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Tornians #1
Grim
King Grim Vasteri is the most feared warrior in the Tornian Empire. He has been sent by his Emperor to find and retrieve compatible females for their dying civilization.
King Grim Vasteri is the strongest and most feared warrior in the Tornian Empire, King of Luda, blood brother to the Emperor, but his line will die with him as no female would join with him, for once he was scarred, he was considered 'unfit'.
The Tornian Empire has been dying ever since the great infection caused the birth of females to become a rarity. Since then they have been searching the known universes for compatible females. The Emperor's discovery of a compatible female on a slave ship changed that. He'd ordered Grim to find his Empress' home world so more 'unprotected' females could be obtained, knowing Grim would never be allowed to Join with one.
Lisa Miller is a widowed mother of two little girls, Carly and Miki. Her husband died just a year ago, after a long battle with cancer and she misses him immensely. Friends want her to start dating again but in her heart, she knows there isn't a man on the planet she could love like her Mark. Who could love their girls like their own. Therefore, she'll stay alone.
When Lisa is discovered 'unprotected' at her husband's grave, she wakes on an alien ship heading for an alien world. Refusing to accept this she confronts the large males, demanding she be returned to her children. Seeing his chance to have a female, Grim agrees to accept and protect her offspring, if she agrees to Join with him and only him. Realizing this is the only way she can retrieve her children Lisa agrees and the Tornian Empire changes forever.
King Grim Vasteri is the strongest and most feared warrior in the Tornian Empire, King of Luda, blood brother to the Emperor, but his line will die with him as no female would join with him, for once he was scarred, he was considered 'unfit'.
The Tornian Empire has been dying ever since the great infection caused the birth of females to become a rarity. Since then they have been searching the known universes for compatible females. The Emperor's discovery of a compatible female on a slave ship changed that. He'd ordered Grim to find his Empress' home world so more 'unprotected' females could be obtained, knowing Grim would never be allowed to Join with one.
Lisa Miller is a widowed mother of two little girls, Carly and Miki. Her husband died just a year ago, after a long battle with cancer and she misses him immensely. Friends want her to start dating again but in her heart, she knows there isn't a man on the planet she could love like her Mark. Who could love their girls like their own. Therefore, she'll stay alone.
When Lisa is discovered 'unprotected' at her husband's grave, she wakes on an alien ship heading for an alien world. Refusing to accept this she confronts the large males, demanding she be returned to her children. Seeing his chance to have a female, Grim agrees to accept and protect her offspring, if she agrees to Join with him and only him. Realizing this is the only way she can retrieve her children Lisa agrees and the Tornian Empire changes forever.
438 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 30, 2013
459 people are currently reading
5385 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,008 reviews
December 4, 2013
*Previously posted on Amazon.com*
4.5 stars, and a plea to fellow readers:
This was an excellent story at the heart of it. Great concept. Solid basic design and heartfelt execution.
Was it perfect execution? No. But herein lies my plea to fellow readers, and I will subject you to it prior to my actual review:
The large, NY-type Publishing houses take horrible advantage of readers; that's a known fact. They take even more horrible advantage of writers as I've learned in the past year or so. To that end, I will bend over backwards for a writer who endeavours to bring his or her vision, for MY entertainment, to "printed" life without the aid of a big-house.
I am beyond tired of complaints about editing issues for self-pubbed works. Its a proven fact we can read through horrific misspellings and know what is intended; in fact, we don't even notice most errors. So if an author, or someone who desperately wants to be one but can't get past the NY houses, takes the time and blood and sweat...and yes, likely tears, to write something and self-publish it for MY escape??...I am damned sure going to overlook a few errors. I will give every opportunity for them to hit. Particularly when it is obvious that the basics are there, and are solid, and are well developed...and all that's missing is the big-house backing (which you pay for, and the authors do not reap rewards from) to correct things that spell/grammar check missed. (I doubt Sylvia Day corrects her own spelling. I would like to see her submitted galleys before they get to print! Professional editing makes for a smooth read but costs readers more, takes from the actual author's bottom line and allows publishers Draconian contractual rights to the property...and no, I am not an author. Just an avid reader...)
Now for the review: I loved this story. I love the characters, and connected with them instantly. I loved the world and I am hoping for a series to come out of this, as its clear there are more great lives to be lived vicariously. I loved the honest, genuine effort that went into this story, and I root for the author and their continued good fortune...and by extension, my own.
Write on, M. K. Eidem, and all my best wishes for you...and of course, for the Tornian Empire.
4.5 stars, and a plea to fellow readers:
This was an excellent story at the heart of it. Great concept. Solid basic design and heartfelt execution.
Was it perfect execution? No. But herein lies my plea to fellow readers, and I will subject you to it prior to my actual review:
The large, NY-type Publishing houses take horrible advantage of readers; that's a known fact. They take even more horrible advantage of writers as I've learned in the past year or so. To that end, I will bend over backwards for a writer who endeavours to bring his or her vision, for MY entertainment, to "printed" life without the aid of a big-house.
I am beyond tired of complaints about editing issues for self-pubbed works. Its a proven fact we can read through horrific misspellings and know what is intended; in fact, we don't even notice most errors. So if an author, or someone who desperately wants to be one but can't get past the NY houses, takes the time and blood and sweat...and yes, likely tears, to write something and self-publish it for MY escape??...I am damned sure going to overlook a few errors. I will give every opportunity for them to hit. Particularly when it is obvious that the basics are there, and are solid, and are well developed...and all that's missing is the big-house backing (which you pay for, and the authors do not reap rewards from) to correct things that spell/grammar check missed. (I doubt Sylvia Day corrects her own spelling. I would like to see her submitted galleys before they get to print! Professional editing makes for a smooth read but costs readers more, takes from the actual author's bottom line and allows publishers Draconian contractual rights to the property...and no, I am not an author. Just an avid reader...)
Now for the review: I loved this story. I love the characters, and connected with them instantly. I loved the world and I am hoping for a series to come out of this, as its clear there are more great lives to be lived vicariously. I loved the honest, genuine effort that went into this story, and I root for the author and their continued good fortune...and by extension, my own.
Write on, M. K. Eidem, and all my best wishes for you...and of course, for the Tornian Empire.
August 26, 2016
Oooh, alien smut where Earth women are taken to another galaxy because they don't have enough women? Count me in! But, you won't find that much actual smut here. It's so much more.
I know what you're saying, "But, Jilly, why would I want to read alien smut if there isn't much smut?" I hear ya, sister! Let's make a toast to blue aliens with ridges!
But, do you like castles, kings, lords, feudal systems, and court intrigue?
Do you like the amusing situations of a man having no idea how our earthy minds work, but is willing to do anything to please you?
Do you like a strong female heroine who breaks down the social barriers between the sexes and not only saves herself and her children, but also saves her man?
Do you like a great romance where both partners learn to work together and a love that grows with mutual respect and admiration?
Then you will love this book. And, not only does it have all of the above, but the aliens also just so happen to be every color of the rainbow. Like Skittles!! Who wouldn't love Skittle Aliens? I want one in purple.
Here is the only reason I didn't give it 5-stars: it starts out a little clunky, but gets its groove going pretty quickly. Also, there are editing issues. It's not that big of a deal, and consideration needs to be given to a smaller, self-published work. Plus, I was able to pretty much ignore most of the problems. Still, even a spell-check or the editor in most programs should have been able to catch most of them. In spite of those little problems, the story was good enough to overlook them and I am anxious to read more in this series.
I know what you're saying, "But, Jilly, why would I want to read alien smut if there isn't much smut?" I hear ya, sister! Let's make a toast to blue aliens with ridges!
But, do you like castles, kings, lords, feudal systems, and court intrigue?
Do you like the amusing situations of a man having no idea how our earthy minds work, but is willing to do anything to please you?
Do you like a strong female heroine who breaks down the social barriers between the sexes and not only saves herself and her children, but also saves her man?
Do you like a great romance where both partners learn to work together and a love that grows with mutual respect and admiration?
Then you will love this book. And, not only does it have all of the above, but the aliens also just so happen to be every color of the rainbow. Like Skittles!! Who wouldn't love Skittle Aliens? I want one in purple.
Here is the only reason I didn't give it 5-stars: it starts out a little clunky, but gets its groove going pretty quickly. Also, there are editing issues. It's not that big of a deal, and consideration needs to be given to a smaller, self-published work. Plus, I was able to pretty much ignore most of the problems. Still, even a spell-check or the editor in most programs should have been able to catch most of them. In spite of those little problems, the story was good enough to overlook them and I am anxious to read more in this series.
August 28, 2014
Wondering why anyone could possibly give this any higher than a 2 star even if they absolutely loved the story. Authors will NEVER learn to STOP asking for money for their fucking drafts if they aren't held accountable by the readers.
If you can't afford an editor, then post it on a free-to-read AMATEUR site where readers expect errors.
****OR*****
Get an editor for grammar/punctuation, and learn how to be consistent with tense and point of views.
Terrible, TERRIBLE writing/grammar/editing issues in this book.
If you can't afford an editor, then post it on a free-to-read AMATEUR site where readers expect errors.
****OR*****
Get an editor for grammar/punctuation, and learn how to be consistent with tense and point of views.
Terrible, TERRIBLE writing/grammar/editing issues in this book.
June 11, 2017
***Re-Read: 04/25/2014***
***Re-Read: 07/20/2014***
***Re-Read: 08/07/2015***
Lyndsey’s Rating Scale:
1 - Horrible (DNF)
2 - Not Horrible, BUT Not Much Better
3 – It Was OK, BUT Nothing Special
4 - The Good Stuff
5 - Loved It! Can’t Live Without It! Buying the Hardcopy!!!
Overview:
My summary of this story: I was kidnapped by an alien and I owned that $h!t!!!!!!
Lisa, a widowed mother of two, is kidnapped by super-hot aliens (OF COURSE). Almost at once she assesses her situation and demands that her children be retrieved if she is to continue on this new path. There are many growls and posturing but luckily Grim, an undesirable male, arrives and sees an opportunity to finally have the family he’s always desired. So Lisa gets to bring her kids, Grim gets a family, and everyone better like it or Grim is going to kick your A$$!!!! So the new little family arrives at their destination to find that life isn’t so bad on an alien planet especially when you marry the king! At this point I’m sure you’re thinking how is this different from any other nabbed by an alien story? It’s different BECAUSE every other story didn’t have LISA. She’s like a momma bear, seductress, fierce warrior, and politician all rolled into one person… all authority, care, and common sense! Yes, a female character with common sense! Who would have thought that would be popular????? Essentially Lisa saves Grim, her family, and sets the Tornian Empire straight on how females should be treated and how females should act. It’s a great story!
Thoughts, Likes, Dislikes:
OK…. First off, MK, you seriously need to invest in some beta readers, editors, or something! For that reason, I am willing to sacrifice all of my personal time to help you out in that area with no benefit to myself… at all… since I’m only drooling thinking about the next book! So now that it’s been pointed out that this story has some serious editing issues, if you have a problem with this sort of thing please just don’t read the story. It’s a great story as long as you can overlook the editing issues (otherwise you’ll be seriously annoyed). I’m hoping that this author is going to re-issue this book in the future after it’s been reviewed/edited. MK you should totally do that because people really need to read this story without being distracted!
My likes…. EVERYTHING!!!!! Stories involving human women being nabbed by aliens are like crack to me. The only thing better, IMO, would be a human female nabbed and seduced by multiple aliens (please let me point you in the direction of Ninth Orb, not a nabbing but sci-fi). ANYWAYS…. Reasons I loved this story: 1) FMC: Lisa not only had a brain but she knew how to use it. Lisa was also NOT extremely needy or reliant on Grim. She definitely valued his opinion but otherwise she could do her own thing and be ok. 2) MMC: I loved that Grim acknowledged his short falls when it came to understanding Lisa. He had no clue what he was doing but he at least made an effort to adjust (and not by becoming a pu$$y)! 3) Supporting Characters/World: I know there’s always a plague or war which decimates the female population but I was glad to see that not all females were gone (only that they were B!tches)! I thought it was interesting that the males could have other women but if they weren’t Tornian then they basically had no status (didn’t they just kidnap 12 human women and give them the elevated status of Tornian). Seems like any female they could breed with would be prized at this point. It was an interesting element/tid bit. Grim’s personal guard and household, these men were great and I thought they adapted well. My favorite supporting characters were the dress maker’s family. I’m drawing a blank right now on names but I’ll update later.
The only thing I would have changed about this story would have been the love scenes. The author starts off with a fairly detailed encounter of their love making but then it just kind of happens at future intervals without much fanfare. I’m not saying I need to know every detail of every encounter but I would have liked to see how their love making progressed. Maybe have Grim be a little more aggressive in the bedroom. I know he turns into a softy when Lisa is involved but DAMN… let’s have a little hair pulling and a$$ spanking to keep Lisa focused…. that’s all I’m asking for! Maybe even a little dirty alien talk???? I have no clue what that would sound like but I bet it would be HAWT!
Happy Reading!!! Lynz
***Re-Read: 07/20/2014***
***Re-Read: 08/07/2015***
Lyndsey’s Rating Scale:
1 - Horrible (DNF)
2 - Not Horrible, BUT Not Much Better
3 – It Was OK, BUT Nothing Special
4 - The Good Stuff
5 - Loved It! Can’t Live Without It! Buying the Hardcopy!!!
Overview:
My summary of this story: I was kidnapped by an alien and I owned that $h!t!!!!!!
Lisa, a widowed mother of two, is kidnapped by super-hot aliens (OF COURSE). Almost at once she assesses her situation and demands that her children be retrieved if she is to continue on this new path. There are many growls and posturing but luckily Grim, an undesirable male, arrives and sees an opportunity to finally have the family he’s always desired. So Lisa gets to bring her kids, Grim gets a family, and everyone better like it or Grim is going to kick your A$$!!!! So the new little family arrives at their destination to find that life isn’t so bad on an alien planet especially when you marry the king! At this point I’m sure you’re thinking how is this different from any other nabbed by an alien story? It’s different BECAUSE every other story didn’t have LISA. She’s like a momma bear, seductress, fierce warrior, and politician all rolled into one person… all authority, care, and common sense! Yes, a female character with common sense! Who would have thought that would be popular????? Essentially Lisa saves Grim, her family, and sets the Tornian Empire straight on how females should be treated and how females should act. It’s a great story!
Thoughts, Likes, Dislikes:
OK…. First off, MK, you seriously need to invest in some beta readers, editors, or something! For that reason, I am willing to sacrifice all of my personal time to help you out in that area with no benefit to myself… at all… since I’m only drooling thinking about the next book! So now that it’s been pointed out that this story has some serious editing issues, if you have a problem with this sort of thing please just don’t read the story. It’s a great story as long as you can overlook the editing issues (otherwise you’ll be seriously annoyed). I’m hoping that this author is going to re-issue this book in the future after it’s been reviewed/edited. MK you should totally do that because people really need to read this story without being distracted!
My likes…. EVERYTHING!!!!! Stories involving human women being nabbed by aliens are like crack to me. The only thing better, IMO, would be a human female nabbed and seduced by multiple aliens (please let me point you in the direction of Ninth Orb, not a nabbing but sci-fi). ANYWAYS…. Reasons I loved this story: 1) FMC: Lisa not only had a brain but she knew how to use it. Lisa was also NOT extremely needy or reliant on Grim. She definitely valued his opinion but otherwise she could do her own thing and be ok. 2) MMC: I loved that Grim acknowledged his short falls when it came to understanding Lisa. He had no clue what he was doing but he at least made an effort to adjust (and not by becoming a pu$$y)! 3) Supporting Characters/World: I know there’s always a plague or war which decimates the female population but I was glad to see that not all females were gone (only that they were B!tches)! I thought it was interesting that the males could have other women but if they weren’t Tornian then they basically had no status (didn’t they just kidnap 12 human women and give them the elevated status of Tornian). Seems like any female they could breed with would be prized at this point. It was an interesting element/tid bit. Grim’s personal guard and household, these men were great and I thought they adapted well. My favorite supporting characters were the dress maker’s family. I’m drawing a blank right now on names but I’ll update later.
The only thing I would have changed about this story would have been the love scenes. The author starts off with a fairly detailed encounter of their love making but then it just kind of happens at future intervals without much fanfare. I’m not saying I need to know every detail of every encounter but I would have liked to see how their love making progressed. Maybe have Grim be a little more aggressive in the bedroom. I know he turns into a softy when Lisa is involved but DAMN… let’s have a little hair pulling and a$$ spanking to keep Lisa focused…. that’s all I’m asking for! Maybe even a little dirty alien talk???? I have no clue what that would sound like but I bet it would be HAWT!
Happy Reading!!! Lynz
September 12, 2013
SciFi alien capture romance/erotica My feelings on this book are mixed. I loved it- 5 stars I could not put it down. I finished it at 2:30 in the morning when I had to be up at 6:30! I wanted to know what happened to Grim and Lisa. I love this kind of book.
However, (1 star)the editing was nonexistent. I don't think it was done at all. The book was full of wrong words, bad sentence structure, names wrong and a multitude more grammatical errors. There were other elements that were somewhat annoying too. 200 to 1 male to female ratio? Impossible. There is no way this could happen. Who is having all these male children? I can see if something had wiped the women out quickly but this had been going on for centuries. I think some clarifying/clean up of the world building is needed to make it more "believable".
I gave the book 3 stars despite the terrible editing because it held me captive. Books with better editing have failed to do that. Maybe I was desperate for my SciFi alien fix. I hope the author gets an editor because she has great potential in this genre.
However, (1 star)the editing was nonexistent. I don't think it was done at all. The book was full of wrong words, bad sentence structure, names wrong and a multitude more grammatical errors. There were other elements that were somewhat annoying too. 200 to 1 male to female ratio? Impossible. There is no way this could happen. Who is having all these male children? I can see if something had wiped the women out quickly but this had been going on for centuries. I think some clarifying/clean up of the world building is needed to make it more "believable".
I gave the book 3 stars despite the terrible editing because it held me captive. Books with better editing have failed to do that. Maybe I was desperate for my SciFi alien fix. I hope the author gets an editor because she has great potential in this genre.
October 12, 2021
2.5 Mixed feelings about this one.
On the one hand, it was fun. The characters were good, and the plot was engaging. It made me curious, which is the only reason I managed to finish this book.
On the other hand, though... how do I put it lightly... THE GRAMMAR WAS ATROCIOUS!
I've read all the previous reviews saying that the grammar is bad, but what we have here isn't 'bad' grammar, this is Google Translate form Janapese or something (yes, it's that bad). For the first 15%, I wanted to burn the book. After I got used to it, I started focusing on the plot and characters more, but still. It was awful (and I'm one of the most tolerant people when it comes to grammar in books). I mean, Grammarly is free in Word. There are so many free grammar checks out there, it's enough to google it. I won't even say that there are a lot of people looking to make some work experience and review the book for free. Why, oh WHY would anyone ruin a decent (maybe even really good) book if the solution is so easy?!
So, I'm sorry, but I really can't get over it. Fun plot, good, decent characters, it even made me curious, but I don't think I'll read anything by this author too soon (definitely nothing from this series). Would I recommend it? Well... maybe. Just so you can think of all the other books with 'bad grammar' you've read and say 'hmm, so it can be worse'.
On the one hand, it was fun. The characters were good, and the plot was engaging. It made me curious, which is the only reason I managed to finish this book.
On the other hand, though... how do I put it lightly... THE GRAMMAR WAS ATROCIOUS!
I've read all the previous reviews saying that the grammar is bad, but what we have here isn't 'bad' grammar, this is Google Translate form Janapese or something (yes, it's that bad). For the first 15%, I wanted to burn the book. After I got used to it, I started focusing on the plot and characters more, but still. It was awful (and I'm one of the most tolerant people when it comes to grammar in books). I mean, Grammarly is free in Word. There are so many free grammar checks out there, it's enough to google it. I won't even say that there are a lot of people looking to make some work experience and review the book for free. Why, oh WHY would anyone ruin a decent (maybe even really good) book if the solution is so easy?!
So, I'm sorry, but I really can't get over it. Fun plot, good, decent characters, it even made me curious, but I don't think I'll read anything by this author too soon (definitely nothing from this series). Would I recommend it? Well... maybe. Just so you can think of all the other books with 'bad grammar' you've read and say 'hmm, so it can be worse'.
June 29, 2020
Third read.
4.5 stars.
I still loved it as much as I did when I first read it if not more. One of the best heroes there is.
**First Read** 9/2013
5 ⭐️
**Reread** 7/23/17
4 ⭐️s!!
This book has been one of my favorites and happy to said that has NOT changed at ALL. But I took 1 star off from the original rating and I'll explain why.
I loved Grim.
I loved how he loved Lisa and her girls.
This book has been one of the few books where the dead spouse trope didn't bothered me at all.
In days like these where I can't stand to read any more virgins heroines with disgusting manwhores who has slept with hundreds of women and are not ashamed of their past but they're really should be ashamed. (Disgusting I'll tell you)
It's very refreshing to read about a hero who's NOT a manwhore, who's scarred and nobody want him because their women think he's unfit and unworthy.
My heart hurt for him, how he thought he could never have a family because he was worthless.
The book is not perfect and definitely needs a good editing job but to me it was.
“He’s never seen anything like it. It is pure innocence and excitement and right then he knows he’ll do whatever it takes to protect these young ones. They are his.”
I loved how protective he was of the girls even though he just met them.
And this is why I took off 1 star ==>
The only thing I'd change would be their first sex scene, the way he treated her, when I first read this it didn't bother me but this time around it did, there were some misunderstandings, both of their worlds are very different so i get that but I still didn't like that first sex scene.
I liked the heroine she was strong, she was also a loving mother.
The kids were cute.
I don't know why the author stop writing this series.. But I sincerely hope she continues because I'll definitely continue reading them.
4.5 stars.
I still loved it as much as I did when I first read it if not more. One of the best heroes there is.
**First Read** 9/2013
5 ⭐️
**Reread** 7/23/17
4 ⭐️s!!
This book has been one of my favorites and happy to said that has NOT changed at ALL. But I took 1 star off from the original rating and I'll explain why.
I loved Grim.
I loved how he loved Lisa and her girls.
This book has been one of the few books where the dead spouse trope didn't bothered me at all.
In days like these where I can't stand to read any more virgins heroines with disgusting manwhores who has slept with hundreds of women and are not ashamed of their past but they're really should be ashamed. (Disgusting I'll tell you)
It's very refreshing to read about a hero who's NOT a manwhore, who's scarred and nobody want him because their women think he's unfit and unworthy.
My heart hurt for him, how he thought he could never have a family because he was worthless.
The book is not perfect and definitely needs a good editing job but to me it was.
“He’s never seen anything like it. It is pure innocence and excitement and right then he knows he’ll do whatever it takes to protect these young ones. They are his.”
I loved how protective he was of the girls even though he just met them.
And this is why I took off 1 star ==>
The only thing I'd change would be their first sex scene, the way he treated her, when I first read this it didn't bother me but this time around it did, there were some misunderstandings, both of their worlds are very different so i get that but I still didn't like that first sex scene.
I liked the heroine she was strong, she was also a loving mother.
The kids were cute.
I don't know why the author stop writing this series.. But I sincerely hope she continues because I'll definitely continue reading them.
August 20, 2014
LOVE this book. Constantly re-read. Such a good story and the hero & heroine act like ADULTS the whole time! Long read you WONT want to put down. Self Published author, so there's some editing issues, but greatness on plot & character development. Can't WAIT for the next book in this series. :)
Tornian females are a selfish, self-centered, gold-digging, entitled bunch of spoiled brats. But since the male to female ratio for Tornians is 200 to 1, female Tornians can get away with that behavior.
...until the human woman is brought there.
When the story begins, Lisa is sitting at her deceased husband's grave side. She's thinking about him and their two young daughters. Suddenly she is knocked out cold.
When Lisa wakes from her kidnapping & begins to have a serious meltdown over being separated from her two children - the other 11 captive women on the Tornian space-ship rally behind her & get the attention of the crew, and eventually Grim.
(Grim is a wonderful hero. He feels guilt over kidnapping these 12 women from earth. The other crew on the space ship are patting themselves on the back for 'rescuing' these unprotected females, Grim's inner dialogue has him questioning if the women will see the Tornians as any different than any other slavers.)
Lisa is not cowed by the big aliens telling her she will "get over it" concerning not getting her children back. Lisa demands to be taken to retrieve her children. All of the crew are assuming her children are male, so no one is volunteering to claim her offspring.
Grim steps up & says he will claim her offspring if Lisa joins with him. After Lisa extracts a few promises from Grim as to her children's treatment - they go get her children from Earth.
(Excellent scene by the way!)
Grim just kept showing how a man of honor should behave and think.
As the book progresses, Grim is constantly confused & startled at how Lisa acts & reacts. (His only base of comparison is how the exceptionally selfish Tornian females behave)
Every time Grim realizes he has said or done something to hurt Lisa, his regret for hurting her is instant and he wastes no time with his ego in asking for her forgiveness in the most thorough ways. Lisa, by the same vein always forgives Grim & explains the earth custom & how the situation affects her. These two act like ADULTS!!! It's so refreshing.
Not a chapter goes by where Lisa doesn't make human women look like the diamond standard against the self-centered Tornian females. Lisa breaks the societal mold by speaking with the men in the guard and service in Grim's palace.
(Tornian females only speak to the men they've joined with)
Lisa is tenacious in reminding the Tornian warriors that she loves Grim but learns all of their names, duties etc. After a certain time, the castle staff are both enamored and protective of Lisa and her girls. So much so, that during one tense scene, Grim snaps at Lisa hurting her feelings and the captain of Grim's guard very uncharacteristically points out to Grim what he said and how it sounded to all who heard it, especially Lisa.
There is a decent conflict in the story aside from Lisa fitting into Grim's world.
There is a rival family within the Tornian system plotting to overthrow both King Grim and his brother the Emperor. Lisa is the one that connects all the dots in that plot as well and brings it to the attention of Grim and the guards.
Eventually, Grim, Lisa & the girls are called to stand before the Emperor and defend their joining to the family planning the coup. Lisa is forced back with the other 11 kidnapped women of Earth and....
Well, I won't say any more but I loveLoveLOVED the ending. Lisa is MY GIRL!
I can't recall the last time I enjoyed a heroine so much.
** HEA on several counts and room for more books in this new Tornian-verse. I can not wait.
** Initial sex scene between Grim & Lisa was *HOT/Erotica*. Loved it. All the rest were sweet/romantic with no details.
Although this is the first book in the series, I know MK Eidem is about to publish Wray & Kim's story.
Aside from some editing issues that I didn't fixate on because the plot & characters ROCKED, I have no complaints about this book.
5 Stars because I stayed up until 5am reading it on a work night, and am having to WORK to not flip to my Kindle app and start it all over again at my desk with these huge bags under my eyes.
* Update - I re-read this book about every three months. It's a comfort read that still gives warm fuzzies.
Tornian females are a selfish, self-centered, gold-digging, entitled bunch of spoiled brats. But since the male to female ratio for Tornians is 200 to 1, female Tornians can get away with that behavior.
...until the human woman is brought there.
When the story begins, Lisa is sitting at her deceased husband's grave side. She's thinking about him and their two young daughters. Suddenly she is knocked out cold.
When Lisa wakes from her kidnapping & begins to have a serious meltdown over being separated from her two children - the other 11 captive women on the Tornian space-ship rally behind her & get the attention of the crew, and eventually Grim.
(Grim is a wonderful hero. He feels guilt over kidnapping these 12 women from earth. The other crew on the space ship are patting themselves on the back for 'rescuing' these unprotected females, Grim's inner dialogue has him questioning if the women will see the Tornians as any different than any other slavers.)
Lisa is not cowed by the big aliens telling her she will "get over it" concerning not getting her children back. Lisa demands to be taken to retrieve her children. All of the crew are assuming her children are male, so no one is volunteering to claim her offspring.
Grim steps up & says he will claim her offspring if Lisa joins with him. After Lisa extracts a few promises from Grim as to her children's treatment - they go get her children from Earth.
(Excellent scene by the way!)
Grim just kept showing how a man of honor should behave and think.
As the book progresses, Grim is constantly confused & startled at how Lisa acts & reacts. (His only base of comparison is how the exceptionally selfish Tornian females behave)
Every time Grim realizes he has said or done something to hurt Lisa, his regret for hurting her is instant and he wastes no time with his ego in asking for her forgiveness in the most thorough ways. Lisa, by the same vein always forgives Grim & explains the earth custom & how the situation affects her. These two act like ADULTS!!! It's so refreshing.
Not a chapter goes by where Lisa doesn't make human women look like the diamond standard against the self-centered Tornian females. Lisa breaks the societal mold by speaking with the men in the guard and service in Grim's palace.
(Tornian females only speak to the men they've joined with)
Lisa is tenacious in reminding the Tornian warriors that she loves Grim but learns all of their names, duties etc. After a certain time, the castle staff are both enamored and protective of Lisa and her girls. So much so, that during one tense scene, Grim snaps at Lisa hurting her feelings and the captain of Grim's guard very uncharacteristically points out to Grim what he said and how it sounded to all who heard it, especially Lisa.
There is a decent conflict in the story aside from Lisa fitting into Grim's world.
There is a rival family within the Tornian system plotting to overthrow both King Grim and his brother the Emperor. Lisa is the one that connects all the dots in that plot as well and brings it to the attention of Grim and the guards.
Eventually, Grim, Lisa & the girls are called to stand before the Emperor and defend their joining to the family planning the coup. Lisa is forced back with the other 11 kidnapped women of Earth and....
Well, I won't say any more but I loveLoveLOVED the ending. Lisa is MY GIRL!
I can't recall the last time I enjoyed a heroine so much.
** HEA on several counts and room for more books in this new Tornian-verse. I can not wait.
** Initial sex scene between Grim & Lisa was *HOT/Erotica*. Loved it. All the rest were sweet/romantic with no details.
Although this is the first book in the series, I know MK Eidem is about to publish Wray & Kim's story.
Aside from some editing issues that I didn't fixate on because the plot & characters ROCKED, I have no complaints about this book.
5 Stars because I stayed up until 5am reading it on a work night, and am having to WORK to not flip to my Kindle app and start it all over again at my desk with these huge bags under my eyes.
* Update - I re-read this book about every three months. It's a comfort read that still gives warm fuzzies.
July 18, 2017
“You are mine Lisa and I will not give you up. You have opened my world, given me little girls and I will not give them up either, not because of what they represent but because they are a part of you."
This is my first reread of Grim, the first book in the Tornians series (each one is a stand-alone novel) ,and I can honestly say this book is a solid 4 star story and better than the sequel, Wray, because there's passion, slow-building romance and a believable relationship, some world building, great side characters, dual POV and two little girls (Miki and Carly) who bring light, laughter and sweetness to the story. But I loved it when they were cheeky.
The heroine, Lisa Miller, has been a widow for four years when she's taken by the Tornians who are on a mission to find unattached females to replenish their dying race, as fewer and fewer females are born to them. Lisa fights hard not to be separated from her two little girls, Carly and Miki, so she makes a promise to join with Grim (King of Luda, blood brother to the Emperor) if he'll bring her children back to her. The only problem is, the Tornian culture is deeply divided and segregated when it comes to gender. There is a distinct lack of love and affection between the sexes.
'Tornians have lost what it truly means for a man and woman to be together. To join. That it's more than physical act, it's about connecting with that one person that completes you, that loves you, that will stand by you, mistakes, faults and all.'
In no time at all, Grim's world and prospects change from a king considered an unworthy male, a scarred male whom no female will join with, into a male with three females to car for. Many envy and resent his good fortune because females are rare, coveted and a sign of prosperity and good wealthy. Grim is forced to fight for his new family and teach his enemies a lesson they won't forget.
'Three days ago, his life had been empty. He'd been empty. Now his world is full, full of females, full of giggles and what they call kisses.'
What follows is an endearing story about two people learning to trust each other and become family. Grim and Lisa blundered, made mistakes, forgave each other and in the process learned how to protect, love, honer, cherish, respect and appreciate each other's difference. They became partners and family in the fullest sense of the word and I loved that.
"All I want is you...You and our girls."
I was surprised at how much I liked Lisa and grim as a couple and how well they complemented each other. There was no cheating, love triangle or a cliffhanger, making this story almost perfect in my eyes. I especially loved it when Lisa stood up for herself and made her position clear to Grim.
"You are the only male I want, Grim, but I want it all, the good, the bad, the happy and the sad. I want to stand beside you, not behind you. I want to be your Queen, Grim."
Lisa, her girls and the other human women bring huge changes to the Tornian way of life and introduce those they come into contact to many firsts, stirring up the Tornian society and making lots of friends and some enemies along the way. The villains were predictable but I enjoyed the overall impact of the romance, passion, family bonding, side characters and the friends Lisa and the other humans made in the Tornian lands. I also loved how all the women came together, bonded, helped each other and protected each other's rights.
I can't wait to read A Grim Holiday and I'm also curious about the alien couple, Lord Oryon and Lady Isis and I can't wait to read their story in Oryon. I hope M.K. Eidem is planning to add more books to this series because I'm curious about the other human women and who they'll end up with.
If you love a scarred alpha hero who is sweet and vulnerable with his woman and children but harsh on his enemies, then go ahead and read this book. You won't regret it. ;)
***Update***
I just saw my 5 star previous rating of this book and changed it to 4 stars because Grim was not perfect, it had few editing issues and it wasn't one of those books I can see myself reading over and over again or buying in different editions. But it was an entertaining romance with memorable characters and I had a lot of fun reading it. I've since read some of the books in this Tornians series and I can't wait to read more.
This is my first reread of Grim, the first book in the Tornians series (each one is a stand-alone novel) ,and I can honestly say this book is a solid 4 star story and better than the sequel, Wray, because there's passion, slow-building romance and a believable relationship, some world building, great side characters, dual POV and two little girls (Miki and Carly) who bring light, laughter and sweetness to the story. But I loved it when they were cheeky.
The heroine, Lisa Miller, has been a widow for four years when she's taken by the Tornians who are on a mission to find unattached females to replenish their dying race, as fewer and fewer females are born to them. Lisa fights hard not to be separated from her two little girls, Carly and Miki, so she makes a promise to join with Grim (King of Luda, blood brother to the Emperor) if he'll bring her children back to her. The only problem is, the Tornian culture is deeply divided and segregated when it comes to gender. There is a distinct lack of love and affection between the sexes.
'Tornians have lost what it truly means for a man and woman to be together. To join. That it's more than physical act, it's about connecting with that one person that completes you, that loves you, that will stand by you, mistakes, faults and all.'
In no time at all, Grim's world and prospects change from a king considered an unworthy male, a scarred male whom no female will join with, into a male with three females to car for. Many envy and resent his good fortune because females are rare, coveted and a sign of prosperity and good wealthy. Grim is forced to fight for his new family and teach his enemies a lesson they won't forget.
'Three days ago, his life had been empty. He'd been empty. Now his world is full, full of females, full of giggles and what they call kisses.'
What follows is an endearing story about two people learning to trust each other and become family. Grim and Lisa blundered, made mistakes, forgave each other and in the process learned how to protect, love, honer, cherish, respect and appreciate each other's difference. They became partners and family in the fullest sense of the word and I loved that.
"All I want is you...You and our girls."
I was surprised at how much I liked Lisa and grim as a couple and how well they complemented each other. There was no cheating, love triangle or a cliffhanger, making this story almost perfect in my eyes. I especially loved it when Lisa stood up for herself and made her position clear to Grim.
"You are the only male I want, Grim, but I want it all, the good, the bad, the happy and the sad. I want to stand beside you, not behind you. I want to be your Queen, Grim."
Lisa, her girls and the other human women bring huge changes to the Tornian way of life and introduce those they come into contact to many firsts, stirring up the Tornian society and making lots of friends and some enemies along the way. The villains were predictable but I enjoyed the overall impact of the romance, passion, family bonding, side characters and the friends Lisa and the other humans made in the Tornian lands. I also loved how all the women came together, bonded, helped each other and protected each other's rights.
I can't wait to read A Grim Holiday and I'm also curious about the alien couple, Lord Oryon and Lady Isis and I can't wait to read their story in Oryon. I hope M.K. Eidem is planning to add more books to this series because I'm curious about the other human women and who they'll end up with.
If you love a scarred alpha hero who is sweet and vulnerable with his woman and children but harsh on his enemies, then go ahead and read this book. You won't regret it. ;)
***Update***
I just saw my 5 star previous rating of this book and changed it to 4 stars because Grim was not perfect, it had few editing issues and it wasn't one of those books I can see myself reading over and over again or buying in different editions. But it was an entertaining romance with memorable characters and I had a lot of fun reading it. I've since read some of the books in this Tornians series and I can't wait to read more.
June 18, 2016
Re read
Still love Grim. So much so he makes up for the sometimes annoying Lisa and her stepford children.
There is an expression in this book I love and want to use in RL. Basically instead is saying "Really?" They say "Truth?" I wonder what people will do if I start saying that?
4.5 stars
I really enjoyed this one! Great world building, good secondary characters, great hero and heroine and 2 adorable little girls who played a big part in the story but did not take away from the sexy/hotness of it.
Loved Grim. He was so insecure, but so alpha! Perfect combination! Hilarious how he thought she should not have more than one orgasm. You knew you were in for a fun ride at that point! Loved how he called her My Lisa. So sweet!
Loved Lisa. She was not a whiner. She was an excellent mother, she fiercly protected her daughters and she did not cry over what happened. She made a life for her family and gave Grim the love and acceptance that I wanted for him.
Carly and Miki are adorable. Although Miki seems to speak more like a 6-8 year old rather than a 3-4 year old. But they are sweet and add many cute moments throughout the book.
I loved that when Grim and Lisa had disagreements or misunderstandings or were hurt, they TALKED about it and worked things out. No needless drama. That was wonderful to experience. There was plenty of intrigue and drama from outside their relationship, the author did not need to add it within their relationship. Happily she did not!
Why mot 5 stars? I HATE dead ex themes, especially when they are beloved. Normally, I would mot have read this book but it was highly recommended by several GR friends. I am so glad I read it, but I still hated all of the Mark this and Mark that talk. I just wanted her to MOVE ON!!!!! So this cannot be 5 stars because there was way too much talk about her ex. Mostly good, some bad and some sad (he did die after al).
I also would have loved for the little ones to call Grim "daddy". It would have been so sweet. Grim just sounds so...grim.
Safety gang safe (unless the dead ex bothers you - but even then you should give it a try)
Still love Grim. So much so he makes up for the sometimes annoying Lisa and her stepford children.
There is an expression in this book I love and want to use in RL. Basically instead is saying "Really?" They say "Truth?" I wonder what people will do if I start saying that?
4.5 stars
I really enjoyed this one! Great world building, good secondary characters, great hero and heroine and 2 adorable little girls who played a big part in the story but did not take away from the sexy/hotness of it.
Loved Grim. He was so insecure, but so alpha! Perfect combination! Hilarious how he thought she should not have more than one orgasm. You knew you were in for a fun ride at that point! Loved how he called her My Lisa. So sweet!
Loved Lisa. She was not a whiner. She was an excellent mother, she fiercly protected her daughters and she did not cry over what happened. She made a life for her family and gave Grim the love and acceptance that I wanted for him.
Carly and Miki are adorable. Although Miki seems to speak more like a 6-8 year old rather than a 3-4 year old. But they are sweet and add many cute moments throughout the book.
I loved that when Grim and Lisa had disagreements or misunderstandings or were hurt, they TALKED about it and worked things out. No needless drama. That was wonderful to experience. There was plenty of intrigue and drama from outside their relationship, the author did not need to add it within their relationship. Happily she did not!
Why mot 5 stars? I HATE dead ex themes, especially when they are beloved. Normally, I would mot have read this book but it was highly recommended by several GR friends. I am so glad I read it, but I still hated all of the Mark this and Mark that talk. I just wanted her to MOVE ON!!!!! So this cannot be 5 stars because there was way too much talk about her ex. Mostly good, some bad and some sad (he did die after al).
I also would have loved for the little ones to call Grim "daddy". It would have been so sweet. Grim just sounds so...grim.
Safety gang safe (unless the dead ex bothers you - but even then you should give it a try)
December 4, 2013
What an unexpected and unusual romance!
I really enjoyed this story!
Seeing this really bad cover, I expect the usual SF-abductors-romance, where the heroine is a little stupid, a little overwhelmed, a little too beautiful.
But no, here she's a real life mother protecting her children with the side benefit of finding love with the alien. Said this way it may seem awful, but it is really good and I enjoyed it very much!
Lisa is strong and highly intelligent. When she finds herself in a bad situation, she doesn't fall apart, but reacts in the best possible way!
I appreciated Grim too. He's not just a caveman-like alian, but he's also intelligent and understands that Lisa is too and accepts her help!
Really a nice book! I hope the author will write a sequel! I'll enjoy reading about all the other women and their search for happiness!
I really enjoyed this story!
Seeing this really bad cover, I expect the usual SF-abductors-romance, where the heroine is a little stupid, a little overwhelmed, a little too beautiful.
But no, here she's a real life mother protecting her children with the side benefit of finding love with the alien. Said this way it may seem awful, but it is really good and I enjoyed it very much!
Lisa is strong and highly intelligent. When she finds herself in a bad situation, she doesn't fall apart, but reacts in the best possible way!
I appreciated Grim too. He's not just a caveman-like alian, but he's also intelligent and understands that Lisa is too and accepts her help!
Really a nice book! I hope the author will write a sequel! I'll enjoy reading about all the other women and their search for happiness!
October 7, 2024
Not my favorite from this author.
The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 🖤💙❤️💚
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏
Character development: 🙂🥰😎
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙
Narration type: Duet Narration
The heroine: Lisa - she was visiting the grave of her husband who died of cancer a year ago, when she was knocked out and abducted by aliens. She woke up to find that her and a bunch of other women were taken by a race of alien called Tornians, who went through something called the great infection. For generations, their females mostly gave birth to males and their species was dying out until they found they are compatible with human women. Lisa has two girls from her marriage and told the aliens that she couldn’t leave Earth without her children.
The Hero: Grim - he is brother to Emperor Wray, who made him King of a planet called Luda. Though Grim had been scarred in a battle and now feels that no female would ever choose him to be mate and bear children. This was enough to put his role in jeopardy and his rivals were actively working to remove him from power. Grim was given a task by Wray, to go and find Earth, and take about 20 unprotected females to bring to Tornian, he hopes that doing this will resolve unrest and keep many Tornians from trying to find Earth to claim their own females.
The Story: When Lisa complains that she had children on Earth and her, and the other females tell the Tornians that they will not comply with what the Tornians want unless they retrieve Lisa’s children. Grim offers to get the children if Lisa agrees to mate with him. He tells her he will protect her and her children. However, when the Tornians find out that Lisa’s children are female, and that having a mate and two female offspring will raise Grim’s status, they know that he might be challenged for her.
I thought I would like this book a lot because it was the first in the series and I already listened to the second book and liked it, but this one bored me a little. I finished it, but got a bit sick of the storyline and the characters weren’t as interesting as I expected. Grim kind of struck me as someone who felt sorry for himself because he was scarred and suffered from low self-esteem and Lisa was a bit too independent and pushy for my tastes. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind independent women, but she was new to his world, and I wanted her to gradually put herself in a good position as queen, not demand to be acknowledged like she did.
This audiobook is in dual points of view and narrated in duet narration. Commodore James and Laura Jennings are the narrators. I love the fact that this was done in duet narration. Commodore James does a good job, and I like the fact that he is good at doing different voices for different characters. Laura Jennings sounds a bit old for Lisa, but overall, she does fine. These two are not in my list of favorite narrators but they don’t annoy me like some narrators.
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The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 🖤💙❤️💚
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏
Character development: 🙂🥰😎
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙
Narration type: Duet Narration
The heroine: Lisa - she was visiting the grave of her husband who died of cancer a year ago, when she was knocked out and abducted by aliens. She woke up to find that her and a bunch of other women were taken by a race of alien called Tornians, who went through something called the great infection. For generations, their females mostly gave birth to males and their species was dying out until they found they are compatible with human women. Lisa has two girls from her marriage and told the aliens that she couldn’t leave Earth without her children.
The Hero: Grim - he is brother to Emperor Wray, who made him King of a planet called Luda. Though Grim had been scarred in a battle and now feels that no female would ever choose him to be mate and bear children. This was enough to put his role in jeopardy and his rivals were actively working to remove him from power. Grim was given a task by Wray, to go and find Earth, and take about 20 unprotected females to bring to Tornian, he hopes that doing this will resolve unrest and keep many Tornians from trying to find Earth to claim their own females.
The Story: When Lisa complains that she had children on Earth and her, and the other females tell the Tornians that they will not comply with what the Tornians want unless they retrieve Lisa’s children. Grim offers to get the children if Lisa agrees to mate with him. He tells her he will protect her and her children. However, when the Tornians find out that Lisa’s children are female, and that having a mate and two female offspring will raise Grim’s status, they know that he might be challenged for her.
I thought I would like this book a lot because it was the first in the series and I already listened to the second book and liked it, but this one bored me a little. I finished it, but got a bit sick of the storyline and the characters weren’t as interesting as I expected. Grim kind of struck me as someone who felt sorry for himself because he was scarred and suffered from low self-esteem and Lisa was a bit too independent and pushy for my tastes. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind independent women, but she was new to his world, and I wanted her to gradually put herself in a good position as queen, not demand to be acknowledged like she did.
This audiobook is in dual points of view and narrated in duet narration. Commodore James and Laura Jennings are the narrators. I love the fact that this was done in duet narration. Commodore James does a good job, and I like the fact that he is good at doing different voices for different characters. Laura Jennings sounds a bit old for Lisa, but overall, she does fine. These two are not in my list of favorite narrators but they don’t annoy me like some narrators.
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September 15, 2013
My rating and comments may seem at odds but at heart this is a great book that I wish had been edited. If you have some editing peeves about books I highly recommend that you try the sample as most of the issues I'll mention appear in the sample. The issues are:
Word choice:
It isn't spelling so much as the wrong word being used. The one that first jumped out at me was consul being used instead of console. This is not the only example and it continues for the length of the book.
Character Name Changes:
There is one part where a good guy (Callen) for a sentence or two becomes a bad guy (Luken). And the Callen actually undergoes a partial name change and is Cullen at the end of the book.
Writing Tense Changes:
I'm not sure what the specific phrases are regarding tenses but the book is written in the 3rd person. However the 3rd person goes from omniscient to observational in parts and this is what actually threw me the most and took me out of the story. You get caught up and then every so often it's like Sir David Attenborough pops in for a sentence or two and this happens during love scenes!
Custom Inconsistencies:
In the story we have Lisa (human from Earth) making changes to life on Luda partly because she doesn't know the customs and partly because she thinks the current customs are ridiculous. And example of this would be that women do not talk to men other than their mates. This initially pops up during a conversation about the castle household with the butler. The butler won't take direction unless it goes via the King. Lisa decides this is ridiculous and promptly ignores the custom. She continues this with the rest of the household. That's fine and they adjust. But when Lisa gets called before the Emperor for the Joining Ceremony she speaks her mind and to males and this disregard of custom is barely remarked upon. Lisa actually takes down a Lord in front of the whole of the Emperor's court and not a single person is outraged by her speaking with a male not her mate. This custom would have been far better to have been a class issue and not a gender one or not included at all (it didn't add to the story) and then the inconsistencies would not be there.
This isn't the only inconsistency but the one that stood out for me the most.
General World Building Issues:
Our heroine and the other women abducted with her are given an "educator" prior to waking after being abducted. This means that they are able to understand the language and access historical information. What irritates me is that things on this far away planet share similar names to those on Earth, not a translation. The main one that stood out for me was a "trampo" being a trampoline on Luda. I find this very slack on the part of the author. They have gone to all this amazing effort to create this world and then give things Earth names or close approximations with spelling differences. Why would a civilisation with no contact and nothing to do with Earth share a common naming for such things? It is the small things such as this that mean this book falls short.
I would dearly love for the author to have this book properly edited as the story is worth it. Grim is worth the effort.
Word choice:
It isn't spelling so much as the wrong word being used. The one that first jumped out at me was consul being used instead of console. This is not the only example and it continues for the length of the book.
Character Name Changes:
There is one part where a good guy (Callen) for a sentence or two becomes a bad guy (Luken). And the Callen actually undergoes a partial name change and is Cullen at the end of the book.
Writing Tense Changes:
I'm not sure what the specific phrases are regarding tenses but the book is written in the 3rd person. However the 3rd person goes from omniscient to observational in parts and this is what actually threw me the most and took me out of the story. You get caught up and then every so often it's like Sir David Attenborough pops in for a sentence or two and this happens during love scenes!
Custom Inconsistencies:
In the story we have Lisa (human from Earth) making changes to life on Luda partly because she doesn't know the customs and partly because she thinks the current customs are ridiculous. And example of this would be that women do not talk to men other than their mates. This initially pops up during a conversation about the castle household with the butler. The butler won't take direction unless it goes via the King. Lisa decides this is ridiculous and promptly ignores the custom. She continues this with the rest of the household. That's fine and they adjust. But when Lisa gets called before the Emperor for the Joining Ceremony she speaks her mind and to males and this disregard of custom is barely remarked upon. Lisa actually takes down a Lord in front of the whole of the Emperor's court and not a single person is outraged by her speaking with a male not her mate. This custom would have been far better to have been a class issue and not a gender one or not included at all (it didn't add to the story) and then the inconsistencies would not be there.
This isn't the only inconsistency but the one that stood out for me the most.
General World Building Issues:
Our heroine and the other women abducted with her are given an "educator" prior to waking after being abducted. This means that they are able to understand the language and access historical information. What irritates me is that things on this far away planet share similar names to those on Earth, not a translation. The main one that stood out for me was a "trampo" being a trampoline on Luda. I find this very slack on the part of the author. They have gone to all this amazing effort to create this world and then give things Earth names or close approximations with spelling differences. Why would a civilisation with no contact and nothing to do with Earth share a common naming for such things? It is the small things such as this that mean this book falls short.
I would dearly love for the author to have this book properly edited as the story is worth it. Grim is worth the effort.
March 1, 2016
4.5 Stars
Review to come...
Review to come...
March 18, 2020
Reread this book for the 2nd time. Still loved it despite the editing errors. I didn't count after the 30th mistake. Though it should be noted that I think the author wasn't decided on the name of a secondary character, Rebecca. She kept switching between Rebecca and Rachel. During my first read of this book I thought they were two separate characters, but then I did a search of the names and realized that the author meant for this to be one character and that should have been called Rebecca instead of Rachel (which happened in the beginning of the book).
I hope she continues to write the next books in the series. I noticed that she has the story of Kim and Wrath on her website. I would also like to know what happens to Abby & Ynyr, and what is Rebecca's story and will she find her HEA with Challen? I just hope that her future books will have more attention to editing details than this one.
*****Re-read for the 3rd time*****
Last read on 1/22/2014.
I still really liked this book, however I was still annoyed with the editing errors. And I took a pause as I was writing this review and checked my Amazon on the off-chance there was an update to my book and there was!!! Now I'm just kicking myself because I didn't update my Kindle book with the new changes, which (HOPEFULLY) includes updates to these error. Oh, well! I guess I'll just have to re-read it again :-)
I hope she continues to write the next books in the series. I noticed that she has the story of Kim and Wrath on her website. I would also like to know what happens to Abby & Ynyr, and what is Rebecca's story and will she find her HEA with Challen? I just hope that her future books will have more attention to editing details than this one.
*****Re-read for the 3rd time*****
Last read on 1/22/2014.
I still really liked this book, however I was still annoyed with the editing errors. And I took a pause as I was writing this review and checked my Amazon on the off-chance there was an update to my book and there was!!! Now I'm just kicking myself because I didn't update my Kindle book with the new changes, which (HOPEFULLY) includes updates to these error. Oh, well! I guess I'll just have to re-read it again :-)
November 16, 2015
If I was rating this book on my personal tastes alone, it would be 2 stars. I can see, however, where this story would appeal to several niches of readers and could easily be a 3 to 4 star read for them. The frequent grammatical errors would rule out a perfect rating IMHO.
The aliens...
The female Mc...
Him...
I will protect you, feed you, breed you, and make you my queen.
Her....
You are such a good protector, provider, and lover.
The Layout
So, it's an alternate world where aliens have too many men and not enough ladies, therefore the alien women are coveted and basically run rampant over the big strong warriors. Basically, alien women are money-hungry ho's that are only interested in social climbing and possessions. Our female mc is appalled and shocked by their behavior... as if thirsty hos don't populate every corner of earth lol.
Moving on...
Enter the alien Warriors snagging some extra women from earth and carrying them home.
The alien male mc has scars that make him unworthy of being a mate to the alien females.
They snag our female MC, whom they didn't realize already has children. Our male mc agrees to go back and get the children if she will be his mate. Deal struck.
Once the rest of the aliens find out she has female children, her value as a mate goes up and now an 'evil' alien wants her as his own mate.
Too bad, though, because within 24 hours she's in love, mated, and swooning like a kitten over milk with our male MC. Now, this is a hard pill to swallow considering the opening scene is her professing her undying love and devotion to her dead husband's tomb, and then bam she's in love a day later.
She reminds me of a cursing Mary Poppins. I keep expecting her to break out in song and dance and twirl her children about. There is nothing technically wrong with her character at all ~ she just isn't my flavor of female lead.
And the children? Dear Lawd... Sticks in the mud who repeat "yes, mommy" to everything and are in no way freaked the fuck out that their new daddy and his buddies are rainbow colored aliens. They have a couple of cute lines, but it feels inserted vs natural.
Sugar And Stalemates
This is a sugary, caveman romance lovers wet dream, if you can overlook he is an alien. Its insta-love, isn't-family. It's all about protecting his females, and he will cut up an M'fer for even looking in her direction.
I mean, he has a freak out over her climbing a ladder, being accident bumped into by one of his men, and shaking dust out of curtains.. Oookie-dokie:/
After they get to the alien planet, it's page after page of cleaning and moving shit around, eating meals, and figuring out the castle's staff. Oh, I didn't mention our male MC is a king?!? He is:)
Anyway, I feel like I'm at a stalemate with this book. The world dynamics are interesting. It's just not enough to hold my interest, though:/ The characters and their goings on are all just too fru-fru for my tastes. A lot of readers will eat the fru with a spoon, however.
So, if you like heavy, protective, sweet, all consuming romance where the guy is like putty in his perfect woman's hands and you don't mind the alien factor, then you'll likely enjoy this book.
Me? I'm a nuts and bolts junkie. The fastest way to lose me in a book is to go on a 10% clean-a-thon, especially when I'm already struggling to connect with the characters oozing sugar : testosterone. Idgaf about windows shining and dust bunnies. So...
I'm going to call it quits at 34%:(
Thank you so much to the friend that loaned me this book. I'm sorry that I didn't enjoy it as much as you,but am certainly grateful for the opportunity to try:)
The aliens...
The female Mc...
Him...
I will protect you, feed you, breed you, and make you my queen.
Her....
You are such a good protector, provider, and lover.
The Layout
So, it's an alternate world where aliens have too many men and not enough ladies, therefore the alien women are coveted and basically run rampant over the big strong warriors. Basically, alien women are money-hungry ho's that are only interested in social climbing and possessions. Our female mc is appalled and shocked by their behavior... as if thirsty hos don't populate every corner of earth lol.
Moving on...
Enter the alien Warriors snagging some extra women from earth and carrying them home.
The alien male mc has scars that make him unworthy of being a mate to the alien females.
They snag our female MC, whom they didn't realize already has children. Our male mc agrees to go back and get the children if she will be his mate. Deal struck.
Once the rest of the aliens find out she has female children, her value as a mate goes up and now an 'evil' alien wants her as his own mate.
Too bad, though, because within 24 hours she's in love, mated, and swooning like a kitten over milk with our male MC. Now, this is a hard pill to swallow considering the opening scene is her professing her undying love and devotion to her dead husband's tomb, and then bam she's in love a day later.
She reminds me of a cursing Mary Poppins. I keep expecting her to break out in song and dance and twirl her children about. There is nothing technically wrong with her character at all ~ she just isn't my flavor of female lead.
And the children? Dear Lawd... Sticks in the mud who repeat "yes, mommy" to everything and are in no way freaked the fuck out that their new daddy and his buddies are rainbow colored aliens. They have a couple of cute lines, but it feels inserted vs natural.
Sugar And Stalemates
This is a sugary, caveman romance lovers wet dream, if you can overlook he is an alien. Its insta-love, isn't-family. It's all about protecting his females, and he will cut up an M'fer for even looking in her direction.
I mean, he has a freak out over her climbing a ladder, being accident bumped into by one of his men, and shaking dust out of curtains.. Oookie-dokie:/
After they get to the alien planet, it's page after page of cleaning and moving shit around, eating meals, and figuring out the castle's staff. Oh, I didn't mention our male MC is a king?!? He is:)
Anyway, I feel like I'm at a stalemate with this book. The world dynamics are interesting. It's just not enough to hold my interest, though:/ The characters and their goings on are all just too fru-fru for my tastes. A lot of readers will eat the fru with a spoon, however.
So, if you like heavy, protective, sweet, all consuming romance where the guy is like putty in his perfect woman's hands and you don't mind the alien factor, then you'll likely enjoy this book.
Me? I'm a nuts and bolts junkie. The fastest way to lose me in a book is to go on a 10% clean-a-thon, especially when I'm already struggling to connect with the characters oozing sugar : testosterone. Idgaf about windows shining and dust bunnies. So...
I'm going to call it quits at 34%:(
Thank you so much to the friend that loaned me this book. I'm sorry that I didn't enjoy it as much as you,but am certainly grateful for the opportunity to try:)
October 26, 2016
Very solid 4 "Loving me some Tornians" Stars!
Well, let me start by saying, I've had this book sitting on my Kindle for... can't be less than two years. I kept passing it up and I don't know why. What a mistake! This book was really good. It started off kind of "bow-chicka-wow-wow"; and that is totally cool with me from time to time. Or really a lot of times, but this turned into a very good story.
There was the usual alien warrior/human female getting to know you ebbs and flows, but there was also a whole political take over the throne coup going on that I quite enjoyed.
I liked both Lisa and Grim. Lisa was a super strong and feisty lady. She did not take crap from anyone from the very beginning. She accepted her circumstances without a lot of drama. She was a good mom and the kids were actually involved in the story, not just mentioned now and then. She was a bit of a goody, goody, but that's ok too. I liked her a lot. She was sweet. Grim was suffering from a serious lack of self-esteem because he'd been terribly scarred in battle. Because of that he was deemed unfit to take a female and would never have "offspring". This jeopardize his place in society. So he saw Lisa as his chance when she had to get her kids back from Earth. But what started out as a convenient solution to his problem quickly blossomed into true affection and admiration. (That went both ways) Grim was a total sweetheart. I completely fell for him. But he was also a terrifying warrior when he had to be.
This was a fantastic Science Fiction romance. I enjoyed it a lot and I wish I had read it sooner. I'm sure I will be reading or listening to the others in the series soon. Happy reading!!
*Mostly an audio read for me.
Well, let me start by saying, I've had this book sitting on my Kindle for... can't be less than two years. I kept passing it up and I don't know why. What a mistake! This book was really good. It started off kind of "bow-chicka-wow-wow"; and that is totally cool with me from time to time. Or really a lot of times, but this turned into a very good story.
There was the usual alien warrior/human female getting to know you ebbs and flows, but there was also a whole political take over the throne coup going on that I quite enjoyed.
I liked both Lisa and Grim. Lisa was a super strong and feisty lady. She did not take crap from anyone from the very beginning. She accepted her circumstances without a lot of drama. She was a good mom and the kids were actually involved in the story, not just mentioned now and then. She was a bit of a goody, goody, but that's ok too. I liked her a lot. She was sweet. Grim was suffering from a serious lack of self-esteem because he'd been terribly scarred in battle. Because of that he was deemed unfit to take a female and would never have "offspring". This jeopardize his place in society. So he saw Lisa as his chance when she had to get her kids back from Earth. But what started out as a convenient solution to his problem quickly blossomed into true affection and admiration. (That went both ways) Grim was a total sweetheart. I completely fell for him. But he was also a terrifying warrior when he had to be.
This was a fantastic Science Fiction romance. I enjoyed it a lot and I wish I had read it sooner. I'm sure I will be reading or listening to the others in the series soon. Happy reading!!
*Mostly an audio read for me.
February 25, 2018
5 Unexpected Stars
I love the Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon, but I wanted to find a new series to fall in love with. I was looking around Goodreads reviews and a reviewer mentioned M.K. Eidem. I had nothing to lose since my library (I know, surprised me too) had a copy and so I took a chance.
I’ll be honest and say the cover is butt ugly and the book is pretty old, but within the first pages I was HOOKED! I loved Grim from start to finish. It was nothing what I expected. It to my surprise wasn’t a smutty romance alien book, it was a could-not-put-it-down romance alien book.
Grim had everything I wanted to read in an alien sci-fi romance read, there was drama, alpha males, damsels with a strong heroine. I stayed up way past my bed time trying to finish. On top of the already delicious sundae, the book is meaty with no page fillers. EVERY single page sucked me in.
If you are looking for a new series to start or love, The Tornians are the way to go. I’m just sad there’s only three book in the series, but M.K. Eidem is my new favorite alien romance author.
What’s the book about?
Lisa is a … SINGLE MOM! Yeah we all know I love the single parent books and so this one was a little extra special. She’s kidnapped by the aliens and when she wakes up to find herself separated from her babies, well all hell breaks lose.
I love love love Lisa. She’s a strong mama and I love it when she goes mama bear on all of the alien warriors. King Grim is past his prime. He has battle scars and in a world with limited females that is not a desirable trait. What I love so much about this series is that the men / warriors are kind of the underdogs. They have to cater to the women and Lisa thinks it’s insane as do I.
There are so many elements of the book I loved. I loved the chemistry between Lisa and Grim, I love the little girls and to my surprise I love the politics in the book! Because there’s a lot.
Overall
Overall, I loved this book and I love Grim and Lisa. I found the entire read addicting and I can’t wait to read the next book!
I love the Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon, but I wanted to find a new series to fall in love with. I was looking around Goodreads reviews and a reviewer mentioned M.K. Eidem. I had nothing to lose since my library (I know, surprised me too) had a copy and so I took a chance.
I’ll be honest and say the cover is butt ugly and the book is pretty old, but within the first pages I was HOOKED! I loved Grim from start to finish. It was nothing what I expected. It to my surprise wasn’t a smutty romance alien book, it was a could-not-put-it-down romance alien book.
Grim had everything I wanted to read in an alien sci-fi romance read, there was drama, alpha males, damsels with a strong heroine. I stayed up way past my bed time trying to finish. On top of the already delicious sundae, the book is meaty with no page fillers. EVERY single page sucked me in.
If you are looking for a new series to start or love, The Tornians are the way to go. I’m just sad there’s only three book in the series, but M.K. Eidem is my new favorite alien romance author.
What’s the book about?
Lisa is a … SINGLE MOM! Yeah we all know I love the single parent books and so this one was a little extra special. She’s kidnapped by the aliens and when she wakes up to find herself separated from her babies, well all hell breaks lose.
I love love love Lisa. She’s a strong mama and I love it when she goes mama bear on all of the alien warriors. King Grim is past his prime. He has battle scars and in a world with limited females that is not a desirable trait. What I love so much about this series is that the men / warriors are kind of the underdogs. They have to cater to the women and Lisa thinks it’s insane as do I.
There are so many elements of the book I loved. I loved the chemistry between Lisa and Grim, I love the little girls and to my surprise I love the politics in the book! Because there’s a lot.
Overall
Overall, I loved this book and I love Grim and Lisa. I found the entire read addicting and I can’t wait to read the next book!
March 17, 2017
3.5 stars
First I have to say that I'd probably rate this book higher if it wasn't for the very bad editing.. Spelling mistakes can be excusable up to a point but some sentences had mixed tenses and missing words. Also in between the dialogue everything is present tense and multiple POVs.
Sometimes the POV would change and I had to backtrack to make sure whose POV it was. Often it changed to the person entering the scene or observing something. The reading was smoother when there was dialogue between parties.
Other than that I liked the main characters Grim and Lisa though the relationship between them went from lust to love, zero to max rather fast.
Grim is a great alpha male and Lisa is an exceptionally strong heroine. I would have liked a bit more development between them, it was implied (they spend some time on board the space ship until they reach his planet) but not shown in detail. Lisa doesn't hang on much to her deceased husband and is surprisingly very accommodating to Grim from the start. The side characters were also interesting and setting up at least one maybe two more books after Wray.
In conclusion and not to drag this more, this is a rough diamond. The plot was good but the writing and editing needs polishing. It's worth a read as a new and exiting world but you have to ultimately decide for your self if you can read through the present tense and errors.
First I have to say that I'd probably rate this book higher if it wasn't for the very bad editing.. Spelling mistakes can be excusable up to a point but some sentences had mixed tenses and missing words. Also in between the dialogue everything is present tense and multiple POVs.
Sometimes the POV would change and I had to backtrack to make sure whose POV it was. Often it changed to the person entering the scene or observing something. The reading was smoother when there was dialogue between parties.
Other than that I liked the main characters Grim and Lisa though the relationship between them went from lust to love, zero to max rather fast.
Grim is a great alpha male and Lisa is an exceptionally strong heroine. I would have liked a bit more development between them, it was implied (they spend some time on board the space ship until they reach his planet) but not shown in detail. Lisa doesn't hang on much to her deceased husband and is surprisingly very accommodating to Grim from the start. The side characters were also interesting and setting up at least one maybe two more books after Wray.
In conclusion and not to drag this more, this is a rough diamond. The plot was good but the writing and editing needs polishing. It's worth a read as a new and exiting world but you have to ultimately decide for your self if you can read through the present tense and errors.
January 19, 2016
I know. Crappy sci fi. Typos. Bad writing. Over the top ridiculous story. I'm a sucker for this guilty pleasure type read. Same old sci fi storyline. They have no females. Must go kidnap a few from earth. Gets me every time. I love this shit.
August 5, 2021
This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance
Grim is a sensational science fiction romance that takes us to the stars with a pure sweet love and learning to fight for those you love and defeating those enemies that seek to destroy everything your fighting for....
Grim is a book that I was in the mood for, and since it has been a while since I have picked up a science fiction romance, I just knew that this book was for me. I will say that I had no idea what I was really in for when I picked up this book but BOY this one thew me a curveball but one that I fell head over heels in love with. And such a sweet romance....I have definitely gotten a kick out of this author's writing style, so different from anything I have read before, definitely, soften and more tender than I was expecting.
Our story begins with our heroine, who is a widow after losing her husband and one that leaves her with two young girls to raise on her own. While leaving them with her babysitter, she goes to visit her late husband's grave and finds herself transported on an alien ship and kidnapped where they want mates. But there is one, who is scarred on the outside but has kind eyes and gives her an offer. He will go back for her children if she will join with him in a mating ceremony. Lisa will do anything to protect her daughters, so she agrees because there is something different about Grim from the others, a man so in need of affection and kindness.
Grim is the King of Luda, but because of his scars that he received when being attacked by eight men, no woman will have him....he is "unsuitable and bad goods" to the Tornian women. He knows that his life will be lonely. His people dealt with a plague that killed the majority of their women, and they are in desperate need of mates to have children with so their people don't die out. When they hear of this planet "earth" he was sent to find it and bring back a group of women for their most elite of warriors. Grim never expected that a woman would ever want to speak for him, but Lisa speaks to him in a way he has never been spoken to before and he is enthralled and when she accepts his proposal. And he becomes charmed by two little girls, who make him smile and laugh and he begins to learn what "love" is all about.
As Grim, Lisa and the two little girls Carly and Miki start a new life together, it's not all roses and daisies. There are dangers because other "males" find it unreasonable that Grim would be able to have Lisa and her daughters and will do anything to destroy what he has. There are enemies to the Tornian people, and only with Lisa fighting beside Grim and joining forces to do what is right, will they destroy the real villains and find peace.
I honestly didn't want this book to end for a multiple array of reasons. I truly had a blast with this book and I fell in love with the world building that this author creates and I was definitely enthralled for sure. What is really pivotal is the relationship between Grim and Lisa. Grim has never known a kind touch from a woman or a kiss or even knew what real love could be like between a man and a woman. The Tornian culture is so vastly different from what Lisa knows and she begins to teach Grim what love is and there are so many poignant moments in this book that evoke an emotional response in the reader. The emotions are so vibrant in this book and I ended up just craving more!!
There are political plots, kidnapping and attacks, intense action yet the story is filled with sweet heartwarming moments between this family that makes you eager for more!! I can't wait to read more of this world.
[foogallery id="50089"]
Grim is a sensational science fiction romance that takes us to the stars with a pure sweet love and learning to fight for those you love and defeating those enemies that seek to destroy everything your fighting for....
Grim is a book that I was in the mood for, and since it has been a while since I have picked up a science fiction romance, I just knew that this book was for me. I will say that I had no idea what I was really in for when I picked up this book but BOY this one thew me a curveball but one that I fell head over heels in love with. And such a sweet romance....I have definitely gotten a kick out of this author's writing style, so different from anything I have read before, definitely, soften and more tender than I was expecting.
Our story begins with our heroine, who is a widow after losing her husband and one that leaves her with two young girls to raise on her own. While leaving them with her babysitter, she goes to visit her late husband's grave and finds herself transported on an alien ship and kidnapped where they want mates. But there is one, who is scarred on the outside but has kind eyes and gives her an offer. He will go back for her children if she will join with him in a mating ceremony. Lisa will do anything to protect her daughters, so she agrees because there is something different about Grim from the others, a man so in need of affection and kindness.
Grim is the King of Luda, but because of his scars that he received when being attacked by eight men, no woman will have him....he is "unsuitable and bad goods" to the Tornian women. He knows that his life will be lonely. His people dealt with a plague that killed the majority of their women, and they are in desperate need of mates to have children with so their people don't die out. When they hear of this planet "earth" he was sent to find it and bring back a group of women for their most elite of warriors. Grim never expected that a woman would ever want to speak for him, but Lisa speaks to him in a way he has never been spoken to before and he is enthralled and when she accepts his proposal. And he becomes charmed by two little girls, who make him smile and laugh and he begins to learn what "love" is all about.
I heard the nurses talking once. They said it would be better for everyone if he just gave up. I asked Daddy what they meant, and he told me they were wrong. That every minute he had with Mommy and us was worth every second of pain he suffered. That there is no honor in quitting just because it is hard. So you're the Raptor, Grim, because you didn't quit when it got hard. You protect Mommy, us and Luda.
As Grim, Lisa and the two little girls Carly and Miki start a new life together, it's not all roses and daisies. There are dangers because other "males" find it unreasonable that Grim would be able to have Lisa and her daughters and will do anything to destroy what he has. There are enemies to the Tornian people, and only with Lisa fighting beside Grim and joining forces to do what is right, will they destroy the real villains and find peace.
You can’t have love and not at some time hurt. You can’t be happy and not have some sadness. It is called life, you have to live it. The good and the bad Grim
I honestly didn't want this book to end for a multiple array of reasons. I truly had a blast with this book and I fell in love with the world building that this author creates and I was definitely enthralled for sure. What is really pivotal is the relationship between Grim and Lisa. Grim has never known a kind touch from a woman or a kiss or even knew what real love could be like between a man and a woman. The Tornian culture is so vastly different from what Lisa knows and she begins to teach Grim what love is and there are so many poignant moments in this book that evoke an emotional response in the reader. The emotions are so vibrant in this book and I ended up just craving more!!
There are political plots, kidnapping and attacks, intense action yet the story is filled with sweet heartwarming moments between this family that makes you eager for more!! I can't wait to read more of this world.
[foogallery id="50089"]
March 15, 2017
Reviewed by: Rabid Reads
WARNING: this is both a review and a justification (pleading for understanding) for the material being reviewed. If you have no interest in my pitiful explanations, skip to the numbered section.
If you aren't sure what a "squawk" is, start watching the YouTube video at 0:15:
https://youtu.be/EY12_P2Es3g
That, my friends, is a squawk.
The reason for this squawk is b/c I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel. YES, I vehemently oppose anything that resembles reader-shaming, and I feel equally strongly about owning what you love . . .
The problem is that sometimes I deliberately read things I do not love. o.O
I'm typically better at it. I manage to read enough not-alien-smut that it's not an issue--
-I know there are a lot of reviewers who MUST review every, single thing they read, but I'm not one of them. #cantstopwontstopreading
I write reviews when I have something to say, so if a book is MEH, I (might) leave it at that.
BUT. Life is life, and last week I ran around cleaning my house like a crazy person, b/c impromptu visit from my dad, and I was pretty much elsewhere for the entirety of October (but hubs was home), so there was a LOT that needed cleaning.
It was stressful. I was full of stress.
So I read mediocre, independently published alien smut and nothing but mediocre, independently published alien smut.
Also, I watched Lin-Manuel Miranda and co. sing the opening number from Hamilton over and over again, but that's neither here nor there. I only mention it b/c THERE'S MORE TO ME THAN MY WEIRD FIXATION WITH ALIEN SMUT. *wails*
Actually, the main reason I caved and decided to sort of review GRIM, is b/c damn everybody (who also reads alien smut) seems to love it.
Me . . . Well, it scratched the itch, BUT:
1. The editing was truly awful.
Even for an indie. The content wasn't bad, but the grammar and syntax . . . Ye gods.
It got better as the series continued (b/c, YES, kept reading, b/c weird alien comfort food), but even by book 3, the woman still hadn't figured out that proper nouns are meant to be separated from the rest of the sentence with a comma (or two).
2. It's feminist, my ass.
And for the record, it's about as deep and profound as it is feminist.
Mars Tornian needs women, b/c 500 years ago, their ruler offended their goddess, so she she cursed them all into being unable to regularly birth females, and their current population is now a 200:1, male to female ratio.
BUT.
A human female was rescued from another species---the Bad Guys---and, hot dog, it seems she's breedable with the HAWT alien warrior god (figuratively, not literally) she immediately hooked up with.
Now all the boy aliens want one.
So they go get some (HA).
Only Earth females are completelybetter different than Tornian females. Tornian females are gold diggers who only stay with a male until he breaks the bank in his efforts to keep her, then she moves on to her next sugar daddy, leaving behind any offspring that resulted from the union.
Earth females love their offspring and are horrified by the Tornian female lifestyle. And some of them can't help but begin to care for these perfect male specimens, b/c really, they're just unloved little boys, right?
*rolls eyes*
I'll admit that in hindsight I can see possibilities, but the execution was so heavy-handed that anything meant to be thought-provoking was lost in the lack of subtlety.
Beyond that, it was business as usual: well-hello-seven-foot-tall-hunk-of-manflesh-oh-look-at-that-we-just-met-but-already-we're-procreating-YAY, misunderstandings, conflict due to cultural differences, but-we-find-a-way-to-make-it-work-b/c-we-all-secretly-want-romanticized-VIKING BARBARIANS-in-our-beds-OMG-I-LOVE-ALIENS.
And they all live HEA.
I can't explain the fixation, but there's no denying that it exists, and if you share the fascination, you can do much worse than GRIM. Just be aware of what you're in for (tropes on top of clichés of top of hideous grammar). But who cares? B/c aliens, I love 'em. *shrugs awkwardly*
WARNING: this is both a review and a justification (pleading for understanding) for the material being reviewed. If you have no interest in my pitiful explanations, skip to the numbered section.
If you aren't sure what a "squawk" is, start watching the YouTube video at 0:15:
https://youtu.be/EY12_P2Es3g
That, my friends, is a squawk.
The reason for this squawk is b/c I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel. YES, I vehemently oppose anything that resembles reader-shaming, and I feel equally strongly about owning what you love . . .
The problem is that sometimes I deliberately read things I do not love. o.O
I'm typically better at it. I manage to read enough not-alien-smut that it's not an issue--
-I know there are a lot of reviewers who MUST review every, single thing they read, but I'm not one of them. #cantstopwontstopreading
I write reviews when I have something to say, so if a book is MEH, I (might) leave it at that.
BUT. Life is life, and last week I ran around cleaning my house like a crazy person, b/c impromptu visit from my dad, and I was pretty much elsewhere for the entirety of October (but hubs was home), so there was a LOT that needed cleaning.
It was stressful. I was full of stress.
So I read mediocre, independently published alien smut and nothing but mediocre, independently published alien smut.
Also, I watched Lin-Manuel Miranda and co. sing the opening number from Hamilton over and over again, but that's neither here nor there. I only mention it b/c THERE'S MORE TO ME THAN MY WEIRD FIXATION WITH ALIEN SMUT. *wails*
Actually, the main reason I caved and decided to sort of review GRIM, is b/c damn everybody (who also reads alien smut) seems to love it.
Me . . . Well, it scratched the itch, BUT:
1. The editing was truly awful.
Even for an indie. The content wasn't bad, but the grammar and syntax . . . Ye gods.
It got better as the series continued (b/c, YES, kept reading, b/c weird alien comfort food), but even by book 3, the woman still hadn't figured out that proper nouns are meant to be separated from the rest of the sentence with a comma (or two).
2. It's feminist, my ass.
And for the record, it's about as deep and profound as it is feminist.
BUT.
A human female was rescued from another species---the Bad Guys---and, hot dog, it seems she's breedable with the HAWT alien warrior god (figuratively, not literally) she immediately hooked up with.
Now all the boy aliens want one.
So they go get some (HA).
Only Earth females are completely
Earth females love their offspring and are horrified by the Tornian female lifestyle. And some of them can't help but begin to care for these perfect male specimens, b/c really, they're just unloved little boys, right?
*rolls eyes*
I'll admit that in hindsight I can see possibilities, but the execution was so heavy-handed that anything meant to be thought-provoking was lost in the lack of subtlety.
Beyond that, it was business as usual: well-hello-seven-foot-tall-hunk-of-manflesh-oh-look-at-that-we-just-met-but-already-we're-procreating-YAY, misunderstandings, conflict due to cultural differences, but-we-find-a-way-to-make-it-work-b/c-we-all-secretly-want-romanticized-VIKING BARBARIANS-in-our-beds-OMG-I-LOVE-ALIENS.
And they all live HEA.
I can't explain the fixation, but there's no denying that it exists, and if you share the fascination, you can do much worse than GRIM. Just be aware of what you're in for (tropes on top of clichés of top of hideous grammar). But who cares? B/c aliens, I love 'em. *shrugs awkwardly*
August 28, 2018
3 Stars
Overall Opinion: This was enjoyable in its own way, but I'm sad that I'm part of the minority yet again. I wanted to step outside my box again, and I definitely did with this one! It just felt way too insta and I didn't like the way the h turned all preachy about ev-ery-thing! I struggled a good bit with her for especially the second half of the book. I liked the H though! I really liked his interactions with the h's children. I actually was more intrigued with some of the side characters than I was by the h by the end of it. Overall, it was an okay read.
Brief Summary of the Storyline: This is Lisa and Grim's story. Lisa finds herself on an alien ship with 11 other human females in transport to a new group of planets that are in desperate need for females. Grim is a king and second in command of the planets, but he has been deemed unfit to the females and will not be able to create his own much desired family. When Lisa reveals that she has children left behind in Earth and must go back, she agrees to "join" with Grim in exchange for her and her children's safety in the new worlds. After spending more time together, they fall in love with each other. There's is a good bit of political drama between the rulers of the planets, some sexy and sweet times...and they get a HEA ending.
POV: This alternated between focusing mainly on Lisa and Grim in 3rd person narrative, but it did have sections that focused on side characters as well.
Overall Pace of Story: Good for the most part. It did feel like it dragged a little here and there, but never to the point that I felt the need to skim.
Instalove: Yes! Way to insta for my liking TBH. At around 20ish% the h was already declaring her love for the H, and I didn't fully understand the progression into stronger feelings.
H rating: 4 stars. Grim. I liked him. I appreciated how he cared for people.
h rating: 2.5 stars. Lisa. She got on my nerves with her entitlement thing she had going on. I think I get what the author was trying to do, but it got old quick.
Sadness level: Low, no tissues needed
Push/Pull: Not really
Heat level: Good. They have some good tension, chemistry, and scenes -- but not so much it takes away from the story (more in first third of book then fizzles out)
Descriptive sex: Yes
OW/OM drama: Yes
Sex scene with OW or OM: No
Cheating: No
Separation: No, once they're together they stay together.
Possible Triggers: Yes
Closure: This had alright closure with what I would call a HEA ending.
Safety: This one should be Safe for most safety gang readers
Overall Opinion: This was enjoyable in its own way, but I'm sad that I'm part of the minority yet again. I wanted to step outside my box again, and I definitely did with this one! It just felt way too insta and I didn't like the way the h turned all preachy about ev-ery-thing! I struggled a good bit with her for especially the second half of the book. I liked the H though! I really liked his interactions with the h's children. I actually was more intrigued with some of the side characters than I was by the h by the end of it. Overall, it was an okay read.
Brief Summary of the Storyline: This is Lisa and Grim's story. Lisa finds herself on an alien ship with 11 other human females in transport to a new group of planets that are in desperate need for females. Grim is a king and second in command of the planets, but he has been deemed unfit to the females and will not be able to create his own much desired family. When Lisa reveals that she has children left behind in Earth and must go back, she agrees to "join" with Grim in exchange for her and her children's safety in the new worlds. After spending more time together, they fall in love with each other. There's is a good bit of political drama between the rulers of the planets, some sexy and sweet times...and they get a HEA ending.
POV: This alternated between focusing mainly on Lisa and Grim in 3rd person narrative, but it did have sections that focused on side characters as well.
Overall Pace of Story: Good for the most part. It did feel like it dragged a little here and there, but never to the point that I felt the need to skim.
Instalove: Yes! Way to insta for my liking TBH. At around 20ish% the h was already declaring her love for the H, and I didn't fully understand the progression into stronger feelings.
H rating: 4 stars. Grim. I liked him. I appreciated how he cared for people.
h rating: 2.5 stars. Lisa. She got on my nerves with her entitlement thing she had going on. I think I get what the author was trying to do, but it got old quick.
Sadness level: Low, no tissues needed
Push/Pull: Not really
Heat level: Good. They have some good tension, chemistry, and scenes -- but not so much it takes away from the story (more in first third of book then fizzles out)
Descriptive sex: Yes
OW/OM drama: Yes
Sex scene with OW or OM: No
Cheating: No
Separation: No, once they're together they stay together.
Possible Triggers: Yes
Closure: This had alright closure with what I would call a HEA ending.
Safety: This one should be Safe for most safety gang readers
May 25, 2015
I have attempted this book for a couple days now but sadly could not finish.
I am not a fan of the present tense writing at all. And this story was present tense. For me I couldn't feel any depth to the story cause it was happening "now". The story had some crazy POV switching going on (One sentence is the heroines pov than the next is the heros pov, than it could be another characters pov). There are a lot of authors that do this, its not bad or anything but to me it starts getting confusing.
The book needs edited.
All that aside, of what I read, Grim was a sweet character. Main characters fell in love really quick.
I am not a fan of the present tense writing at all. And this story was present tense. For me I couldn't feel any depth to the story cause it was happening "now". The story had some crazy POV switching going on (One sentence is the heroines pov than the next is the heros pov, than it could be another characters pov). There are a lot of authors that do this, its not bad or anything but to me it starts getting confusing.
The book needs edited.
All that aside, of what I read, Grim was a sweet character. Main characters fell in love really quick.
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dnf
February 11, 2022DNF @33%
aaaand I'm out. I tried to stop reading this so many times, but it's kind of like a car crash I just kept wanting to look, but I'm strong and I'm going to end our journey here.
Why I finally gave up: an impassioned and enlightened speech about why Grim's scars are a 'badge of honor' and how he never gives up and comparing him to her dad, etc etc...from a 3-year-old 🙄 I officially cannot. Has the author ever interacted with a child before? No three-year-old could ever string together that coherent of a speech that's for damn sure.
Absolutely nothing about this book made sense:
- the way the women who'd been kidnapped by aliens including our h acted
- how the h's children reacted to getting a new alien daddy and being taken to space (we've already established this author knows nothing about kids)
- homegirl didn't even try to delay their 'joining' that occurred within 24 hours of being captured and instantly loved every second of alien sex despite being scared, tired and kidnapped by aliens
- instalove to the extreme with zero believability
- heroine refers to her children as "our children" meaning hers and their new alien stepdaddie's within a week or so of being kidnapped by him
- she's in love with him, protective of him, loyal to him, etc etc in 2.5 seconds flat
- she feels kinship to the people of this new planet instantly and is the best Queen
It was just all way too fucking much way too fucking soon.
Besides all that the writing and editing are bad like her 13-year-old niece could've caught those editing errors bad. The H was very much a caveman 'Me Grim, You Mine, Grrr!' with lots of exclamations! and misunderstandings and I just didn't vibe with him at all either. Life's too short to read a book you're not enjoying so yeah I'm glad I finally pulled the plug, but I feel like I gave this a fair shake reading a third of it and it just wasn't for me.
Random side note: It's mentioned several times that the emperor has a human female as his empress and how she came to be there etc so I felt like this must be a spinoff of a series where we meet that couple, but no for some asinine reason that's book 2?! Wtf.
*ETA: reading some reviews it seems that she maybe never intended to write Wray and Kim's story and decided to for the fans...okay make it a retroactive prequel in the series then, but that's just my two cents...
aaaand I'm out. I tried to stop reading this so many times, but it's kind of like a car crash I just kept wanting to look, but I'm strong and I'm going to end our journey here.
Why I finally gave up: an impassioned and enlightened speech about why Grim's scars are a 'badge of honor' and how he never gives up and comparing him to her dad, etc etc...from a 3-year-old 🙄 I officially cannot. Has the author ever interacted with a child before? No three-year-old could ever string together that coherent of a speech that's for damn sure.
Absolutely nothing about this book made sense:
- the way the women who'd been kidnapped by aliens including our h acted
- how the h's children reacted to getting a new alien daddy and being taken to space (we've already established this author knows nothing about kids)
- homegirl didn't even try to delay their 'joining' that occurred within 24 hours of being captured and instantly loved every second of alien sex despite being scared, tired and kidnapped by aliens
- instalove to the extreme with zero believability
- heroine refers to her children as "our children" meaning hers and their new alien stepdaddie's within a week or so of being kidnapped by him
- she's in love with him, protective of him, loyal to him, etc etc in 2.5 seconds flat
- she feels kinship to the people of this new planet instantly and is the best Queen
It was just all way too fucking much way too fucking soon.
Besides all that the writing and editing are bad like her 13-year-old niece could've caught those editing errors bad. The H was very much a caveman 'Me Grim, You Mine, Grrr!' with lots of exclamations! and misunderstandings and I just didn't vibe with him at all either. Life's too short to read a book you're not enjoying so yeah I'm glad I finally pulled the plug, but I feel like I gave this a fair shake reading a third of it and it just wasn't for me.
Random side note: It's mentioned several times that the emperor has a human female as his empress and how she came to be there etc so I felt like this must be a spinoff of a series where we meet that couple, but no for some asinine reason that's book 2?! Wtf.
*ETA: reading some reviews it seems that she maybe never intended to write Wray and Kim's story and decided to for the fans...okay make it a retroactive prequel in the series then, but that's just my two cents...
September 20, 2013
Storyline and characters - 4*
Reading experience - 2*
This is another book by a new author with great potentials that was badly diminished by horrific, or practically non-existing editing. And here is my dilemma. On one hand, I applaud the courage of new and self-publishing writers, admire blood sweat and tears they shed in putting their work forward for the public scrutiny, and as a reader will support and encourage them to the best of my ability. However, on the other hand I WILL ask them to show respect for the reader by NOT releasing the work that is technically shoddy. On numerous occasions I have read the comments such as:" If you can overlook the spelling, the mistakes, the grammar" etc... My question is - why should we, when, most often, not even a professional editing but simply an extra effort of proof - reading would eliminate the majority of errors??? As part of my job, I have to write a lot of technical reports, and the first rule you learn is:" REVISION, REVISION, REVISION!!" because once you release something with your name on it, EVERYTHING there - the great, the good, the bad and every mistake represents you and reflects on you.
Dear M.K. Eidem.
I liked Grim and Lisa. I liked the universe and the characters you have created and would love to see more of them . I would love to see more of the warriors find happiness and would love to read their stories. And I would love to start my review of your next book with the phrase :" This book, overall, was a great reading experience". I am also positive that, as a writer, you would love that as well. So, please, let's not let each other down.
Reading experience - 2*
This is another book by a new author with great potentials that was badly diminished by horrific, or practically non-existing editing. And here is my dilemma. On one hand, I applaud the courage of new and self-publishing writers, admire blood sweat and tears they shed in putting their work forward for the public scrutiny, and as a reader will support and encourage them to the best of my ability. However, on the other hand I WILL ask them to show respect for the reader by NOT releasing the work that is technically shoddy. On numerous occasions I have read the comments such as:" If you can overlook the spelling, the mistakes, the grammar" etc... My question is - why should we, when, most often, not even a professional editing but simply an extra effort of proof - reading would eliminate the majority of errors??? As part of my job, I have to write a lot of technical reports, and the first rule you learn is:" REVISION, REVISION, REVISION!!" because once you release something with your name on it, EVERYTHING there - the great, the good, the bad and every mistake represents you and reflects on you.
Dear M.K. Eidem.
I liked Grim and Lisa. I liked the universe and the characters you have created and would love to see more of them . I would love to see more of the warriors find happiness and would love to read their stories. And I would love to start my review of your next book with the phrase :" This book, overall, was a great reading experience". I am also positive that, as a writer, you would love that as well. So, please, let's not let each other down.
January 17, 2016
almost 5 stars
I hadn't read anything by this author before but when I saw that this book was ranked similarly to sci-fi romance books I'd read, I decide to try a sample then ended up purchasing it.
At it's heart, this is an enjoyable story if interactions between alien men and earth women are what you're wanting to read. Mars men want and need Earth women - favorite trope of mine.
The characters, plot and details are strongly developed and come together well. Grim, Lisa and their daughters create their happy ending, learning about each other and their cultures as the book progresses. The secondary characters are appealing. I'd love to read Kim and Wray's story sometime and see some of the other women find happiness as they shake up alien culture.
Word selection, grammar are not yet M.K.'s strength but will hopefully improve with time and practice.
The main reason for the 4 stars rather than 5 stars is the use of present tense throughout the story. Prior to this story, I would have said that tense didn't matter and that I primarily read for well developed characters and plot. But I did find the present tense jarring, creating a barrier against more complete submersion in the story.
Despite this, I have purchased M.K.'s other story, Cassandra's Challenge even though it also has the same tense issues. As long as plot and characters are interesting, I would purchase and read M.K stories in the future.
cross-posted amazon, goodreads, shelfari
I hadn't read anything by this author before but when I saw that this book was ranked similarly to sci-fi romance books I'd read, I decide to try a sample then ended up purchasing it.
At it's heart, this is an enjoyable story if interactions between alien men and earth women are what you're wanting to read. Mars men want and need Earth women - favorite trope of mine.
The characters, plot and details are strongly developed and come together well. Grim, Lisa and their daughters create their happy ending, learning about each other and their cultures as the book progresses. The secondary characters are appealing. I'd love to read Kim and Wray's story sometime and see some of the other women find happiness as they shake up alien culture.
Word selection, grammar are not yet M.K.'s strength but will hopefully improve with time and practice.
The main reason for the 4 stars rather than 5 stars is the use of present tense throughout the story. Prior to this story, I would have said that tense didn't matter and that I primarily read for well developed characters and plot. But I did find the present tense jarring, creating a barrier against more complete submersion in the story.
Despite this, I have purchased M.K.'s other story, Cassandra's Challenge even though it also has the same tense issues. As long as plot and characters are interesting, I would purchase and read M.K stories in the future.
cross-posted amazon, goodreads, shelfari
August 30, 2015
I have read this book and
several times. I decided this time to read Wray first and then read this one. There is a reason I read these books over and over. They are filled with love, acceptance and hope in an alien world.
I love a scarred, tortured hero and Grim is just that. He thinks he is unfit and unworthy when in reality he is just the opposite and what all of the Tornians should want to be like. Lisa and her little girls, Miki and Carly, give him that love and acceptance.
This is really a wonderful book and you cannot go wrong reading this series.
several times. I decided this time to read Wray first and then read this one. There is a reason I read these books over and over. They are filled with love, acceptance and hope in an alien world. I love a scarred, tortured hero and Grim is just that. He thinks he is unfit and unworthy when in reality he is just the opposite and what all of the Tornians should want to be like. Lisa and her little girls, Miki and Carly, give him that love and acceptance.
This is really a wonderful book and you cannot go wrong reading this series.
October 15, 2013
I liked this story but was astonished to find EVERY SINGLE PAGE of the book (and no, I'm not exaggerating) had spelling, usage, grammar errors or typos. I can't remember the last time I managed to finish such a sloppily edited work, but the world-building was excellent and I loved the hero. I actually began to question if the author's first language was English at one point, so I would encourage her to hire a copy editor next time, so her story can be purged of such distractions in the future.
May 16, 2023
Spoilers ahead
Original thoughts
First of all.....let the cover reflect the characters please🙄
Secondly.... The writing style is driving me bonkers
Thirdly the grammar Oml I can't....I might finish it someday🤷🏽♀️
Final review
Lisa is kidnapped along with several other women and taken by aliens, unknowingly to the Tornians she's the mom of 2 girls, with the support of the other women Lisa demands to be taken back to Earth to collect her children.... Only the scarred warrior king Grim agrees to return with her if she agrees to be with him.
Listen there's a lot you've got to ignore to enjoy this story
Grammatical errors out the wazoo
Present tense that was so awkward to wade through
Absolutely unbelievable reactions, Lisa lost her husband who she loved dearly but very quickly falls in love with grim. Not only that her children accepted being moved from their home to an alien planet very easily.... I'm a mother I know kids are adaptable but damn 😂
So many other things but if you're in the mood for a H that is just completely devoted to his h then ignore the many many issues with this book and you're golden
Human/alien
Widowed mom
No cheating
Please for the love of reading somebody edit this book 😭😭😭😭
Original thoughts
First of all.....let the cover reflect the characters please🙄
Secondly.... The writing style is driving me bonkers
Thirdly the grammar Oml I can't....I might finish it someday🤷🏽♀️
Final review
Lisa is kidnapped along with several other women and taken by aliens, unknowingly to the Tornians she's the mom of 2 girls, with the support of the other women Lisa demands to be taken back to Earth to collect her children.... Only the scarred warrior king Grim agrees to return with her if she agrees to be with him.
Listen there's a lot you've got to ignore to enjoy this story
Grammatical errors out the wazoo
Present tense that was so awkward to wade through
Absolutely unbelievable reactions, Lisa lost her husband who she loved dearly but very quickly falls in love with grim. Not only that her children accepted being moved from their home to an alien planet very easily.... I'm a mother I know kids are adaptable but damn 😂
So many other things but if you're in the mood for a H that is just completely devoted to his h then ignore the many many issues with this book and you're golden
Human/alien
Widowed mom
No cheating
Please for the love of reading somebody edit this book 😭😭😭😭
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