Two battered souls now bound as fiercely as the stars, defying the darkness that sought to extinguish our light.
After endless days trapped in this cage, freedom seemed like a distant dream—until the wounded Vinduthi was thrown into my cell at the brink of death.
Still, the will to fight smoldered through him. And when I asked him to give me a claiming mark to shield me from the designs of our captors, that spark ignited into a blaze that threatened to consume us both.
Yet his stoic nature leaves me wondering... is the passion I see flickering in his eyes only a reflection of the yearning in my own heart?
Does the passion I see flickering in his eyes only reflect the yearning in my own heart?
Reader, dreamer and frantic scribbler. I really do believe that love conquers all... and make terrible things for my characters to survive to prove it! (insert evil laugh here)
The following ratings are out of 5: Romance: 💙💜💚🩷 Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥 Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪🧪 Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📔 World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏🌍 Character development: 😋😀😍😎 Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙 Narration Type: Dual Narration
🎧 Audiobook Review: Defended by the Alien Devil (Brides of the Vinduthi, #3)
Author: Ava York Genre: Science Fiction Romance Narrators: Oliver Highpoint and Mia Madison
🦸🏼♀️ The Heroine: Mera
Mera’s long‑awaited story finally takes center stage, and it’s a rough, emotionally charged journey. After being captured while pursuing human traffickers on the Thodos III space station, she’s separated from her friend Amy — whose rescue we saw in the previous book — and left to fend for herself. Every escape attempt ends in brutal punishment, and by the time this book opens, Mera is hanging on by the thinnest thread. Her resilience is still there, but it’s battered, bruised, and close to breaking. That vulnerability makes her easy to root for and gives her arc real emotional weight.
🦸🏻♂️ The Hero: Kovas
Kovas is a classic hardened‑warrior type, but with enough nuance to keep him interesting. As a member of the Vinduthi Fangs Cartel, he’s sent to rescue Mera for the sake of his leader’s human mate. He’s lethal, disciplined, and emotionally stunted — not because he’s cold, but because he’s never been shown affection or care. When he’s captured and nearly beaten to death by the Aiwani, his vulnerability mirrors Mera’s in a way that sets up a compelling dynamic between them.
📚 The Plot
Locked in a cell deep in the underbelly of Thodos III, Mera is ready to make one last escape attempt — and if it fails, she’s prepared to stop fighting altogether. But everything changes when the Aiwani dump an unconscious Vinduthi warrior into her cell. Instead of giving up, she chooses compassion, tending to Kovas’s wounds and helping him recover. Their forced proximity becomes the catalyst for a tense, gritty, and ultimately hopeful escape story as they work together to evade both the Aiwani slavers and Koni, a ruthless underworld boss tightening his grip on the station.
🌟 Strengths
• Mera finally gets her moment, and it’s satisfying to see her step out of the shadows of the previous books and into her own arc — complete with danger, growth, and romance. • Kovas’s emotional evolution is one of the highlights. Watching him learn how to connect, trust, and care adds depth to the story. • The pairing works. Both characters are likable, their chemistry feels earned, and their happy ending is well deserved.
💔 Limitations
• The mutual low self‑esteem and constant internal doubts drag the pacing at times. Their lack of communication creates unnecessary emotional loops that could have been resolved with a single honest conversation. • At under six hours, the audiobook feels short for the price outside of a sale. The series as a whole isn’t groundbreaking — it leans heavily on familiar alien‑romance tropes — but it’s consistently entertaining enough if you enjoy the genre.
🎙️ Narration
The dual POV structure shines thanks to Oliver Highpoint and Mia Madison. Oliver’s warm baritone gives Kovas a grounded, steady presence, while Mia’s youthful, expressive delivery captures Mera’s vulnerability and determination beautifully. Their performances elevate the material and make the emotional beats land more effectively.
💬 Final Assessment
This installment delivers a satisfying, character‑driven escape‑and‑survival romance with two protagonists who genuinely earn their connection. While the story doesn’t break new ground and occasionally leans too heavily on internal angst, Mera and Kovas’s journey is engaging, emotional, and well‑voiced. If you’re already invested in the series — or if you enjoy compact, trope‑friendly alien romances — this one is a solid, enjoyable listen, especially at a sale price.
Defended by the Alien Devil (Brides of the Vinduthi #3) is the third book in this intriguing series. Humans find themselves relegated to the lowest social strata in a space station as Earth has become uninhabitable. Struggling for survival against the backdrop of formidable space vampires, other creatures, and constant peril. This narrative is packed with exciting and dangerous elements that keep the reader engaged.
I was compelled to delve deeper into the unfolding story. Members of the Vinduthi mob are on top at the space station and feared by many in a bustling hub serving as both a refuge and battleground for various interstellar species.
One by one they become infatuated with a resilient human woman, whose mere presence disrupts the carefully maintained order of their world. A cascade of events entangled in a web of chaos and danger, leading to intense moments and unexpected alliances. As the stakes rise, readers are left eager to see how love can flourish in such tumultuous circumstances.
after reading quite a number of alien romances this year, i think this one is pretty good in terms of the writing and storyline. i only regretted not following the series in sequence and dived straight into this, which is the 3rd book in the series. definitely going back to book 1 and get to know what's truly happening, and how did Mera and Kovas land themselves in this predicament in the first place.
oh Mera! she reminded me of Liz from the Ice Planet Barbarian series, with her sarcastic and snarky remarks. love her ability to never give up and remain strong for those who needed strength more than herself in whichever situation she was in. as for Kovas, i definitely need to read the first few books to get to know more of his backstory. he sort of reminds me of Raahosh from IPB too, being the tough warrior type and extremely protective towards the female he bonded with.
there were also lots of parts in the story that made me laugh. like the one interaction between Kovas and Alkard where Kovas used an unknown comms to contact Alkard:
Alkard: “I don’t know who you are or how you got this contact but you have five seconds before I send someone to your location and have your spine removed.”
Kovas: “I’m usually the one you send for that job, Alkard.”
🤣🤣
and finally, a book that properly explains to readers why the aliens in alien romances are always so aloof with their emotions and do not explicitly let their mates know that they love them, even when they wholeheartedly would die for their mates.
definitely completing the series!
“I wanted to claim you as my mate.” He gulped and paused for a moment, looking at the wall before turning back to me. “But you claimed my heart. You took every part of me and made it yours. There’s no one else I would ever want by my side.” My heart leaped at his words, surprised he opened up so much. “Mera, I love you.”
*welp* I can’t say that I didn’t try with this series…but oH lawd, these just get worse and worse. I mean, IF you are into nekkid stripper humans, indentured & whom the galaxy feels are trash…women who are kept scantily clad, physically dirty, starved, poverty stricken and almost broken- finding a modicum of salvation (and self preservation?) to vampire-esk aliens….Well, then these might be the books for you. As for myself, I just simply.cannot.even. Hard.AF.Pass on the WHOLE lot!
This was my favorite int he Brides of the Video duthi thus far Korvas, is the muscle and doesn't talk much. His mission is to find Mera and bring her home. He never expects to be caught and caged. When he wake he accidentally finds Mera because he's thrown Into a cell with her. Mera got too close and found out about a human female trafficking ring on the space station. She's terrified but refuses to let her captures see she's only hanging on by a thread. When a huge Vinduthi warrior is thrown in her cell wounded she doesn't j is wether to be terrified or thrilled. What happens next is they work together to escape! Danger surrounds them from all sides and attraction burns from within. Can these two fight to survive and find love along the way. You have to read and find out so freaking awesome!🌟💖🔥🔥💖🌟💖🔥💖🌟💖💖🌟💖🔥💖🌟🌟💖🔥🔥🌟🌟💖💖
Korvas is all muscle, and he's very reliable on missions, get the job done and get out. It's his job to rescue Mera, instead he's captured and put into Mera cage.
Mera got too close and found out about the human trafficking on the space station. And was captured, she has been physically abused, and needs to escape her cage.
Now there's a huge Vinduthi in her cage with her, She tends to his injuries, instead of trying to escape for herself.
Mera has learned what they have planned for her and she has to get Korvas healed up and try to escape their cage.
This was really good story and had a lot of action to it, and kept me turning the pages.
Love these alien devils. Each story focuses on one of the aliens and a human female. The stories do connect with each other as each one continues the story. She is a prisoner and her situation is about to get worse if she can’t escape. He is a male with little emotion and known for his ability to take care of problems. Soon they will be fighting to save each other. The story has plenty of danger and action. The relationship builds but the attraction is there from the start.
The only thing the two main characters have in common, is that they are placed in a cell together. Mera is a quick thinker, emotionally open and brave risking her life to safe Kovas. Kovas was kind caring and protective of her. They are soon drawn together, but don’t verbalize their wants, each thinking only he/she feels this attraction. This is causing both a lot inner torment and frustration while at the same time dealing with danger.
I really enjoy this series, it is so entertaining to read about this alien mafia gang falling for these human women. I liked Mera from the start. She was enslaved in a cell, physically and emotionally abused by these cruel aliens but she kept her wits and tried to figure out a way to escape. When Kovas is thrown in her cell badly wounded her first thought is to care for him. As they grew closer in captivity their bond was inevitable. I loved it.
This story is about Kovak, who was thought to be robotic, fights for his life with Mera fighting along side him. He finds his ability to feel, even if he doesn't want to. Mera finds someone to lean on and is able to feel safe for the first time. Plenty of action, bloody gore and impossible odds. Well worth reading.
Mera has been captured and tortured for who knows how long. One day they dump another in her cell. She tends to his injuries. Instant connection between them. Kovas feels it also. They save each other several times in trying to escape. Will this be true love? Excellent ending.
The third one of this series finally finds the lost woman that had disappeared, but the one who finds her almost dies 😲. Intense situations, lots of emotions, nasty bad things and a fabulous male, make reading this wonderful 😃. Thanks again Ava, I look forward to reading more 🤓.
I truly enjoyed this book. Our female main character is feisty intelligent and caring . Our strong and stock vinduthi has a lot to learn about his human female. Their struggle from the under to the safe haven of the fallen Star is amazing. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series
I loved this,one! A fast read plenty of action and adventure with wonderful characters liked, that characters from first blossomed in this one as well looking forward to seeing what will come next
This series is so good, but Kovas might ne my favorite. What can I say, I love the naive barbarian trope. I can not say enough good things about these books, though.
Awesome series. Couldn't put down. Looking forward to next book in series. Read all three books in two days. Was so good I thought I was there in the story. Love happy endings.
This is a fun alien vampire romance. The character’s are interesting, the romance is hot, and then ding is happy. I am enjoying this so much I am binge reading one after another
The book was interesting enough It's just that when you got towards the end and you're waiting for some kind of cool thing to happen it just suddenly ends, like boom... ended. If I had known that this was going to happen I would never have read this book.
Great read,if you like alien love stories. Which I do. Well written and very interesting. But not for children, the sex is very explicit. Any adult would love these. Can't wait to start the next one (Dance with an Alien) !!
Finally getting to the girl who has made cameos and carried the series along. I liked how we touched in on mental health after her being a prisoner for so long. Mera and Kovas, such a dynamic.
If anyone likes romance with aliens you have it here. Mera captured by hideous alien slavers and tortured. Kovas is dumped in her cell half alive. And... Nope ya gotta read this series.
Love this series! It was great to finally see Mera found! I love her strength! Kovas is a great partner to her as well. These books deliver with good action, suspense, intrigue, romance and spice. Easy reading.
It seemed like the start of this story might be the end. Love all these characters! So glad Kovas and Mera got together. A great pairing of two tough but loving people.
I really do love this series. Unfortunately I am beginning to wonder if AI has assisted in the writing. There are odd mistakes and inconsistencies... That being said, I would definitely buy the next book.
Good storyline and characters. The hardships they had to endure were horrid. It made us take a big breath when they finally were safe. Part of a series we are enjoying.