Lise When I’m assigned to report on the alien bride program, I’m thrilled to get a break from the crowded city. No noisy apartment building. No synthesized food. But Mitra is nothing like I thought it would be. It’s beautiful, yes, but it’s also a rugged land on the border of enemy territory. It all changes when the warlord rescues me from being trampled by a ugris. Adrik is big and gruff and everything I never wanted in a man, but he’s all I can think about.
Adrik Only one of the females from Earth interests me and it’s the one who isn’t here to find a mate. While the lovely journalist is busy writing and taking pictures, our enemies to the north are consolidating their forces along the border I defend. When the females at our Thrail fall ill and our communications are cut off, I need Lise’s technology and wits to win a battle that could devastate the Thrail. But I need Lise in other ways, and I am determined to show her that she belongs with me.
Adrik's Desire is book two in the Mitran Warlord Protectors series, which can be read in any order. There's no cheating or cliffhangers and there's always consent and an HEA!
The following ratings are out of 5: Romance: 💚💜💙 Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥 Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪🧪 Story/Plot: 📕📗📘 World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏 Character development: 😋🙂☺️😘 Narrator(s): 🎙🎙🎙 Narration type: Dual Narration
🛡️ Audiobook Review: Adrik’s Desire
Series: Mitran Warlord Protectors Genre: Science Fiction Romance Narrators: Dani California and Eric Michael Summerer
🌍 Story & World-Building
Lise, a determined journalist, is reluctantly assigned to cover the tribute bride program — a story she considers fluff compared to the hard-hitting journalism she craves. Her assignment takes her to Mitra, a planet inhabited by towering red-skinned Mitran warriors. There, she finds herself under the protection of Adrik, the warlord of the thrail (city) she’s reporting on.
Adrik is a leader burdened with responsibility: defending his people against the encroaching Desakins, managing the fragile peace of his thrail, and grappling with a devastating crisis — Mitran females in his city are unable to carry pregnancies to term, often with tragic consequences. This mystery sets the stage for a subplot that intertwines medical intrigue with cultural tension.
While the premise has potential, the execution feels uneven. The narrative raises compelling questions — why are human women needed when Mitran females still exist, and why is Adrik’s thrail uniquely afflicted? — but doesn’t fully explore them. Still, the medical storyline adds a layer of urgency and emotional weight that kept me invested.
---
💔 Characters & Romance
• Lise: Strong-willed, skeptical, and refreshingly resistant to being swept into a romance without substance. Her journalistic lens adds a grounded perspective. • Adrik: Stoic yet unexpectedly vulnerable, torn between duty and desire. His attraction to Lise feels organic, though at times underdeveloped.
Their dynamic has sparks, but the romance occasionally takes a backseat to world-building and external conflicts.
---
🎙️ Narration & Performance
This audiobook is presented in dual POV narration, performed by Dani California and Eric Michael Summerer.
• Eric Michael Summerer: His deep voice is pleasant and authoritative, well-suited to Adrik’s commanding presence. However, his delivery sometimes feels overly formal, lacking natural warmth. • Dani California: Her voice is pleasant, but her performance leans stiff, making Lise’s sharp wit and determination less impactful than they could be.
Overall, the narration is serviceable but not immersive. Both narrators could benefit from more emotional expressiveness to elevate the story’s tension and intimacy.
---
✨ Final Thoughts
This audiobook offers an intriguing blend of romance, alien culture, and medical mystery, but it doesn’t fully capitalize on its potential. The world-building raises fascinating stakes, yet some plot points feel underdeveloped. The narration, while competent, lacks the emotional nuance needed to make the story truly shine.
Verdict: A decent listen if you enjoy sci-fi romance with a touch of mystery, but not particularly groundbreaking.
What happens when a column writer from Earth travels to the distant planet to write about human and alien marriages? First she almost causes her and her cat to be trampled and then she catches the eye of the Warlord leader! Lise is just there to write her column and a feature story but trouble just seems to constantly put her in the Warlords path. Adrik finds himself fascinated by the human and the two soon give into their mutual attraction. But bigger trouble is on the horizon with a mystery to solve that just may end their romance before it gets started. I loved, loved, loved it. The Mitrans are just as thrilling to read about as the Hevians were, so hurry up and read this latest offering from one of my favorites.
This book was just as good as the first book, if not better! I absolutely loved how romantic and authentic the connection was between Adrik and Lise. It was downright swoonworthy! Adrik was such a stoic, unapproachable male to begin with. It was so heartwarming to see how much he unthawed, the more he opened up to Lise. Lise was such a great character too! Overall, this book had a little bit of everything in it. Action, Romance, Mystery, Spice, War and most importantly, a happily ever after. I recommend this series for anyone looking for a 'mars needs women' alien romance with a 'fated mates' feel to it.
"Quella donna. Era rimasta lì con il viso rivolto al cielo e un'espressione di pace sul volto, e tutto ciò che volevo fare era attraversare lo spazio che ci separava e stringerla tra le mie braccia. Come se appartenesse a quel posto. Come se fosse mia."
Questa serie è come una scatola di cioccolatini, uno tira l'altro, con storie sempre godibili e nuove ambientazioni, pur restando nello stesso mondo. Qui abbiamo una giornalista vivace e un Signore della guerra audace, che si ritrovano fianco a fianco per salvare la vita alle donne umane vittime di una strana malattia, mentre il thrail si trova improvvisamente isolato e un nemico trama nell'ombra... anche qui, come nel primo, il nostro eroe rimane reticente per ben poco prima di cedere al fascino della nostra lei e iniziare un corteggiamento serrato, ma se nel precedente la nostra umana aveva in effetti dei validi motivi per dover tornare a casa e per temere la nascita di un nuovo amore, qui ho trovato deboluccio il motivo per cui i nostri due protagonisti non possono rimanere insieme per sempre... soliti pretesti che alla fine si risolvono nel classico tutto fumo e niente arrosto XD Bella la battaglia finale, Adrik si dimostra veramente un guerriero capace di tutto per la sua donna che non rimane certo inerte a farsi salvare, ma anzi, con le sue intuizioni geniali sarà lei a salvare tutti loro!
"Tutti gli altri nel vicolo lo guardavano con quasi reverenza mentre gli lasciavano ampio spazio. Nessuno voleva avvicinarsi troppo al condottiero. Ma poi mi guardò. I suoi occhi si addolcirono e la sua bocca quasi sorrise. Per un secondo, sembrò che vedesse solo me e il resto del mondo svanisse. Era così che mi sentivo guardandolo."
2.5 ⭐️’s DNF 80% Better suited to a younger audience.
While way better than B1, it’s still not for me.
Based on reviews saying that B1 was an aberration for the author, and this was much better, I decided to give it one more go.
Sadly, very standard and predictable. It’s nothing different than to 100 other books in this genre. Moreover, it’s not very believable, and has some obvious plot holes.
Spoilers.
How did the FMC know certain tests hadn’t been done? Why was she the only one asking these questions months later? There was another FC who had investigative skills, had been there for months while she and her friends suffered, but never asked these questions?
The whole, ‘will they discover the answers in time’! Was so melodramatic, and didn’t feel believable.
Then lastly, how no one took things seriously till our heroine arrived, and then the baddies acted oh so coincidentally, just as the hero’s discovered what was going on…
For me it felt forced and overly simplistic. Not in a fun silly way, but rather as if written for a younger, less knowledgeable reader. I prefer either more substance, or more humour.
Technically well written, but a whole lot of waffle and irrelevant, awkward dialogue. Funnily, the romance felt like an inconvenience to the story prior to the big dramatic show down.
Best of luck to those who enjoy, but I’m done with this series.
I liked how the MFC is kind of dorky. She's a journalist and the MMC is the warlord.
“He probably could have sauntered over here fresh from a workout, smelling like sweat, and I’d still be teetering on the verge of a swoon. I straightened my shoulders, determined not to become a fawning idiot in his presence.”
He is the epitome of his title. In the MFC’s words,
“Have you looked at yourself?” I swept my hands up and down, encompassing his form. “Aside from being huge, because all you Mitrans are huge, you are very much a warlord. I wouldn’t call you approachable. And you’re kind of intimidating. No, actually, you’re very intimidating.”
But he's also thoughtful, grounded and aware. He's not thrilled about having a journalist around, but he understands her job is useful too.
“It is her job to ask questions,” Adrik said calmly. “She is a journalist. She is here to gain information about our Thrail and how it runs. The problem her fellow humans are having here is the most vital thing she could report on.”
What I love best about this scene is that he has her back completely. And he's humble enough to know his people need help figuring out the mystery of the sickness.
It was entertaining, but the whole thing was entirely misogynistic. The happy ending is that the FMC abandons her entire life, career and journalistic dreams to become someone else’s wife? There is no discussion of what she’ll do on the other planet other than making being the awesome man’s (who “chose” her what an honor!!!) wife and potentially having his babies. She has actually good ideas but they are dismissed to the point the MC won’t even let her get a word in, and then the second in command also dismisses her idea as dumb. When it actually works she won’t take credit for herself, just talks about how the big strong men that came to help are the true heroes. This whole story reeks of internalised misogyni and heavily emphasizes patriarchical values to the detriment of the FMC.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
First, I did enjoy this book. However, I had to double check that the same artist wrote this book that wrote the first book in the series as well as the series that introduced the Mitran species. In the other series and in book one, the males had horns that curved around their heads and were extremely sensitive. Suddenly they now have horns that go up and are not sensitive at all. There’s also a significant difference in the male anatomy. I don’t know what happened, but I definitely prefer the original descriptions.
Journalist Lise doesn't want the assignment on Mitra. Warlord Adrik doesn't want her there. He's got problems with enemy Dessivan patrols and the human women in his city are getting sick instead of having babies. But sometimes, what you don't want is exactly what you need...
Another great story that continues the saga of the Mitran's
Lise goes into this unaware that she might find a mate, yet when she does, she doesn't fight it. I love the big animals and all the things that humanize the Mitran's in the story. Great story and great way she ends up getting them help to stop the war.
Lise has been tasked to write about the human females and the Mitran males. She agrees as long as she can bring her cat Nugget. Adrik saves her and her cat from being stomped on. Great way to introduce yourself to the Warlord! Enjoy
Great story! The females in his community are in trouble. It takes a female reporter to handle the situation. I highly recommend you read this book and the other books in the series.
I am so mad I have to wait for he next book. Great read. I hated that so many warriors died and several women. Both Lise And the Warlords character developed at a good pace. Can’t wait for the next one.
3 1/2 stars ( I round up ) This installment was interesting and I enjoyed the story. It felt off a couple of times, once Lise ended up sounding more like the warlord than herself. Anyway still a good read.
I like this book so much better than the first one it was written so much better and the mail star of the book was someone you could fall in love with and the female was better and I would just give that I gave this five star and I just thought it waswonderful
Adventure and intrigue. Adrik and Lise’s story is excellent. Very believable love story. I enjoyed that Lise didn't fight too hard to keep her old life. And Lise's cleverness is a highlight.
This SFR was fun and exciting. I especially liked the character of nugget, the cat. Being a cat person it's always fun to see a story with cats in it. The ending is true sfr fashion.
This was better than expected. Adrik and Lise story was very interesting. The overall story was also full of twists, revelations and adventure. Again a great read.
I liked this twist on the alien bride tale - Lise was separate from the participants in the bride program, but in a distinct way from the heroine in the first book. Plus, kitty cat!
Sweet. Nothing special about this. Not spicy - I think it was maybe one scene if I remember correctly. Listened to audio. That was ok. No overwhelming need to continue the series.
This is book two and the first one that I have read. Lise is a journalist and social media specialist. Her manager has asked her to go on a trip to Mitran for research. This is not Lise’s want to go but she is trying to get a more serious journalism assignment. Lise accepts the job with an agreement to allow her to take her cat Nugget plus be allowed to work on more serious issues. Lise catches the eye of the head Warlord Adria straight away. The best thing is their relationship progresses on pace with the story and they are forthcoming about their feelings along with some fun banter. Read On!