reality show for Atlan aliens. Similar to the Bachelor, women are narrowed down until one remains, and the beast offers his cuffs to the winner (opposed to the final rose and a proposal). Unfortunately, anyone who knows how Atlans work, would know that this setup is doomed to fail. Atlans are humanoid. They are massive in size (the largest of the alien species), and they have a split personality of sorts that is referred to as their “beast.” Their beast lives inside them, very much with its own personality, and only comes out during danger or mating fever. When the beast comes out to play, they grow bigger - with elongated fangs, sharp facial features and bulging muscles - and their main personality takes a backseat behind the scenes. Their beast won’t accept just any mate. They are very particular about who they consider “mine.” Did I mention that the Atlans are my favorite of the alien species? 🫶🏻
Written in first person, Bargain with a Beast is book 6 in this series and follows the human bride Adrian Davis and her Atlan Warlord Kovo. We first met Adrian in book 4 of the beasts as one of the twin daughters of Vivian Davis before Warlord Maxus came into their lives. Turns out, Adrian and Stephanie's biological father was part Everian, which is how she knew that Kovo was her mate before she even saw him.
Kovo was an Atlan, lost to mating fever after waiting for a match for three years, who chose to be framed for the murder of his brother, since he was going to die anyway. It was a carefully planned set up by Dr. Helion in order to save his brother's life, who was deep under cover in the IC. In order to free Kovo without endangering the life of his brother, Kovo had to fake his death. I should also point out that Kovo and his beast had a rather unusual relationship with each other, made even weirder when Adrian could"sense" the beast inside Kovo. After Adrian saved Kovo and his beast from mating fever, the two lived happily ever after in hiding on Earth.
There have been way too many romance novels I’ve read that had me frustrated and yelling “Jesus Christ, when are they gonna fuck?! Get to the good shit already!” When we’re 50% in, and the main characters have barely kissed each other, leaves readers like me aggravated. Don’t get me wrong, I love me a well written buildup to sex, but most are anticlimactic. This is NOT one of those books. While Grace Goodwin has added more adventures as the series progressed, it is still, quite literally, word porn.
If you are reading this book, and all its associated spin-offs, in chronological order, I recommend reading this after book 5 of the Beast series and before book 23 of the IB series. As I’ve read through this series and all its spin offs, I can attest that the plot is incredibly addictive. I am way too invested in each book, in all its adventure and romance. This book was no exception. Highly recommend.