The sixth 'Thresl Chronicles' book finally brings the story I have been waiting for since this very special super-Thresl first appeared. Saint is certainly a Thresl who has suffered a lot, locked away in isolation for centuries, and now that he is free, and on the prowl for his mate, he takes no prisoners. His destined mate, reincarnated since he was killed when Saint was taken prisoner, is certainly a match for him. Badass extraordinaire Mars, a starship captain posing as a smuggler so he can rescue stolen thresls, has no plans to find a mate, and certainly not a thresl as well-known and dangerous as Saint. Let the games begin!
The last few centuries of isolation have not done Saint any favors. Yes, his powers have grown to be astounding, but his social skills have been totally neglected and are practically nonexistent. I loved how blunt and direct he makes his points, not caring what people think. There is only one problem: he wants to be king again and today's citizens expect their king to be approachable and, well, more social. Saint's plans slowly morph as he battles with Mars and learns how this new world works, and it was a lot of fun to watch his "continued "education" as to what is the right thing to do.
Mars the badass starship captain, has been very successful at locating stolen thresls and returning them to their home world, if they want to go there. He is posing as a thresl smuggler, and in this volume he goes after the person who is at the center of all the illegal activity. Saint is definitely on his side on this one, and even though the rest of their mating will need quite some work, the common goal does give Mars and Saint something to work with. Imagine my surprise when I found out who it was, and even though I sort of saw it coming, the reveal was suspenseful, gave Saint and Mars an interesting challenge, and neatly tied up a few of the loose ends left in previous books.
If you like stories with cruel villains who get away with horrible misdeeds for several volumes of a series, if you enjoy reading about alien cultures in the far future who are still driven by power hungry megalomaniacs, and if you're looking for a hot read with two men who start out with one of them dead-set against mating before he discovers it might not be so bad, then you will probably like this novella.