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Mates of the Kaluma #1

Hunted by the Alien Assassin: Mates of the Kaluma, Book 1

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I always take out my target . . . until her.

I have many talents and they're all for hire. My best skill is hunting the dregs of the galaxy, and when I find my prey . . . let's say no one ever hears from them again. My latest target is a human trafficker, and the kicker is . . . she's human. Selling her own kind? I'll relish this. But when I find there's more to her story than I've been told, suddenly I'm not sure who's hunting who.

I've heard of the big Kaluma with a spiked bat, so I know evading him won't be a cake walk. As my assassin, he's ruthless. Until he finds out my truth. Now he's sticking by my side, claiming me as his mate, and I can't believe it but . . . I think I'm falling for the cocky alien with glowing blue eyes.

Contains mature themes.

Audible Audio

First published July 23, 2021

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Ella Maven

41 books954 followers

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5 stars
1,109 (44%)
4 stars
848 (34%)
3 stars
419 (16%)
2 stars
84 (3%)
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12 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 199 reviews
Profile Image for  ~*~Princess Nya Vasiliev~*~.
1,174 reviews7 followers
August 9, 2021
So this is the first book, to the 2nd spin off of the Drixonian Warriors series. This series will be centered around the Kaluma Warriors, whom we met for the first time, in Xavy's story of the Drixonian Warriors series...

I LOVE this book!😍😍😍 it gave me the same world that I've grown accustomed to with our Drixonians, but with a different color pattern of the cares and journeys of the Kaluma... This story was intense, deeply passionate, dangerous, and beautiful.

I love Bosa! And I'm totally in love with he and Karina together. There is not one dull thing about this first book in this new spin off. And I for one cannot wait for Craven's book (2), to get here.

I would definitely recommend this read to any Alien sci-fi fan and any Ella Maven fans out there.. Just please start with Drixonian Warriors series first. Then the Stolen Warriors, before you land here🤗
Profile Image for Mar, Queen of Darkness.
262 reviews75 followers
November 27, 2021
This was pretty good. It didn't thrill me but it wasn't terrible. Good book to turn your brain off to and just read enjoyably!
Profile Image for Ꮗ€♫◗☿ ❤️ ilikebooksbest.com ❤️.
2,942 reviews2,674 followers
May 14, 2025
Enjoyable relationship!



The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💚💜💙❤️🩷
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📘📔
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏
Character development: 😒🥺😀🙂
Narrator(s): 🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration type: Dual Narration

The heroine: Karina - she wasn’t optimistic about living another day. She was a human who was abducted from earth, spending time at a dive bar in a crappy space station that was nicknamed “bad seed”. Her disguise was melting away and she was panicking while listening in on the conversation of two large green horned aliens who were loan sharks. Since she got free of her initial captors, she has upgraded her translator to be able to understand all types of alien species. They were talking about a Kaluma assassin that was out looking for her and his reputation was that he never failed.

The Hero: Bosa - he is an assassin and bounty hunter, whose favorite weapon was a spiked bat, and he is the best at what he does. He is from a race called the Kaluma, who were massive. His latest assignment was to go after a trafficker of human females. He held no mercy for someone who would do that, and his hatred grew even more when he found out that she was a human herself.

The Story: Karina was letting the legend of the assassin mess with her head. She wanted off the station and had been gathering credits by cleaning up for a few of the businesses. She went back to her lodging to get her necklace, the one possession she always took with her, since it was from her grandmother. She got rid of her disguise, because the one person who would take her off the station, only knew her as her human self. That was when the Kaluma found her. Bosa was stupefied when he saw her pendant and paused long enough for Karina to run.

Bosa eventually caught up with her and told her why he was bringing her to the council, though she had no clue what he was talking about when he said her crime was that of capturing and selling other humans. The two ended up running together from the aliens that Karina had escaped from and was sabotaging, and they got to know each other slowly.

I really liked this story and the two main characters. There was plenty of steam and one great thing about aliens, is that they can have some pretty great attributes. Bosa had a vibrating, whirling, twirling, pulsing appendage, and a tongue that opened up like a flower with some sort of sucking mechanism. All in all, he had the best of today’s intimate toys all in one big sexy male package.

This audiobook was told in multiple points of view and was narrated in dual narration by Jillian Macie and Todd Mclaren. Jillian has a nice, expressive voice and always does a great job, especially with alien romance. Todd Mclaren has a decent voice, but definitely not one of my favorites, I like a stronger, deeper voice for a massive alien.

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Profile Image for Serena Books.
1,983 reviews106 followers
July 23, 2021
ezgif-com-gif-maker
'Había vivido sola todo este tiempo en este planeta, pero ahora que conocí a Bosa, no podía imaginar la vida sin él'.





•Mi opinión puede contener Spoilers

•Esta destinada a ser un descargo personal no para que alguien más lea pero si lo haces y te ofende, me disculpo porque sé lo que es que te guste un libro y otros lo critiquen





Hunted by the Alien Assassin de Ella Maven Serie Mates of the Kaluma libro 1


Argumento:

Siempre le doy a mi objetivo… hasta ella.

Bosa

Tengo muchos talentos y todos son por encargo. Mi mejor habilidad es cazar la escoria de la galaxia, y cuando encuentro a mi presa ... digamos que nadie vuelve a saber nada de ellas. Mi último objetivo es un traficante de personas y el truco es ... ella es humana.

¿Vendiendo los de su propia especie?

Disfrutaré esto. Pero cuando descubro que hay más en su historia de lo que me han contado, de repente no estoy seguro de quién está cazando a quién.

Karina

He oído hablar del gran Kaluma con con púas de murciélago, así que sé que evadirlo no será fácil. Como mi asesino, es despiadado. Hasta que descubra mi verdad.

Ahora está de mi lado, reclamándome como su compañera, y no puedo creerlo, pero ... creo que me estoy enamorando del extraterrestre engreído de brillantes ojos azules.






Mí humilde opinión:

Qué romance de ciencia ficción más emocionante! Disfruté con helado de chocolate la apasionante aventura de Karina y Bosa.

Flasheo con la raza Kaluma! Esas púas, su habilidad para hacerse invisible estilo 'depredador' y... Bueno, esa parte debajo de la cintura? Solo digamos que fue muy interesante en los momentos en que las cosas se calentaban.

Bosa me asustó al comienzo cuando iba detrás de Karina, este Kaluma da un miedo tremendo cuando tiene a alguien en la mira pero cuando el malentendido se aclara... el alien es un dulce de leche arrogante que terminé amando. Cuando sabe que Karina es su pareja se vuelve tan protector y amoroso que me dieron ganas de ser la kotche de uno!

También fue un lindo detalle de la unión los sueños premonitorios que tenía la pareja, podía tener un vistazo de su futuro.

Karina cumplió con todas mis espectativas. No hay nada que no me gustara de ella, era una mujer audaz, luchadora y quería ayudar a las mujeres que fueron abducidas de la tierra junto con ella y de hecho logra hacer daño al que las vendía con ayuda de Bosa.

Karina y Bosa hacen una pareja entrañable, tenían mucha química, sus interacciones enamoraban y divertían.

Me encanta el equipo que hacen al final destruyendo a Frenz y esos asquerosos Gattrix.

Ese es el primer libro que leo de la autora y resulta que es el spinoff de otra serie que sin dudas le estaré echando el ojo.
Profile Image for ❤️Emma Book Lover ❤️.
558 reviews303 followers
April 8, 2023
A quick entertaining read to fill your afternoon. Not the best alien romance out there but definitely not the worst. Love the fact that we have a strong, independent and smart heroine that's not a lady in distress but who also knows when help is needed and she takes it. The alien is pretty average except he has an interesting peen😁
Profile Image for Katyana.
1,801 reviews290 followers
August 13, 2023
I didn't think I'd want to read this series, honestly, because in previous books Bosa was a twat. Honestly, all of the Kaluma were pretty douchey. But I read the first chapter (this author always puts the first chapter of the next book in the end of her books), and I was into it, so here we are. Continuing my run of alien smuttery. ;)
Profile Image for Ivy Deluca.
2,377 reviews329 followers
July 26, 2021
Quick(ish) Review

Enjoyable spin-off to the Drixonian Warriors series that isn’t dependent on you reading the Drix books. On the run trope that turns pretty quick from antagonistic to smuttylicious but I’m not mad at it. My only complaint is I wanted to know more - how is Karina his Linyx (and yes I keep thinking she’s his operating system?) and what’s the deal with her necklace? But all in all, I’m looking forward to the next one.
Profile Image for HankReadsRomance.
296 reviews53 followers
June 9, 2023
2.5 stars. This one didn’t work for me. The writing was a bit rudimentary and the story as a whole felt rushed and underdeveloped. I was skimming to finish by the end.
Profile Image for Angela (Angel's Book Nook).
1,672 reviews972 followers
April 11, 2023
Hunted by the Alien Assassin is book one in the Mates of the Kaluma series by Ella Maven.

This is my first taste of Ella Maven and I loved it. I picked up Hunted by the Alien Assassin as a freebie. I was delighted, entertained, & enthralled.

When I started I didn’t know that the Mates of the Kaluma is a spin-off of The Drixonian Warriors series, so I felt like I was missing something at the beginning since Bosa, our hero, mentioned another alien race, but that feeling soon went away and I was swept up into the adventure and romance.

Bosa is a sexy hawt alpha and Karina is a strong heroine. I loved them as individuals and together. Each has their own trials and things too over come; besides trying to stay alive. I adored their humor and banter. Their romance was fun and the sexy times enjoyable.

Hunted by the Alien Assassin was an exciting read. It’s got humor, romance, action and just the right amount of sexy times. I can’t wait to read on in the Mates of the Kaluma series and to start The Drixonian Warriors series.

Rated: 4 Stars

angelsgp-seethisreview-blure
Profile Image for Angie.
1,395 reviews232 followers
January 11, 2025
"You can stare at me all you want. Because I intend to look and touch you as much as I want."

4.25 stars

This was another fantastic series start by one of my favorite alien romance authors! We first met the Kaluma in Xavy and Tab's book of the Drixonian Warriors series, and I loved getting to know them more as we followed Bosa and Karina. Karina was such a great heroine; I loved her determination and strength as she fought to prevent more human abductions. At the beginning of the story, Bosa was arrogant in his abilities and knowledge of who Karina was, but as he spent more time with her, his possessiveness over his mate grew as did his admiration of her character. I loved his cheekiness and vulnerability, and Karina was the perfect balance for his tormented past. I'm so excited to continue this new series by Ella🖤

Tropes: fated mates, enemies-to-lovers, arrogant bounty hunter hero, sassy resourceful heroine, forced proximity, mistaken identity, alien romance, 'touch her and die' vibes, hurt/comfort, dream-walking, found family, STEAMY🔥
Profile Image for Jackie.
2,554 reviews
August 31, 2021
Very generously giving this 3 stars. While I did finish this book, it's not a book I would want to re-read or probably continue with the series for that matter. The flow was really slow in the first 1/2, and there was a lot of missing info, that took away from the book. The character development was light, so I really never felt like I knew them or could follow the romance as realistic, just cause she's having visuals (dreams), which ended up with it feeling more like lust than love. For the lust factor, the sexual encounters were actually less than I would have thought (not that I need the sex to enjoy a book, just surprised because I didn't feel the "love"). This read more like a novella than a book (though I don't know the page count to be sure it wasn't a novella, since it only took me 3 hours to read), and I read the first 2 from the series this split from, & that didn't help at all towards knowledge in this book. Maybe if I'd read the whole series, it would have, but the second book in the series was not enough to make me want to do that.
Profile Image for Airyn Shae.
190 reviews2 followers
January 12, 2023
I love anything this author puts out. Total “junk food sci-fi romance” but I don’t care. I like what I like.
Profile Image for May.
560 reviews
July 23, 2021
This was amazing! Yet another Ella Maven hit! This woman seriously knows how to write her aliens 🤤
I loved everything about this:
The characters - Bosa and Karina were both amazing and really well developed for the length of the book (only 197 pages) I adored their humour and banter and it was just so playful wnd fun!
The plot - it was incredible, exactly what the blurb promised - some sizzling tension as he hunts her down and the budding trust that is built over time.
The World-building/creativeness - i didn't know that this was set in the same universe as the Drax warriors but i loved the occasional name drops. Also just the sheer creativeness it took to build these characters and all the different type of alien species, characteristics, their backstory, their belielfs and family life etc. It was just awesome and mind blowing.
The sex - it was so well done, even if a few of the lines did make me giggle a little... Bosa's anatomy is intriguing to say the least (yet another thing to be seriously impressed with from a creativity stand point.)
The Writing Style - i already knew i would love since I loved the other book I read from Ella Maven and this was no exception!
Seriously recommended you pick this up if you are trying to get into sci-fi romances. Had perfect balance of action, plot, romance, humour and just the right amount of sex. Truly amazing.
Profile Image for Fran.
961 reviews10 followers
January 26, 2022
My favorite thing about this book was the characters. Bosa and Karina were so amazing. they had this violent action-packed romance (not violent with one another but against slavers). They were aggressive and weird and I loved it. There are strong heroines and then there is Karina. She is a survivor no doubt about it. I love that about her. And Bosa was a super alpha male and yet Karina was not afraid to put him in his place. they feed off one another and watch each other's backs. They save one another and when he gives her romantic presents it's weapons, because what girl wants a bouquet when you could have a mini version of your guy's weapon? Karina that's who. I loved her and their entire dynamic. It was definitely a never-giving up, fight-together forever relationship. I will read it again and finish the series.
Profile Image for Melissa.
1,224 reviews14 followers
May 7, 2023
Karina and Bosa

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I didn't know what to think of Bosa after meeting him in the previous books. He kinda seemed like a jerk. This book let's his fun, playful side out. I love how fierce Karina is, surviving on her own.
3,323 reviews30 followers
August 1, 2021
Hunted by the Alien assassin

I enjoyed the back out of Karina's character and Bosa is an honourable hunter. Too short but a great read!
Profile Image for Amanda.
1,069 reviews
March 19, 2024
The author tried wayyy too much with the alien appendages.
Profile Image for Lizzy Kent.
174 reviews1 follower
March 28, 2025
3.5 rounded up. Rollercoaster of a listen, tbh. Alien spice is ... Interesting...
Profile Image for Vivienne.
74 reviews14 followers
April 6, 2022
THIS is how you write alien romance! Karina was both strong AND smart, like how rare is it these days to read women being written with brains and more than walking vaginas. Just because Bosa was good-looking, Karina didn't lose herself or her purpose. Bosa was amazing! I loved how protective, sweet and caring he was of her once they got passed their "issue". Their relationship really started as "enemies" and gradually moved to lovers rather than a rapid slide. All it took was one book and I am now a die-hard Ella Maven believer. This is honestly the first solid 5-star read I have read in YEARS! If you enjoy alien romance, this author writes pure magic.
Profile Image for JML.
1,296 reviews24 followers
July 18, 2021
Omg I loved it! 💖

I really missed my Drix warriors, but this book gave me something new to love! Bosa is a Kaluma warrior his people helped the Drixonioan warriors defeat the uldoni and take back planet Torrin. Bosa takes off world jobs to help his people rebuild with the credits he makes. His new job is to track down a slaver of humans who happens to be a woman and a human herself. He has no pity for anyone who would enslave their own kind. But once he meets her he knows something is terribly wrong. She just does not fit the description he was given. Karina was stolen from Earth about 5 years ago and somehow got away and has been wreaking havoc on the insect like alien that put her in chains ever since. She's learned a lot about blowing things up and she uses her knowledge to disrupt the human women supply chain anytime she can. But her antics has put a bounty on her head with lies about her being the one to sell her own people. She finds out a Kaluma warrior is after her and he always completed his missions. When she finally sees him fear, desire and anger all war for top dog in her heart. She knows her time is up but is it. Once they learn the truth about each other respect , friendship and attraction grows quickly between them! They learn to rely on one another and find out they can truly bond in the Kaluma way. It's a fun, fast pace ride with loveable characters, funny moments with just enough danger and action to make the story great. They relationship building is wonderful and the chemistry between them is awesome. I really loved the story and I'm anxious for the next in the series! Highly recommend if you enjoyed any of Ella Maven's previous books you'll love this one!💖💖💖💖💖💖😍😍😍😍😍😍💖💖💖💖💖💖😍😍😍😍😍💖💖💖💖💖💖😍😍😍😍💖💖💖💖
Profile Image for Eva.
637 reviews8 followers
November 7, 2021
I like that an author invents humanoid aliens, but still quite different from humans. In this novel, "fuck" is replaced by "yerk", and their male anatomy is noticeably different from that of humans. I don't like when humanoid aliens talk and behave exactly like a human would. So, kudos to the author for taking the trouble to work on this aspect a bit. And there is more humor! I liked.
On the other hand, I found it hard to believe that an alien race so undeveloped technologically speaking, could carve out a place for itself in a highly technological universe.
I still enjoyed my reading, enough to read Book 2.
13 reviews
July 17, 2021
If you haven’t tried Ella Maven, Just Do It!

I have become crazy addicted to Ella Maven’s books! They’re all great reads! I love this new book/series already! There’s just enough of an arc that, if you read any of the Drixonian books with Boza in them, you can’t wait to see what happens to him in his story, but you don’t feel left out if didn’t read them. The books are creative without making the characters feel too alien to identify with. But, the characters, worlds, environments, etc. are stunning and literally out of this world!
Profile Image for Amanda.
37 reviews7 followers
July 17, 2021
👏👏👏

I've been reading Maven since she first started with the Drixonians and have been a fan ever since. The new series is off to a great start with Bosa and Karina and I can't wait til the second one comes out. It's not necessary to read the other series first, but you definitely get the whole back story if you go in order. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves sci-fi and fated mates.
Profile Image for Amanda.
326 reviews14 followers
August 30, 2022
Awesome

I loved this book and hate I have to wait for the next book!!! This was sooo very good. Both main characters are amazing and you fall in love with them!!!
Profile Image for Preston and Michelle.
372 reviews8 followers
August 26, 2022
Ever wondered what it would be like to copulate with an alien that’s part man, part magical lizard? You don’t want to miss these!

This author is absolutely brilliant with her writing style. They (she?) have balanced the perfect amount of action, adventure, desire and romance. I have read every single book in this series (starting with the Drixonian Warrior Series), including every book of the each offshoot. This book in this series is one of those offshoots. We first met the Kaluma Species amidst the Drixonian series. The only similarity to the Drixonians the Kaluma have is a similar size and look, along with compatibility and attraction to human females. The Kaluma are not blue like the Drix, but bronze skin mixed with scales…

…And here is where these books lost me…

Supposedly, the Kaluma have the ability to “turn invisible” by “flipping” their lizard-like scales. Okay sure. We’re taking aliens here, so I can wrap my head around the biology incorporated with this idea. What I can’t wrap my head around? Somehow, once a human female is a bonded mate to a Kaluma, SHE now has the ability to turn invisible. HOW?! She doesn’t have magical scales that flip over, but we’re supposed to believe it just “happened?” Yeah… no. The author completely lost me there. I also cannot get on board with the “clothes” randomly turning invisible as well. This concept was not well thought out, in my humble opinion.

There are a numerous amount of editorial errors throughout each book, but not enough to take away from the experience.

I will add, however, with a bit of disappointment, that while each book has different characters with different outlooks, each outcome is exactly the same. Boy saves girl, boy has issues about his past that prevents him from “claiming” girl, girl has exact same issues, girl saves boy somehow, girl magically becomes invisible as a result of being mated, boy and girl finally accept their feelings for each other and live happily ever after. That’s the bases for each and every book. Still, I will read it over and over again with a sense of fulfillment.

Kinda glad the author ditched making more books with this offshoot, because I am looking forward to more Drixonian stories. This book is still worth the read, even with its flaws.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Mattie.
136 reviews
October 15, 2022
Fast, fun read and fairly smart

I am so glad I read this book, it was so much fun. I enjoyed the snappy dialog, a new twist to the female kidnapped by aliens thing, and especially the characters. Bosa is totally swoon worthy.
He is dominant without resorting to BDSM and possessive without being over the top. Not only is he confident, capable and hot, but his species has some cool natural defenses and weapons. Lots about his backstory is HIGHLY improbable though. Why make Bosa basically celibate pre-Karina?
Speaking of Karina. Sigh. We go from mildly impressive (and being TOLD how badass she is) to damsel in distress when she partners with Bosa. Odd that suddenly developing precog is like no big deal to her (really?) Why is she so weepy when she's already had visions of a happy and alive Bosa on Torin.
See if you can spot the inconsistencies in her behavior and also the weird gaps in knowledge.
The call between Gurla and Karina had potential but why not talk about HOW exactly to save your unconscious boyfriend who has alien biology?
Further patriarchal bull stuff on Torin. Like the leader apologizes to the guy but never to the female he was actually being an eggplant to. Females need to be protected and wear tube tops and long skirts? Child, please. Plus how silly is it that Gurla literally directs Karina to Torin but then the leader blithely walks onto their ship without expecting her? I'm hoping the author reads this and takes these noted in good stride! There's other bothersome bits but I only point out these big ones because this author has huge potential. I wish the book had been longer with a little more slow burn but I did really enjoy it. Like bubble gum pop, you know? Will read the next in the series to see if it's as good or better.
Profile Image for Spinneretta.
2,850 reviews20 followers
March 11, 2024
Good

We first met the Kaluma in the Drixonian Warriors series when Tabitha and Xavy went to ask them for help- and in fact that’s also where we first met Bosa too.

Karina is a human who managed to escape during the process of being sold into slavery: her former owner wants her back, and she wants her revenge on him.
Bosa has been hired to capture the human, believing she was a trafficker herself.
It’s not long before he realises that something fishy is going on, and instead teams up with Karina to help her cause!

Bosa hasn’t changed much from when we first encountered him. He’s a little grumpy, entirely too head strong, overconfident, and not inclined to trust strangers (his past has a lot to do with that last one). He’s an entertaining character primarily because he knows he’s acting out of character, but does it anyway.
Karina is one of the toughest humans-in-space (at least for the Drixonian universe) that we’ve met yet. She’s street smart, tough, and quick to learn- skills that have kept her alive despite the odds! She was also very funny (my favourite scene was probably the last because of it), and more than a match for Bosa.

If you have already read the Drixonian series, and the Stolen Warriors series, then you will know what to expect; Steamy scenes, alien anatomy, battle scenes, revenge, and of course a happily ever after.
If you haven’t read those series, I would recommend that you do so simply because it explains some of the references BUT it’s not entirely necessary since this is a new series within that established universe.
All in all, a fun and steamy alien romance adventure for the SFR fans out there.
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