When She's Shy

Risdaverse #11.5

by Ruby Dixon

I am a bashful, dorky human woman -- your average refugee on Risda III.

Haina is tall, blue, and magnificent. She is effortlessly confident, and her laugh is contagious. I might hide behind the candle section at the store in Risda's port just to get a weekly glimpse at her when she makes her vendor runs.

I might be in love with her from afar. Someday I'll get the courage to talk to her. Someday.

But fate steps in, and 'someday' turns out to be a lot sooner than I expected.

(This is a wlw short story that was previously published in the Pride Not Prejudice anthology.)

Genres: Romance, Science Fiction, Aliens, Novella, LGBT, Fantasy, Audiobook

52 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 24, 2023

About the author

Ruby Dixon is an author of Science Fiction Romance. She likes fated mates, baby-filled epilogues, and cinnamon roll heroes. She also likes to write biographies of herself in the third person, because it feels more important that way.

Ruby also loves coffee and dirty books and will probably be a cat lady at some point. :)

Reviews

[Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars for When She’s Shy: A Risdaverse Short Story (ebook) by Ruby Dixon.

This was a fun romance. It’s good to see that even if you’re a female refugee on a foreign world, you can still find love. It might be a little more complicated to find the woman of your dreams. She may have a tale and her customs are strange but get over your shyness and give love a chance.

[Kimmylongtime · Rating 5 out of 5]

one ☝️ of the best so far

Risdaverse has gotten me through so many nights these last few years. Ruby spins tales like no other and this is no exception. In this first WLW story in the series I couldn’t be happier. There was just as much passion and slow burn buildup in this like all the others. Yet, this was much sweeter our MC Ali has the biggest crush on a local food vendor but doesn’t know how to tell her. One day a strange run in with a messy mean praxiaan brings them together and their relationship blooms. The romance between Haina and Ali was just a breath of fresh air and it made me swoon. 5/5 would definitely recommend.

[Laurie (barksbooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read anything in the Risdaverse (unless those blue alien books are Risdaverse books? if so, I'm a dummy) but this stands all on its own pretty well and now I want to read more so I guess it did its job. I didn't have any pesky questions besides is "Risdaverse" set on "Not Hoth"? It's short (less than 50 pgs, I think) and the romance is super rushed because, well, it's less than 50 pages but it's a sweet and quick read. No real character or romance development but it was an easy, breezy story that did not annoy me.

[Ra! ʕ •̀ ω •́ ʔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

SAPPHICS IN THE RISDAVERSE? Sign me up! Ali and Haina were so sweet. This was a great short story! I wish there were more sapphic stories in the Risdaverse!! I loved Ali standing up for herself and allowing herself to love and be loved. I give this book a 4/5🌟 rating.

Horn Level: 3/5🌶️

Format:
Ebook — Kindle Unlimited

Check out my socials here for more reviews!

[Bri The Shameless Romance Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so sweet! 🥹❤️ I know that this came from an anthology, but I wish it was longer. I would have loved for Ruby to have given both FMC points of views and written more scenes with the shy FMC silently crushing on the other FMC until they the finally meet.

[Romantically Inclined Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was low angst and super cute!

[Hilda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super short, so much so their loved felt rushed. It was more due to circumstances than actual love.

[Charlene · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Ruby Dixon’s books but this was underwhelming and a waste of my time.

[Christi (christireadsalot) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so cute and adorable! A sapphic, alien/sci-fi romance in Ruby Dixon’s Risdaverse series and another recent audiobook release. I just love this series, especially the novellas!

“Can’t I just call you ‘mine’?”

Ali is a shy human living on Risda who has a massive crush on Haina, an alien food vendor who comes to the farming planet once a week with deliveries. Ali is too shy to talk to Haina but one day Haina steps in and helps her out at the right time. These two were so cute and sweet together! A quick novella (like 50 pages) but so much fun!

[Aaliyah Reads · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was so excited for the wlw ruby dixon book. But it literally had no plot.

Bye.

1/5⭐️

[Cee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is only 50 pages long and yet I’m in tears. Just the emotions, the fears, how sweet the ending is. 😭 so good. I think it hits harder because I totally relate to Ali’s shyness and I just get it. I’m so happy she found happiness 😭.

[Jessie ツ · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5 ⭐️ (rounded up bc ✨women✨👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩)

was so excited for an FF novella from Ruby Dixon but this was truly lackluster.

The romance was stale. Connection nonexistent. Spice nowhere to be found. In other words, it was a flop.

It’s disappointing bc I’ve read MANY Ruby Dixon stories, of the same length, that are 1000% better.

And also, just a personal pet peeve:

WHY is it SO HARD to find a !!!good!!! FF book 🤧

(NOTE: general pet peeve, not saying this is a Ruby Dixon thing!!!)

TROPES & SUCH
FF
alien x human
sweet
novella
NO opd, NO cheating
HEA

[Joan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, this short story effectively killed the Risdaverse world for me. I felt nothing for these characters, they added nothing to this storyline. RD is going out of her way to pander to her woke minions and this dull story checks all the woke boxes. So disappointing, I don’t read fiction to be preached at.

[Ruby Dalegendaryreader · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first time reading wlw by Ruby Dixon and I love everything about it. So wholesome and so sweet. I really love coming back to Risda and can't wait for the next one.

[Amara · Rating 1 out of 5]

No heat, and Haina didn't convince me she actually liked her at all.

[nelka9books · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐️

i wish the only sapphic romance in the series was a bit longer and more complex

[Poppy || Monster Lover · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

These two were super cute together. They both had crap lives before, which I think is a requirement for any risdaverse story. It was a bit fluffy for my tastes and Ali took shy gentle stalker to a new level. Altogether, well done story.

Spice: 3/5

Triggers: sexual slavery (off page), poverty, harassment

[Ciara Hartman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and sweet…

I adore the Risdaverse series and this short story didn’t disappoint! Loved that this one was FF/ sapphic romance as most in this series are MF. Haina and Ali were as cute as could be! Ali was so timid and shy, it was almost painful to read, but she sure learned to stand up for herself by the end of the story! Adorable romance! Spice level: 2/5

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Been starting to listen to short audiobooks before I fall asleep and I found this to be a good and sweet listen as I calm down from the day. 3.5 stars. To short to be more stars but I want to see if Ruby Dixon has written more Shapphic books.

[Logan (loganslovelylibrary) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novella was so good! Ruby manages to write very unique female main characters over and over again without them feeling repetitive. I loved how shy Ali was, and I SWOONED over Haina. This was a really lovely lesbian story!! I just wish it were so so much longer, which would have given the characters more depth. But I get it, this was originally part of an anthology :) Hope to see more WLW (women-loving-women) in the future from her!!

[Thirstygirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The lesbian alien love story I never knew I needed. Would love RD to write more of these!

[Mia Mia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet sapphic alien romance with charm but I was craving more emotional pull and a little more heat to really set things ablaze.

[ariel *ੈ✩‧₊˚ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute! Wish it was longer, though. The characters felt a little under developed, and Ali was a bit pushy but they had good communication with each other!

[Elle ♡ [semi-hiatus] · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this was my first wlw book and I wasn’t expecting it from Ruby Dixon so I had to give it a try. It’s so short there’s not much to say about it, but it was cute. Not sure this made me want to read more wlw stuff but I enjoyed this sweet little story.

[girlwithhearteyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Nawww, this was an adorable F/F romance. Super short, very little story, all vibes.

[Jeana Cheque · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was about a shy human woman, I can't remember her name, and a masaka female named Haina. Haina was an orphan and she works as a stocker in the local store. She has many routes and travels to different planets. She's usually only on Risda once a week. The human was mistreated as a slave and very apprehensive in approaching Haina. Haina is kind and smiles at her and talks to her whenever she sees her. They finally start dating. Haina has to protect her from an overbearing Parxian, later the human smashes him over the head with the glass jar of a scented candle so he'll leave her alone. Haina ends up losing her job and moves in with the human. She grows food from special seeds she bought and HEA.

[Jenni · Rating 5 out of 5]

A SciFi Alien Serial Romance by Ruby Dixon is good. I am not sure how I stumbled upon Ruby and her books, but I love it and am rereading the whole series and het other series.

Humans being abducted by aliens and badly mistreated. It makes for an interesting read where there are mates, language barriers, horney aliens and a whole world of women. It is fun and witty and at times heartbreaking, but it is certainly something different and I now find myself strangely addicted.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been in a horrible reading slump since Onyx Storm. This little novella was a perfect palate cleanser to decompress after a few plot heavy books. I guess it worked because I was able to get through a bunch of Xiran Jay Zhao's Heavenly Tyrant immediately after (I tried to start it earlier this weekend and had to put it down). Thank you, Ruby Dixon!

[Sylvi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro que se lee rapidísimo.

Me encantó que Ruby Dixon dedicara una historia a una relación que no fuera heterosexual.

Disfruto mucho de sus libros y me encanta su manera de escribir y el mundo que ha creado pero siempre me ha faltado más representación de diversidad sexual así que este libro me ha hecho mucha ilusión.

[Natasha Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

Estuvo bien, pero se quedó corto. Además de que es corto eh.
Extrañé los puntos de vista de la pareja, solo ver el lado de la protagonista aplana un poco los acontecimientos.
Peero, dentro de todo estuvo bien.