Ahhhh! Total squee moment when the book ended, I totally loved it and can't wait for more
Sci-fi is completely not my norm genre but these characters are so darn compelling, you forget some of them are aliens
The story is quick paced and I devoured the book in one sitting. Right until the very end you are frantically turning the pages to see what is going to happen next. And when it does end, you are now waiting for the next installment!
Preyfinders are soldiers, and yes, they are from outer space, BUT, in this case they are interacting with the humans on earth. In this particular case, our hero Stom is being rewarded for his hard work during battle with a 'pet'. Basically, a pet is a girlfriend and they use a bit of chemical to help them out. The attraction has to be there to use the chemical because if won't work otherwise, so they aren't really drugging unwilling victims, simply enhancing the feelings. All the aliens are human shape, maybe just a stitch bigger and more muscley, but, they are soldiers afterall. Some are a little bit blue, and Stom has stripes, as you see from the cover. But they are the same other than that, just different skin appearance
Stom just lost his wife and family, and for his race, there is only one 'bond-mate', so he doesn't want a pet. Trouble is, he is fascinated and unrealistically attracted to Willow, his chosen pet
Willow has not had an easy life, and brings a whole host of characters along with her that cause even more chaos. The story is a mystery and a war novel all wrapped up in an erotic romance between two, more or less, unwilling participants who are so hot for each other, it confounds even them
There is some reference to characters from the previous book, but you can follow even if you haven't read it. It leads to some set up for additional characters, but it is not a cliffhanger, everybody's story is complete at the end, and you see where there are and what they are doing at this point