Clonely You

Sunrise Cantina #2

by Ruby Dixon

A'ani clone Aithar has had his heart broken a dozen times on Risda III. No one wants the love he is so very eager to give. But then he meets a human woman named Michaela who runs a dairy farm. She wants to rescue her sister, and to do so, she needs Aithar’s help.

He’s willing to help…in exchange for a date.

Michaela warns him that she’s just using him. He’s fine with being used, as long as it involves kissing. Lots and lots of kissing.

She’s determined not to fall in love. He’s just happy to be of service. No commitments…right? Right.

(I think we all know how this story goes…)

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

147 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 26, 2024

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

[RLbooks (in and out) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded down

I had the same hang-up with this one as I did the first one, I adored the MMC and had trouble connecting with the FMC. It's Risda III though and I still had a good time and closed my kindle with a smile on my face.

Written in first person, dual POV. No ow/om drama, h is experienced, and H is completely inexperienced.

Some tropes/themes:
☆ Alien/human romance
☆ MMC falls in love easily
☆ FMC uses a sense of control to manage her mental health
☆ Our first dairy farmer on Risda
☆ Side characters who are supportive but also poke fun
☆ Casual relationship to start

Aithar (H) as the sweetest, most precious, naivest, wants to fall in love and have that love returned guy. I just wanted to squeeze him. Aithar's fallen in love before, but not had that love returned sadly. He gets sent by friends to purchase all the butter that a new dairy farmer on Risda is producing and the situation he finds himself in is unique. Michaela (h) is that dairy farmer and after a rocky start where she doesn't know about Aithar's race being clones, thinking he's actually a bad guy, and him becoming instantly infatuated, they begin seeing each other casually. Casually for Michaela anyway. She wants help finding her sister who was taken a couple years prior and before Michaela herself was rescued. Aithar is willing to just bask in her presence, as well as help in any way he can.

This is a quick read and it's pretty lighthearted. Michaela needed to feel in control of her surroundings, which was understandable given that her abduction, enslavement, and then the abduction of her sister made her feel out of control. Aithar was so patient and he's willing to take what he can at first, hoping that Michaela will return his love. Loved all his pet names for her and the obvious adoration he heaps on her. He does get to a point where they have a talk about where their relationship is going, but I wished for more on Michaela's part on page showing her appreciation for him and the dedication she was going to put towards their relationship. We know from her thoughts when they get there that she adores him too, I wanted it more explicitly shown to him after all he gave to her.

Steam-wise, there's a time where Michaela's only comfortable being in control and giving pleasure to Aithar and his inexperienced self got lots of happy times. There's one scene of him getting to take some of that control and love on her instead and it's a good scene that follows Michaela ceding control of the farm itself to Aithar for him to show her that doing so won't harm her.

Side characters are Aithar's crew mates who have featured in past books as either main or side characters. Sometimes his friends are little too pointed with their teasing and Michaela standing up for him at one point was fantastic. The breadcrumbs for a couple of future stories are also continuing to be laid.

The ending is HFN with them taking the first steps to getting her sister back. Aithar's going to be with her on the dairy farm and it's sweet and hopeful. I love Ruby Dixon's author notes and if you're reading her books but skipping the author notes, you should definitely change that. It's so cool to have her insight into how the characters spoke to her and how aspects are formed. The Risda world keeps on giving, thank goodness. I need my comfort planet to go on forever.

[Poppy || Monster Lover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aithar was such the golden retriever boy, complete with “I’m happy with any attention and will love you immediately”. Michaela was closed off and traumatized, very much a loner. The friends with benefits relationship was interesting, especially the way they went about it to help her feel safe and give her control. I wish more of Michaela’s walls coming down was on page, but it was still sweet.

Spice: 2/5

Triggers: PTSD, OCD, mentions of prior captivity and enslavement, cloning/identity issues, loss of family/friends, isolation

[Kimbot the Destroyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aithar's book had me smiling and kicking my feet the whole way through. He deserves happiness. I love these feel-good romances on a planet I know so well. Probably won't work great for readers who haven't read any other Risda/Sunrise Cantina books.

[Kimmylongtime · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was sooo good !! It was such a worth it read !! I am sorry I took so long to finish this !!

[GoldenEyeOfHorus · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t like the FMC. She was rude, inconsiderate, and selfish. MMC was sweet but a doormat. I don't like that dynamic...she just kept taking and taking and he allowed it because he was in love.

[Hilda · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I think they do not feel any female would be interested in me so quickly. I am not…what did Lady Ruth call it…a ball-busting alpha.” Oh. I decide I’m not a huge fan of this Lady Ruth person. “Not everyone wants a ball-busting alpha.” He leans in even closer, his lips brushing against my ear. “I am glad, because I am not entirely sure what that is.”

I love him so much!! Aithar is a huge marshmallow and he is all things good and kind and I’m so glad Michaela sees him. Like really sees him. These two were so good for each other. And who knew being a control freak could be so sexy.

[Inna · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars, cute but I really felt like there was a lot missing from the ending. I wanted the heroine to find her sister!

Safe

[✨ Just Another Bookwyrm ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, yeah, I wasn’t happy with how the FMC treated/used Aithar (poor baby just wanted to be loved 😭🥰), and she never freaking apologized to him! But she did end up loosing her inhibitions and gave him the appreciation he deserved 😌. Felt like it ended too abruptly though.

(To anyone who is a first time listener, Todd McLaren has an atrocious female voice 😂).

[Chrissy Loves Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, listen up, my fellow alien romance addicts! Clonely You had me flipping pages like I was trying to win an intergalactic speed-reading competition. Aithar is just the sweetest big red alien muffin—seriously, I wanted to snuggle him like a plush toy from the second he stumbled onto the page. And Michaela? She’s all sass and sparkle, the perfect foil to his gentle, earnest ways. Their banter? Chef's—wait, no, we don’t do that anymore—absolutely delicious! 🍬

This was the perfect evening read—short, steamy, and full of that signature Ruby Dixon alien charm. If I’m being honest, I just wish there’d been more! More chapters, more snuggles, more of Aithar figuring out human kissing. I was left feeling like a clone myself—hanging out on a lonely asteroid waiting for another round of swoony cuteness.

Four stars from me—only because I needed more of these two! If you’re looking for a quick alien fix, this one will definitely satisfy your cravings. 🛸❤️

[Brandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Characters: Michaela and Aithar


I did really like Aithar, he was a hopeless romantic that just wanted to worship and love someone else, especially when he and the other aliens had their feelings suppressed by a drug that was forced on them. He was a total cinnamon roll.

I wasn’t a huge fan of Michaela though, even though I could empathize with her feelings (she definitely suffered from anxiety and OCD), I didn’t like certain things she did, especially when she started out using Aithar with “fooling around”, especially when she knew he was a sweetheart that was obsessed with her. I could never play with someone’s feelings like that. I did appreciate the ending of the book though , but not enough to give this more than 3 stars.

[Josephine · Rating 4 out of 5]

the way this book sets up like five others! The Rubyverse is the gift that keeps on giving and continues to be my favourite novelmatic universe

[Laz the Sailor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is part of a cute series in the Risdaverse. It focuses on 3 sister-clones, one of which we met earlier. In an environment as large as RD's. it's difficult to invent new character traits and romantic situations. She succeeds with these novellas.

I recommend binge-reading these, independent of other RD series. They're all good.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Welcome back to Risda lll. Aithar has finally found love. 😍 Michaela set strong boundaries and I'm glad this wasn't an insta love story.

[Luz T · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so stinking cute 🥰

[Valerie B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately I did not enjoy this book very much. There was just something about it that wasn’t meshing for me. Michaela’s trauma and the reason for her initial reaction to Aithar felt too big for a novella. It felt a bit rushed, I would have enjoyed more unpacking and a slower build up between them. Even though there were time jumps it was hard for me to feel like they were really in love. Also, so much talk of butter, and while I do love domesticity in stories, again it just felt like too much for a novella.
[Also, also - Michaela loves using the milking device on Aithar for ehem…milking. That just seems unsanitary and gave me the ick 🥴😂 I can usually look past most ridiculous sex stuff but for some reason that just really bothered me.]

[Jeana Cheque · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes when I'm reading a Ruby Dixon book, I feel like I'm panning for gold. I usually end up with nothing, but once in a while I'll find a gold nugget. This book was a gold nugget for me. I thought the writing was better. She took the time to really explain the A'ani. So many of her books have the A'ani in them, but this is the first time we really get to know about them. They are like the Unsullied army in The Game of Thrones. They were grown in a lab to be slaves and chemically castrated to keep their urges and emotions suppressed. In the first book, I was annoyed at the absurd insta love that Kazex displayed. Aithar explained that his intense feelings were a result of having to live with his emotions suppressed for so long. Now that he's free and is no longer forced to take the shots, he feels intensely. I thought it was strange that he'd been in a relationship with another woman, but had never even kissed before. He was dumped by the other woman; twice. She left him for another man. She didn't like his intense doting. He explained that he was content with just being a placeholder in a woman's life until her dream guy comes along. He feels inferior to other men. A'ani are a dime a dozen. There is nothing special or unique about someone grown in a lab. He meets Michaela who makes butter on her dairy farm. She leads him to believe that she's invited him back to her place for some hanky panky. After he's tied up, she pulls a knife on him. She's a homebody and has no idea that clones exist. Her sister was stolen by an A'ani who looked just like Aithar. The A'ani stole her under his master's orders. Michaela was trying to get Aithar to tell her where her sister was. He gently explained that he hadn't done it and that every clone that came from the same lab as him, looks like him. He set himself free, because her restraints were easy to get out of. That made her trust him, because he could have disarmed her at any time. He apologized for causing her painful memories and asked if she would be ok. He was the sweetest cinnamon roll/golden retriever. He told her he knew Zeba and Bethia. He told her that one of the bounty hunters could be paid to find her sister. Michaela was all work and no play because her OCD wouldn't allow her to let anyone help around the farm or with the butter making. She had to do it herself or she thought it would get messed up. She also wanted control in the bedroom. She got him off, but wouldn't allow him to do the same. She was afraid of getting too close and then losing him, just like her sister. He was just waiting for her to dump him and move on like other women had done to him. He finally convinced her to take one day and let him help her. He intentionally made a mess so that she could see that it wasn't the end of the world. He convinced her to give up control in the bedroom too and he lost his V card to her. She wanted her sister back, but was so worried about money, and not having enough space for her sister to stay, that she put off contacting a bounty hunter. Aithar had to help her see that getting her sister to safety was the priority. In the end, they became mates and Zeba was on the case to find her sister, Raphaella. Even the male narrator did a better job this time around IMO.

[Ann Leona · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Angry Black Woman" Trope

This book was mostly cute but it fell flat with me by making her the "angry black woman". I was wondering why the sensitivity readers didn't mention this unsavory toxic trait often given to melanated women in fiction. I did note Ruby's statements at the end of the book about sensitivity readers & wished this would have been a topic of discussion. While I don't think Ruby purposely wrote the character within this dreadful trope, I do wish someone of melanated descent that's a woman would have chimed in about the "angry black woman" stereotype as it made me enjoy the book a bit less. I still love Ruby's work & will continue to be a fan.

[Callie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

This was cute! Aithar is used to feeling unwanted after his past as a slave, and also being rejected by women he likes. Michaela runs a dairy farm and wants to have a causal relationship with him.

Aithar doesn’t really do casual, and is smitten instantly. I didn’t really enjoy that he’d been burned by other women because I think he would love anyone who showed him attention, but he’s so earnest that it’s hard to be mad with him.

I liked how it addressed her need for control and showed how they could make each other’s lives better.

This series overall is like light yet also not because everyone has a lot of trauma, and I thought this was good addition to the series!

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

Oh, I liked this one a lot more than the first one in the series. The MMC is so sweet that he could rot all the teeth out of your mouth. It was so easy to love him. I also liked the FMC. She desperately needs control of her corner of the world based on her past and I get her. My only petty complaint would be that Ruby left us with another mystery that she isn’t going to solve for us right away. 😑 This is the missing IPB clone couple all over again. 😫

[Anna Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun smutty little alien romance and honestly, with the amount of Ruby Dixon books I've read so far, it's just a cosy little universe (or rubyverse) that I keep coming back to. At some point her stories to get a little repetitive but i kinda like that too, it feels familiar and in a good way. Just a fun little read with some entertaining smut and usually some trauma. 

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Messy and realistic

Love the author's skillful weaving of realistic relationships of what a different cultural, species relationship would be. Add in their varied traumas and shake them to get a perfect for eachother couple.
Fyi buttermilk uses not mentioned in book: ranch and other dressings, cakes, waffles, biscuits, waffles, scones, breads, fried chicken, other meat and veg dishes with coatings, cornbread and cornbread coating (corndogs), hushpuppy, pies, scones, mashed statchy veg, english muffins, add to smoothies, marinades for meat veg, or beans. Punjabi buttermilk stew (chickpea, spinach), creamed spinach, saag paneer (and many other paneer dishes), and for the planet main noodle residents likes. Noodles with chopped veg that was marinated in ranch dressing with the spice thry love. With marinated meat stock that is roasted over real flame or smoked. Bet these would be hit. As well scones. With fruit and or savory chutney. Have not seen it anywhere but suspect can be used as a pickling and brining liquid. Since it has lactic acid. Just will cause whatever is picked (noodles), pickles etc to taste differently then vinegar.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one wasn’t my favorite probably because the relationship didn’t have as much buildup and it was physical right from the start. Looking forward to seeing what the rest of the series is like when it comes out!

[Victoria Wu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stoooop this was so cute! I only wish it was longer. Also a really lovely use of dom and sub dynamics. I think Ruby is at her best when she focuses on world building and character development and it’s always nice to see her take a breeding kink break.

[Natasha Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me encantó. La pareja tiene mucha química y se muestra un lado nuevo de la vida en Risda. Esperando emocionada más libros de la saga.

[Alyssa Grimes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This clone alien man is the cutest thing alive and the fact that he worships her and she teaches him everything is the best, he deserves it all:)

[Ashley (Kindled Souls Book Blog) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aithar is the ultimate golden retriever hero in this second installment in the Sunrise Cantina series. He’s ready to fall in love with someone who will love him back.

Michaela, like many of the human women on Risda, is a bit of a loner who deals with her share of anxiety and PTSD. She was a bit of a tough character to love, but Aithar loved her enough for everyone.

This is a fairly quick story in the Risdaverse/Sunrise Cantina universe but in addition to telling Aithar and Michaela’s story, it helps readers get to know future heroes and heroines.

[Grace Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

visiting risda really is like traveling to see family 🫂

[Belle (on hiatus)]

DNF @ 38%

I don’t like the FMC at all and the MMC deserves way better

[Imani Zoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish this was longer

[Ashley G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little palette cleanser. Exactly what I've come to expect from Ruby Dixon